Two County ticks in one day (1 Viewer)

The weather forecast for West Cornwall looked great, easterly wind with plenty of cloud cover and a blocking front sitting just off Scilly. The plan was that birds would get pushed east by the wind, but would come up against the cloud and the weather front and come down in West Cornwall, as I said - that was the plan!!

As soon as my friend Ted and I got out of the car at Porthgwarra we knew that not all was going to go to plan. We'd got the forecast right, but the wind had failed to die down, essential if you want to see birds in bushes! The very first bird we heard was a Yellow-browed Warbler. Our theory was being proved right, but that wind was going to be a problem. We searched the bushes for an hour before admitting defeat and heading off for somewhere more sheltered.

At St Levan I had County tick number 1. Bird Forums very own CJW. He had refound a Wryneck which was taking shelter behind a gate. We all gathered to admire it, braving a maniacal post office van driver in the process who assumed he could get a 4 foot 6 wide van down a 3 foot wide lane with birders in it - backwards!! CJ had trapped a couple of Convovulus Hawk Moths the night before and had released them in a hedge. They were still there when we went to look, and we all enjoyed great views.

Ted and I then went to check out the other West Cornish Valleys. We heard two more Yellow-browed Warblers but again failed to see them in the strengthening wind. Chaffinch were on the move in large numbers, augmented by a few Brambling. We also saw a few Siskin and Redwing. Autumn migration was in full swing, but we were seeing very little on the ground.

After we had finished at Kenidjack, with only a Pied Flycatcher for all our efforts we were at a loss for where to go. The pager alerted us to another Yellow-browed Warbler at Lands End, and with nothing left to lose we headed there for a final search of the bushes.

The first bird I saw was a real oddity - it was a bit smaller than a Chiffchaff and was sandy coloured all over with a white throat, black bill and beady black eye. " What was that?" said Ted " Don't Know" I replied " probably an abarrent Chiff!" At that moment it hopped on to the top of a bush and we got a better view " no its a strange Linnet" I said before shouting "PENDULINE TIT!!!!!!" It was a juvenile - the lack of a face mask and the overall sandy colour throwing me for a moment. It stayed where it was for about 30 seconds before calling - a high pitched "seoooo" and flying off into a garden.

I put the news out and continued to search for it. We gave it another hour, by which time other birders, including CJW had arrived. Ted and I left, but I hope CJ stayed, because the bird was seen again a couple of times later in the afternoon.

We called in to say hello to the Rose-coloured Starlings in Penzance before heading home, happy in the knowledge that although the numbers of birds seen didn't go to plan, at least our hypothesis was sound. Just wait 'till that wind dies down - I'll be back!!!

Darrell

Very interesting report,Darrell and congrats on the Penduline Tit.

As far as the County Tick number 1 goes,I thought that whilst vagrants were ok for listing purposes,escapes are not!

I remarked to a mate earlier about the Penduline Tit after seeing it on Birdguides. Little did I know it was you!!!

Nice one Darrell, but just think what might have been lurking around Rame Church.....

Thanks Aquila. I felt very guilty about abandoning Rame, so much so that to make up for it I've just spent 4 hours up there for one Swallow, a few Chiffs and a flyover Siskin!!!

Darrell

Hi Darrell,
Well done on the Penduline Tit!The species is long overdue here,hopefully this year....
Harry H

I know that feeling Darrell. For me there's always that dilemma when I know that the conditions are right for rarities: do I spend the day flogging my local patch or increase my chances of finding a goodie by going somewhere more productive?
I invariably choose to stay local, cos I know I will have the place to myself and if I do find something it will feel ten times as good.

More pennance today Aquila - Going to check out the valleys around Looe, and the army base at Tregantle, it'll be sheltered there, and I guarantee I won't see another person, let alone a birder!

Darrell

Good luck Darrell. There's NOWHERE sheltered on the Lizard in this wind!

Hi Aquila - More successful today than yesterday. A single Firecrest and a Ring Ouzel - no other birders though!!

Darrell

Aquila, was that you found the possible Blyth's Reed Warbler?

Sadly no Andrew. Don't know anything about it other than it is on Birdguides. I'll make some enquiries.
So tell us Darrell, how did the Firecrest and Ring Ouzel on your local patch compare with finding the Penduline Tit at Land's End? Although I see Firecrests and Ring Ouzels every autumn on the Lizard coast, either would be fantastic at Windmill Farm Nature Reserve (my newly adopted patch which draws me like a magnet), which is also on the Lizard but a mile inland.
Which brings me on to something I'm always pondering about migrants/rarities (and I'm talking passerines) on coasts. As you move inland, at what rate do the chances of finding migrants decrease? Windmill Farm - see

http://www.cbwps.org/reserves

has yet to turn up anything rare (except a couple of flyover Black Kites), despite it having an appealing range of habitats, especially a variety of seed-bearing crops, ponds/scrape and lots of bushy hedgerows and willow scrub and the fact that the very productive Lizard valleys such as Church Cove and Caerthillian are within a few minutes flying time.
It's obvious that migrants will tend to concentrate in sheltered areas within sight of the sea (and are thus easier to find) but surely some must pitch down a little further inland. Or do they? Who knows?
Over the years I have seen Short-toed Lark, Richards and Tawny Pipits, Woodchat and Red-backed Shrikes, Lapland and Snow Buntings and Ortolan on the adjacent airfield, which lies a similar distance inland, so maybe there's hope yet. The airfield however, a large tract of short turf amongst a sea of heathland and pasture fields, must really stand out from the air, so clearly presents an inviting image to birds passing over.
Sorry to ramble on, but I'd be interested in other readers' musings on this.

Sorry, that link should read

http://www.cbwps.org.uk/reserves.htm

An interesting question, and one that I was pondering over today actually

It's relevance to me,being on the east coast, is that when easterlies bring in migrants off the North Sea and they end up in Yarmouth cemetary, how likely is it they'll end up a mile further inland along Breydon ?

I guess the answer is not much chance really, as most of the rare stuff gets reported in from the cemetary, but I'd be interested to hear any other ideas

Hi Aquila,

Yep, interesting question. I guess the important factor is whether there is suitable feeding habitat between the site and the sea, or not. Generally, about a mile inland seems to be as far as it is really worth checking intensively, though the odd individual does of course occasionally get found much further inland.

Another factor is weather - if it is wet, birds usually stop within 50-100m of the coast, however poor the habitat. If it is dry, they're much more likely to carry on that extra half-mile to a patch of woodland, or whatever they want.

Michael

Seems odd that passerines would stick by the sea, you'd think they'd look for 'better' trees

Oh .... Happy Birthday Darrell !

It's certainly possible to find scarce migrants well inland. In Northamptonshire (about as far inland as it gets in Britain) I've found Richard's Pipit and Firecrest and have also seen Wryneck and Ring Ousel. That's in about 15 years of active birding there mind you.

The best places inland are often prominent hills (I found the Richard's Pipit in just such a place) and I assume this is because they 'stick out' vertically in the same way that coastal promontories stick out horizontally. The migrants are therefore more concentrated because a hil is more likely to provide their earliest opportunity for a rest than the lower ground.

Some commoner species are actually more readily encountered inland on passage, a good example being Wood Warbler which I've almost never seen at a coastal migration site but I've had a fair few stopping off inland during spring (usually singing males).

Sorry I missed quite a lot of this thread - I popped over to Scilly for the day - mostly to see some friends, but a couple of Pallas's were a nice bonus!

Aquila, Ring Ouzel beat Penduline Tit hands down, less than annual on the local patch for me!

I think birds on migration are keen to get where they are going, they will only come down if forced, ie bad weather. Then they look for the first suitable habitat. For passerines these are usually bushes and trees which can be found at the coast. For waders it may be fresh water so they have to travel a little further inland. It's a bit like driving your car on the motorway - you keep on travelling until something forces you to stop, ie you want a pee! You stop at the nearest place - a service station, you don't usually get off and drive to the nearest town to look for a toilet.

PS. Thanks Carlos!!

DArrell

Not if it's a McDonalds servive station I don't!
Useful analogy though Darrell.....
That's a good point too Fifebirder. Trouble is there ain't a hill-top at Windmill Farm!