lark o'dell
today the local patch tommrow the world
Haven’t posted in a while, thought I would just jot down my most recent trip to Cornwall (without binoculars).
i travel with the family down to Cornwall once a year, we stay around Newquay and Watergate Bay almost exclusively. Recently my binoculars have been seriously lacking and are almost fully broken (time to start saving for a proper pair!).
I start most bird lists on the first proper day of the holiday and this years trip was no exception. When you know you will spend a lot of time on the beach and near the coast without binoculars the number Of birds you expect to see and identify is usually pretty small. So I set a target of 30. I saw 35 ! Which I was very happy about.
on the drive down to Cornwall I managed to tick off Kestrel, Buzzard, Red Kite, Magpie, House Sparrow, Wood Piegeon and Collard Dove
stopping off at StoneHenge is expensive But worth it. Managed all the following birds there, Black Bird, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Raven and skylark.
the drive is a long one from Kent where we stayed over the night after getting the ferry from Calais to Dover (I now reside in Germany and a baby means lots of stopping!)
a little stop to change nappies meant common gull, swallow and starling were added to the list including a random unidentiable Warbler that I think might have been a garden warbler but without binoculars and a trusty easily accesible bird book there was no way to tell.
finally we arrived at Cornwall. Spent the next couple of days in Newquay and the surrounding beaches. Managed to add, Herring Gull, Greater Black Backed Gull, Fulmar, Goldfinch, House Martin, Rock Pipit, Linnet and Stonechat. Great views on the last two along the coastal paths!
A trip to Watergate Bay from Porth by foot followed by a quick stop off at Bedruthen Steps resulted in a mixed array of birds including the highlight of the trip. Pied Wagtail, Morehen, Mallard, Cormorant, Oystercatcher and a Peregrine Falcon that tried to take on a pack of Jackdaws midflight! I had seen them before but nothing like this and so close! Around 10 meters if that!
Things were really starting g to dry up though and I was worried I wasn’t going to get much more, things that were very scarce were the usual garden bird suspects, all the tits, wrens, dunnocks, woodpeckers etc.
a trip to St.Ives on the park and ride train along the estuary, resulted in Little Egret, Shell duck and Canada geese - but no signs of any other wading or wildfowl in the area!
a stroll back alongside some small lakes In Newquay gave me a lone Mute Swan and a final evening visit to Porth Island resulted in the 35th bird of my non-binocular trip. A pair of Chouffs!!
all in all a good trip and a need to invest in some new bins is becoMing more and more apparent!
thanks for the read If you got this far!
i travel with the family down to Cornwall once a year, we stay around Newquay and Watergate Bay almost exclusively. Recently my binoculars have been seriously lacking and are almost fully broken (time to start saving for a proper pair!).
I start most bird lists on the first proper day of the holiday and this years trip was no exception. When you know you will spend a lot of time on the beach and near the coast without binoculars the number Of birds you expect to see and identify is usually pretty small. So I set a target of 30. I saw 35 ! Which I was very happy about.
on the drive down to Cornwall I managed to tick off Kestrel, Buzzard, Red Kite, Magpie, House Sparrow, Wood Piegeon and Collard Dove
stopping off at StoneHenge is expensive But worth it. Managed all the following birds there, Black Bird, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Raven and skylark.
the drive is a long one from Kent where we stayed over the night after getting the ferry from Calais to Dover (I now reside in Germany and a baby means lots of stopping!)
a little stop to change nappies meant common gull, swallow and starling were added to the list including a random unidentiable Warbler that I think might have been a garden warbler but without binoculars and a trusty easily accesible bird book there was no way to tell.
finally we arrived at Cornwall. Spent the next couple of days in Newquay and the surrounding beaches. Managed to add, Herring Gull, Greater Black Backed Gull, Fulmar, Goldfinch, House Martin, Rock Pipit, Linnet and Stonechat. Great views on the last two along the coastal paths!
A trip to Watergate Bay from Porth by foot followed by a quick stop off at Bedruthen Steps resulted in a mixed array of birds including the highlight of the trip. Pied Wagtail, Morehen, Mallard, Cormorant, Oystercatcher and a Peregrine Falcon that tried to take on a pack of Jackdaws midflight! I had seen them before but nothing like this and so close! Around 10 meters if that!
Things were really starting g to dry up though and I was worried I wasn’t going to get much more, things that were very scarce were the usual garden bird suspects, all the tits, wrens, dunnocks, woodpeckers etc.
a trip to St.Ives on the park and ride train along the estuary, resulted in Little Egret, Shell duck and Canada geese - but no signs of any other wading or wildfowl in the area!
a stroll back alongside some small lakes In Newquay gave me a lone Mute Swan and a final evening visit to Porth Island resulted in the 35th bird of my non-binocular trip. A pair of Chouffs!!
all in all a good trip and a need to invest in some new bins is becoMing more and more apparent!
thanks for the read If you got this far!
