Cornwall in February

The rest of the family had gone off elsewhere for a couple of weeks leaving just me and the cat alone to our own devices. After a few days of rattling around in the house on my own I decided that a change of scenery for a few days would do me good as well so decided to head down to Cornwall. This choice of destination was strongly influenced by the fact that my brother and his wife had recently moved down to Penzance from London. Regular readers will recall that I used to own a holiday cottage down in Pendeen but eventually the burden of constant maintenance and an illegal campsite next door proved too much and it was sold. However, the promise of free accommodation that didn't require any DIY was too strong to resist and I arranged everything hastily before setting off on Friday morning at around 9am. 

In terms of what I was planning for my trip down to Cornwall, there were a few decent birds around. These included a pair of Lesser Scaup at Helston on the boating lake, the (presumably returning) Ring-billed Gull at Hayle that I'd seen last year, a Bonaparte's Gull along the promenade in Penzance and the Pacific Diver near Mousehole. Nothing too urgent but all nice birds to see. With the promise of a supporting case of some Divers, a couple of Black Redstart and an Iceland Gull or two it should be a nice weekend away. In addition, I was keen to do some walking and to explore bits of the area I'd not visited much before. In particular I was keen to visit some of the many ancient stone circles that are sited in this area. With some friends also to catch up with as well as my brother and his wife to see, it promised to be a good weekend away. 

There was one additional reason for going down: as I have discussed in previous posts (see e.g. The Zitting Cisticola twitch) that my binoculars have outlived their usefulness and were in sore need of replacement. I'd been meaning to visit an optics shop for some time to try various things out but each time something had come up to thwart me. I had more or less decided on getting the Swarovski 8 x 32 NL Pures, having read rave reviews about them and having tried out a birding friend's pair. Howver, I wanted to compare them to the 10 x 32's just in case I could be tempted to the higher magnification. I had my reservations about the higher magnification: being of slight stature a small, a lightweight pair would suit me better and I was wary of handshake counteracting any magnification benefit but it would be nice to at least test them out. So I made arrangements to stop off at South West Optics in Torquay. This would more or less be en route, entailing just a thirty minute detour from my route down to Cornwall. 

The journey to Torquay was uneventful and I arrived at just after midday at an industrial estate not too far off the main road into the town. The previous proprietor had been a Cornish birder whom I knew though he had retired and someone new had taken over. On the phone he had been trying to tempt me to the 10 x 32's saying how great they were but when I arrived he was all about the 8 x 32's. I was puzzled at this sudden change of advice until he confessed he'd just sold the last pair of 10 x 32's. Anyway, I tried the 8's and they were really good. I did notice that as I was a bit tired from driving I did have a bit of hand shake even with these so decided that these would be fine. Whenever I've used 10's in the past I've always found them too much in this respect. So I bought the 8's before heading back to the car and back on to Cornwall.

I finally arrived sometime around 3pm. With just a couple of hours of daylight left, and having spent most of the day in the car, I decided to head inland to go for a walk on the moors. There was a stone circle up behind Tregeseal that I wanted to visit so I headed up there. It was rather muddy on the track up but the beautiful ancient scenery and the lovely babbling stream that accompanies the track soon combined to work their magic and to soothe away the travails of the journey. Up on the moors themselves I revelled in the vast emptiness and the timelessness of the landscape. I'd forgotten just how beautiful it all was. I paid my respects to the stone circle and then wandered over to the rocky outcrop known as the Ancestors where I sat atop, taking it all in.

Tregeseal stone circle

The view from the Ancestors looking over towards St Just

 

In terms of birds (I supposed I ought to mention them since this is a birding blog) it was the usual stuff: a Stonechat, a Raven, a Kestrel and a Wren. As it started to get dark I headed back down, spotting a hunting Barn Owl as it quartered over the field next to me. This is actually a species that is not so easy to see in this area. Back in St Just (where I'd parked) I scored a quick cup of tea before heading back to Penzance to where my brother's house was. This turned out to be a wonderfully large victorian house on one of the leafy roads that leads down to the promenade at Penzance. It was far enough from the sea to be sheltered from direct storm damage and sea corrosion (something I knew of only too well from having to maintain my old holiday cottage) but close enough so you could walk there in a few minutes. There I passed a very pleasant evening catching up with the two of them and eating a very nice meal prepared by my brother, who is no mean chef. Then I turned in and slept soundly.

My plan for Saturday was for it to be my main birding day while I was down here. I started off with a walk down to the promenade and then along to Tolcarne beach - always one of my favourite locations in PZ. In past days the Bonaparte's Gull had been frequenting this area though it had not been seen for several days and I had more or less dropped it from my target list. Still I found one of the two Black Redstarts easily enough, hopping about on the wall and perching on the surrounding rooftops. There were plenty of Rock Pipits walking around under the parked cars - I'd forgotten how unphased they could be by people down here. 

The female type Black Redstart on the sea wall

One of the many Rock Pipits peeking out from behind a pub table

Next it was into Newlyn Harbour itself, looking for the juvenile Iceland Gull which has recently been seen on the traditional fish quay roof. There was no sign of it but a Great Norther Diver in the harbour was nice to see. I wandered down to the end of the harbour outer wall, enjoying the morning sunshine. It was all very pleasant.

Gig rowers in the harbour

The Great Northern Diver in the harbour

 

There are always plenty of Turnstone in the harbour at this time of year

Next I decided to walk to the other end of the promenade to year tick Purple Sandpiper off Battery Rocks. I enjoyed the walk but was disappointed to find no Sandpipers at all roosting there even though it was high tide. Disappointed I headed back to the house to grab some elevenses with my hosts before heading out again, this time in the car. 

First stop was to Helston to catch up with the long-staying pair of Lesser Scaup. They had made the boating lake their home for the winter and seemed from reports to be a sure thing. True to form, after a bit of searching I found them tucked up asleep. I took some photos though they never really got too close nor raised their heads for long.

The Helston boating lake has hosted quite a few rare duck over the years

The two Lesser Scaup, tucked up with a wary eye open

The female actually lifted her head briefly

Next, it was off to Hayle estuary to try for the Ring-billed Gull. I opted for Lelant Station as a viewing platform where I'd had success last year on the Booted Eagle trip. There I met with a fellow birder and we scanned together. We got chatting and he turned out to be a local who had moved down from the Teeside area. Despite our combined efforts we could neither find the Ring-billed Gull nor the adult Iceland Gull that had occasionally been reported. There were several Med Gulls, the usual Common Gull flock that the Ring-billed liked to associated with. A Bar-tailed Godwit was a year tick and there were a few Goosander in the channel as well. All good stuff and I wasn't too bothered about missing my target. 

News had broken that the Bonaparte's Gull was back along the promenade at Wherrytown. I'd arranged to meet a friend for a walk at Marazion beach at 3pm but just had time to nip back into PZ to see if I could connect. I parked by the tennis courts and started walking towards Newlyn. In the end the flock of loafing gulls were right by the river outflow at Tolcarne so I had to walk the entire distance. There was a birder down on the beach but I decided to stay on the promenade. After a bit of scanning I found the Bonaparte's on the rocks. I yelled down to the other birder and put him on it. I was just about to do some digiscoping when it flew off. Looking at the time I decided not to linger any longer but hurried back to the car for my rendezvous at Marazion. 

As I didn't manage a photo myself, here is fabulous shot, borrowed from the CBWPS website, taken by Adrian Langdon ©

 

At Marazion I had a lovely walk along the beach with my friend, admiring St Michael's Mount (though we didn't go over) and then walking along St. Michael's Way a bit, following the Red River along the edge of the marsh. Very enjoyable! Then we parted company and I headed back to my brother's place. That evening we went out for a very nice meal in the town. I was quite tired after my day out in the fresh air and soon retired to bed for the evening.

St. Michael's Mount as yet another band of rain approaches

 

Marazion Marsh from St Michael's Way

The next day I decided on a more leisurely start. After breakfast I first walked down to Tolcarne and Newlyn again. Once again I came across the female type Black Redstart and the Great Northern Diver was still in the harbour but once again there was no sign of the juvenile Iceland Gull.

The female type Black Redstart. I am guessing a 1w male as it appeared to be singing

The Great Northern Diver was showing better today

 

I went back to my brother's for elevenses and a catch-up with them before heading up the road to the Penzance Quaker meeting. I attend in Oxford and thought it would be interesting to see what it would be like attending another meeting. They had an excellent on site shop where after the meeting I had a nice bit of cake and a chat. Then it was back to base for lunch. 

For the afternoon I planned to explore the area near St. Buryan where there were a couple of stone circles I wanted to visit. The first was at Boscowen-un which involved a five minute slither down a muddy track to a lovely little circle. Set in amongst the surrounding Bracken and Blackthorn, it was gorgeous! 

The beautiful Boscowen-un stone circle

Then on to the Merry Maidens. This was just sited in a grass field so not quite as beautiful surrounding but was still very nice. Then it was back to base via St Just for another quick cup of tea. The evening was spent quietly at my brother's chatting with my hosts before turning in early once again.

The Merry Maidens stone circle

Monday dawned to torrential rain and strong winds. I was due to go back today but as I was in no hurry I thought I would do a bit more birding. I did have to nip into town to buy a gift for the neighbour who was looking after the cat while I was away. So I thought I would walk along the promenade and go via Battery Rocks just in case the Purple Sandpipers were back. This turned out to be quite an experience! The tide was in and despite walking on the landward side of the road I managed to get splooshed by a breaking wave and got soaked. Miraculously there were some Purple Sanpipers hunkered down on the rocks so it was worth the soaking after all.

Purple Sandpipers trying not to be blown away in the wind

After my errand I returned to the house and said my farewells to my hosts before heading of in the rain back home. Before hitting the A30, I decided to nip into Hayle for one last try for the Ring-billed Gull on the way. As the tide was high I first went to Ryan's Field though something had flushed all the birds and there were only a few Lapwing and Redshank about. Next a trip across the road to the causeway where there were some loafing Gulls as well as the Dunlin flock but no Ring-billed. Not to worry, I soaked up the sights and sounds of the estuary for a bit before reluctantly heading off on the A30 for the long slog home.

Hayle Estuary Gulls waiting out the high tide

I broke up the journey by rendezvousing with a friend who lives in Devon at one of the service stations on the A30. We had a lovely chat while the weather raged outside. Then it was back on the road, negotiating the rain which had reached biblical proportions. It was hard work that required extra concentration but eventually I arrived back at Casa Gnome late afternoon tired but very pleased with my long weekend away down in Cornwall. Now that my brother has a place down there, I can't help but think that this will be the first of many return trips to the far South West.

 

 

 

 

Ripley Killdeer

January is usually a quiet time of the year for national twitching. Looking back through the past few years of my blog posts there was only one national twitch in this month (for the Northern Waterthrush) so I wasn't expecting anything this year. So when on Wednesday news broke of a Killdeer it was most unusual. What's more it was not on a distant Scottish island like they usually are but rather down in Hampshire, an eminently twitchable distance for me. What was not to like? It was found on Wednesday morning and I did contemplate cancelling all my meetings and rushing off but in the end decided against it. Instead I planned to go the next day after a morning meeting. I messaged a couple of birding friends who were both happy to tag along for the ride and the plan was set. All that was needed now was for the bird to be still present the next morning.

The bird duly obliged by staying put overnight so late morning I picked up PL and EU at a convenient rendezvous point and we set off on the drive down the A34 to Hampshire. The weather was decidely inclement and we regularly drove through heavy rain showers on the way down. As we headed along the familiar route there was the usual banter about past twitches and what we'd all seen and missed over the years. All classic stuff and thoroughly enjoyable. After what has been a rather stressful few weeks for me it felt really good to be out and about on a days birding with a couple of birding pals. We realised that the last time the three of us had been out on a national twitch together had been the Aquatic Warbler at Upper Beeding back in 2023 - good times! As we drove I mooted the idea of stopping off for the now-resident Great-tailed Grackle in Holbury on the way back. Having seen it myself when it was first discovered in Calshot, it would be nice to revist it in its new urban setting. PL had not yet seen it at all and was very keen. EU had already seen it in both settings but was happy to pay it another visit. 

Finally we turned off the A31 onto a very minor B road that lead south through the windy back roads of deepest darkest Hampshire towards our destination. The bird news services had warned about difficult parking and had suggested some parking sites quite some distance away from the bird. However, looking at the map I could see quite a few suitable locations pretty close by so had set the Sat Nav accordingly on a hunch that we would be OK. In the event, my hunch proved correct and we found a nice place in a layby no more than 100 yards from the path towards the bird. Given the showery weather I put all my waterproofs on before heading off towards the path. Then it was a walk of about 600 metres past a pig field on the right and a hedgerow on the left that was bordering a small farm reservoir. At the far end was a group of about 30 or so birders with scopes all pointed to the far side of the reservoir to a boggy field. This was the moment of truth! 

There was no need to worry, the bird was still there and several people offered views through their scopes of the target. Tick - and relax! It was hunkered down facing away from us, partially obscured by a small ridge with just its head and upper body visible. There it was, looking a bit cold in the dank conditions. I set up my scope and was just sorting out my digiscoping gear when a shout went up that a White-tailed Eagle was flying behind us along the boundary of the field. We all swivelled to look behind us and sure enough there was the unmistakable flying barn door. What a bonus! I'd certainly not been expecting that! It had been a few years since I'd last seen one so this was very nice to see. 

After the excitment of the eagle interlude it was back to the star bird. Eventually it got up and started to wander about so I was able to appreciate it in all its plovery glory. There were the classic twin breast bands and the long tailed, long necked look. All very nice! I set about taking some video and then trying to phone scope it. The persistent rain wasn't helping and my results were no more than record shots but still nice to get.

Some digiscoped footage of the star bird

 

Three phonescoped record shots

 

Looking across the corner of the reservoir to the boggy field beyond, where the Killdeer was located

The obligatory twitch shot of the crowd admiring the bird

After about an hour I checked in with the other two who were both happy to head off so we retraced our steps to the car, stopping for a celebratory selfie in the rain on the way.

"We've just seen a Killdeer!" - three wet but happy birders

Back at the car I set the Sat Nav for Holbury where the Grackle was located, some 45 minutes away. The bird had relocated here after first making landfall at Calshot where it had been found. On the way we stopped at a small village for much appreciated lunch and some hot drinks. Then it was back on the road through the familiar expanse of the New Forest and then back onto more major roads before finally arriving at Holbury. Then it was down a couple of side roads to a corner where EU assured us the bird was always located. We pulled up and before we even got out of the car I spotted the unmistakable silhouette of the Grackle, sitting on top of a metal pole in its favoured garden. We got out and took some photos but with its high perch, it was rather back-lit and harder to photograph properly. It then proceeded to have a little fly around, perching on several telegraph poles for extended periods of time, making it even less photographable I tried to tempt it down with some crumbled up flapjack on the grass but it was clearly too well fed as it wasn't interested. 

The Grackle turning its nose up at my flapjack offering

So it was time for another celebratory selfie before we got back in the car.

The three of us and the "Hand of God" pointing out the Grackle on the pole behind us

 

With it now being rush hour the Sat Nav was saying longer to get back but we didn't mind. We stopped off on the A34 at a service station for hot drinks where a lovely roost of 100+ Pied Wagtails were all gathered on the roof and then in the neighbouring trees. Finally we were back at the rendezvous point where the other two disembarked and we all headed home. It had been a lovely day out with a couple of very nice target birds seen and a lovely Eagle bonus. Top craic!

2025 End of Year Review

I thought I would make a concerted effort this year to get my end of year done in reasonable time rather than leaving it until mid January. In traditional fashion for me, it's broken down into Patch, County and National birding with an interlude for non-birds. Each section will have a much coveted Bird of the Year Award which I know my readers will be dying to find out about! So, all in all, it's been a very good year with two of the three sections having a very solid year. So, without further ado, let's kick things off.

Port Meadow Birding

This was the one section which has a poor year. The unseasonal weather meant that the flood waters, that are so vital to the patch birding, dried up in mid April, thereby depriving us of many vital wader ticks that we could usually rely on. Also there were no stand-out rarities at all, just a suite of "good patch birds". So things like Marsh Harrier, Crossbill, Siberian Chiffchaff, Woodcock, both Partridges (sadly both untwitchable) and multiple Tree Pipits were all seen. These are all great "padder" birds and good birds to have on the patch but sadly, that one star bird that would have made the year, was never seen. This combined with a certain phasing on my part as far as the patch is concerned has left the Patch birding scene a bit in the doldrums this year. To reflect that, the Patch Bird of the Year award is going to be left unawarded this year, a sad testament to a more humdrum year.

 

County Birding

Constrast this with the Oxfordshire birding year which has been stellar. This was due in no small part to the phenominal bird finding efforts of Jeremy Dexter who single handedly found the vast majorty of the top county birds this year.

It all kicked off in late May when a visiting birder claimed a Savi's Warbler in the Otmoor reedbed. Initial scepticism was soon quashed when early county birders confirmed the ID. This was a county tick for everyone and a mass twitch ensued.  

Savi's Warbler courtesy of Ian Lewington

 

The next county gem was a Marsh Sandpiper, found by JD at Pit 60 in Standlake. News didn't break until after dark so it was a dawn twitch for many county birders who had missed the only other one back in the day in Abingdon.

Marsh Sandpiper courtesy of Thomas Miller

The JD finding machine stepped up another gear with an amazing Bluethroat at the second screen at Otmoor at the start of October. Yet another county first for everyone, this was totally left field. Fortunately it hung around for a while so many people connected.

 

Bluethroat courtesy of Richard Stevens

There was one more county tick for me this year when JD found a pair of Twite at Farmoor one blustery and rainy afternoon. Pandemonium ensued as people tried to get to the birds. I managed it and finally got back a county blocker of many years.

Farmoor Twite courtesy of Jeremy Dexter

 

There was also a lovely supporting case of good birds with Slavonian Grebe, Scaup, Temminck's Stint, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Bean Goose and Common Scoter. Combined with some other county birds that I didn't see such as Red-footed Falcon, Pectoral Sandpiper, Honey Buzzard and Manx Shearwater it was by any measure a great birding year in the county.

My personal Oxon Bird of the Year is a tricky one because I am rather spoilt for choice. Any of my four county ticks could legitimately claim the prize. The Marsh Sandpiper and Twite had prior county history and I guess a Savi's Warbler at Otmoor isn't altogether left field. However, a Bluethroat at Otmoor would never have been on my bingo card so it has to go to that.

Finally for the county section, here is the traditional Gnome Oxon Birding Review for 2025. Expect the usual frenetic sound track and high octanse bird photos! 

 

Other Stuff Interlude

These days, other stuff consists of the two O's: Orchids and Odonata so very much confined to the summer months. On the Orchid front I finally managed a genuine Pugsley's Marsh Orchid as part of the summer Uni Run.  

Pugsley's Marsh Orchid on Anglesey

There was also a trip to deepest, darkest Suffolk to see a Greek Plowshare Tongue Orchid that had turned up in a wildflower meadow at a vineyard.

Greek Plowshare Tongue Orchid

The only Odonata action this year was to twitch a Norfolk Hawker that had been found at Blenheim. This species is normally confined to East Anglia but I guess it must be expanding its range as one was seen at Otmoor last year and this as well.

 

National Birding

My national birding trips are an important part of my enjoyment of this hobby and this year was a good year. With five BOU approved ticks and 3 Gnome Ticks it was certainly better than my usual efforts.

It all started back in February with a weekend away to see the Marazion Booted Eagle. After giving me the runaround for a couple of days, I finally connected on the morning of my departure.  

In the end I got great views of the Booted Eagle

Next was a Uni Run up to York where, at the second attempt, I saw the Bourne Dark-breasted Barn Owl. A lovely looking varition on our usual Barn Owl, it was well worth making an effort for. 

 

In the spring was a trip to Slimbridge, finally to see the regular summer visiting Bluethroat. This was a "White-spotted" subspecies tick for me as hitherto I'd only seen a first winter "Bluethroat species".

Then followed, the first of two birding trips to Suffolk, firstly for the immature Black Stork which showed ridiculously well.

Then it was back to Suffolk for the Zitting Cisticola which I struggled fully to appreciate due to hearing and binocular difficulties.

The discovery of a Grackle down in Hants made for a nice easy twitch. The ID kept changing but DNA analysis has now confirmed it as Great-tailed Grackle. 

December punched above its weight with two trips. Firstly I had a fun weekend chasing the Lesser Crested Tern around the Exe Estuary in a howling gale. With a Cirl Bunting bonus it made for a great weekend away.

Secondly, an early evening twitch to a Swansea Park gave me a lovely Scop's Owl sighting and sweet revenge for dipping one back in 2017. Talking of owls, this year I set myself the "Five Owl Challenge" to see all five UK owl species in the year. Not a difficult challenge I know and it could even be done in one day. I managed not only the core five easily enough fairly early on in the year but with the Dark-breasted Barn Owl and the Scop's Owl in total I managed seven. Not too shabby!

The Swansea Scop's Owl

So all in all a great year from a national birding perspective. As far as the the National Bird of the Year is concerned, there are a few to choose from as it's been a fruitful and enjoyable national year. In terms of being the hardest work and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat the Booted Eagle has to have it though an honourable mention should be made of the Scop's Owl revenge tick.

 

There you have it. It only remains for me to wish all my readers a very Happy and Bird-filled New Year!