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Birding Cornwall with the family in September 2008
In September this year my family and I had a holiday in Cornwall. We stayed in a holiday home in Crantock near Newquay. In this article I relate the birds that I (we) saw during our 2 week stay, this was not an intensive birding holiday (Nathalie may disagree), rather a family holiday with much time spent on the beach building sand castles with Samuel (aged 3).
While I have done some birdwatching in Cornwall before I am not overly familiar with the county, so I go armed with OS maps and the new Best Birdwatching Sites - Cornwall & Scilly by Sara Mahon & Nigel Hudson. This is an excellent book practical and informative and I would recommend it to anyone intending to visit this area. I would add that I am not receiving commission for this plug but that if the authors or publishers would like to send my a case of wine or a free holiday in the Caribbean I here by let it be known that I would whole heartily accept.
I do not use a pager service for bird information and with no internet connection at the cottage I would like some way of knowing if there is a rare bird about that may be worth seeing. So I take out a 1 month subscription to Birdguides Text Message Alert service, at a cost of £5, which includes the first 20 messages. You select what reports you want to receive and I have selected to receive first reports of rare and scarce birds in Cornwall. I am not sure that Birdguides will thank me for this plug as I think the idea of the 1 month subscription is to trial the service as a precursor to an annual subscription rather than like me use it once a year while on holiday.
Anyway, on with the birds. Sunday the 7th September the 10 minute walk back form Crantock beach across the dunes and down a minor road produces; Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Herring Gull, Barn Swallow, Stonechat, Rook, Woodpigeon, Wheatear, House Martin, Magpie, Chiffchaff, Robin and Greenfinch.
At 6.30pm spend ¾ of an hour on Towan Head (the headland at Newquay) this is not a prime seawatching site yet it is ideally situated and does in the right conditions see good seabird passage. On the grassy slopes up to the headland note Wheatear, Rock Pipit, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit. On the rocks below the headland there are Oystercatcher and Great Black Backed Gull; at sea there is nothing more than Fulmar and Cormorant.
Monday the 8th September set off for the Land’s End peninsula on the way spend just over an hour at the Hayle Estuary from 10.30 and although this covers the high tide at 11.15am it is a low high tide. Additional species recorded are Grey Wagtail, Black Headed Gull, Little Egret 15, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Kingfisher, Dunlin, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Shellduck, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Teal, Wigeon, Canada Goose, Redshank, Greylag Goose, 6 Black Tailed Godwit and Wren.
At Sennen Cove leave Nathalie and Samuel on the beach, not before having lunch and noting Gannet and Sandwich Tern out in the bay and Buzzard and the chee-ow call of 2 Chough high over the bay. A couple of local birders later informed that there are now sufficient Chough in this part of Cornwall for this to be a regular occurrence.
My next port of call is to check a report yesterday of a Marsh Warbler trapped and released into an area of scrub near Sennen village. Upon finding the area of scrub realise that the task of finding the Marsh Warbler is nigh on impossible. Meet the ringer who informs that the Marsh Warbler was one of only 7 birds caught the day before and that it has not been seen since it’s release. The same chap does though point me in the direction of a nearby ploughed field that held a dotterel earlier. Find the field and a couple of local birders looking at the DOTTEREL, 3 Golden Plover, 2 Ringed Plover, White Wagtail and Wheatear.
The weather has changed and a couple of showers have made it a bit cold on the beach, so Nathalie and Samuel join me for a trip down to Porthgwarra. The scrub does not yield the Melodious Warbler that it has been holding for a few days and I have to make do with Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Whitethroat, Great Tit and Collared Dove. A short seawatch is equally disappointing adding only Shag and Kittiwake and a passing Peregrine, the highlight is several Basking Shark.
After a couple of days on the beach, 11th September sees us heading to Davidstow and the disused airfield, with has a good track record for attracting American waders. A Buff-breasted Sandpiper was reported there on the 9th and again yesterday, but sadly there is no sign that morning. A small mixed flock of Dunlin and Ringed Plover are present together with Wheatear and Pied Wagtail.
Crowdy Reservoir adjacent to the airfield, provides a hide for lunch but only Kestrel and Great Crested Grebe for the bird list. After all the recent rain any muddy margins to the reservoir are long under water.
Head for Tintagel where Nathalie takes Samuel around the castle while I spend an hour sea watching. A steady flow of Gannet and Fulmar are heading west. Two Skua’s head the same way, the 2nd bird is a dark phased Arctic Skua, the 1st bird is smaller, longer tailed, long winged, shows no white patches in the wings and although also a dark phase bird is paler than the Arctic, this is a juvenille LONG TAILED SKUA. Several Manx Shearwater, Kittiwake and a couple of unidentified auks complete this sea watch.
Saturday 13th September is to be a birding day for me. I head off early leaving the family behind, I drive the circa 1 hour to Land’s End and check Sennen Cove at 1st light for the any of the 50+ Grey Phalarope that have been present over the last 2 days, sadly the only addition to the trip list is Turnstone. The weather has improved the day is going to be warm, the sea is calm with a light southerly wind and the phalarope’s appeared to have cleared off.
Not surprisingly, given the conditions there is little of interest on the sea at Porthgwarra only a couple of dolphin / porpoise (I am never sure of the way to separate the 2). Common birds for the trip list are Goldfinch, Sparrowhawk, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Starling, Linnet, Dunnock and Blackbird.
So a little despondently, I head up to Trevean Pool (a small pool in the scrub at Porthgwarra) where a Wryneck was reported a couple of days ago. I hear Stonechat and scan for it in order to added it to the day list, pick up the bird +1 other, which I assume is another stonechat, it does not look quite right sitting a little lower on the gorse / bracken than the stonechat and it appears bigger. Having looked at this bird a couple of times decide somewhat reluctantly to get the scope off my shoulder and check it out, to my astonishment the scope reveals a WRYNECK sitting with it’s back to me. The bird then fly’s; showing it’s long shrike like tail; out of view and despite searching I cannot relocate it. But O how a birding day improves in an instant. The pool when I get there holds 3 Green Sandpiper.
From Porthgwarra head to Poliggiga (Nanjizal valley area) from where a Buff Breasted Sandpiper was reported a couple of days ago. On the walk to the ploughed field from where the report came, locate a warbler in the hedge. First impression is of a Garden Warbler, indeed crown and mantle are the same uniform warm brown. Note though a long tail which I even consider to be a locustella warbler like tail, I get a good view of the undertail which is white with distinct pale v markings otherwise underparts are pale with whiter throat. Uppertail is brown with white outer tail feathers. I get a very brief view of back and wing which is uniform brown except for some darker markings on the coverts and tertials. The warbler then drops out of view. It was only later after comparing my notes with the field guide that the penny dropped; this is an immature BARRED WARBLER. Circumstantially there has been a Barred Warbler reported from this area twice in the last couple of days I had forgotten this at the time in the rush to get to the Buff Breasted. Kick myself, as there were 2 birders 50 yards up the path who I did not call to come and see my mystery warbler. Broke the golden rule, “if in doubt shout it out”, partly as I believed, incorrectly, at the time that the 2 birders were looking into a field with a Buff Breasted Sandpiper in it. As it happened they were just looking at a field. The BUFF BREASTED SANDPIPER was in a field a ¼ of a mile further on and showed excellently. My apologies to the Northants birders with whom I shared the sandpiper that I did not also share the warbler. I am just glad that this happened in Cornwall imagine reporting a Barred Warbler at Grimley 3 hours after I had seen it!
Only other additions to the trip list are House Sparrow and Greenfinch.
Final port of call is back at Sennen Cove where the Northants birds inform that there has been a report of 21 Grey Phalarope’s this morning, cannot find the phalarope’s there is though a Knot.
The afternoon of 15th September sees me with the family back at Poliggiga twitching a Tawny Pipit reported that morning. The pipit would be a British tick and still would be, as there is no sign of this bird. There is a small Linnet flock, a couple of Meadow Pipits, Wheatear, Stonechat and 2 Whinchat.
We head round the corner to Porthgwarra, to have another look for Melodious Warbler or to do a bit of sea watching. Parking up meet a couple of birders coming off the headland who report a good seabird passage in the last ¾ of an hour. They have seen Balearic and Sooty Shearwater, Black Tern and Great and Arctic Skua; they also report that they can see some rain heading our way. Trek up to the headland and it is soon drizzling, note an Arctic Skua and then a Great Skua, fail to get my scope on a shearwater. By the time a Diver goes by it is raining steadily and my scope is wet, Nathalie and Samuel arrive on the headland and do not have to try hard to persuade me to abandon the sea watch. I hate sea watching, it either seems to be too nice and there are no birds or the weather is so horrible that you cannot see out of your scope. Take refuge in the car, where we eat our picnic tea; watching the scrub hoping the Melodious will pass by, it does not.
Spend the following day at the Lappa Valley Railway (miniature steam railway), where incidentally, Long tailed Tit, Moorhen, Jay, Mallard and Pheasant are added to the trip list. On the back of reports received that day decide to make the next day Wednesday 17th September an Ed birding day, and once again set out at 5.45am for the circa 1 hour drive to the Land’s End peninsula.
Head for the Pendeen Lighthouse, to do a little sea watching, not that I am overly hopeful for the sea watch, the weather forecast is too good. Arrive at first light, worst fears are confirmed, this is one of the best sea watch spots on the UK mainland and mine is the only car in the car park. Highlights of the sea watch are 3 Arctic Skua’s and 4 Common Scoter. Not too despondent head back to the car and the real reason I have come to Pendeen, on the road up to the watch there was a probable Greenish Warbler reported yesterday. Find the relatively small area of sycamore’s described, again there are no other birders present, spend ½ an hour but assume that the bird had remained a probable and had not been relocated hence the lack of birders.
Next stop the village of Treen near St Levan, a local chap sees me in the car park with my binoculars and scope and asks me if I am looking for the Rosy Starling. Yes I am I reply, its on the chimney of the 2nd house on the right he informs and indeed there is the cracking adult ROSY STARLING (nee ROSE COLOURED STARLING).
Buoyed by the starling head for Porthcurno, determined to sit it out for a Melodious Warbler. Porthcurno is in between St Levan and Porthgwarra and I have a quite specific description of where a Melodious was seen yesterday evening. It is still only 10am, but the day is already pleasantly warm and ideal for seeing any migrants that may be present. Find the spot, set up scope and prepare to wait it out, see a Robin and Blue Tit, move a bit further down the valley take a footpath which gets me in among and above some of the scrub, again wait it our, this is better, Chiffchaff, a Garden Warbler eating elderberries, Spotted Flycatcher, Goldcrest and Willow Warbler. Back to the original spot a Crossbill goes over giving it’s jip jip call but there is no sign of the Melodious in the 2½ hours that I spend there.
Decide to give Porthgwarra another go and spend an hour at the bottom of “sixty foot cover” where again a Melodious had been reported. 2 Chough go over but not a lot else is noted. I was just thinking about taking in one of the reservoirs Drift or Stithians on the way back to Newquay when a birder at the café informs that the Greenish Warbler showed well all day yesterday and that it has been reported today, this just shows the down side of taking “1st reports” only.
Return to Pendeen, where there are now a few other birders, as mentioned earlier this is a relatively small area of cover and the bird has been seen in the last 5 minutes. Within a couple of minutes the GREENISH WARBLER is relocated and seen well. This is a British tick and a good point at which to end my day, head home and spend the last 2 days of our holiday visiting St Ives (not to sea watch) and on the beach. Another report of a Tawny Pipit in Cot Valley late on the Friday afternoon does not warrant abandoning the family. The Western Bonelli’s Warbler may well have warranted such an abandonment had it not been reported as present on Thursday in an area with no general access but no sign on Friday.
My trip list is not large circa 90 species, taking in 1 or 2 of the reservoirs and a piece of woodland may have helped here. I have also had to take my time wherever I have gone as I am still recovering from a long-term ankle injury. Although a 2-week holiday, I have only spent 2 days birding plus 1 day and 2 ½ birding days with the family.
I have mentioned some of the species which I dipped on, there were during this 2 weeks further reports of birds which with more birding time may have been gettable: -
Pectoral Sandpiper x 2
Temminck’s Stint
Wryneck 4 further reports
Red Backed Shrike x 2
Dartford Warbler, now breed in the Lizard area.
3 further Melodious Warbler’s
and a further Rosy Starling
In summary managed to combine a family holiday with some great birding. I never managed to time my sea watching quite right but did see some rare migrants.
Edward Lea | 
