Answers to yesterday's bird name quiz!

I hope you had fun with the quiz! How many did you get right? Did anyone get 10/10? We'd love to hear .The answers are below, whilst the second part of the quiz is ready for tomorrow, stay safe everyone!

1) Well I never knew that a  'Horse Masher' is an old Cornish term for this early migrant Chat, what is it? Answer Northern Wheatear

2) Luckily I've never had a 'Horny Wink' but did you know it's is also the Cornish name for a smart looking Plover, can you guess what it is? Answer Lapwing

3) I always thought it was something else but in fact a 'Muffie' is an old Scottish Term for this dapper migrant Sylvia Warbler which will arrive back to England in a week or two, do you know which one? Answer Common Whitethroat

4) I've certainly been shown 'Two Fingers' once or twice in my life however it's also the Sussex name for this diminutive scuttling garden bird, but which one is it? Answer Wren

5) I've never really heard the term " Wind F#cker' before? Who'd have thought it was an old Northern for one of our native Falcon's. Can you guess which one it is? Answer Kestrel

6) 'Quick me dick ' 'Quick me dick' is an Oxfordshire saying describing the call of this tiny migrant game bird, but which one? Answer Quail

7) My favourite name so far! The 'Poke Pudding' is an old Gloucestershire name for this sociable Tit species, can you guess which one it is? Answer Long-tailed Tit

8) A 'Dull Willy' isn't a medical condition after all, in fact it's an East Anglian name for this handsome beach dwelling Plover, can you name it? Answer Ringed Plover

9) I was worried I might have to eat this in lockdown but actually 'Magot Pie' is a 17th century Shakespearean term for which clever corvid? Answer Magpie

10) I guess ' Jet Cock' comes from this birds habit of flushing just before you stand on it whilst walking through a flooded field or marsh, can you name it? Answer Jack Snipe

Chough Junior Bird Name Quiz

The first in our series of quizzes, can you name the birds from these quirky titles from the past? Have fun! Please feel free to comment on the blog post with your answers and we will post the correct answers tomorrow !

1) Well I never knew that a  'Horse Masher' is an old Cornish term for this early migrant Chat, what is it? 

2) Luckily I've never had a 'Horny Wink' but did you know it's is also the Cornish name for a smart looking Plover, can you guess what it is? 

3) I always thought it was something else but in fact a 'Muffie' is an old Scottish Term for this dapper migrant Sylvia Warbler which will arrive back to England in a week or two, do you know which one?

4) I've certainly been shown 'Two Fingers' once or twice in my life however it's also the Sussex name for this diminutive scuttling garden bird, but which one is it?

5) I've never really heard the term " Wind F#cker' before? Who'd have thought it was an old Northern for one of our native Falcon's. Can you guess which one it is?

6) 'Quick me dick ' 'Quick me dick' is an Oxfordshire saying describing the call of this tiny migrant game bird, but which one?

7) My favourite name so far! The 'Poke Pudding' is an old Gloucestershire name for this sociable Tit species, can you guess which one it is?

8) A 'Dull Willy' isn't a medical condition after all, in fact it's an East Anglian name for this handsome beach dwelling Plover, can you name it?

9) I was worried I might have to eat this in lockdown but actually 'Magot Pie' is a 17th century Shakespearean term for which clever corvid?

10) I guess ' Jet Cock' comes from this birds habit of flushing just before you stand on it whilst walking through a flooded field or marsh, can you name it?


Part Two of The Quiz to come on Friday  so watch this space!

Enjoying Nature in a Lockdown Part 1

With these testing times it can be difficult for people interested in nature and birding to keep our spirits up but remember just because human life has grounded to a temporary halt it's nice to see that the natural world is still continuing without delay. The good thing about Spring is that we can all enjoy it and usually it will come to us in some way or another, perhaps a Swallow will fly past your window or a returning Blackcap might start singing in the garden.Staying safe and abiding the new rules is important to me but I still think enjoying the nature around us is very important for our sanity! There are lots of ways to enjoy nature and I think we can all be surprised at what can be discovered in your garden or even seen from your bedroom window. So fill those feeders up, get your camera out and pop the binoculars by the window! My first instalment on the nature to where I live was inspired by mine and Libbie's daily exercise just to the field next to our house and our own garden where we found many wildflowers, it was fun to photograph them and then look them up in the fieldguide. Here's what we found I hope you enjoy our photographs….

Dog Violet (above) and Lesser Celedine (below)

Greater Periwrinkle

Field Forgetmenot

Field Pansy (sadly rather scarce now due to farming changes)

Common Ramping Fumitory

Field Madder

Red Dead Nettle

Honesty

Herb Robert

Ramsons

Curled Dock

Corn Marigold - a scarce arable plant

An ID article on American Black Tern

Last October myself and Pete headed up to Longham Lakes in Dorset to twitch the long-staying American Black Tern. The close views inspired me to do some research on this nearctic sub-species and learn about the finer I.D features of Surinamensis and the potential pitfalls when ruling out nominate European Black Tern. This article will hopefully show how to age a Black Tern in the autumn months and then it will move onto separating juvenile American Black Tern from European Black Tern. Although an adult summer plumage bird has yet to turn up in Britain I have included a brief summary of their identification. I'm sure more of these vagrant Tern's will be found in the UK as observer awareness increases and I also wonder why it isn't yet a full species seeing that it is readily identified at all ages.  

Status:

American Black Tern breeds in wetlands in the northern provinces of U.S.A and Canada and has a breeding population of up to 500,000 birds. They migrate through North America on a broad front with some birds heading overland to their wintering grounds in Central and South America whilst other populations head along the East Coast of North America making them obvious candidates for vagrancy to Western Europe. By 2019 eleven birds had been found in Britain and Ireland with the first record being at Weston-super-Mare on 3^rd-11^th October 1999. All occurences have been in the autumn from July-November with the peak month of occurrence being September (four records).  

Ageing:

Learning how to age Black Tern in Autumn will be invaluable if the chance of finding an American Black Tern ever comes along. Ageing should be straightforward with care:

·        Pay attention to the overall coloration of the bird in flight and when  perched. If it has crisp, brown feathers with neat fringing on the upperparts (especially the mantle when at rest and in flight the majority of the upperwing) these are 1^st generation feathers and you can be sure it is a juvenile or 1^st winter bird. An adult will have plain dark grey upperparts with no fringing.

·        Juvenile birds show tinges of brown in the cap whilst adults have a unifom dark blackish cap.

·        The distinctive dark breast sides are more obvious in juvenile birds and on average feinter (yet always present) on an adult.

Note the brown tinged mantle and notice the neat fringing to the upperparts feathers, it is a juvenile (photograph by Gary Thoburn).

The upperparts look warn and if you look closely there is no neat fringing to any feathers on the upperparts, it is an adult (photograph by Gary Thoburn).        

Identification:

All records of Surinamensis in Britain so far have been juvenile or 1st summer birds, these have several features which can help separate them from their more common European cousins at the same age:

• Dark washed flanks 
• An all dark tail with little contrast to the rump and mantle
• Dark upperparts 
• Broad dark breast sides which extend onto dark grey flanks

                     

Note the brown tinged forehead and obvious brown breast sides which age this bird as a juvenile. The sooty grey flanks (which are white in juvenile European Black Tern) are a key feature of American Black Tern. The dark breast side also extends further on this subspecies, spreading onto the grey flanks.

The grey upperparts, black crown, pale rump and absence of prominent breast patch age this bird as an adult moulting out of summer plumage. Adults can show a varying amount of dark on the flanks in the autumn so are a potential pitfall (photograph by Gary Thoburn).

Juvenile European Black Tern has paler, more contrasty upperparts with a more prominent dark leading edge to the wing. The rump and tail are still rather dark but contrast more with the mantle. This photo shows the paler outer web of the outer tail feather, a characteristic of European Black Tern (photograph by Steve Rogers).

Juvenile American Black Tern has dark upperparts showing little contrast. The rump and entire tail are dark and don’t contrast much with the mantle.

For completeness juvenile White-winged Black Tern has a paler rump and upper-wing with a contrasting dark mantle. It also lacks the dark breast patch of the Black Tern (photograph by Gary Thoburn).

In summer plumage adult Black Tern, American Black Tern and White-winged Black Tern have key differences which allow identification highlighted by the photographs below:

Adult summer plumage American Black Tern hasn’t yet occurred in Britain but it is distinctive in its own right. It has the jet black body of a White-winged Black Tern and the darker upper-wing and underwing coverts of Black Tern.

Adult summer plumage White-winged Black Tern also has a jet black body but has a much paler upper-wing and underwing.

Adult summer plumage European Black Tern has a paler toned black body. It's upperparts and underparts are identical to American Black Tern being far more subdued than White-winged Black Tern.

I hope this article will help inspire you to look closely at any Marsh Tern you see in the future as a rare vagrant could occur just about anywhere even at your local patch. For instance I hope one turns up in Cornwall soon (surely it is overdue in my home county?). These stunning birds are always a treat to watch and yet can be equally frustrating to observe well so a bit of patience, good note taking and getting good photographs will always help with their identification.

Mounts Bay Egret is it or isn't it?

Mounts Bay unidentified Egret species

I had heard some murmurings of an interesting Egret being seen briefly around Mounts Bay but not pinned down or its identification nailed! Rumour had it that it could be a Snowy Egret, the Nearctic version of our Little Egret if you will! A few days passed with no news and I have to admit that I hadn’t given it a second thought. I then received a message from Paul Ash and some photos of the bird in question that had been located again in Penzance Harbour prior to high tide moving it on again. The photos had me hooked! I ran them past Bob and a couple of other birders that I hold in high esteem and they all had the same feeling. This bird was eye catching and deserved some attention! So, what was so interesting?

The original photos sent by Paul Ash showing some striking features such as the bright yellow on the lore's and apparent yellow colouration to the legs. (Photos courtesy of Paul Ash)

As you can see from the photos that Paul originally sent there are some striking features. Most notable was the intense yellow in the lore’s and the yellow on the back of the legs. Both good field characteristics of Snowy Egret on paper. Things were looking good in my mind but having only ever seen the species in Spring in America I threw caution to the wind and sought more experienced opinion. My first port of call was Kester Wilson who well and truly burst my rarity bubble! He was busy at work but gave his viewpoint that it was a Little Egret, “bugger” not the answer I had hoped for! A short while later another message came through from Killian Mullarney via Josh Jones. He also suggested that it was indeed a Little Egret! A real shame as I know that I wasn’t the only one that wanted it to be a Snowy. 

Why was it a Little Egret and not a Snowy?

A species had been determined but I wasn’t 100% sure I fully understood all the field characteristics that made this a Little Egret. So, it was time to do the hard work and get the field guides out and Google fired up! Here is what I found out:

The obvious place to start with the Egrets is the head, bill and lore’s. In theory these should be pretty easy to see on both species as neither are particularly timid or skulky. 

In the Little Egret, you will see a pale-yellow iris in combination with either a grey or a light green/yellow lore. In the Snowy both a bright yellow lore and eye is evident in non-breeding birds. 

The crucial feature is the shape and colour of the saddle that extends over the base of the bill. This affects the shape made by the feathers approaching the culmen: being rounded/crescent-shaped in a Snowy, rather than pointy in a Little.

Eye colour is also important as the iris of the Snowy and Little Egret are different! The Little Egret will have a paler eye than a Snowy Egret. Not all birds have the exact same eye colour, especially depending on the lighting conditions! It is a common occurrence to encounter a brighter looking eye than expected. But used in conjunction with other identification features can aid a conclusion.

The head and bill structure also differ, and a Snowy Egret will show a slightly more petite appearance to the head and a stout, less elongated bill. The Little Egret forehead slopes more gradually accentuating its long-billed and long-headed appearance. Not so obvious on lone birds but being somewhat gregarious the opportunity for comparison will be possible for the patient observer.

Here we have a Little Egret showing the pale eye and restricted loral patch. Also, the large head and long tapered bill can be seen with some detail. 

This photo shows a "classic" Snowy Egret and some differences are obvious. Firstly the large yellow saddle extends over the bill and the eye is extremely bright! Also, note the smaller head and  slightly shorter, blunter bill.

The Mounts Bay Egret initially shows some striking features but on further scrutiny they all fit Little Egret. The yellow saddle is not present over the bill. The Iris colour is also pale yellow as opposed to bright yellow as would be shown in a Snowy Egret. It also shows a head and bill pattern indicative of Little Egret. (Photo courtesy of Julie Eccleston)

The legs are another important feature to observe albeit can present some problems. A little prior knowledge of the pitfalls is useful. 

Adult Little Egrets have black legs, with yellow feet. Snowy Egrets show not only yellow on the feet but yellow or a light greenish/grey colour trailing the back of the legs. If you’re able to establish that your bird is an adult, you can easily use this as a pretty reliable feature. However, you’d want to consider your verdict of both the lore and the iris, but if your bird has a bright yellow lore, iris and has light colouration on the back of the legs then it may be time to get on the phone to Birdguides!

The pitfall comes when observing younger birds! As a general rule the younger a Little Egret is, the lighter the legs are. Their legs become darker as they age. This is where it can become a little tricky, and there is still the possibility of a young Little Egret having light colouration on the legs, in conjunction with the typical black colouration. It is worth noting feet colour as Snowy Egret will always show golden yellow whereas Little's are drabber yellow-green.

A Little Egret showing the obvious black legs and yellow feet that are generally slightly longer and thicker than that of Snowy Egret. A prominent feature that is obvious when birds fly or are walking on land or shallow water.

A Snowy Egret showing not only yellow on the feet but also yellow along the back of the legs.

The Mounts Bay Egret did show some pale yellow on the back of the legs. However, this can be indicative of younger Little Egrets and not a feature that should be relied upon for positive identification of Snowy Egret. (Photo courtesy of Julie Eccleston)

The last important factor is size difference. In most cases, size is an extremely difficult to judge. You essentially need the two species standing next to each other to be able to identify whether the bird is smaller than the other. Little Egret is slightly larger in size, but not by much! However, it has a slightly more robust appearance and Snowy Egret would look some what petite in a Little's company.

Here we see the Mounts Bay Egret (Right) with a Little Egret. No obvious structural differences are apparent adding validity to the Little Egret identification. (Photo courtesy of Paul Ash)

Sadly it wasn't to be this time! But I for one am really pleased that this individual presented itself as for me personally, it was a really good learning bird. I certainly feel that if I was ever fortunate enough to encounter an individual in Cornwall I would now have a good chance of identifying it. I hope you can too? If you do remember to let me know first :-) !

Chough Junior 2019 ! Myself and Pete's week off birding

October is a special month in birding and each year myself and Pete take a week off for our annual Chough Junior Birding holiday. I'm not sure where the time goes but 2019 marked our 7th year and we always get excited about what we might see especially after last years Grey Catbird and Penduline Tit!We also enjoy counting and documenting the migrant birds we see in the County during the week as we notice changes in populations and weather related influxes of birds as we keep the dates the same each year. Our list of species prior to this year was 202 (all in Cornwall) since 2012 and adding to this list is also a big target for the week.

Saturday our first day of birding started with a Chough Junior first , an out of county twitch! All week we had been hoping that the American Black Tern that had recently turned up at Longham Lakes; Dorset would remain into the weekend and on Friday night we planned our journey after the bird had been seen at dusk. Despite the horrid weather it was an easy 3 hour journey to Dorset and after a bit of a panic as we searched the lakes I picked the bird up distantly flying close to the far shoreline! Boom a great result and a fabulous bird to see and photograph at such close range. Certainly a very good learning exercise and I feel well armed if I should ever stumble across one in Cornwall to sort out the I.D. On our way home we stopped off at Maer Lake (finally back home in Cornwall!) and could begin our list for the week seeing a nice Spoonbill and 2 Pink-footed Geese amongst a nice selection of wildfowl and waders.

Juvenile American Black Tern

Every Sunday on Chough Junior we head to Porthgwarra in the far west of Cornwall in the hope of finding mouth watering rarities. This iconic valley has certainly been very kind to us in past Chough Junior visits with Moltonis Warbler, Alpine Swift and a self found Blyth's Pipit to name just a few. This year however our targets were set eagerly from the west as a series of weather fronts emanating from America had dumped an array of neartic passerines into Western Europe. With a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on Scilly and a Common Nighthawk in Northern Ireland our sights were set big but alas after yomping through Hidden Valley and 60ft Cover we failed to find the yank. Even the Red-eyed Vireo that had graced the valley during the week failed to show for us but Pete found a nice juvenile Turtle Dove (new for Chough Junior !) and I saw a few common migrants including Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Firecrest, all good birds for the week. For the rest of the day we searched St Levan , Porthcurno and Trevascan hoping to find an American Warbler but we did see the White Stork which had been roaming around the St Levan area during the last few weeks. We finished our day at Nanquidno and were treated to great views of a Red-breasted Flycatcher which had been found earlier in the week. 

Firecrest

Monday 14th saw us up and travelling in the darkness to the Lizard, yet another fantastic birding location in Cornwall where just about anything can turn up. Birds were moving overhead in big numbers early in the morning and our busy vis mig amassed 1448 Meadow Pipits! Scarcer birds included 3 late Swallows, an out of season Hobby and a nice year tick in the shape of a Woodlark. At 9am news broke that the Barred Warbler had been seen in Caerthillian Cove again and we wasted no time in getting there seeing that it was a county tick for us both. After a quick search we were treated to great views and photographs of this large charismatic Sylvia Warbler as it crashed about in the brambles and blackthorn, We then walked to Housel Bay were there had been a very skulky Nightingale species that I was keen to help positively identify. Sadly despite being very patient and setting up a Bluetooth speaker in the hope of attracting the bird we failed to see it and the Nightingale wasn't seen again. Heavy rain had set in by now and we made the call to check Stithians and Devoran on the way home. This was a bad call in some ways as when the rain stopped local birder Mark Pass found two Red-breasted Flyctacher's and a Booted Warbler! Still a lifer for Pete and a county tick for myself meant the day had been a great success. 

Barred Warbler

Chough Junior is usually about finding birds for ourselves and checking less well watched coastal sites but with new birds turning up we had found it hard to resist planning our first few days around them. So on Tuesday we headed to St Agnes in the hope of finding something for ourselves at a new location for Chough Junior. What a great day it was with Long-tailed Skua and Sabines Gull over the sea and a good selection of Common Migrants (considering the unfavourable westerly wind) including Ring Ouzel, Merlin and Firecrests. There is so much potential in this area (which is hardly watched at all) and it has inspired Pete especially to come here more often.

1st Winter White Rumped Sandpiper by Mike Spicer

Wednesday 16th saw us heading west again to help cover the ringing at Nanjizal Valley. As a trainee ringer I always feel so lucky to train at Nanjizal under Kester Wilson's expertise and we both are always very previliged to help out there. Today we joined Nik Ward (on holiday himself in West Cornwall ) and it was great for me to learn lots of tips in extraction from him during the morning. When at Nanjizal you need to sometimes think outside the box when ringing and Pete has the talent to try different things which has resulted in some great rarity records for himself over the last few years. Today he concentrated on targeting the large numbers of Pipits that were in the area. As we were walking across to check a net Pete was distracted by a buzzy Pipit call down-slurring at the end. He then picked up a bird looking a tad larger than the Meadow Pipits it was with as it flew more confidently and purposefully towards him to the field he shouted over to me. I recognised the call as Olive-backed Pipit but I was worried about not getting a view, thankfully the bird came back across in my direction and alighted into a Willow back on to me. I could see the green tinged unstreaked back as it seemed to melt into the foliage and dissapear without a trace. Sadly it didn't end up in a net but we did ring a nice selection of migrants including a very late Common Whitethroat. Other notable sightings included a Ring Ouzel that was so showy I took a picture of it with my phone! And close views of a Woodlark flying through the valley. What a great morning we had as Pete found himself a lifer and a rare bird in the county! After we had packed up we went over to Marazion Marsh and spent an hour searching the bay with Reuben in the hope of connecting with a juvenile White-Rumped Sandpiper found earlier in the day by local birder Mashuq Ahmed. We had wonderful views of this fresh in yankee wader on Marazion Beach but I felt that some of the photographers were getting too close to it if I'm honest. I understand the urge that some birders get for the perfect photo but me ,Peter Reuben were happy to look through the scope and not get involved in it. Last but not least that day we headed back to a wildlife hospital in North Cornwall to study a Rough-legged Buzzard taken into care that had sadly passed on through starvation. Biometrics and feather samples for DNA analysis were taken and I'll await the news on what could be a first Rough-legged Hawk for mainland Britain (after all these storms why couldn't it be one? Certainly some plumage features were pro Rough-legged Hawk, time will tell and a full account will be given in time ). 

Hooded Crow

Thursday was a full on day indeed and both of us were feeling it today, but on Chough Junior there is no rest! So again a bright and early start albeit to a more local sight of Trevose Head. Conditions weren't ideal as the heavens opened every ten minutes or so (Met Office back to their best with a forecast of 5% chance of rain! I'd love a job there it must be a party!). Still we had birds trickling along the coast and we were delighted to see the long staying Hooded Crow, yet another new bird for our Chough Junior List! Pete called it a day at lunchtime to catch up on some chores and have a well earned rest but I carried on to the Camel Estuary. It was nice to add a few Waders to our week list including Common Sandpiper but I was most looking forward to going to Walmsley Sanctuary (this CBWPS owned reserve is a fantastic location for birding and is one of my favourite local sites). As I got to the hide the well known suppressor and co was present along with a very nice novice birder. I sat next to this lady and took great satisfaction from the enjoyment she got from me showing her a fine drake Mandarin Duck and a Pink Footed Goose. Not rare birds but new to her and it was worth the whispering and backchat aimed at me in the process. I feel saddened that people withhold sightings in this way especially to new birders with an interest in the nature that we all want to enjoy , observe and protect. I'm happy not to know what's in the area it creates a sense of excitement as to what I might find but for novice birders it is pretty harsh. Especially when in a CBWPS hide , I will probably get an ear bashing as usual when the person we all know hears of this but I feel like I should make it known what goes on in North Cornwall and the pressure some people must feel in the area from intimidating bully type people, I won't be shying away from the Camel Estuary and the Trevose area any time soon  as life is too short and they don't have any more previliges to be at these sites than any other birder, in fact in my opinion less so at Walmsley as I'm not even sure they are paying members. I felt I had the last laugh that day as when I had the place to myself I found a drake Green Winged Teal! One of the highlights of the week on a personal level. 

Green-winged Teal

With us both feeling re-energised for Friday we had decided to head to Pendeen Watch for a seawatch that had the added bonus of being near to Cot Valley and Sennen should any news come out of two potential new birds in the county for us (a Subalpine Warbler, which would be new for me if Eastern and new for Pete if Western! Plus an Icterine Warbler). The seawatch itself was mediocre at best with some Grey Phalaropes, a Sooty Shearwater , Bonxies and a couple of Arctic Terns. My personal highlight was watching Pete battle the storm with his high tech umbrella designed to not fold inside out in any conditions, now Pete was quite fond of this brolly until he realised the design meant that there was a massive sunroof of a hole in the top getting him soaking wet! I've never seen a man punch an umbrella and tell it to ' F#ck off!' before! News soon came out that the Subalpine was showing so we made a retreat to Cot Valley. The Subalpine was the king of skulkers and I had one good view of it perched for two seconds, a few obscured views and several brief flight views. It was certainly a handsome bird and the plumage tones suggested to me that it is probably an Eastern Subalpine but after doing a fair bit of research there is no way I can be sure. A pasty for lunch and a quick look at Mounts Bay and Hayle rounded off the day nicely.

Subalpine Warbler species by Marek Walford

We both had commitments on Saturday with family but we still got out separately and found good birds. Pete seawatched at St Agnes again and saw Sabines Gull, Pomarine Skua and a couple of Arctic Skuas. Whilst I saw a Snow Bunting at Gwithian and a smart 1st winter Little Gull at Hayle Estuary. We knew we were off to Nanjizal in the morning for our last day of birding so it was good to spend some time with my very patient and understanding girlfriend for the afternoon! 

Sunday was a very memorable day for Chough Junior. With rain overnight and promising winds from the North East we were hopeful of some good birds at Nanjizal and perhaps a bit of a fall. What we were treated to will be fondly remembered for a long time. We walked out for the first net round and it felt 'birdy' in the valley. Little flocks of passerines flitting across the net rides and birds were going in already. Pete went on ahead as I extracted a couple of Robin's and as I caught up he excitedly told me that he had extracted a Barred Warbler! Wow what a start to the morning and the bird we had wanted all week. I then got to the next net and saw an interesting warbler above my head. Any Acro (or Reed type Warbler) in October is worth scrutinising anyway but as soon as I saw this bird with it's olive tones to the upperparts and very white underparts my gut feeling was that it was a Blyth's Reed. I soon had it out of the net and a quick check of the wing formula confirmed in my mind that it was! Boom what a moment! It was a pleasure to hand the bird to Pete to ring and study a lifer for him, Back at the ringing hut we took full biometrics before letting it go in a timely manner. I find it amazing that Nanjizal has produced 4 Blyth's Reed Warblers this year and 8 in total, all of the Cornish Blyth's Reed's have been found here! So surely they are occurring at other locations in West Cornwall as this expanding species from Eastern Europe reverse migrates south west instead of north east. The rest if the morning was rich with birds both in the valley and overhead with 59 Blackcap, 3 Yellow-browed Warblers, 7 Firecrest, 17 Chiffchaff and 1 Cettis Warbler ringed. Plus a Richard's Pipit overhead , 176 Redwing, 2 Fieldfare and a White Stork. 

Barred Warbler

Blyth's Reed Warbler

After Nanjizal we went home to spend time with our families and reflect on what had been a very successful week. We saw 150 species of bird in Cornwall , twelve of which were new for Chough Junior. Pete had three lifers in the shape of Olive-backed Pipit, Blyth's Reed and Barred Warbler. My own highlights included the Blyth's Reed Warbler, finding the Green-winged Teal, exploring St Agnes and getting such close views of the White-rumped Sandpiper and (albeit briefly) Subalpine Warbler. We have already booked next year off of work and I can't wait already!