August Autumn Arrivals

Autumn Migration is happening and has started in spectacular style! For a couple of weeks heavier migration was apparent as Nanjizal had started producing exceptional numbers of passerine migrants, as expected Sedge Warbler and Whitethroats made up the majority of catches. But the scarcer birds, the ones that get birders out of bed in the morning, had not made much of an appearance as yet. 

My first inclination that things were about to change came on the 22^nd of August. After a family meal and with only limited time before the sun sank to low, I opted for a brisk stroll around the nearby Parkhead National Trust headland. Located between Porthcothan and Mawgan Porth it is always worth a visit and is a real beautiful spot. As I started to descend into the small valley a familiar call caught my ear as I inadvertently flushed a Yellow Wagtail from the nearby cattle field. As it sailed over head, I manged to locate it in the bins and realised it was the far more unusual nominate race “flava” as it showed a blue head! Always a red-letter day when you get a different wagtail in Cornwall.  A short while later I had made it into the foliage rich valley and had started to enjoy the brief views of Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff, clearly some birds were on the move. A larger cleaner looking bird flitted in and out of view that grabbed my attention. I patiently waited a few moments staring into the tree that it seemed to bolt towards. My patience paid off as a Pied Flycatcher dropped into view, feeding heavily and obviously stocking up for another journey that evening. Little else noteworthy was found but there was enough variety to switch my brain into autumn mode, what was going to happen over the next few days?  

My next venture out was on Saturday the 24^th. A 4 30am start saw me and Bob bundled into the car and heading to West Cornwall and more specifically Nanjizal! Not classic conditions but it was the peak Sedge Warbler period so felt it was going to be worth the effort. My morning was already made during the first net round when John Ryan presented us with a Convolvulus Hawkmoth that he had carefully extracted from a mist net. This was a new species for me, and I was thrilled to see it! We didn’t ring a huge amount of birds, finishing on around 50 new (slow for the site at this time of year), but it is always a pleasure to process some Grasshopper Warblers and we also had a single Garden Warbler of note. The real highlight happened during a mid-morning net round. I was at the Trevilley end of the site and my attention was grabbed by a distinctive call that I subconsciously knew deserved my attention! A sharp ‘tshilp’ call with a House Sparrow like quality about it, could be heard sporadically coming from the seaward end of the valley and heading towards me. I cottoned on quite quickly as to the species responsible for two reasons. Firstly, Kester had the same bird a couple of days previously. But more pleasingly I had studied this species quite intently on a trip to Cyprus last year. It was a Tawny Pipit! My first in the county for some years now and I was even more pleased when Bob had confirmed that he “had it” as well! A great morning that I really enjoyed.

Convolvulus Hawk-moth was a pleasant surprise

On our way home we stopped off at Drift Reservoir as it was the sort of weather conditions that has seen many good birds turn up there in the past. I opted for the easiest option and stayed at the car to rest my eyes whilst Bob took a walk around the reservoir to see what he could muster up! The agreement was that we would call each other if we picked up anything of interest. I am not sure how long I was in a comatose state but remember being startled by the loud ringing that woke me! Bob had picked up an Osprey that had flown in and had started fishing, sending the Gulls into panic mode. Awesome, a great year tick and one you don’t mind being woken for! A little while later I had regained full consciousness and was chatting to visiting birder Graham Lawlor, Bob had made it back to the car and we were merrily chewing the cud and scanning around for anything else that might be making the most of the thermals. A bird was then viewed heading in from the west that looked remarkably different from the nearby Common Buzzards. It was broader winged, appeared to have a longer tail and a pronounced head. Most interestingly it was soaring on bowed wings! As it got closer it became apparent that this was in fact a Juvenile Honey Buzzard! A stonker and never easy to connect with in Cornwall. We were ecstatic with the days tally and couldn’t wait for tomorrow!

After the previous day’s excitement, the 25^th saw Bob and I bundled back in the car at 4 30 am again and on our way to Nanjizal. Weather conditions were more favourable, and our expectation was for a better quantity of birds. The first round proved our theory correct as it was certainly busier! A good showing of Sedge Warbler and 4 Grasshopper Warblers in the first round! I left Bob and John at the ringing table and started the 2^nd net round and mid-way through the valley extracted a pleasant surprise! Once back at the ringing table I made sure a certain bag was directed John Ryan’s way as it was a bird that he had wanted to see in the hand for some time! There was no need for tricky wing formulas to identify the bird as he carefully extracted a Wryneck! It was an absolute beauty too.

Wryneck was an exciting encounter at Nanjizal Valley

The morning continued to produce birds to ring and Nanjizal threw up another exceptional bird overhead. Myself and local birder, Royston headed off to check some nets not far from the ringing table and as we started to return I picked up a wader call that I knew was from something special. A mournful, disyllabic “K-lip” emanating from a Plover. The bird came into view and there was no doubting that it was an American Golden Plover! The bird had been seen and heard several times in the area by Kester and Mark Wallis. A great year tick and delightful bird to see at Nanjizal.

Once back at the table and most of the birds had been processed, I was about to venture off to empty the nets once again but was told to hang fire! The last bag contained a surprise from Bob that I would want to see. Another fantastic Wryneck! Two in a morning cannot be bad? A total of 150 birds were ringed that morning much of the catch being made up of 76 Sedge Warbler.

The 2nd Wryneck of the morning!

Here the bird is showing exactly how it got its name!

A Spotted Flycatcher also added to the variety that morning.

After Nanjizal we were on route home with not much of a plan but then news came out that a flock of over 20 White Storks were over Lizard Village! Bugger what do we do? By the time we drive there they could end up just about anywhere! We opted to head to Marazion, as we guessed that they would hit the coast and then start heading back towards us. A great plan that probably would have worked perfectly if Marazion wasn’t bedlam! Roads were blocked and traffic was extremely heavy as a consequence. I decide that I would skirt around the town and head in from the other end. Again, not a bad plan until the traffic and disruption was just as bad there too! What made matters worse is that during all this upheaval the flock had now made its way to Drift Reservoir and we were caught in heavy traffic and 30 minutes away. I decided to do what any Cornishman would do and took to the back roads not knowing exactly which route would work and ensuring that any passing motorist knew how annoyed I was finding life right now by rapid hand gestures and vocal obscenities! Thankfully it worked and eventually we made it to the Reservoirs just a short time before the Storks started to descend to the banks to roost for the evening. A truly breath-taking sight that I hope to witness again in Cornwall in future years. As it transpired this flock had been seen at several locations on the south coast over the last few days and had originated from Knepp Estate where they are reintroducing the species. More information can be found here: knepp.co.uk/reintroductions

White Storks roosting at Drift Reservoir

              A real sight to behold in Cornwall! 

The 26th saw Bob and I take a more leisurely approach and a later start. At 5 30 am we were on route to the Goss Moor to carry out one of my final CES ringing sessions for the year. Slightly perturbed on arrival as we glimpsed a middle-aged man in the area. A most unusual sighting in this location at this time of day. After getting some nets up and open it became clear what he was doing there as we stumbled across him and his family “wild” camping in the middle of three of my net rides! Sadly, this drastically reduced my ringing totals for the day however, the pain was eased a little as a Tree Pipit was part of the catch. By late morning we had decided to knock it on the head and try and salvage the day by a visit to Colliford Reservoir and Dozmary Pool located on Bodmin Moor. We started by scanning Loveny Arm at Colliford but sadly the heat haze was so severe that there was little chance of picking up anything of note! From here we ventured on to Dozmary Pool. As we drove in along the road a bird that had just alighted from a bramble bush on my side caused me to call out to Bob immediately! I knew from its size and odd Warbler like flight that it was a Wryneck. Our third in two days! I was even more ecstatic as every year Cornwall sees this species reported from inland locations and I have never had such luck seeing them away from a coastal headland. We had distant but prolonged views of the bird as it fed on the lawn of a nearby remote moorland cottage before perching on a gate for a few moments and then off into the undergrowth and out of sight. There were plenty of other birds in the vicinity with at least 20 Wheatears present and it deserved a better scan. This paid off as Bob had soon located a single Tree Pipit and a Whinchat amongst the conglomeration of birds present. It was at this time that news broke of a Western Bonellis Warbler sporadically showing at Trevescan in West Cornwall. This was over an hour away from my location and despite having never seen the species in the county I decided that it would have to wait for another day before I made the effort! Bob and I continued our tour of Colliford and were pleased to pick up a Little Ringed Plover for our efforts. All in all, a great visit and well worth the effort. The added bonus was that we were home with our families for lunch and back in people’s good books.

A pristine Tree Pipit ringed on the Goss Moor 

Our 3rd Wryneck in 2 days, made even more notable by the inland location!

After an afternoon of chores and cooking I received a call from “the boy” young Reuben Veal about the Bonellis Warbler that by now seemed more settled, pinned down to a location and showing well at frequent intervals. Reuben was struggling for a lift to the bird, had a driving lesson booked and didn’t know how he was going to connect. Never let it be known that I would leave a damsel in distress and I agreed to pick him up ASAP. Secretly it was the kick up the arse that I needed to get down there too and not waste this opportunity to connect with a new county tick for my list! It didn’t seem long before we were on site and enjoying great views of this joyful species. The evening was made even more pleasant as “the boy” went for a wonder and soon got a few of us present on to one of the lingering White Storks that had choose a nearby chimney top as its evening roost, a Yellow-legged Gull and some Common Ringed Plover! Not only do Reuben's growing birding skills impress me but I was dumbfounded by his organisational abilities too, managing to recruit a driving instructor (Pete Walsh) that is also interested in twitching to meet him at a twitch and then have a lesson after. I tell you this, he is one to watch! 

Western Bonelli's Warbler showing well at Trevescan

The next few days saw me tied up with work and travelling! As I was driving out of Cornwall there was some news that nearly resulted in a handbrake turn and heading back home. The Brown Booby that Kester located without bins from St Ives had shown up again with some frequency! What a record and I am sure would have been low on the list for many birders if asked what is the next first for Britain! Also, that morning a Blyths Reed Warbler had been trapped and ringed at Nanjizal! Of all the birds to show up it had to be that one. I have never connected with one anywhere in the Western Palearctic, so I was a bit gutted to say the least!

Blyth's Reed Warbler trapped and ringed at Nanjizal showing the diagnostic wing formula

 I was back to normality on the 29th and after some serious discussions with Bob the previous evening I hatched a plan to get to Carbis Bay as early as possible before work to give myself a chance of seeing the Brown Booby, even if it was a slim chance! From this vantage point I had a view of the whole bay and felt that if news broke, I could view the bird albeit distantly wherever it was in the bay. My morning was pleasant and started well as I picked up a couple of Arctic Skuas in the Bay, a year tick and exciting species even on the busiest of days. The next couple of hours seemed to pass by in no time and although the birding wasn’t bad, I still hadn’t connected! Around 8am a distant bird caught my eye at Godrevy! A Gannet like bird that seemed small and stocky, an overall brown appearance but with a striking white belly! Could this be it? As the bird moved marginally closer, I could see that it was diving at a pronounced angle and showed a pale-yellow face! It was the Booby! Booom!!!!! My next dilemma was that no news was coming out over the regular channels so I started by contacting the local WhatsApp group so that any locals present would have an idea of place names etc and could get any visiting birders on to the bird. Thankfully by the time that I had done this Mike Mckee had also located the bird and the news was spread far and wide!

The St Ives Brown Booby in all its glory! 

A delight to see and witness in Cornwall. If anybody has any theories as to why multiple birds have appeared around and near Britain this autumn I would be delighted to know. My own theory is that there was possibly a food shortage in the areas that these birds normally reside forcing them further out to sea where they have been caught in rough weather and forcing them here. But what do I know?

What a start to the autumn in Cornwall! Hopefully September will be just as productive.

South African Sandwich Surprise

In this day and age with the introduction of satellite tagging and other technological advancements, we know the incredible journeys that some of our avian friends can make. However, (for me anyway) these incredible journeys are just facts and figures that go in one ear and out the other. The distances are merely numbers that mean very little. Yesterday I encountered a bird that changed that thought process!  

Whilst checking the mouth of the Camel Estuary at Padstow, Cornwall to see if any interesting Gulls or Waders were about I came across a group of Sandwich Terns resting on some nearby buoys. From a distance I could see that one was sporting a color ring! Not near enough to read it I scrambled to the car and sped towards it in a bid to read the combination. After narrowly avoiding the pasty eating "emmets" (local terminology for tourists) I was much closer and had a chance of reading the ring. To my relief I managed to get the scope out and locked on to the still settled bird! The ring was read and I was a happy chap. This was even more of a relief as another local (suppressor) birder flushed it shortly after as they were trying to get "photos" of the Terns! Ironic that the same person has chastised countless people down the years for their poor photography behavior!

Color ringed Sandwich Tern

The Tern had a yellow ring and the combination was KKT. After a quick look on the CR Birding website I had it narrowed down to an Irish Scheme and sent off the details. 

I was delighted to receive an email from the ringer of the bird Mr Tony Murray this morning with the movement details of the bird. Here is his response:

"This is one of our 2017 birds, so it is now a 2^nd Summer bird. Ringed 21/6/17, seen as a juvenile on site that July then a few times over its 1^st Winter in South Africa. I’m guessing this is its first venture back north."

The movement details:

KKT	DD78779	21/06/2017	Inish, Lady's Island Lake, Wexford
KKT	DD78779	07/07/2017	Inish, Lady's Island Lake, Wexford
KKT	DD78779	16/11/2018	Strand, Cape Town, Western Cape Provence, South Africa
KKT	DD78779	27/11/2018	Strand, Cape Town, Western Cape Provence, South Africa
KKT	DD78779	02/03/2019	Strand, Cape Town, Western Cape Provence, South Africa
KKT	DD78779	03/03/2019	Strand, Cape Town, Western Cape Provence, South Africa
KKT	DD78779	07/08/2019	Padstow Harbour, Camel Estuary, Cornwall, England

I was flabbergasted when I read that this bird had been observed in South Africa! This is a distance of 6155 miles in a straight line! Again more figures that doesn't equate to much mentally until
you see that plotted on a map.

Not many movement maps that require a picture of the whole Earth!

When you have to plot a journey like this you really do getting a feeling on how magical some of our species are and the arduous journeys they make. 

      

Greenish Warbler Update

After the reaction of some very experienced birders and ringers on Twitter regarding photographs posted by myself and Steve Rogers I decided to try and do some more research on the Greenish Warbler at Porth Joke. I had heard that Steve Rowe had some recording of the bird singing and he very kindly supplied me with the original recording. The next step was to contact a very helpful Martin Cade who gave me contact details for Magnus Robb from Sound Approach team and his colleague Roy Slaterus who has recently been working on the first Green Warbler for Holland. (interesting article on this bird here: http://www.intobirding.com/greenwarbler.html)

Both Magnus and Roy quickly replied to me and I was delighted that they would help analyse the recording and get back to me with their results. In super quick time I soon had two excellent and informative replies from these sound experts with detailed notes and a sonogram which seems to suggest that the bird was in fact a Greenish Warbler. Snippets from their email include:




Roy Slaterus :

Yes, I agree. This sounds like Greenish Warbler song to me. These are things I look at, when separating Greenish from Green.

-          A short high-pitched ‘jeet’ at the very start of (almost) every song phrase is typical for Greenish. This intro note is lacking in Green. But I can see it in the Porth Joke recording.

-          The song of Greenish is usually broken up into sections, like Magnus explained. Vaguely reminiscent of Wren or even Chaffinch (in Dutch: ‘vinkenslag’). In Green this is less obvious. But I can see it in the Porth Joke recording.

-          Greenish Warbler song consists mainly of rather simple elements and descending notes are dominating, whereas Green Warbler song is a bit more rich with more V-shaped notes. The Porth Joke recording is similar to Greenish in this respect (if my judgement is correct; the recording sounds a bit affected in some way).

Many Greenish Warblers sing longer song phrases than those recorded at Porth Joke. But it is within variation, I would say.

Magnus Robb:

I think this is really a bona fide Greenish Warbler. Lets see if Roy agrees. It sounds like several examples I have recorded and it doesn’t those of Green that I have just been listening to. The structure has a very slight hint of Wren about it, in the way it is broken up into sections whereas Green has less contrast in frequency range etc within the strophe. Also, as Roy recently pointed out to me, the little intro note just after 13 seconds is typical for Greenish whereas Green doesn’t have it.

In the mean time Steve Rowe remembered a post from Portland Observatory of a Greenish Warbler trapped in June. It was very interesting to see that the bird in the hand showed plumage characteristics pro Greenish (such as a grey cast to the mantle and white looking underparts). Yet the image of the bird in the tree's depicts a bird that looks much brighter and yellower especially around the face so I can only imagine that perhaps the Porth Joke bird was affected by the light and the green foliage in our photographs as in the field it looked much whiter underneath and showed a contrast similar to Wood Warbler between head colour and flank, underpart coloration.  A link to this post is here: http://www.portlandbirdobs.com/2017/06/1st-june.html.

Comments I have heard about the structure of the Porth Joke Greenish being too weak billed may have some relevance but I wouldn't put too much onus on this feature. My ringing experiences have taught me that there is much overlap with biometrics in Phylosc Warblers. Another interesting comment from Kester Wilson was that Greenish Warbler seems to show much more solid dark lores (which the Porth Joke bird shows) in comparison to the relatively plainer faced Green Warbler from images on the internet.

So in the end it does seem that the bird was a standard Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides. A great record for Cornwall this spring and a really good find for Steve Rowe. I certainly feel more prepared should a Green Warbler turn up again in Cornwall and I have learnt that the Greenish complex is more difficult than I realised. Good photographs from a series of angles in good light are vitally important to determine positive ID yet field observations and notes are just as important as they have always been in order to compliment the pictures and prove that they are accurate as all cameras can show different hues and colours on a bird. Sound recordings of calls and songs are going to become more and more important in separating difficult passerines and when possible I am definitely going to make more of an effort to get sound recordings. Birds trapped and ringed at migration sites and observatories will also add to our understanding through DNA analysis and in the hand descriptions. With a Green Warbler turning up on the Lizard this year and with an autumn bird on Lundy last year us birders should always keep an open mind with what can and will turn up in Cornwall.

A Special Thanks to Steve Rowe, Magnus Robb, Roy Slaterus and Kester Wilson for their help, knowledge and ideas.

'Greenish' Warbler at Porth Joke

I thought I would share my photographs of the Greenish Warbler at Porth Joke on June 9th found by Steve Rowe on his local patch . I was happy with the ID whilst watching it however suspicions have been raised on Social Media from birders I have a lot of respect for  (regarding Green Warbler) and who would have more experience than me on Leaf Warblers  so I thought I would share all the photographs I took for everyone's benefit. All photographs are unedited and uncropped.

The African Pied Crow in Cornwall

Going to see the Pied Crow at Lands End yesterday inspired me to do some research about the species and write about this eye catching corvid.

African Pied Crow in Cornwall

Widely spread over Sub-Saharan Africa this conspicuous corvid with white collar and breast contrasting with overall black plumage was first seen in Britain at Spurn Point; East  Yorkshire in June 2018. After it was seen in Norfolk it journeyed over 300km to Clevedon, Somerset on 26^th June. It’s next port of call was the village of St Justinian Pembrokeshire in July 2018 before heading back to the east coast village of Flamborough spending the winter of 2018 settled at this site. In 2019 after a prolonged stay at Flamborough the bird moved down the coast to Sussex before making another long-distance journey to West Penwith (first of all seen flying along the coast at Cot Valley) before settling at Lands End on 10^th April. 

The east coast arrival and subsequent urge to head west is rather interesting behaviour and could be seen as a natural reaction typical of a long distance or (perhaps more likely) ship assisted vagrant trying to relocate. The status of Pied Crow in the Western Palearctic is also interesting with birds now accepted as genuine vagrants in Morocco, Libya and Western Sahara (attempted breeding even took place in this area in 2010). Evidence of Pied Crow using ships to reach the Western Palearctic comes from Iberia and notably Gran Canaria where three birds at Puerto De La Luz were found to have originated from an oil rig that had been moored off of the Mauritanian Coastline. Closer to home several sightings from Holland are thought to have involved ship assisted birds. The corvid family seem prone to using ships as a means to venture much further from their breeding range and even in some cases establish new territories in new geographical areas. I’m reminded of the House Crow (originally occurring in South East Asia) which has established colonies in Egypt and Israel by means of this method and has reached Western Europe via ship with accepted records from Holland (recorded since 1998) and Ireland (Cork 2010). 

Whether we will know for sure the origins of the British Pied Crow with any certainty is unlikely. Even if the bird was trapped and isotope analysis of a dropped feather carried out this would now prove nothing as it would have now completed a full moult in the UK. It does however seem that it is a very rare and desirable cage bird which is not easily available. I decided to take a look at how easy they are to buy as a pet and it would appear that they aren’t at all. A website in America offers hand fed babies at a staggering $3500 each whilst in the UK they simply don’t seem to be available at present. Somebody from the UK enquiring on a forum as to whether it was a good idea to have one as a pet only had responses from U.S.A telling them to look for a cheaper and easier alternative.

Photo courtesy of Steve Rogers

In the field I found the Pied Crow to be approachable yet wary and no tamer than any other corvid at the complex. My experience with pet corvids is limited but I do know that they can become amazingly tame and are trained to mimic sounds and words. They will outgrow their natural behaviour very quickly due to their intelligence which cannot be retrained. 

Photo courtesy of Steve Rogers

In conclusion my own theory would suggest that this bird is of ship assisted origin but I would be happy to learn from any more information that may be out there. I’m sure that many of our true mega rarities in the UK are ship assisted without us knowing. For instance, many Nearctic passerines may well have come off of a boat you only need to look at where they turn up. Personally, I think it should be fine to count them regardless as the bird is still wild and has just used its survival instincts which I think is pretty special.  

Thanks to Kester Wilson and an interesting article on Birdguides by Sam Viles for some of my facts and ideas. Also Crows and Jays by Madge & Bunn.

New Years Day CBWPS Green Bird Race

A day of car free birding around our local parish and a race to see how many birds me and Libbie could see in 24hours

Yellowhammers seem to have a healthy population where I live we saw 14 during the day

At only just past midnight whilst most people were probably out celebrating me and Libbie had just got ready for bed and could hear a Song Thrush that had been woken up by the local firework display , the first bird of 2019! Our bird list for the day was underway but we soon drifted off to sleep in readiness for an early start ( although I did wake up at 5:30am to the sound of a Pheasant calling away)

Well before dawn we were up and ready and heading out at 7:15am and although it was pitch black a Golden Plover flew over calling just above my house and as we headed over to the local farm we were delighted to hear both Barn Owl and Tawny Owl , a great start! Soon some passerines started to stir from their slumbers and Libbie heard a Robin singing and a Crow calling from the copse. A snipe flew over and as the sun came up a group of Yellowhammers flew out from their roost. We headed home for Breakfast and to help my Mum for an hour or so but that didn’t stop us adding more birds to the list!

With the feeders topped up we enjoyed seeing Coal Tit , Chaffinch , Great Spotted Woodpecker and Starling and also whilst I fed my pets a Bullfinch flew over calling and some House Sparrows were busy eying up the chicken feed. 

The Countryside around my house is very good for woodland birds with lots of mature tree's

The local pond has an excellent small reedbed- even Bittern has been seen here in the past

Now was time to set off for our marathon walk all around the local area and what a brilliant day we had! All the birds seemed to be so showy and we had some nice surprises of some scarce birds for the local area. Our first visit was to the local village pond where we saw a Canada Goose as Goldfinches fed in the Alders and Libbie had her first views of a stunning male Bullfinch. We then headed to the local sewage works enjoying a few Common Chiffchaffs and a very showy Dipper for Libbie. We carried on across farmland and fields adding a solitary Skylark and a surprise group of 10 Fieldfare, whilst ten Buzzards gluided together over a Pheasant Farm.

We were pleased to see 2 Marsh Tit's during our walk

After a brief encounter with the New Years Day Hunt in the middle of a wet valley with trumpets blowing and hounds everywhere ( why do these things happen to me when I am out birding!) we arrived in the hamlet of Talskiddy. Birds seemed to be everywhere with Redwings and Starlings filling the fields and a Marsh Tit on a garden birdfeeder being a highlight. We soon arrived at the local pond which is always an excellent place to Birdwatch and our gave our only chance of some waterbirds. Two Cormorants were a good local record and a Moorhen , 2 Mallard and a Grey Heron were good padders for the list. The real highlight ( especially for Libbie) were 4 very showy Water Rails feeding on the flattened reed bed. Time was beginning to run out so we stomped up to Trewan Hall ( a local Manor House ) and scanned the mature tree’s. Luck was again on our side as two Great Spotted Woodpecker, at least 4 Nuthatch , 1 Treecreeper and a Mistle Thrush all showed well. As the light began to fade we positioned ourselves overlooking the valley behind my house hoping for a Woodcock , sadly nothing was doing but a flyby Common Gull going to roost and 3 Roe Deer more than made up for it.

Goldcrest in Black & White

It was great to see so many Song Thrushes today with at least 20 sited

We walked 8 miles and saw 55 species of birds as well as many different tree’s, plants and fungi. It just goes to show that sometimes the best place to visit for nature are right on your doorstep….




Birds: Woodpigeon , 2 Stock Dove, Collared Dove, 6 Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Magpie,Raven, Rook, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Long-tailed Tit, 2 Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, 4 Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, 120 Meadow Pipit, Skylark, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Tawny Owl, 1 Dipper, 10 Fieldfare, 60 Redwing, 20 Song Thrush, Blackbird, 3 Cormorant, Mistle Thrush, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, 14 Yellowhammer, Starling, 3 Chifffchaff, Goldcrest, Wren, Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Snipe, Grey Heron, Moorhen, 4 Water Rail, Pheasant, 6 Red-legged Partridge, Buzzard, Feral Pigeon 

Yellow Brain Fungus

Fungi: Candle Snuff Fungus, Yellow Brain Fungus

Mammals: Rabbit, Roe Deer

Wild Flowers: Greater Periwinkle, White Ramping Fumitory, Common Polypody, Male Fern, Petty Spurge, Nipplewort, Red Campion, Gorse, Ivy, Bramble, Nettle, Navelwort, Snowdrop, Bracken, Broom, Hartstongue, Travellers Joy, Junkus, Rhodedendren, Buddleia, Daisy, Chickweed, Buttercup, Ribwort Plantain, Greater Plantain, Winer Heliotrope, Hogweed, Tutsan, Acanthus, Herb Robert, Phragmites Reed, Camilla Japonica, Primrose, Black Bryony, Broad Leaved Dock, Bulrush, Section Ruderalia.

Tree's: Turkey Oak, Beech, Holly, Hazel, Ash, Elder, Sycamore, Bay Willow, English Oak, Blackthorn, Alder, Horse Chesnut, Cotoneaster, Silver Birch, Holm Oak, Field Maple, European Larch, Sweet Chesnut, Weeping Willow, Apple , Monkey Puzzle, Cornish Elm.

Curlew Country Offspring Visit Cornwall

You know birding and ringing have many directions in this day and age and I love the pace! So many different avenues you can pursue and so many surprises can be had in this modern age of internet, mobile phones and social media. From large county and national year lists to  worldwide birding and ringing opportunities at the click of a mouse button! Yet yesterday I had an encounter that bought some nostalgia and emotion that I have not truly experienced for a long time and made me reflect on why I choose to get up so early in the mornings and devote so many hours watching and monitoring the birds of Cornwall and beyond!

At Hayle Estuary located near West Cornwall I found a colour ringed Curlew. As many regular readers of this blog will know colour ring reading is a passion of mine and I never tire of the thrill of finding out where so many of our species originate from. I have had some surprises in the past of long distance migrations and I have also learnt an awful lot of the origins and lifestyles of many of our birds. Waders are normally the most fascinating of them all and can be from just about anywhere in the world!  

The un-seasonal bright sun made photographing the colour ringed Curlew (at the back) very difficult! 

It was great to get such a fast response from Tony Cross of the Curlew Country project informing me that it was the first ever recovery of one of there captive reared birds released in Shropshire! It was originally released at Stiperstones National Nature Reserve on 20th July 2018, yesterday it was located nearly 200 miles away in a flock of roughly 100 other (non-ringed) Curlews at Hayle Estuary.

I was thrilled and decided to take a look at the project and find out why they had decided to captive rear Curlew. 

I must admit that I am guilty of glazing over many posts found on social media and online forums asking for help or headlining as the next species we might lose and fear I had done the same with this one! Sounds harsh but it is so frequent now that I feel many projects get lost in the doom and gloom of an ever increasing plea for help and money! Each year the RSPB and BTO seem to be asking for help for a never ending stream of species and get caught up in red tape and bureaucracy and for me the practical element often seems lame when compared with the money raised. Now don't get me wrong I am not criticising the organisations, they must have so many employees that go home emotionally drained, contemplating the future of our wildlife and wonder if it would be far more effective to by a gun and dispatch the decision makers of this country! I am also aware of the many success stories that this country has witnessed and the people who are responsible for these conclusions deserve to be triumphant victors in such times of turmoil! So, with that in mind it was refreshing to see the approach taken by the Curlew Project team. I whole-heartdly feel that the approach they are taking is a pioneering one and is the key to making a real difference moving forward!

Local communities, society's and organisations could be the saviour of so many species if given the  right structure and instruction to work with. A worrying rift between the farming community and the environmental sector ( I use the term loosely) has formed in recent years, some difference of opinions are always going to be there as that is the nature of the beast. However, I live in a rural community and know that most farmers or people that rely on the countryside for their living are as concerned as the birders amongst us for the welfare of our natural world. 

The Curlew Country website has a brilliant short film capturing the relationship between a retired farmer and the Curlew that use his farm and I would urge you to watch it here: Keeper of the Call Film

Tony Cross stated near the end of the film that this is merely putting a band aid on a wound that needs greater attention! That is the real dilemma and one that seems to be harder than ever to put right. But with the correct relationships and education I hope that the future will see the correct decisions being made and the chance for strong recoveries for many species in the UK. 

For more information on the Curlew Country Project or to find out how you can make a donation please visit the following website: https://curlewcountry.org/