Back after a fairly enjoyable week in Cornwall, if the final three days weather during the afternoon was better it would have been a great week in Cornwall. I know that during the week there had been some very good birding but this is meant to be a holiday for my wife to enjoy as well, that means not trudging along muddy coastal paths.
A brief snapshot follows:
Our accommodation in Treen, you can almost see the Logan Rock pub which is less than 5 minutes down the road behind the building.
Big seas were a feature for much of the week, meaning that I was unable to get down at sea level for some good sea bird passage.
The rocks below are a short distance out from Pendeen Lighthouse. Here the you can witness some incredible sea bird movements, some passing between the mainland and the rocks others moving just beyond. Birds seen here were Gannets in there 1000’s, along with large numbers of Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes. I saw over 150 Balearic Shearwaters, 60 Manx Shearwaters, 15 Sooty Shearwaters, 30 Pomarine Skuas, 2 Long-tailed Skuas, 35 Arctic Skuas, 90 Great Skuas and 3 Great Northern Divers.
You never know what you may find in the valleys in the far south-west. This is Porthgwarra which held a Hermit Thrush for 4 days until over enthusiastic birders eventually dove it away.
During the week I bumped into Red Breasted Flycatcher, Yellow-browed Warbler and Firecrest in other valleys.
In recent years Chough’s returned to breed in Cornwall. The area around Lands End is a good place to see them.
The wader a sleep in the middle of the photo is a White-rumped Sandpiper. This is another trans-atlantic vagrant, by the end of the week there were at least 3 birds in the area. I wasn’t 100 percent sure whether the bird standing behind the Sanderlings and then seen landing with the sandpiper was something other than a typical Ringed Plover.
The previous blog entries show more from the holiday.
Today on or over the lake in Regent’s Park
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