Confessions of a lapsed birder

American Pipit – Borough Farm, Tresco, Isles of Scilly, 13^th October 1996

This account relates to what is now known as American Pipit, but what, at the time was known as Buff-bellied Pipit, and as such, I have retained the former name in the following description.

When the bird involved (or was it another?) turned up on St. Agnes on 30th September 1996 I couldn’t quite allow myself to believe that it would stay around until Gillian (my-ex) and I got to the Scillies, which wasn’t going to be until Saturday the 12th October. All the same, I checked the record books out and monitored it presence (or absence) day by day. In the event, it was there on the day of our arrival in the Scillies, although it was too late for a trip to Tresco, where it now was.

However, we anticipated that it would still be there the following day, when indeed we were able to get ‘abroad’. Not in the most promising circumstances though, as there were very heavy showers and high winds as we reached the quay in Hugh Town. This necessitated struggling into our waterproofs, which considerably slowed progress as we yomped from Carn Near to Borough Farm. However, as we made our way there, the pager announced that the object of our quest was indeed still there. Good news!

On arrival, we found some 40 or so birders overlooking the Lower Fields, where the bird was supposedly on view two or three fields away. Despite this, I couldn’t get on it as the directions were poor as usual, and as I couldn’t find anywhere to set up my ‘scope. However, eventually I was able to get on it, partly with the assistance of Gilly’s directions, although it was very distant. Once we had achieved this between us, we had brief views, very brief in my case, as Gilly commandeered the ‘scope.

It did though suddenly move into a nearer field, where, however, it remained out of sight. Frustration! However, I, and a very few others, then saw a pipit fly from this vicinity up the field towards the track where we were watching from, more formally, Borough Road. I quickly moved further along the track to a gateway into the field involved to get views and found that it was indeed ‘it’ and it was just a few metres away.

I called Gilly over and got her, and then others, on to it, although with difficulty, as they initially at least, they were looking too far away. It got closer and closer, (coming within camera range even for me, or at least, just about), until eventually it was less than 5 m away.

This allowed very close views of its plumage detail, etc., especially in the ‘scope. It was distinctly distinct. It was slightly larger than Meadow Pipit, but was otherwise similar in shape. The upperparts were grey-brown and very faintly lined with dark, and the underparts were buff-white, with dark, heavy, but slightly blurry streaks, particularly on the upper breast, fading towards the undertail coverts. The remiges and coverts were edged with off-white.

The head pattern was distinctive. The grey brown cap was separated from the indistinct broken eye-stripe by a broad creamy-buff supercilium, which was broader behind the eye than in front, where it was broken. The face was grey-brown and relatively plain and unmarked, although the ear-coverts were faintly mottled with creamy-buff and darker patches and an incomplete darker moustachial stripe. The lores area was similar, with no real eye-stripe, although at times there appeared to be an eye-stripe depending on the angle of the head. There was a whitish broad square-ended moustachial stripe, which was separated from an off-white unmarked throat by a large dark malar ‘triangle’. The eye-ring was unfortunately not noted at the time. The bill was dark although the proximal half was yellowish-orange. The leg colour was not really noted.

Having given very good views it suddenly flew off. It called a distinctive “tsip-it” as it flew off and Gilly was able to see the off-white outer tail feathers.

This was all pre-split, etc.. However, at the time I noted that the views involved were very interesting in relation to the japonicus bird seen at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt. The bird that was eventually pinned down there had richer brown upperparts and heavier, darker and neater streaks on the underparts. The call of birds heard in Egypt was apparently just like that of Meadow Pipit, although apparently this bird also had a call like this.

30 years later, I saw another American Pipit in Saltcoats, Ayrshire for my Scottish list. This was a superb find by Jason McManus, and although it moved around from the area around the intersection of the promenade and rock armour sea defences to adjacent grassy trackside areas, I enjoyed great views, all the more so as it was seen in the company of both Rock Pipits and a Meadow Pipit. The twitch (several days into its stay) was notable because for the first time in my experience, toggers outnumbered birders.