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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Falmouth Birding (5 Viewers)

Not quite as early this morning (6:45), and didn't do Pendennis, but -

Swanpool -

1 Great Crested Grebe
18 Coot
2 Pied Wagtail (local pair)
1 Reed Warbler (singing and showing nicely from the sallows at the south end)
Willow Warbler showing nicely

Green Woodpecker, GSpot Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Bullfinch etc heard.

1 Black Guillemot (Tystie) offshore, distant and light so poor that distinguishable by structure and bill profile, + knowledge it was probably there (!)

2 wader sps flew east (Whimbrel?)
 
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Out to Pendennis for a seawatch in what weren't particularly amazing conditions, but turned out rather interesing ... ;) ... at last the sun had stopped shining and it was overcast and the predominantly easterly winds gave way to a (very light) westerly. This meant birds were there, the sea was almost calm, and visibility was good ...

Swanpool Point (as scoped from Pendennis) -

1 Black Guillemot
11 Whimbrel in flight


Pendennis Point (8:00 - 9:00am)

Gannet 100+ west
Auk sp. c.200 west (including both G and R)
1 PUFFIN west
1 possible SABINE'S GULL west
3 Common Scoter west
11 Kittiwake west (ad)
22 Manx Shearwater west

1 subad Black Guillemot east (the Swanpool bird) - flew into and landed halfway up the Carrick Roads - first time seen this bird in flight.
15 Whimbrel east (presumably the Swanpool birds+4 half an hour later)

1 Guillemot offshore
2 Black-throated Diver offshore c.1 and 2 mile distant
15 Great Northern Diver offshore 1 - 3 miles distant
2 Sandwich Tern resting in the Carrick Roads

The odd Fulmar, Herring Gulls and Shags out there too.


Most birds distant unfortunately, the Guillemot, Tystie, Whimbrels and a handful of the divers excepted. The Sab's Gull was at long range, resembling a small black and white falcon jizz wise in many ways. The Puffin was leading a small phalanx of (presumed) Guillemots - rel. small and dark winged.
 
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Then on to Swanpool, via Castle Beach, all rather anticlimactic. 2 Reed Warbler the highlight. 8 Fulmar nest sites occupied. Then briefly later on (it was raining, or trying to) -

Gorrangorras -

1 Greenshank
3 Mute Swan
1 Little Egret

College Res -

3 Tufted Duck
c.100 Herring Gull
3 GCGrebe (1 sitting)
4 Canada Goose (2 sitting)
4+ singing Blackcap
6 Swallow
Nuthatch at nesthole


Argal Res -

6 GCGrebe
1 Garden Warbler
 
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Out again this morning - a bit of a nice breeze this time though.

Pendennis Point 7:45 - 9:15 All west unless stated otherwise.

3 Common Scoter
c.200 Kittiwake
hundreds of Gannets, mostly in flocks of c.20 going through
c.100 Auk sps (again, G, R and unidentified depending on range)
1 PUFFIN. This one a lot closer and possibly had been resting in the roads. On its own and flew out to sea. Nice (and second patch record :t: )
7 Bonxies (3,3 and 1) First two groups close-ish in. Nice!
1 Red-throated Diver Another good bird.
1 GLAUCOUS GULL. Unaged, but seen dwarfing a nearby Herring Gull also out at sea. Loafing around a bit, lost at mid-range when I tried to photograph it.
29 Whimbrel (flock of 25 + singles).
c.30 Manx Shearwater
2 Sandwich Tern


Offshore 1 Black-throated and 1 Great Northern Diver. JSL had a second BTD off Gyllyngvase.

Earlier a quick perambulation of the wooded peninsula itself turned up 1 Whitethroat - an actual reasonable passerine migrant!


Gorrangorras c.11:30 (high tide) -

1 Greenshank
2 Oystercatcher
with 4 Sandwich Terns visible further down resting on bouys towards the Greenbank Hotel.



Treverva -

7 Buzzards together overhead, Whitethroats been back on territory since yesterday at least. A quick look at the reservoirs from the road didn't reveal anything exciting.
 
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Pendennis Point 6:00 - 8:30. Strong SSW mostly clear. All west

Gannet 500+/hour (sample count 110/10 mins)
Fulmar 80+
Manx Shearwater 30 up to 8am, thereafter moving through more regularly
Sandwich Tern 7
Eider 1f
Common Scoter 3
Bonxie 3 (2 at 7am after a brief squall, 1 at 7:30)
Auk sp c.100
Whimbrel 30
Kittiwake 30+
Diver sp. 4


Didn't mean to start that early, but woke in the early hours and didn't get back to sleep.
 
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Gorrangorras, Penryn River high tide (c.3:30)

4 Greenshank
1 Bar-tailed Godwit
5 Mute Swan

headed off towards the coast en route to home, got distracted from seawatching by large numbers of gulls off Gyllyngvase - c.500 Herring Gulls frenziedly feeding in the surf/beach much as the BH Gulls had been doing a few months earlier. Another 300 up to Castle Beach. No white-wingers that I could pick out. Variety provided by 1 Lesser Black-back at Castle Beach and a pair of Mallard feeding alongside the gulls in the flotsam. 1 Black-throated Diver offshore c. 4:30pm. Plenty of Gannets still moving west, 1 manxie whilst I was looking, but didn't stay long.
 
Back out this evening after tea - Samuel was back and out there in the field seeing good numbers of Bonxie and Whimbrel (but they'd stopped by the time I'd arrived of course).

Highlights -

9 Arctic Terns through! Nice ... they came right into the bay before heading west. (Another group of 9 distant terns 10 minutes later could have been the same, but were probably (?) different commic Terns ... )

3 Sandwich Terns west

1 GNDiver and 1 Razorbill on the sea, a few Manxies through. 1 Peregrine also.

On Swanpool, the Reed Warbler still singing away at the SW corner, and a whole troop of 12 Mallard ducklings voraciously attacking the grass at the roadside in the NE corner.
 
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First day back on the Fal patch! Not much time for updates as I'm still all over the place and disorganised with unpacking, exams etc. 8-P

Went straight out seawatching from about 3:45-8ish with intermittent heavy showers, later joined by Dan. By far the biggest highlight was the use of the shelter at the Hooked Cafe, absolute class I am very grateful for it!! :t:

Birds (all westwards unless stated otherwise):

6 Bonxies (1 then a group of 5 which gradually split up as they moved through the bay)
238 Whimbrel (40, 6, 6, 20, 3, 7, 6, 36, 20, 9, 23, 62)
1 pos. Brent Goose E (took me totally by surprise so didn't get enough on it to be thoroughly happy, would have been a patch mega!)
Manxies trickling through steadily (probably would have reached triple figures had I been counting)
9 Arctic Terns
2 Commic Terns
1 GND
1 Peregrine
3 Sandwich Terns
Guillemot 2 on the water
plenty of Gannets, Fulmars, Herring and GBBGulls
couple douzen auks moving through the bay (too distant and difficult IDing when disappearing behind wave crests)

and a female Grey Seal
 
Yes, welcome back. That's a lot of Whimbrel!

Out this morning for an hour or two, but relatively hard work.

22 Whimbrel on Swanpool Point, disturbed and flew off east.
1 Whitethroat by the footpath there too.

Swanpool Golfcourse - singing Skylark at the west end, Whitethroats and other common warblers etc.

Distant Gannets out to sea, and 1 Mallard with 6 ducklings making the approach to Swanpool Beach, don't know if they made it or not as a GBBGull and a few Herrings took an interest ... 1 Great Northern Diver not too far offshore (winter-plumage still - yesterday's bird was sum plum) and a Razorbill distantly.

1 Sand Martin and 6 Swallow on Swanpool. Reed Warbler.
 
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Thanks Dan, it's good to be back on a coastal patch |=)|

Thought I'd put up a couple pics of some migrating flocks of Whimbrel taken yesterday.
 

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At Castle Beach 10am
1 Whimbrel
2 Swallow
Mallard

Swanpool side of Gylly 1030am
17 Whimbrel
1 Swallow
saw JSL and shouted to him but he was below me on the rocks

Last year Castle Beach had 19 Whimbrel (27/4/13)

Swanpool 1400hrs
Razorbill Gylly side of the beach off the rocks
Reed Warbler west side of the Pool
Male Blackcap
 
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Trotsky1977 said:
At Castle Beach 10am
1 Whimbrel
2 Swallow
Mallard

Swanpool side of Gylly 1030am
17 Whimbrel
1 Swallow
saw JSL and shouted to him but he was below me on the rocks

Last year Castle Beach had 19 Whimbrel (27/4/13)

Swanpool 1400hrs
Razorbill Gylly side of the beach off the rocks
Reed Warbler west side of the Pool
Male Blackcap
Click to expand...

Yesterday:
Stithians 1800hrs
5 Sedge Warblers
1 Willow Warb
2 Linnet
1 GC Grebe

Stack Point 1900hrs
Whitethroat
6 Linnet
Jay
Chiff
6 Swallow
Blackcap
 
Quick look around a few spots today whilst passing by -

Swanpool quiet apart from Reed Warbler still

Gorrangorras - Greenshank, Whimbrel and 5 Mute Swan at high tide

Argal Res - 5 GCGrebe from the dam

College Res - 2 GCG scoped from the upper path

Didn't go to the reservoirs properly, but eg no hirundines visible at 7:30 this evening.
 
Again a quick look at the coast this am -

Pendennis -

2 Wheatear
1 singing Whitethroat

Castle Beach -

Mallard pair +10 ducklings

Falmouth Bay - 2 Guillemot, distant Gannets
 
Just got back from a days fishing on Argal and I'me quite excited.
Late afternoon saw two ducks flying south coming towards me. As they came close, about 40 - 50 yards away I could see they were something different.
I'me sure they were goosander, if so the first I have seen.
Is it likely.

PS As you know I only use the mark one eyeball to see with relying on them coming close.
 
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