Gavin, I was there with my Brother for 10 days in October '84. It was supposed to be 7 days but we missed the boat home! 🤦♂️. We were there when the Yellowthroat was found late afternoon. Utter mayhem, I think 7 boats left, it was like the D-Day landings, people jumping off before the boats docked!
Ha ha! Youthful exuberance! That was back when inter-island boats emptied in about 10 seconds. Nowadays 10 minutes would be optimistic! 😂 The Olivaceous resulted in birders jumping off boats from Tesco at Bar Point.
My first trip in 87 sounded very similar to yours Gavin, though I only had a measly 15 ticks. Here I am, hands in pocket, at the Philly Vireo, with Rob Fray looking in the opposite direction to everyone else. Halcyon days, twitching not the same nowadays.
He was a year younger than me I reckon, so he’d be stupidly young in ‘87 (15ish). So highly unlikely.
We must have crossed paths back then though, wasn’t many young birders in Rotherham in the late 80s
Ahh, a sea of green jackets, spindly tripods, a multiplicity o’ telescopes & the heady waft of Barbour wax thornproof dressing in’thair. 5 ticks in t’day, squeezing in’t log at the Porthcressa & a pint in’t Bishop & Wolf. You try an tell the young people o’ today that, and they won't believe you...
When you see the quantity of quality birds it makes you realise how things have changed. I know there are less birders now but the numbers of birds have certainly plummeted.
On the East Coast too. The huge falls of "carrier species" just don't happen anymore. We still get some rares that would have travelled with them but not as many imo. I reckon the lack of the "carriers" show the drastic decline in common bird sp in Europe.
Now those rare species are dropping imo. Presume this illustrates the declines affecting the further away places. But I might just be talking out of my backside🤷
I did a decade or thereabouts on Tresco with JBG after my initial stints on St Mary’s . During that time we lost Dairy, Brassica crops, small holding over a period of time and for me, the island became sterile. Cost went up and it was cheaper to spend a month in Autumn China.
Great write up Gavin. Brings back special memories of many visits. I enjoy the follow up comments of others here as well. The Log-call, ‘Cressa disco, Bishop & Wolf, hangovers, cream teas, magical ticks and there was always an England game on the telly. I never wanted to leave.
Excellent, Gavin. My first visit was 1990, but not much had changed by then in terms of birders' gear, so those photos are very nostalgic! I think I had something like 13 ticks on my first trip.
Great write up Gavin - your last day that trip was my first ever day on scilly and so the Eye Browed Thrush quickly followed by the Olivaceous were the first birds we saw - not a bad start ! Happy memories
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He was at Oakwood school and lived on Moorgate.
We must have crossed paths back then though, wasn’t many young birders in Rotherham in the late 80s