Pacific Diver!

Last Thursday I met up with fellow young birders and photographers Lisle Gwynn, Max Thompson and Jack Barton to head down to Penzance and see what we could find/photograph. We headed off in the early afternoon, with grey clouds looming overhead and the threat of rain. Nevertheless, we continued on down to Penzance and headed to the rocky point where Purple Sandpipers can often be found at close range. It was high tide, which boded well for finding this smart little waders, but unfortunately a lone Turnstone was all that remained besides the harbour. Unfazed, we scanned the surrounding sea and horizon to see if any wildfowl or seabirds were present in the bay....

There wasn't a great deal to see, aside a few distant Gannets, a flock of Common Scoters, and a lone diver. At a fair range, it looked Great Northern Diver-esque to me, but then we saw what were definitely Great Northerns a little beyond this bird, and realised that this was actually a Black-throated, with a more slender build and compact body. Lisle, knowing the area better than me, mentioned the fact that the Pacific should be returning soon, which spurred us on to try and ascertain a positive ID on this bird. Unfortunately, the diver had other ideas in mind, and proceeded to appear and re-appear in increasingly more distant locations, always seemingly with its back to us.

After a little while we lost the bird altogether, but scanning back towards the seafront in Penzance I picked it up again, this time much closer in. We scurried around and along the promenade, eventually moving close enough to get some reasonable views, where we could clearly see the absence of any white flank patch, and... a chinstrap! Just about visible on Max's images with his monster 500mm f4. We walked even further along the seafront, until the bird wasn't too far away at all, and we proceeded to watch it feeding. The features of Pacific Diver were now much more apparent, and we were all pleased to connect with this superb bird, which seems to have been returning to this area for perhaps seven years!

The Pacific Diver

After happily viewing the diver for a good hour or so, we headed over to the nearby Marazion marsh to witness the brilliant Starling roost that takes place in the reed beds most winter nights. The first undulating flocks arrived around 4pm, and gradually increased in number until around 8,000 birds were visible. We were treated to some cool murmurations, and the amazing sight of seeing 8,000 Starlings pile into an area of reed bed the size of a tennis court! It is always a pleasure and privilege to witness this awesome avian display of coordination and maneuverability.  

Here are a handful of images:

And finally, a few random shots to end this blog post...

Firecrests seem to be everywhere at the moment! There have been up to four individuals on campus, with this bird even landing on the roof of one building! I have been seeing up to three birds around the nearby College lake, and a minimum of three at Swanpool too!

Black-headed Gull at sunrise in Swanpool

 Woodpigeon

Birding the Hayle Estuary - 19th November

I spent much of yesterday morning birding the Hayle Estuary (north Cornwall) with fellow birder and photographer Max Thompson. Despite the heavy drizzle that presided throughout most of our visit, we saw a respectable selection waders and waterfowl. This was partly due to the high tide forcing many birds into the inner marsh and close to the road, making birding easier.

Spending our first hour in the hide near the inner marsh, we were pleased to see the two Spoonbills that have been present here for sometime, after the pair flew in and landed not far away. It was great to see some 140 Lapwings, 14 Redshanks, 12 Curlews, two Goosanders, two Snipe, two Bar-tailed Godwits and a Greenshank from the hide too. We spent quite a while being entertained by the persistent plunge-diving feeding technique deployed by a particular Black-headed Gull directly in front of the hide (see below).

Venturing towards the estuary side after the rain had eased somewhat, we came to the bulk of the birds that reside in the Hayle: wildfowl. There must have been some 700 Wigeons and 120 Teals spread out in loosely-clustered flocks along the roadside, trying to avoid the worst of the weather. A high tide roos of gulls included around 170 Herring, six Lesser Black-backed, eight Greater Black-backed and 20 Mediterranean Gulls. We could also pick out 13 Shellducks, 13 Turnstones, a Ringed Plover and four Dunlins. It was great scanning through this multitude of birdlife and seeing what we could pick out. I look forward to heading back soon. Here are some shots from the day.

The inner marsh and hide at Hayle

Tufted Duck

Black-headed Gulls

The cool plunge-diving technique deployed by this Black-headed Gull was cool to watch

Little Egret

Spoonbills!

Wigeon numbers are really building around the Cornish coast now

Dunlins

Some late autumn birding

The weather has really shifted over the last week or two, and it now feels that we are truly saying goodbye to autumn, and entering the grey embraces of winter. Still, it isn't all doom and gloom, with stunning displays of colour still remaining in the form of autumnal leaves adorning the trees of broadleaf woodlands. Despite the grey, wet and windy weather experienced in the last week, there are still plenty of birds around, and this has provided plenty of interest in between lectures and revision for exams.

Winter tit-feeding flocks are becoming a familiar sight in woodlands all around the nearby reservoirs and gardens, with some lovely scarcities hiding amongst the common species. The constantly chattering gatherings of Long-tailed, Blue, Great and Coal Tits have been joined Goldcrests and Firecrests in some areas (the campus and college reservoir seem to be the best sites for these cracking birds), although the latter have been a little scarcer. It was a very nice surprise this morning (9th) to come across a smart Yellow-browed Warbler amongst a small flock on campus- not every university is able to lay claim to frequent Yellow-browed Warblers on campus!

Thrushes have now well and truly pitched up in the surrounding areas, although no doubt some proportion of the thousands of birds moving through have continued on down to winter on the nearby continent. It has been great to see holly, spruce and hawthorn bushes covered in Blackbirds, Redwings and Song Thrushes, whilst loose flocks of Fieldfares and Mistle Thrushes appear every now and then in the farmland. Skylark flocks have settled into the stubble fields adjacent to our caravan site, and a few days ago I saw a singing male Woodlark amongst them! In addition, Starlings (in far lower numbers than I would like), Chaffinches and Linnets are all making use of the stubble and newly-ploughed fields around Mawnan Smith.

To the coast, the windy and wavy weather has produced some sizeable feeding flocks of Black-headed Gulls, but I haven't been able to pick out anything particularly different as yet, besides the usual overwintering Mediterranean Gulls. I am really looking forward to when the winter divers and grebes build in number in the estuaries and bays around the coast. Perhaps the Pacific Diver will make an appearance soon?

Here are a selection of images from the last couple of weeks:

Firecrest numbers seem to have dropped off a little in the last week or two, with just the occasional bird popping up around campus, and a few tagging along in the feeding flocks around the nearby reservoirs

The Yellow-browed Warbler present at the bottom of Penryn campus this morning- the third on campus in a month!!

There are plenty of Goldcrests around, particularly around the sallows at the reservoirs

It has been really cool to watch these superb birds, as I rarely get the chance to watch Long-tailed Tits on Bardsey

Great Tit

Jays continue to stash up acorns ahead of the winter, although many of the oak trees are running out of seeds now

Third-winter Mediterranean Gull? Up to 10 can be seen on Gylly Beach in Falmouth

Black-headed Gulls

Falmouth - my new home!

Well, it is official! I have actually left Bardsey Island, and for a fairly long stretch of time at that!! I have travelled down to Falmouth with courtesy of my Mum, and will beginning a three-year course on Conservation and Ecology with Exeter University here at Penrhyn, in the heart of Cornwall. Although leaving the island is hard, I am sure it will be an enjoyable experience, with many opportunities for birding, photography, exciting wildlife and new friends!

A parting shot from the isle...a 30 second exposure during which I tried to spell my name with a headtorch (it sort of worked...)

After arriving on Saturday after a fairly long drive down, it has been fun settling into my term-time accommodation, which is actually a static caravan that i am sharing with my sister (who is studying Art with Falmouth Uni). Calm conditions and overcast skies on the night of the 12th gave the perfect opportunity to put out my small heath trap near the caravan, and take part in this year's National Moth Night. I was very surprised to find two stunning moths in amongst the more common selection of species on the Sunday morning...a stunning CONVOLVULUS HAWKMOTH, and even more impressive male BLACK ARCHES. The latter, despite being relatively common in the UK, is a new one for me! So a little bit of a jammy first session really! I also managed to get a smart Centre-barred Sallow in a campsite on our way down to Cornwall on the 11th...

Black Arches (Lymantria monachai) are truly stunning moths, especially males such as this individual!! The antenna are highly bipectinate, and are thus very photogenic! 

Something of a surprise to have in my first every moth-trap at my new home- a smart Convolvulus Hawkmoth!

Centre-barred Sallow

A smart little micro I found in the fields near the caravan- Eupoecilia angustana

 Yesterday I visited the Lizard Peninsula with fellow course mate Will Hawkes (who also happened to visit Bardsey this summer!), my sister and Mum. We managed to dodge the rain showers, and had a pleasant walk along the coastal path towards Lizard Lighthouse. The colours of the cliffs were superb, with carpets of Hottentot Fig and Rock Samphire giving a lovely autumnal hue of subtle reds and oranges to the steep cliffs. With a strong westerly wind, a bit of searching out to sea revealed a small passage of seabirds taking place, the best of which came in the form of two Sooty Shearwaters; Gannets, Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were streaming past. Sheltering in the lee of the various earth banks was a Whinchat and small number of Wheatears. It was cool to see Choughs too- something I am a little spoilt with!

 The lovely colours of the Hottentot Fig

Looking south down the Cornwall coast from near Lizard Lighthouse

Closer to 'home', I am quite lucky to be situated just a matter of minutes away from two very nice freshwater lakes: namely Argal and College Lakes. From the brief explorations around these bodies of freshwater, it seems that they will make a good patch for my birding excursions: Great Crested Grebes and Little Grebes seem relatively common, and the feeding looks good for the possibility of many other species of wildfowl to drop in. It is great to already see mixed flocks of Goldcrests, Chiffchaffs, Long-tailed, Great and Blue Tits noisily making their way around the canopies of Sallow and Oak that rim the edge of the lakes. I was amazed to see the best part of 1000 Swallows skimming low over Argal Lake this evening, perhaps ahead of a night roost somewhere close by. 

I shall look forward to seeing what more the area has to offer!

Some more pics:

A backlit Swallow in the late evening light

 Great Crested Grebes

Slow shutter speed and a Black-headed Gull

A rather tatty Common Blue

This afternoon saw the thunderous rain clouds and storms dissipate somewhat, after a night of torrential downpours. We took the opportunity to have a stroll up the coast from Falmouth, to Swanpool. It was lovely and warm in the sun, and there were some nice birds to look at too! It was cool to see as many as six Mediterranean Gulls along the coast, along with the usual Black-headed Gulls, and also a single Sandwich Tern. A couple of Little Egrets provided entertainment as they stalked for blennies and small invertebrates in the rock pools. A single Kingfisher gave brief views too- a cracking bird that I really don't see enough to appreciate! Other species we came across included Tufted Ducks, Little Grebes, plenty of Gannets and four Ringed Plovers. 

Looking back to Falmouth from Swanpool

A diving Gannet

 Black-headed Gulls

 2nd or 3rd winter Mediterranean Gull? There were several adult birds and a single first winter too...

1st winter Mediterranean Gull 

Little Egret