Pendeen Seawatch and a Green-winged Teal!

Yesterday conditions looked promising for a seawatch of Pendeen, so after a very early start we arrived there shortly after first light. Although nothing particularly unusual, still a nice selction was on offer. My personal tallies included 6 Bonxies, 3 Sooty Shearwaters, 12 Balearic Shearwaters, 29 Manxies, 7 Med. Gulls, a Purple Sandpiper and best of all 2 *Pomarine Skuas* (sub adult and juvenile). Passage had slowed by 2 so after an unsuccessful look for the Richard's Pipit at Sennen and the Rosy Starling at Penzance we finished the day at Hayle...this proved to be a great stop. A sizeable gull flock gathered on the riverside. Calum picked out a 4CY Yellow-legged Gull earlier in the day but there was no sign by the evening. 23 Med Gulls were amongst the smaller gulls and a few Common Gulls were dotted around the place. We made our way onto the causeway, Calum had a look at Ryan's Field, Liam carried on looking through the gulls and I turned my attention to a large group of Teal roosting on the bank of the main channel. About half way through the flock I picked out a drake with what looked like a white vertical stripe on its side, although it was partly obscured behind other birds. Luckily, it moved and walked a few steps towards the channel and came fully into view. I got onto to it again and saw that it definitely had a white vertical stripe on the side of its breast. Believing I had a Green-winged Teal I called over Liam and showed him the bird. He too saw the white stripe...It was no doubt a GREEN-WINGED TEAL! Calum ran over and he got onto the bird so then we all started to get some pictures of it. With remains of juvenile feathering on its flanks,  we aged it as a first winter drake. There was a complete lack of any white horizontal stripe on the scapulars, little or no buff border to the green mask and of course a bright white vertical stripe on the breast side. A very smart bird made even better when you find it yourself!

taken last winter in Pembrokeshire

 Purple Sandpiper

Green-winged Teal (record shot)