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...

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 Wagtail...

 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. Wi...

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-b...