Following the cancellation of our planned trip to Morocco, we decided to escape to Cornwall, a favourite location. On the way down we called into Exminster Marshes where a Spotted Crake had been reported close to the car park. We were helpfully advised where the bird had recently been seen and did not have to wait long for an unsatisfactory glimpse of the bird, or at least it’s distinctive buff-coloured tail! With a little more patience, and the help of some friendly locals, we managed further and better views of this ‘lifer’ before continuing on our way to Cornwall. Unfortunately it was too far away for photos.
Easter was possibly not the best time of year to visit, being a little late for winter birds and a little early for summer visitors. There were a few rarities reported, notably Rose-coloured Starling and Woodchat Shrike, but we failed to catch up with these species, despite our best efforts. A Ferruginous Duck of suspect origin was at Helston Lake, where it has apparently been comfortably residing since 2018. This is also sometimes known as the ‘fudge’ duck and you can see why. It is a very attractive duck with its vibrant colouring, striking eye and white rear end.
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| Ferruginous Duck |
Bird of the holiday had to be the Chough, now well established in west Cornwall, with these iconic birds seen almost daily on our coastal walks. Even in poor light the thin, curved bill made the birds easily recognisable and the distinctive call often alerted us to their presence nearby.
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| Chough |
Gannets are another species we strongly associate with Cornwall and these were frequently seen in Carbis Bay, plummeting for fish in spectacular fashion outside our apartment windows.
We had hoped for some good seawatching but the winds were against us, with an absence of westerlies to bring the birds in. Our phones pinged constantly with news of many migrants being reported in Sussex arriving on south easterly winds but migration was clearly much slower where we were. Nevertheless, at Kenidjack Valley we had our first Wheatear and Common Redstart of the year and a Black Redstart was also a nice find.
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| Common Redstart |
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| Wheatear |
At Gwithian Sands near Godrevy we found Sand Martins around the pools and nesting in the sandy cliff.
There were plenty of seals on show at the usual cove and a Shag nested on a narrow cliff ledge.
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| Shag |
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| Seals |
And at Marazion we encountered our first Sedge Warbler of the year, helpfully pirouetting skywards as we sought to spot him burbling forth form the reedbeds. Continuing to Penzance we were surprised to find around 30 Purple Sandpipers roosting in the crevices of a wall at high tide. These are primarily winter birds and we expected them to have departed before now.
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Purple Sandpipers
Hayle was very quiet at this time of year, with just a few Redshank, Greenshank and Oystercatchers found, together with a distant single Ruff and a Common Sandpiper rather more helpfully pottering in front of the hide. |
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| Common Sandpiper |
At the end of the week and en route to Newquay to stay with Andrew and Chelsea, we paused at Hells Mouth for some lunch and our traditional Guillemot tick.
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Guillemots
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