Lizard on the weekend and Pectoral Sandpiper today

I was on the Lizard both Saturday and Sunday. Despite missing a Pallas's Warbler and a Red-throated Pipit on Saturday, which were both found when I was there, I had an enjoyable time. I started at Kynance where the 2 1st winter male *Ring Ouzels* were still present in the valley. Next on to Church Cove and after a thorough such of the cover, 3 Firecrests together were a nice reward. Walking through the village towards Lizard Point, I heard the familiar "sooeet" call coming from a private garden. Unfortunantely I didn't see the bird, but it was no doubt another *Yellow-browed Warbler*. Elsewhere, Skylarks, Pipits and Chaffinches were moving overhead, another Ring Ouzel (1st winter female) was in Housel Bay and a Whinchat was in the field south of the village.
 Most notable on the Sunday was the number of birds migrating overhead. 4 Tree Pipits, 3 Siskins, 10+ Skylarks and 10 Redwings flew south west in half an hour with Chaffinches almost continously. I brief check of Church Cove revealed nothing much apart from a few Chiffchaffs. At Housel Bay, the Ring Ouzel was still present and a smart juvenile Merlin flew through.

1st winter female Ring Ouzel

This morning I popped down to College Lake to see if yesterdays Pectoral Sandpiper was still present. It wasn't long before the smart juvenile was visible feeding on the north of the island. Views were good but a little distant and it would move to the other side of the bank regularly and disappearing from view.  I went down again this evening, to see it was still there, it was and offered fantastic views until the light began to fade. 

Pectoral Sandpiper

Lizard- Kynance area and a Spotshank

On the evening of the 4th I went up to Devoran to look at the wader roost. A nice selection was on offer, including 27 Blackwit, 18 Barwit, a Knot and a smart *Spotted Redshank,* my first since 2014!

The Lizard
Having not visited the Lizard last weekend I was keen to make the most of a scheduled fieldtrip to Kynance Cove yesterday morning. I drove down meaning I had time to have a quick look around the area before everyone arrived. Scanning from the car park, there was little to see apart from a Golden Plover that flew over east into the wind. The first valley at Kynance Cove was nice and sheltered with lots of common birds present and an adult Dartford Warbler that showed well in the gorse by the footpath. Later on, whilst sampling heather on the valley side as part of the fieldtrip a look at the other side of the valley revealed a smart immature Black Redstart on the footpath with a couple of Mipits. I watched it for five minutes as it gradually made its way up the valley and eventually out of view. After the sampling, we had a break at the café in the cove. Ilya Maclean (our lecturer) said he heard a Yellow-browed Warbler in the trees by the café.  I walked over to take a look and was soon onto the little sprite; showing well in the late morning sun. Further up the second valley a Redstart gave good views.
I stayed down on the Lizard after the fieldtrip and had a look up to Soapy Cove. On the walk there I passed a Whinchat, flushed a Snipe and saw 5 Teal on a small pool. Soapy Cove itself was pretty quite, but on the coast path back 7 Wheatear were added. Down to the café at Kynance again, the Yellow-browed was still present and was joined by a Firecrest. Lizard Point etc. was very blown out due to the south easterly wind that picked up as the day went on, so despite trying, I could find anything of note.

Yellow-browed Warbler in Kynance Cove

Could resist another visit this morning and once again Kynance Cove seemed to be the place to be. I walked down to the café and saw that the Yellow-browed was still present in the tress but there was no sign of yesterday's Firecrest. Whilst in the valley I watched one bird fly in from the east and into the valley, shortly followed by a second. They soon came out of the cover and I was very pleased to see that they were 2 *Ring Ouzels*! Absolutely cracking birds. They stayed put for ten minutes or so but then became more mobile, doing circuits of the valley before dropping down again, I left with at least 1 still in the valley and saw a Wheatear on the walk back to the car. I attempted a look at Church Cove but it was clearly too blow out so I headed back to the village green. The bridleway from here to Kynance road looked a bit more sheltered so I had a look. A small bird called and flew into the hedge, it sounded like a Yellow-browed, it came out into the open and I quickly got on it to see it was one, my second of the day and my first self-found. It didn't stay in the hedge long and soon flew into the trees in someone's garden and was lost to view. The wind was starting to pick up so I thought I'd take a look in Caerthillian Cove before heading home. It was sheltered but quite apart from a immature Redstart that came out of the cover then flew west and out of the valley. Another fantastic morning in a truly amazing place!

Ring Ouzels

West Penwith

A day off from lectures on Thursday allowed me to head west to catch up with some birds around West Penwith. Firstly I went to Gwithian ( actually just out of the area known as West Penwith) hoping to connect with the juvenile Rose-coloured Starling. It didn't take long, once at Towan Chalets, to find a group of 30 Starlings and the Rosy, only the second I've seen.
Next to Sennen, where a Richard's Pipit was apparently present in fields south of the school. After walking the fields for about an hour I was beginning to lose hope. I only managed a few Skylark, lots of Meadow Pipits and a Snipe. Just before giving up I tried the far west of the field which had the longest grass. Whilst walking over there a pipit flew up from the long grass and gave a clear "shreep"...the RICHARD'S PIPIT! it flew high over my head and drop back on the other side of the field. Over the next half an hour I saw it twice more as it flew from field to field. Also a Whinchat and 2 Wheatears.
Lastly, I went further south to Porthgwarra. It was fairly quite at first with a couple of Goldcrests and a Blackcap near the car park. 2 Choughs flew over the cliffs and Stonechats were everywhere. Things got very exciting at one point when I flushed a large pipit looking bird from the footpath above the valley. Views were extremely brief. So much so that, at first, I wasn't sure what family the bird belonged too. As I turned the corner of the footpath it flew up from by my feet and down into the valley. Despite looking around the area for a good hour I never saw it again...one that slipped through the net perhaps? After getting a bit lost for a while I made my way back to Porth Loe and found a few birders watching the Red-backed Shrike. I joined them and had great views of the juvenile in the valley.

Rose-coloured Starling

Richard's Pipit (record shot)

Red-backed Shrike

Lizard seawatching

Back on patch again this weekend and with Atlantic weather systems dominating the forecast I thought I'd try seawatching. Yesterday the wind was from the south so I tried Bass Point. I didn't arrive until about half 10 due to a late night, but it still didn't disappoint. I never really last long on a seawatch and yesterday and today were both no exception, usually about two hours.
Yesterday at Bass Point, sheltered by the coastwatch station, things started off slow with a trickle of Balearic Shearwaters coming through. Groups of Razorbills were passing really close under the cliffs at Bass Point and Gannets were very numerous. About half an hour in a *Sooty Shearwater* passed fairly close and in good light followed by another shortly after. Balearics countinued passing with two groups holding 6 and 4 birds respectively passing really close in, just below the cliffs! Allowing a rare chance to look at the subtle features of their plumage from land. A total of 15 were recorded overall. The highlight of the seawatch came at 12.05pm when I picked up a large shearwater moving west in good light... it was a fantastic Great Shearwater! I watched it for about two minutes as it flew past and, being reasonably close, the views were brilliant. Walking back from Bass Point along the coast I saw a Pied Flycatcher in the bracken, loosely associating with a few Stonechats by the lifeboat station.

The wind veered west today so I attempted a seawatch off Lizard Point. Numbers of birds weren't as high as yesterday but still not bad. For a two hour seawatch I had 5 Sooties, 8 Balearics, some Razorbills and a Great Skua.     

Jynx torquilla

Yesterday morning I was back on the Lizard to see what was around. Having been there only ten minutes it was clear to see that there was a notable increase in birds around there area. Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were moving overhead and Chiffchaffs seemed to be everywhere. Blackcaps were also in good numbers. I counted 14 in total but there were no doubt more in the deeper cover.
The walk I do to cover as much as the point as I can takes me west past Bass Point and towards the Housel Bay Hotel. Whilst walking this stretch of the coast path a bird flew up and landed on the fence post just in front of me... it was a WRYNECK! It quickly dived into cover but then briefly landed in the open before flying off again. Despite searching the immediate area for a while I couldn't re-locate it, but that didn't matter, I'd found a Wryneck. The rest of the walk was fairly quite apart from a Wheatear by Housel Bay and a Garden Warbler in Caerthillian Cove.

Wheatear about to take off

Cornwall

Last Sunday I started my university studies based at Exeter's Penryn Campus nestled in the shipping town of Falmouth in Cornwall. The first step whilst settling in was to find a good patch to work. Falmouth has a few good sites, College and Argal Lakes, Pendennis Point for seawatching and Carrick Roads is a good spot for wintering grebes, divers, scoters etc. However, one site stood out from all the potential sites, was the Lizard. Only a half an hour drive from campus the most southly tip of Britain has an excellent track record and is fairly easy to cover. I will no doubt bird regularly around the sites in Falmouth because they are so close but for an actual patch, the Lizard is perfect.

Away from deciding on a new patch to work, I got out to a few sites to see what Cornish birding had to offer. The highlight of a short seawatch from Pendennis Point on the 12th were 2+ Balearic Shearwaters. Later that same day I went to Perranuthnoe to see the long-staying HUDSONIAN WHIMBREL, which showed very well throughout the visit.

Brown rump just visible

HUDSONIAN WHIMBREL

I had my first visit on to the new patch on the 13th and it was amazing. A brief hour seawatch from Lizard Point resulted in 7 Balearic Shearwaters, 4 Manxies, 2 Guillemots and good views of a superb Cory's Shearwater that lingered offshore for two minutes before carrying on west! Migrants on the land included 2 Whinchats and a *Turtle Dove*, my first in Britain!

On the morning of the 14th a twich to Argal Reservoir was rewarded with fantastic views of a juvenile Whiskered Tern. Often very mobile, travelling between College and Argal Lake, still some great views were had.

Whiskered Tern

Another visit to the Lizard on the 15th was a bit quieter, with 6 Wheatears, a Whinchat, 10 Chiffchaffs, and 15 Stonechats, plus great views of a Balearic Shearwater past the point.

Ginst, Angle and Ginst again...

Things are picking up once again as Autumn arrives. Patchworking at Ginst on the 28th August was rewarded with a smart female/imm Marsh Harrier quartering the saltmarsh and a Black-tailed Godwit.

A break from patch on the 3rd I met up with Dave Astins and Jason Moss for a look around Angle Bay. Conditions were very poor but despite this we tallied up a nice selection of waders at Kilpaison. Including: 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 10 Knot and 8 Turnstone, 6 Curlew Sandpipers and a Little Stint, the latter a Pembs tick!

1 of the 6 Curlew Sands. at Kilpaison 

Back to Ginst the following day. Not the numbers of waders seen at Angle but still a nice selection: 6 Knot, 5 Turnstone, c150 Dunlin, c200 Ringed Plover, and the highlight, a smart juvenile Curlew Sandpipier- its that much better when you find one on your own patch!

Knot

Ginst Point Curlew Sand.