Window to Wildlife

 We chose a slightly circuitous route home from Cornwall in order to call in at Labrador Bay RSPB reserve in the hope of finding Cirl Buntings.  Luckily, when we arrived the sun was shining, with a gap between showers, although it was very windy. We took a short walk across the fields and scanning the bushes I managed to spot a single bird perched in a bush, where it sat obligingly for several minutes. Job done, we returned to the car and continued on our way! Cirl Bunting

 With rain in the morning, we had a slowish start to our last day, arriving at Pendeen as the sun came out. As predicted, weather conditions were much better than yesterday, with stronger north westerly winds resulting in an impressive sea passage of Manx Shearwaters sweeping through at close range. It was fascinating to watch their undulating flight path, swerving upwards in a regular arc then down again to shear the waves with their long slender wings. I recall someone telling me they looked like black and white crosses as they fly, and this is exactly what we observed as their bodies twisted and turned to reveal dark backs then pale underparts. A little further out were flurries of auks, flapping furiously and very difficult to track in my scope. With improved light, we were able to identify these as Guillemots, with brown backs rather than the black of Razorbills.  After some time, we moved on to Cot Valley, via the pasty shop of course, where we clambered above the valley and foun

We set out this morning for a walk at Kenidjack, but stopped off en route for a quick look at Pendeen. The wind conditions weren’t really right for seawatching, with a northerly element needed for this site, but nevertheless we could see groups of auks flying through, so decided to get the scopes out for a short watch from the sheltered area beside the wall in front of the lighthouse. There were many auks flying through, but we found it difficult to clearly identify them. We felt probably we had both Raxorbills and Guillemots, but couldn’t be sure, and with many reports earlier in the week of Puffins they were always another possibility. More obvious was a Manx shearwater which passed through at a reasonably close distance, showing longer wings, white underparts, and a dark edging to the underwings. Tim also found a diver, but I was not able to locate this on the wide expanse of sea. As we packed up and headed to the car, we found another couple, with more experience of seawatching, wh

This morning we abandoned the coast, and travelled inland to the Cornwall Wildlfe Trust reserve at Kennal Vale. This is a breathtaking setting, with cascading waterfalls, rushing streams and rich, green vegetation set around the ruins of an old gunpowder factory.  As we entered the woodland, we could hear Marsh Tit sneezing, but frustratingly couldn’t get onto the bird, which was flitting amongst the trees, but always seemed to melt into the high vegetation before I’d got my bins on it. We found a number of the regular tits moving through the vegetation at a lower level, before leaving the track and dropping down the valley towards the water, crossing a bridge at the bottom of the reserve. From here we clambered up the path which meandered upstream amongst the ruined factory buildings, now cloaked in mosses, ferns and lush vegetation. We peered through green windows framing the beautiful scenery beyond. Stumbling upon a small, narrow channel just above the river, three Grey Wagtails we

 A disappointing day in birding terms. With a forecast for rain in the afternoon we were undecided as to where to spend the morning. I suggested Drift and Marazion but Tim was not keen, so we headed off to the Lizard. Bad move as when we arrived it was decidedly foggy! Even so we managed to pick up a Collared Dove, and a group of Greenfinches wheezed their strange song, the yellow wing bar showing clearly enough despite the gloom. The path was slippery underfoot, on serpentine rock, so we had to tread carefully. We found a few Long -tailed Tits but here, not much else.  Reaching the coast path, we again had some fly pasts from a pair of Choughs, their distinctive harsh calls alerting us to their presence. Both Cormorant and Shag perched on a large rock close to the most Southerly Point, allowing a good comparison of these similar species. At the headland, there were plenty of Gannets flying past, quite close as they rounded the headland, before veering out around the rocks. With our bi

We started our birding day at Porthgwarra with a short seawatch. There were lots of Gannets passing by and plenty of auks, wings flapping fast as they zipped across the water. Unfortunately they were quite distant and we were not skilled enough to identify them to species level, so just ‘auk sp.’ for us. The previous day there were reports of hundreds of Puffins, so that seems plausible, but we shall never know. Leaving the scopes in the car we clambered up the coast path for a walk around the cliffs of Gwennap Head towards Nanjizal. It was pretty cold and windy up here, and there was surprisingly little bird activity. A few Pipits braved the conditions, and some Fulmars lazily circled the steep-sided bays. A Raven was staking out his territory from a prominent rock with a menacing glare, and was unfazed by Tim edging ever closer for photographs. Raven The bird we were looking for of course was the iconic Chough, and we were not disappointed. After a brief flypast overhead when we were

 After a long drive yesterday, we decided to stay fairly local today. We had a leisurely start to the morning, as low cloud meant we couldn’t even see Godrevy lighthouse from our apartment. But as the weather began to improve, we had lovely views of Gannet feeding out in the bay, diving deep into the water with a super splash.  A male Bullfinch was also seen feeding in a bush in the garden, its gorgeous red breast and solid black cap showing well, despite being partly obscured by vegetation. The weather soon lifted and it turned into a really pleasant Spring day. We started our travels at Ryan’s field at Hayle, where highlights included another Bullfinch, this time a female, calling softly and nibbling the blossom, and a juvenile Spoonbill, although this spent most of its time asleep, occasionally lifting its bill for a quick preen. There were a few Teal asleep on the bank and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose was also noteworthy, as we mainly see dark-bellied in Sussex.  Pale-bellied Brent G

 We set off early for our holiday in Cornwall arriving at Dartmoor in time for a late breakfast, before stopping at Yarner Wood, with an outside chance of encountering a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Needless to say, we didn’t find one! However, a few minutes in the hide produced a few nice birds coming to the feeders, including Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Blue Tit and Great Tit. A Great Spotted Woodpecker perched for a moment on a dead tree, but did not come down. Probably the highlight was a Grey Wagtail foraging amongst the vegetation around the stream edges, constantly bobbing his tail in the characteristic fashion. We didn’t linger here long, with many miles still to travel- our next scheduled stop was at Stithians. However, a sign to Feock, just two miles off the main road, was a temptation too far,  with reports of a Surf Scoter frequenting the area for several weeks, and seen again earlier today. Viewing conditions were far from ideal, with very poor light, and drizzle, but we eventually

 We needed to do a quick car parking recce for an upcoming SDOS walk at Tottington Woods, and as this is so close to Woods Mill we decided to drop by, in search of the Water Rail which has been reported there over recent weeks.  Rumour had it that early morning was the time to go, and a class of small noisy children playing near the car park was not a promising sign, but we headed to the hide anyway with low expectations of success. However, we had only a short wait before the target bird appeared, wandering across the muddy area right in front of the hide, very relaxed and actively feeding just feet away from us. Magical! Water Rail It was very peaceful here, and we lingered for some time watching the supporting cast of tits coming and going to the feeders, and Dunnocks hopping and foraging on the ground. A gorgeous Nuthatch flew on to the feeder, causing the other birds to rapidly disperse. The pecking order in action! A lovely male Reed Bunting in pristine breeding plumage was more

 What a fabulous morning we had on an SDOS outing to this brilliant reserve just outside Horsham. We woke to dismal weather, and a matching sense of gloom - with a minibus booked and several new members on board for their first ever outing, I was concerned it would be a washout. If it had been a 'walking' event we may well have cancelled, but that was not an option with the bus booked and paid for in advance.  We arrived at the reserve around 10ish and were met by several other hardy members who had made their own way there, giving a group of 21 in total. Jo, one of the rangers who had given a talk to the society last year, was there to meet us with a brief chat about what we could expect to see. Fortunately there are a good number of hides around the reserve to shelter us from the rain, so we set out in search of the birds. We started at the Discovery Centre overlooking the lake. There was nothing too exciting here, but a Lesser Black-backed Gull close to a Herring Gull provid

 Richard Allan kindly took us to his old stomping grounds around the Crawley area for a morning out, in search of  Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Goshawk. The woodland was decidedly wet and muddy, following extensive rain over recent weeks, but not unattractive. There was plenty of birch, favoured by these woodpeckers, and we managed to hear several bursts of drumming, once at close range, but sadly failed to locate any birds. The woods were pretty quiet, but nevertheless we managed to find a few typical woodland species for the time of year, with Nuthatch, Marsh Tit , Treecreeper and Redpoll all new ticks for my annual list. A beautiful male Bullfinch wowed us with his brilliant orange-red chest and solid black cap as he chuntered softly on a nearby branch.  Scarlet Elf Cap Green Elf Cap With Richard a keen naturalist it was not all about the birds, and he was rather excited to spot these colourful fungi, especially the fruiting green Elf Cap, which  commonly stains wood green, but is

A short exercise stroll this afternoon was prompted by a superb photo of Cetti's Warbler out in the open by the stream at Brooklands Park, taken by Richard Allan this morning. Unsurprisingly we did not manage a repeat showing, but we heard a couple of different individuals singing in the reedbed close to the boardwalk. The sun was shining, so a beautiful male Teal swimming close to the water's edge provided a superb photo opportunity to show off the incredible colours and markings of its plumage. Teal And the long staying female Goldeneye was also pretty photogenic...  Goldeneye, female Although we enjoyed some great views of Little Grebe, these were rather more camera-shy, and refused to come close enough for a picture, but we had an enjoyable stroll around this rather special urban nature spot.

 A rather gloomy day at Abberton, and there was not much activity from the causeway, with a few Goldeneye and Great-crested Grebe diving in the water, but little else to be seen.  We drove towards Billet Lane, but the gate to the car park was locked, so we parked a little further along the road, close to a raised screen. The footpath was very muddy with a deep puddle stretched right across. Tim had wellies on so waded through, with a message to report back if he found anything worthwhile. Meanwhile, Andy and I walked up the road and managed to squeeze through a narrow gap in the hedge, and squelch up the field to join him. There were plenty of Tufted Ducks, and we scanned through hoping to pick out some sort of a Scaup, without success. A Great Egret was at the back of the water and a few Pochard dozed to our right.  Continuing on towards the next causeway, Andy spotted a Yellowhammer fly from the hedgerow as we drove past, but Tim and I failed to get on to it. At the causeway, a few G