RFI - Cornwall in August (1 Viewer)

Hi All,

I am hoping to make my first birding trip down to Cornwall sometime in the second half of August to either Pendeen and/or Porthgwarra. I have a degree of flexibility as to when I can make the long journey west - what sort of weather conditions should I be on the look out for to maximise success.

Also could anyone give me any pointers as the the best place to park and wath from.

Thanks in advance

Perry

My approach is basically to watch out for a strong blow from somewhere between SW and NW onto the Lands End area - ideally with the winds originating way out in the Atlantic or Biscay, and at least force 5 onshore. Obviously this isn't set in stone, though, and sometimes relatively benign conditions can produce good birds... but hopefully it's a decent starting point.

The choice between Pendeen and Porthgwarra is dictated by which side of westerly the wind is coming from: if it's on the northerly side, then go to Pendeen; otherwise, do Porthgwarra to pick up birds coming up from the south-west.

At Pendeen, park by the lighthouse (free) and walk down outside the right hand wall, and round to a sheltered area immediately beneath the lower lighthouse wall.

At Porthgwarra, parking is pay and display - something like £3 or £4 for a day, if I remember right. You then need to take the coastal footpath west, initially uphill, and then onto the headland. Most people tend to watch from Hella Point (where there are some rocky outcrops to provide a little shelter), but the Seawatch SW folk watch from the more precarious Gwennap Head, which is a little further west. >This map< shows both.

The Magic Seaweed wind forecast is a good one to keep an eye on, here: http://magicseaweed.com/UK-Ireland-MSW-Surf-Charts/1/wind/in/

Good luck, and keep an eye on the Seawatching 2011 thread on here - various people tend to advertise promising forecasts on there.

Very useful, thanks David.

Perry

Adding to David's advice, when you're down there you can check latest local weather using these two links:

http://www.landsendweather.info/ (webcam at the coastguard station at Gwennap Head)

http://www.landsendweather.info/met/mainframe.htm

The webcam is really useful. Visibility can sometimes be different either side of Land's End. Just because the sea off Porthgwarra is invisible doesn't mean it will be on the north coast of Penwith.

David or Tom,

Would you consider writing a profile for these headlands here?

http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=682

Would be good to know about the best spots and infrastructure for visiting birders.

Owen

How do the weather condiions look for tomorrow at the tip of Cornwall?

20 mph winds from SW with drizzle etc, looks fairly promising to me? But i know its more complicated than that.:-C

Pariah said:

David or Tom,

Would you consider writing a profile for these headlands here?

http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=682

Would be good to know about the best spots and infrastructure for visiting birders.

Owen

Click to expand...

Sennen Cove website with guides.