Birding St Kilda is not easy. The steep cliffs, big hills, lack of cover and wild weather all mean that, for large parts of the season, the dykes, cleitian (stone structures unique to the archipelago) and few iris beds on the island may be checked repeatedly with little or no reward. Of course, there are times when the anticipation of potential migrants and vagrants arriving is heightened, often due to either major weather systems or due to reports of other rarities occurring elsewhere in UK.
On 7 August, I received a message from my friend, Jeremy, informing me that an American Cliff Swallow had been found in the Isles of Scilly. These types of messages are usually taken lightly, as targeting specific rarities based on one turning up at the other end of the country can often lead to disappointment!
Having the help of fellow birders while they are on St Kilda adds to the amount of time and effort that goes in to covering the island. During August this year we've been fortunate to have Tim Wallis, warden at Conwy RSPB in North Wales, visiting as the National Trust for Scotland biosecurity volunteer, while also assisting with ongoing seabird monitoring efforts when the weather allows.
Having been out in the hills for the day, I heard a knock on the door of the Manse on the evening of 11 August. Tim was checking in after a day in the field. The first thing he said made me immediately reach for my binoculars and camera and rush out the door.
An American hirundine
Tim said he'd initially had relatively distant views (approximately 100 m) of a hirundine with a pale orange rump which he thought was possibly a Red-rumped Swallow, except the tail didn't look at all long or forked, as you would expect with this species.
We returned to the location he first saw it flying around, near the head dyke behind the Manse, and within 10 minutes it reappeared, this time flying to within a few metres of us both before coming to rest about 10 m away on top of the head dyke. With better views, and record shots obtained in flight and perched on the wall, it became clear to us that we were watching something remarkable!
The St Kilda American Cliff Swallow spent time perching on the rocky dykes behind the Manse (Craig Nisbet).
The short square-ended tail, rusty-orange rump, pale reddish-orange collar and throat, and orange patch on the forehead of an otherwise isolated cap all pointed to the bird being an American Cliff Swallow.
My first thought (after thanking and high-fiving Tim!) was to go and share the news with our friends from the Soay Sheep Project, some of whom I knew would be keen to see any rarity we had on the island, particularly as it was so close to home.
St Kilda twitch
A group of five came out with binoculars and, although we initially had the fear that it may have been an all-too-brief encounter, the swallow duly returned to its favoured location, hawking low over the grass and often coming within a metre of us as it zipped about in a typical hirundine fashion. On a few occasions it also settled on the grass itself, allowing for more shots of it at rest in relatively close proximity.
We watched the bird regularly for around an hour as darkness approached. It often investigated the rocky coastline and low cliffs in front of the Manse, before seemingly going to roost on the steeper cliffs just beyond the head dyke on the side of Oiseval.
The following day, both Tim and I managed to relocate it without any difficulty, as it moved a little further up the side of Oiseval while actively feeding on the steep slope, occasionally being chased by resident Meadow Pipits and Northern Wheatears. It remained faithful to its chosen location for most of the day.
Up to a dozen people residing on the island at the time were able to connect with it on 12 August but, alas, further searches on 13th were unsuccessful, and we were left to reminisce over was an epic two-day encounter of a mega national rarity on our doorstep.
As well as being a first for St Kilda, it was only the second Scottish record after a bird recorded on Skye in 2019. Assuming all recent records are also accepted by BBRC, this may constitute only the 19th British record! It was an awesome experience to share with Tim and a bird that I'm sure will live long in both our memories.
The bird represents only the second Scottish record of this North American species (Craig Nisbet).
