The 301st - Pallas's Warbler, Cornwall

Thursday 14th February and a beautifully sunny and bright and still morning saw us walking to Turnchapel via Laira Bridge before catching the ferry back to The Barbican from Mount Batten. It was mild but chilly out of the sun and despite forgetting both my binoculars and camera I did see a common sandpiper with a redshank roosting on a decaying barge in Pomphlett Creek on the high tide and a greenshank, redshank, common sandpiper and turnstones along the shore at Hooe Lake.

Friday 15th February was the first year anniversary of the death of my father-in-law and so we all assembled at the grave side in Ford Park Cemetery to lay flowers, plant bulbs and reflect before heading off for a meal at The Harbour restaurant on The Barbican.

It was bright and sunny and I had a quick wander off to look for a reported male black redstart and I quickly found it near the chapels, locating it more easily as it gave its anxiety call note. It stopped calling but showed very well in the bright sunshine and allowed very close views before moving off amongst the tombstones and out of sight.

 Black Redstart, Ford Park Cemetery

Black Redstart, Ford Park Cemetery

Black Redstart , Ford Park Cemetery

Sunday 17th February and we walked down to The Royal William Yard for coffee and cake on another bright and sunny day and on the walk back home I had a nice surprise with a calling yellow-browed warbler heard in trees along Cremyll Street near the Cremyll ferry slipway at Admirals Hard. It was very vocal and quite loud and at first I wasn't sure if it was a yellow-browed warbler or the squeaky swing in the children's playground nearby but as I approached the evergreen oak trees it quite clearly was a yellow-browed warbler. I couldn't find it amongst the leaves of the tree and it eventually fell silent but a very nice find indeed.

Monday 18th February and the last day of my week off work saw me heading off into the wilds of Cornwall again to look for a bird, this time a Pallas's warbler at a sewage farm at Coverack on The Lizard and somewhere I haven't visited before. After a bad night's sleep with weird dreams and thoughts and regular awakenings a 06:00hrs train to Redruth didn't feel like a good idea but once I was on my way it was ok and I managed to stay awake on the journey this time. While waiting for the bus to Helston from Redruth station a flyover peregrine was a nice surprise and while waiting for the bus to Coverack from Helston a grey wagtail feeding with 2 pied wagtails on a nearby bowling green was nice to watch.

I arrived at Coverack at around 9:45hrs and again it was a bright and sunny day and I headed off along the coast path to the sewage farm on the outskirts of the village. As expected the sewage farm was surrounded by a mass of overgrown vegetation and trees hampering viewing but there were plenty of birds flitting about and amongst the blue tits, wrens, robin's, great tits, chaffinches, long-tailed tits and blackbirds I did get a brief view of a firecrest and better views of a goldcrest and a chiffchaff.

There is a Pallas's Warbler in there somewhere! - Coverack Sewage Farm

I eventually found the Pallas's warbler feeding in the branches close to the footpath before it moved deeper into the trees and out of sight and as expected it did not stop moving for a second as it flitted through the branches. Good views were had though although it was mostly obscured by twigs and ivy leaves but I did get flashes of its yellow rump as if flew between branches. I watched it looking uphill and from below but did get a few brief views of its yellow central crown stripe at times and overall it was a very handsome and bright looking bird and my first lifer of the year.

I managed to get a few more brief views of the bird as it moved through the trees before just seeming to disappear and before I had to leave I managed my best views as it called for some time in the trees right above my head before moving off again - a very smart and characterful bird but no chance of any photographs by me so a few below from the CBWPS Website.

Pallas's Warbler - Courtesy of Linton Proctor, CBWPS Website 

Pallas's  Warbler - Courtesy of Dougy Wright, CBWPS Website 

Pallas's  Warbler - Courtesy of David Collins, CBWPS Website

I had a brief look offshore while waiting for the bus back to Helston and picked up a few gannets, shags and cormorants along with a female eider, a distant great northern diver and a very distant group of 5 probable black- throated divers snorkelling and diving together but too far out to call.

I had an hour in Helston before the bus back to Redruth so walked down to the boating lake for a quick look around. A ring-billed gull had been reported a few days previously but as I scanned through the herring and black-headed gulls I could only find an adult lesser black-backed gull and 8 Mediterranean gull amongst them (7 adults moulting into summer plumage and a 1st winter bird moulting into 1st summer plumage).

I also found the long-staying male ferruginous duck feeding out on the lake with tufted ducks, a presumed feral bird but nice to see and looking very smart in the sunshine.

 Ferruginous Duck, Helston

Ferruginous Duck, Helston

 Ferruginous  Duck, Helston

Tufted Duck, Helston

Back to Redruth by bus for the train back to Plymouth and it had been a very successful and enjoyable day and on arriving back home and checking my notes I realised that the Pallas's warbler was my 301st British bird - unbeknown to me I had finally hit the 300 mark with Pomarine skua at Penzance before Christmas!