23 – 26 February – BOC West Cornwall Trip Leader: Jane Cumming

Twelve of us met on Friday morning and after loading our minibus we headed for the Hayle estuary, arriving just before high tide to see a good variety of gulls and shore birds. These included two Knot, two Dunlin and groups of Redshank, Goosander, Teal, Turnstones and ‘barwits’. Across the road in RSPB Ryan’s Field we enjoyed a first winter Spoonbill (its ring indicated it had come from Belgium or Holland), a Little Egret, many Redshanks, a displaying Greenshank and an adult and juvenile Curlew (helping us to compare their bill lengths). We drove on to the moorland south of St Just, where we were delighted that a putative hare turned out to be a Short-eared Owl, soon joined by another, hunting over the rough pasture. We stayed at Bosavern House, south of St Just. Helen Stevens opened specially for us and looked after us
wonderfully well with generous meals, a good selection of drinks, and comfortable rooms. Here we were joined by two others, making 14 in all. Saturday morning was bright and breezy. After a full breakfast we set off for the coast, starting at Pendeen Watch and going on to Cape Cornwall and Sennen Cove. Our hopes of seeing Choughs were met more than once; sea watching produced auks, gulls and Gannets, and there were Fulmars and Kittiwakes on the cliffs, and gulls,
Oystercatchers and Curlew on the rocks. The sea was majestic, complete with the occasional rainbow. After a lunch stop at Drift Reservoir (many gulls and Canada Geese in the distance), we drove on to Sandy Cove at Newlyn, where we saw more auks as well as a good range of garden birds in the bushes along the coast path, and a Rock Pipit – on the rocks! Then we returned to the estuary at Hayle, and at Lelant Saltings Station we saw a second winter Kumlien’s Gull and a Ring-billed Gull amongst crowds of other gulls on the mud flats, along with ‘barwits’, Redshank, Oystercatchers, Curlew, Shelduck and male and female Goosanders, Teal and Wigeon. On
Carnsew Basin we saw a Mediterranean Gull, Cormorant and three Little Grebes. Our last stop was at Penzance quay where we enjoyed Turnstones flying across the harbour, and many Starlings coming to roost (rather precariously) on the flagpole cable stays and stone pinnacles of the church tower. Our focus on Sunday was the south coast, from Marazion east to the freshwater Loe Pool. At Marazion marsh we got excellent views of a Firecrest, Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff, Stonechats, three Mute Swans, Canada Geese and three Bullfinches, as well as distant views of Snipe, four Grey Herons, Mallard and Teal. We also heard several Cetti’s warblers. The beach had 47 Sanderlings. At Perranuthnoe we saw flocks of Pied Wagtails in and above the vegetable fields, and sea watching produced eight Great Northern Divers. We stopped at Helston Boating Lake and added three Shovelers and numerous Tufted Ducks to our list. We then drove to Tye Rocks near Porthleven (two Raven, Stonechats; and at sea auks and Shags). On our walk after lunch along the coastal path to Loe Bar (about a mile) we had a close view of a female Kestrel. On the drive back to Bosavern House we stopped to admire the Short-eared Owls again; these were joined by a Buzzard and a female Hen Harrier – a magnificent sight. Monday morning saw us trekking in the stiff breeze along a muddy field footpath two miles west of Penzance,
looking for a Little Bunting. Instead we saw several hundred Chaffinches with a few Linnets, Ravens, a Sparrowhawk and three Buzzards. Marazion beach produced more gulls and a (surprising) Goosander on the sea. As on the first three days, this day ended on a high note. Scanning Carrick Roads from Feock beach we were entertained by ten Red-breasted Mergansers displaying to each other (and to us!), and then we tracked a vagrant juvenile Surf Scoter drifting across the bay. Finally, we took the ferry across the River Fal to the Roseland peninsula and continued our sea watching at Gerrans Bay in perfect calm, sunny conditions; here we saw about
15 Black-throated Divers and a Common Scoter. We got back to Bristol at 20:00, so grateful for a wonderful birding exploration of West Cornwall, for our excellent drivers Paul and Peter, and for all Jane did in making the arrangements and leading us so capably. Some 92 bird species were seen by two or more of us. David Gould