It was great to be away, but now that I've had a day at work and it seems like I've never been away at all, I've got the chance to report on the birding opportunities I had whilst away.
Firstly, the caveats. This was a family holiday, so any birding was of the accidental/ surreptitious variety. in saying that, its Cornwall, its the seaside, and its summer, so it was hardly a weekend shoe- shopping at Braehead.
Stayed at our usual caravan site, Tehidy Holiday Park, a site run on envoronmentally friendly grounds with a real focus on enjoying wildlife. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a base from which to explore West cornwall.
Anyway, before booking into the caravan got rock pipit it Portreath beach, followed by fulmar at Portowan (one bay eastward on the north coast) On the site itself, got jay almost immediately, with wrens calling from all over the place. Did the tourist thing by travelling to the Lizard, where I got gannets flying by (actually, huge numbers of them all over the place) and a kestrel hunting below me at Lizard Point. Rock pipit again, fulmar, Great BB Gull, cormorant, herring gull, and housesparrow.
Loads of corvids, including a jackdaw that can mimic choughs perfectly. No choughs incidentally, too late for them at the Lizard until next year.
Lands end in the evening (during the day its horrific) got more gannets, herring gull, lesser BB gull, cormorant, swallow. Amazing scenery.
A day or two later, near Lands End is a small, secretive cove where I got Gannets (!) swallows, herring gull, shag, and a basking shark.
At a beach nearer to the campsite, I got a linnet, gannets, robin, rock pipits (almost tame) and sunburn.
Decided to be a bt braver, and sneaked off to Hayle Estuary RSPB at 6 am one morning. Got curlew, oystercatcher, kestrel, BH gull, sedge warbler, and a lifer for me- Little Egret. Ironically, I couldn't be bothered twitching the one on the east coast of Scotland earlier this year, but managed to get one 530 miles away.
Tried again a couple of days later, after boss chick had calmed down a bit, and got a pair of them. The CBWPS website suggests there were a dozen the day after I visited. kind of takes the gloss off of it....
Had a close call with a possible med gull, but a closer look at my numerous crap photos ruled it out.
All told a great holiday, a lifer (egret) and three other year ticks. Plus a shark!!!
Firstly, the caveats. This was a family holiday, so any birding was of the accidental/ surreptitious variety. in saying that, its Cornwall, its the seaside, and its summer, so it was hardly a weekend shoe- shopping at Braehead.
Stayed at our usual caravan site, Tehidy Holiday Park, a site run on envoronmentally friendly grounds with a real focus on enjoying wildlife. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a base from which to explore West cornwall.
Anyway, before booking into the caravan got rock pipit it Portreath beach, followed by fulmar at Portowan (one bay eastward on the north coast) On the site itself, got jay almost immediately, with wrens calling from all over the place. Did the tourist thing by travelling to the Lizard, where I got gannets flying by (actually, huge numbers of them all over the place) and a kestrel hunting below me at Lizard Point. Rock pipit again, fulmar, Great BB Gull, cormorant, herring gull, and housesparrow.
Loads of corvids, including a jackdaw that can mimic choughs perfectly. No choughs incidentally, too late for them at the Lizard until next year.
Lands end in the evening (during the day its horrific) got more gannets, herring gull, lesser BB gull, cormorant, swallow. Amazing scenery.
A day or two later, near Lands End is a small, secretive cove where I got Gannets (!) swallows, herring gull, shag, and a basking shark.
At a beach nearer to the campsite, I got a linnet, gannets, robin, rock pipits (almost tame) and sunburn.
Decided to be a bt braver, and sneaked off to Hayle Estuary RSPB at 6 am one morning. Got curlew, oystercatcher, kestrel, BH gull, sedge warbler, and a lifer for me- Little Egret. Ironically, I couldn't be bothered twitching the one on the east coast of Scotland earlier this year, but managed to get one 530 miles away.
Tried again a couple of days later, after boss chick had calmed down a bit, and got a pair of them. The CBWPS website suggests there were a dozen the day after I visited. kind of takes the gloss off of it....
Had a close call with a possible med gull, but a closer look at my numerous crap photos ruled it out.
All told a great holiday, a lifer (egret) and three other year ticks. Plus a shark!!!
