4th November

Well I am back from what was the quietest week birding wise I have ever had down in Cornwall. I have been going for at least the past 11 autumns and this was not totally birdless, with sightings of 11 Sooty Shearwaters, 28 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 Long-tailed Skua, 5 Great Northern Divers, Long-tailed Duck, 2 Short-eared Owls, 1 Richards Pipit, 1 Yellow-browed Warbler, 6 Firecrests and 2 Lapland Buntings.There were good numbers of seabirds, a passion of mine when large numbers can be seen passing relatively close inshore. A very disappointing aspect, though I might be wrong as this wasn’t really a birding holiday was the very few birders I encountered.

Thanks again to Birdman-euston for a few records. It looks as if not much was moving here also, surely the winds will swing around.

Here are a few pics, some may interest you.

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Sunset from our lounge window

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Purple Sandpipers in Sennen Cove

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Short-eared Owl, one of two at Lands End

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? Greenland Whitefronted Geese

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Chough

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Firecrest, a bit distant yet still a cracking little bird

 

Three local sea-watching spots, not including Porthgwarra

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Longships Lighthouse, just off Lands End with the Isles of Scilly 27 miles away in the distance.

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Pendeen Lighthouse, this location can offer great views

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Cape Cornwall, a bit more exposed and one that I haven’t used that often.

Comments

Considering you were not going on a birding holiday you did rather well.
Great pics as always.... purple sandpiper lovely.
piers said…
Diving juvenile gannet shot amazing. The timing absolutely perfect, lighting great and generally pin-sharp, but mostly I love how the bird in that pose looks like some sort of alien, or platypus, or like how I tell my kids, prehistoric creature.
I was quite pleased with that shot, though getting the correct exposure was impossible. The bird started in blue skies, then white cloud, followed by a cliff face and finally blue seas. Actually following them was hard because you never knew when it would dive and then it was a case of catchup before the bird hit the water. All this without getting on a boat. They are a very prehistoric looking bird in this plumage.

Cheers Tony