16th October: Pendeen and Kenidjack

 A highlight of our autumn week in Cornwall is often a seawatch at Pendeen lighthouse. This is a somewhat specialist form of birdwatching - described by one birder we met as ‘a dark art’ where the bulk of the time is spent trying to identify distant birds flying over the water. Gannets are easy to spot with their huge size, brilliant white bodies and contrasting black wingtips which standout clearly against the water, even in poor light. Auks are also recognisable as they have a distinctive shape and flight, with very rapid wingbeats, although it is not easy to distinguish between Guillemot and Razorbill, so these are often recorded as auk species. Beyond that, we start to struggle and rely on the experts around us. If birds are relatively close we can often identify these with expert guidance, but on this occasion we were not able to locate the Grey Phalarope and Balearic Shearwaters called by others. Unfortunately the westerly winds that bring the winds in closer were not forecast for the  whole week.

However, one advantage of struggling to identify anything through the scope was that I then scanned the nearer coast with my binoculars, and thus was able to pick up a group of five swans flying into view. These were quickly identified by our knowledgeable co-watchers as 2 adult and three juvenile Whooper Swans, apparently a very unusual sighting for Cornwall, so that was a useful bonus!

Our target bird at Pendeen was a juvenile Woodchat Shrike presumably overshot from Europe as they are not normally found in this country (although Andy did manage a stunning adult male  a few years ago). There were many other birders searching for this but it had not been seen that morning so we decided to head to Cape Cornwall for a scenic lunch followed by a walk in the Kenidjack valley, in the hope of finding some migrant birds. We had a very pleasant walk, but nothing of great note, just a couple of Chiffchaffs. 

As we arrived back at the car news came through that the Shrike had been relocated, so we hot-footed it back to Pendeen. The Sussex birders I had been chatting to earlier had their scope on the bird and beckoned us to look for another annual tick, and my 300th UK bird species. This is the bird as seen through Tim’s camera lens

Not the closest of sightings! Fortunately when I got my scope on it and zoomed on its markings were very clear and I was quite satisfied with my views. Here is the same photo blown up, although it did look much better through the scope. Unfortunately it flew off before Tim was able to position himself for a better shot.

Woodchat Shrike

Obviously not as spectacular as the adult but I was pleased to finally get my 300th bird in the UK!