Saturday 21st March 2026: Yarner Wood and Hayle estuary

 After an overnight stay near Hay Tor, and a streamside meander behind the hotel, we headed to Yarner Wood in hope of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. We had barely left the car park when a yaffled call was heard and a bird that appeared black and white flew across the tree tops. A volunteer working nearby confirmed Lesser Spot, but despite the good audio, the sight views were less than satisfactory. I prefer a bird in the bins for an annual tick!

We continued on up the path, noting the regular tits and woodland species along the way. A pair of Nuthatch appeared to be nest building, and a Coal Tit was also spotted with nesting material in its beak. We stumbled on a pair of birders watching what appeared to me to be two Buzzards, who insisted they were looking at Goshawks. We left them to it and continued our walk. We again heard what sounded like  Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, and Merlin agreed, but the birds were elusive, and despite seeing movement it was really hard to track the birds down when they landed. Eventually, Tim was the star who managed to locate one foraging in a small birch tree, and we finally had some brilliant views of this dainty bird, only our fourth ever sighting. A pair of Marsh Tits were also good to see, and a Mistle Thrush sang continuously from the top of a tall tree edging the small heathland.

We took a beautiful walk beside the bubbling river at Pullabrook in search of a Dipper, but unfortunately failed to repeat our earlier success, drawing a blank on this one. 

After a cup of tea in Newquay with relatives, we stopped for a short burst of Cornwall birding at Hayle estuary, viewing from Copperhouse Creek on a rising tide, making for one of the best sessions we have ever had here, with an excellent mix of waders being pushed up towards us, a nice variety of gulls, and amongst the Shelduck, Teal and Wigeon a stunning drake Garganey looking superb in pristine breeding plumage in perfect light conditions. 

Garganey and Shelduck

The waders included good numbers of Greenshank, nearly forty Redshank, half a dozen Grey Plover, a group of spangly Bar-tailed Godwits and four Ringed Plover, all showing really well at close range. Amongst the many Herring Gulls, four Lesser Black-backed Gulls stood out with their smoky grey backs and bright yellow legs, and a couple of hulking Great Black-backed Gulls with brutish bills and fleshy pink legs stood alongside for an easy comparison. A single Black-headed Gull and three Common Gulls were amongst the melee.

With the joys of Tescos calling, we had to call it a day, but we considered this an excellent start to our holiday.