A bird that is rarely seen in
Scilly has been causing a stir among local birdwatchers.
A chough, the bird seen on the
Cornish county coat of arms, was spotted on St Martin’s on Monday. It’s since
moved to the Peninnis area of St Mary’s.
Nigel Hudson, the county
recorder for the Isles of Scilly, says that while the chough is a common site
in mainland Europe, and numbers are increasing in Cornwall, there have only
been five sightings in Scilly since 1876. The last was seen in 2002.
Nigel said visiting
birdwatchers were puzzled by the reaction of the locals as it’s such a common
bird elsewhere. He said it’s a similar situation with other birds such as the
jay and magpie, which are seen regularly on the mainland but very infrequently
here.
Nigel says it’s because the
wind direction in Scilly is primarily from the southwest and it’s likely the
unringed chough seen on the islands came from France rather than Cornwall.
Nigel says it’s unlikely the
massive storm that hit the US east coast will blow unusual birds across the
Atlantic over the next few days. He said it’s heading in the wrong direction
and has missed the major migration of birds on the North American continent.
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