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

Falmouth Birding (1 Viewer)

Having walked around Pendennis Point, I was nearly back home when a Barn Owl appeared over the hill between Castle Close and Ships & Castles at 4:58pm this evening. It flew up towards two Buzzards circling above and there was a clash of wings before it dipped back down below the hill. Quite extraordinary!
 
Quite an eventful seawatch from Pendennis this morning with Dan. All west unless otherwise stated:

12 Pomarine Skuas may be a patch day record!
1 Arctic Skua
1 Bonxie
7 Balearic Shearwaters
6 Great Northern Divers (2 west, 4 on sea)
1 Black-throated Diver
steady passage of Kitts, Gannets and Razorbills

Castle Beach:

Redshank, Rock Pipits, male Stonechat

Argal Res:

A few BhGulls

College Res:

6 Med Gulls
15 GBBGs
48 Canada Geese
16 Tufted Ducks
8 Teal
7 Mallard
15 Moorhen
7 Snipe
30+ Wigeon
38 Coot
14 Cormorant
30 Redwing
2 Grey Wags
1 Firecrest

credit to Dan for counting the wildfowl!

Stithians Res:

Was lazy so didn't accurately count the birds. From the Stuart Hutchings Hide we saw 100+ Lapwing, Golden Plovers (Dan should have a count), 2 Pochard, Little Grebes, and good numbers of Wigeon (including a noticeably grey-headed female individual, couldn't make out any other interesting features such as the underwing/axillaries but still worth a check if anyone else is scanning the wildfowl), Mallard, Coot and Moorhen, 4+ flyover Snipe.

Surprise find by Dan was a Lesser Whitethroat in the cover leading down the path towards the Stuart Hutchings Hide! We had good views of it at times but we weren't able to pick out important features such as the amount of white on the outer tail feathers to determine whether it could possible fit blythi. I'm sure Dan will be more than happy to write up the description and add his photo, after all it was his find :t:
 
Samuel Perfect said:
Surprise find by Dan was a Lesser Whitethroat in the cover leading down the path towards the Stuart Hutchings Hide! We had good views of it at times but we weren't able to pick out important features such as the amount of white on the outer tail feathers to determine whether it could possible fit blythi. I'm sure Dan will be more than happy to write up the description and add his photo, after all it was his find
Click to expand...

It was a surprise, but it almost more found me!

There is a photo but wouldn't get too excited about it. It certainly looked interesting, with a pale brownish tone to the mantle, extending concolourously up the nape and towards the crown. The bird was almost too showy - it came to investigate us to within 5 -10 feet, but was brief and quick (and mostly viewed from below) unfortunately. It fed for several minutes in the branches of the conifers at the roadside (where it was then hard to view), before dropping down into the bracken/brambles and out of sight.

re the photo - unfortunately camera was on the wrong settings and in the shot the bird is about to take wing ...
 

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Samuel Perfect said:
Pendennis Point
Click to expand...

+ 1 distant skua sp. west(prob. Pom)
+ c.12 Meadow Pipit
+ 1 Whimbrel ;)

A cracking seawatch for November! Of course the birds weren't always that close compared to some locations ... 1 pale subad Pom - the rest presumed juvs.

Castle Beach -

4 Rock Pipit
3 Pied Wag
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Little Egret
12 Oystercatcher
1 Curlew
4 Med Gull
2 Stonechat (different 'pair' to that at Perndennis y'day)

(JSL joined us at Pendennis for a while - siad that someone had been looking for the LT Duck for 3/4 hour with no success ...)

Stithians Res - from SH hide

8 Little Grebe
28 Golden Plover
112 Lapwing
(4+ Snipe)
2 Pochard m
67+ Mallard
58 Canada Goose
2 Teal (with an additional 45 from the southern cutoff hide)
4 Tufted Duck
25+ Wigeon
2+ Little Egret
100+ Herring Gull
4 Common Gull
8 Cormorant
+ the odd Grey Heron etc
 
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Jono Irvine said:
Having walked around Pendennis Point, I was nearly back home when a Barn Owl appeared over the hill between Castle Close and Ships & Castles at 4:58pm this evening. It flew up towards two Buzzards circling above and there was a clash of wings before it dipped back down below the hill. Quite extraordinary!
Click to expand...


Nice! Presumably young dispersing bird ... ? It's a but rough up there, but presumably not too much long grass ..

In the chain of raptor command, think Kestrels are higher than Barn Owls (ie they can food steal from them). Looks like Barn Owls lord it over Worm-eating Eagles!!
 
dantheman said:
Nice! Presumably young dispersing bird ... ? It's a but rough up there, but presumably not too much long grass ..

In the chain of raptor command, think Kestrels are higher than Barn Owls (ie they can food steal from them). Looks like Barn Owls lord it over Worm-eating Eagles!!
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I think you are right Dan, but I'll go up there this evening to see if it is still around. There is certainly plenty of prey around for it in the verges, as I have seen the kestrels and buzzards catch a few voles in bright daylight. I suspect that it had roosted in that old tower next to the car park and was departing when I saw it. My interpretation of what happened with the buzzards may have been incorrect of course. It may have just been heading off and onwards and just happened to fly into the airspace of the buzzards, but surely a foolhardy owl whatever the motive.

That was a great batch of birds from your sea-watch with Samuel yesterday btw!
 
WeBS count on the Lizard with Dan. Made the effort for an early start so arrived at Lizard Point for a seawatch around 7:30am.

7 Poms, 1 Arctic, 1 Bonxie, 11 Balearics, 1 GND, 2 Fulmar and a few Guilles in sum plum. Also around the point was 1 Peregrine, 1 Purple Sandpiper and a Whimbrel.

Croft Pascoe still had the adult Whooper Swan on it.

Loe Pool: 7 Firecrest, 4 Goldcrest, 3 Chiffs, Mipits, 14 GCGrebes, Water Rail.

Helston Boating Lake, the neighbouring ponds and the sewage farm: 6 Shoveler, Kingfisher, Water Rail, 2 Chiffs

Stithians Res: Lesser Whitethroat still showing fairly well along the path leading to the Stuart Hutchings Hide (managed to get a better view of it this time, along with JSL). I'm sure Dan will post up pics of it later. Also heard it give a "chck" call so will need to figure out if the recording I have will help provide an insight into ID to subspecies level.

Lapwing and Golden Plover still in good numbers at the southern end but flushed by two careless walkers strolling across the mud!

Ruff and 3 Ringed Plover at the northern end of the Res.

Gorrangorras: tide rising but still much of mud exposed. 1 Whimbrel, 1 Common Sand, 5+ Greenshank, 9 Turnstone, Redshanks, Curlew and Muscovy Duck.

Thanks again for all the driving Dan! :t:
 
Samuel Perfect said:
WeBS count on the Lizard with Dan. Made the effort for an early start so arrived at Lizard Point for a seawatch around 7:30am.

7 Poms, 1 Arctic, 1 Bonxie, 11 Balearics, 1 GND, 2 Fulmar and a few Guilles in sum plum. Also around the point was 1 Peregrine, 1 Purple Sandpiper and a Whimbrel.

Croft Pascoe still had the adult Whooper Swan on it.

Loe Pool: 7 Firecrest, 4 Goldcrest, 3 Chiffs, Mipits, 14 GCGrebes, Water Rail.

Helston Boating Lake, the neighbouring ponds and the sewage farm: 6 Shoveler, Kingfisher, Water Rail, 2 Chiffs

Stithians Res: Lesser Whitethroat still showing fairly well along the path leading to the Stuart Hutchings Hide (managed to get a better view of it this time, along with JSL). I'm sure Dan will post up pics of it later. Also heard it give a "chck" call so will need to figure out if the recording I have will help provide an insight into ID to subspecies level.

Lapwing and Golden Plover still in good numbers at the southern end but flushed by two careless walkers strolling across the mud!

Ruff and 3 Ringed Plover at the northern end of the Res.

Gorrangorras: tide rising but still much of mud exposed. 1 Whimbrel, 1 Common Sand, 5+ Greenshank, 9 Turnstone, Redshanks, Curlew and Muscovy Duck.

Thanks again for all the driving Dan! :t:
Click to expand...

A good day!

Hayle Kimbro - 1 Rintail Hen Harrier, 1000+ (could have been 2) Golden Plover and 100 Lapwing over Predannack airfield.

Also 2 drake Pochard on Loe Pool.

Gorrangorras -

60+ Curlew, 30+ Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher




More pics on this thread - http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=294601
 

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Out for an hour or two midday today, with Samuel.

First stop - Pendennis Point for a seawatch. This was in the hope that we had caught the shift in wind direction from SE to SW and with it being quite blowy (40mph winds forecast, gusting to 50+) and good visibility we were fairly hopeful ...

10:55 - 12:10

1 Pomarine Skua west
10 Great Northen Diver (5 on the sea, 5 in flight, various directions)
1 Black-throated Diver flew out of the Carrick Roads.
10+ Kittiwake
20+ Gannet
2 Med Gull
5+ BH Gull
1 Guillemot
1 Razorbill
and a few auks.

Some good species in there but almost no passage to speak of really, and mostly distant at that.

Headed down to Swanpool - The Long-tailed Duck was still present but far more elusive than on previous visits. Also -

c.30 Redwing N over
1 Water Rail h
1 Kingfisher
3 Chiffchaff
2 Goldcrest


The Lesser Whitethroat was still present at Stithians yesterday in its favoured spot, see the big guns were out ( ;) ). On current thinking appears it could well be S. c. blythi, Siberian Lesser Whitethroat.

Also yesterday, from Pendennis - 5 GNDiver and 1 Arctic Skua. 1 Stonechat, with another 2 at Castle Beach.
 
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Joined Samuel for another seawatching session this afternoon at Pendennis Point in southerly winds - again almost zero passage (think Samual saw an auk, I saw at least 1 Herring Gull). However worthwhile in terms of greatnortherndiverage- 7 GND's on the sea offshore with an additional 22+ leaving the Carrick Roads to roost offshore overnight (29+ total!). A flock of 11+ together swimming were nice, with other birds swimming or flying. Possibly birds that would have been more scattered but for the weather? 1 Med Gull flying below the point.

A last gasp bird sp. flying out of the roads in the gloom on the far side was interestingly fast and slim, but not more than that can really be said - not a BT/GND or Shag/Cormorant at any rate.


Heard a report of a seawatch yesterday in those strong winds off Chynhalls Point, east side of the Lizard yesterday (13th) 9am - 2pm -

5 Pom Skua, 2 Bonxie, 13 Balearics, 1 brief petrel sp, 1 GND, 1 BTD, 2 Med Gull, with lots of Kits and auks initially.
 
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Quick 10 minute scan from my bedroom window which looks over a fraction of the Carrick Roads and Falmouth Bay, most birds at 2-3km range. Still pleased to add 2 GNDs to the tally, a group of 5 auk sp's and a Wigeon flying out of the Carrick Roads.
 
Half a days birding around patch c.11am-4pm.

Pendennis:

The seawatch (in calm sunny conditions) produced 4 GNDs off the point and in the Carrick Roads. 2 Common Gulls, ad. Med Gulls, 3 distant small auk sp's and 9 Oycs.

1 Rock Pipit on the point and 2 Firecrests on the east side of the headland along with a fairly substantial group of 31+ Lottis. 2 Speckled Woods mating around the perimeter footpath to the castle was a surprise and a Red Admiral landed on my head whilst seawatching.

Swanpool:

Juv LTDuck still present at the northern end of the pool but for the hour I was there it never remained at the surface longer than 3 seconds as it was diving continuously for c.30 seconds at a time. Also ad. Med Gull and GCGrebe on the pool. 3 Water Rails, 1 swimming across the front of the reeds, one tipping forwards and dunking its head underwater to feed and the last sat calmly at the edge of the reeds.
 
Out on patch at the end of the day with Samuel yesterday -

Penryn River, Gorrangorras -

c.100 Curlew
20+ Redshank
1 Whimbrel
5+ Little Grebe
2 Water Rail
15 Mute Swan
10+ Mallard
1 Sparrowhawk
1 Chiffchaff

Didn't catch the high tide roost proper so eg no Greenshank (there were 4 in the week). Took the path from St Gluvias Church - 6+ Goldcrest in total. One of the Water Rails was feeding out in the open. The Sparrowhawk was in the woods behind the reedbed - Blackbirds were going crazy scolding, the Sparrowhawk managed to fly into a sheet of corrugated iron with a nice thump in pursuit presumably, but flew off again, presumably only a little mortified that I witnessed it.
 
Not seen any butterflies for a good week myself now.

2 Black Redstarts (m and f) this morning on Florence Place. There's also been at least 2 singing Blackcaps too in the area for a couple of weeks now, other birds becoming more noticeable also.

3 Greenshank roosting at Gorrangorras at high tide.
 
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