Cornwall October 2015
My wife and I have just returned from another autumn half term down in the far west of Cornwall. we stayed in http://www.loganrockholidays.com/self-catering/gwennel-barn which, for a couple, is a great place in a great location. The link as well as the photos I took during our stay will show you what a great part of the UK this area is. We were lucky weather wise with rain on Monday and intermittent low cloud on our last day.
On the bird front it was slightly quiet, with the exception of good numbers of Firecrest at every location I and other birders visited. I didn't go looking for the rarer visitors that were found Ring-billed Gull, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Barred Warbler and Serin. I tend to use Lands End as my local patch and go there most mornings weather permitting. This did mean that I saw the very tame juvenile Rose-coloured Starling several times but also got lucky with a very vocal Olive-backed Pipit that while trying to pinpoint its exact location only managed a brief view of it on the ground along a narrow track before it then flew into an overgrown field with no public access. It did show briefly but distantly two more times before flying over into the grounds of Swingate's (last house before Lands End).
I always look forward to spending time sea watching but the condition meant that very little was on the move apart from a couple of days when large numbers of Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks flew past Pendeen light house. I did manage to pick out 6 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater, 2 Great Skuas and 1 Arctic Skua.
Below are some of the birds seen and places visited.
My wife and I have just returned from another autumn half term down in the far west of Cornwall. we stayed in http://www.loganrockholidays.com/self-catering/gwennel-barn which, for a couple, is a great place in a great location. The link as well as the photos I took during our stay will show you what a great part of the UK this area is. We were lucky weather wise with rain on Monday and intermittent low cloud on our last day.
On the bird front it was slightly quiet, with the exception of good numbers of Firecrest at every location I and other birders visited. I didn't go looking for the rarer visitors that were found Ring-billed Gull, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Barred Warbler and Serin. I tend to use Lands End as my local patch and go there most mornings weather permitting. This did mean that I saw the very tame juvenile Rose-coloured Starling several times but also got lucky with a very vocal Olive-backed Pipit that while trying to pinpoint its exact location only managed a brief view of it on the ground along a narrow track before it then flew into an overgrown field with no public access. It did show briefly but distantly two more times before flying over into the grounds of Swingate's (last house before Lands End).
I always look forward to spending time sea watching but the condition meant that very little was on the move apart from a couple of days when large numbers of Gannets, Kittiwakes and auks flew past Pendeen light house. I did manage to pick out 6 Balearic Shearwaters, 1 Manx Shearwater, 2 Great Skuas and 1 Arctic Skua.
Below are some of the birds seen and places visited.
Rose-coloured Starling at Lands End
Black Redstart (male) Lands End
Black Redstart (female) Lands End
Stonechat
Common Kestrel after a wet start to the day
Common Buzzard
Short-eared Owl looking for cover at Lands End
Chough
I saw a flock of at least 32 birds at Lands End
Raven
Purple Sandpiper
Turnstone
Oystercatcher
Curlew
Raven
Firecrest
Goldfinch
Grey Wagtail
Hedge Sparrow
Chaffinch
Wren
Mediterranean Gull
Great Black-backed Gull with a Pipefish
Stoat and a Rabbit near Lands End
Porthcurno
Porthcurno Beach looking towards the Minack Theatre
Botallack Mine
Levant Mine
Zennor Valley and the house with a great view
Looking towards the Isles of Scilly's from Carn Gloose.
Cattle passing our cottage on their way to be milked.
St Michael's Mount
Sunrise on our way home yesterday
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