Amazing Trip to Berry Head

With a night shift looming on Tuesday 25th October a quiet day was planned but with news of a Redpoll being seen at Saltram I went to have a quick look for it. Needless to say there was no sign of it but we had an enjoyable walk from Sainsbury's to Saltram House and back despite the half term crowds and we fortunately got back to the car before the forecasted rain arrived.

It was nice to see 5 redhead Goosander along the River Plym with numbers hopefully increasing as winter arrives.

Goosander

A Grey Wagtail and 3 Little Grebe were also seen along the river, a Nuthatch showed well in the trees as it noisely called and a singing Chiffchaff was a surprise, no doubt confused by the continuing warm temperatures as the mild autumn continues.

I had planned to meet my ex-work friend Jan on Thursday 27th October but we switched days to the Friday instead and so I planned a birding day out on the Thursday instead. I had considered visiting Hayle to look for the 2 Lesser Yellowlegs being seen there but with negative news I looked for somewhere else to go. When news broke of a Pallid Swift at Berry Head late afternoon on the Wednesday my mind was made up with Berry Head already on my radar due to all the good sea birds still being seen there.

Besides the Pallid Swift being found there were around 500 (!) Great Shearwaters reported at Berry Head on Wednesday 26th October following overnight gales (while I was at work!) but with calmer conditions on the Thursday I wasn't sure if sea watching would be any good - how wrong was I!

It was breezy, mizzley and overcast when I arrived at the sea watching platform but it was incredibly mild and humid for the end of October with small flies noticeably buzzing about despite the lack of sunshine. The viewing platform was already busy with birders and no sooner had I set up my scope than Great Shearwaters were being called offshore. I managed to get on to about 10 of them but they were all distant and the views weren't the best in the gloomy light but I was very pleased to see them, my first in Devon and only my second sighting in the UK. They were very distinctive in flight and it was good to observe them and learn their jizz for future reference.

There were lots of birds swirling around offshore, mostly Gannets, Kittiwakes, Herring Gulls and Auks, but also seen were a Sooty Shearwater, a Manx Shearwater and 2 Balearic Shearwater making it a 4 Shearwater species day along with a few Arctic Skua and Mediterranean Gulls. 

Trawler off Berry Head

A female type Black Redstart was found on the cliff face behind the platform as the assembled birders regularly scanned overhead for a sighting of the Pallid Swift until eventually it was called to much whooping and excitement.

Black Redstart

It flew around overhead for about 20 seconds before disappearing over the cliff top (and I never saw it again) but it appeared pale like a washed out Swift with pale fringing noticeable as it banked around the cliff face. It's flight also seemed more jittery but all these features are a bit subjective and dependent on light, wind conditions and the birds mood and also maybe wishful thinking of the observer!

I had planned to head up to the cliff tops to have another look for the Pallid Swift but with expert seabird watcher Mark Darlaston arriving for a seawatch I decided to stay at the platform for more seawatching, a good decision as the Pallid Swift was only reseen once, distantly feeding over the sea, and the seawatching was fabulous!

2 more Great Shearwaters were seen, much better views than earlier but still unfortunately distant, and another Sooty Shearwater, 3 Manx Shearwater and 2 Balearic Shearwater were also noted. 3 Common Scoter were seen, two birds and a single bird all flying west, and 2 Common Dolphin, Harbour Porpoise and breaching Tuna were also seen.

However it was the Skuas that stole the show and with Mark present it was very informative as he discussed plumage details and ID tips about the birds being seen offshore. Arctic Skuas were very numerous with some excellent views had as they harassed Kittiwakes, numbers were difficult to assess as birds milled around back and forth but a variety of ages and plumage types were seen. It was great to see 2 Great Skuas also, their numbers have crashed this year following a disastrous breeding season with many colonies being totally wiped out due to avian flu.

Best of all were at least 2 Pomarine Skuas, a juvenile bird and an absolute beast of a pale phased adult bird which was watched chasing a Kittiwake along with a pale phased adult Arctic Skua where the size diference was very noticeable. It had a very clearly demarcated breast band, a good ID feature, and just like the bird I saw from the ferry out of Roscoff a few years ago now.

Eventually it was time to head home and on the walk back out of the quarry I had a quick look around, finding a second female type Black Redstart, a Chiffchaff, a female Blackcap, a female Kestrel, a Peregrine and 2 very skulky juvenile Ring Ouzels feeding on berries before disappearing back into cover.

It was a fantastic day out and I was very pleased to have joined the Great Shearwater party after what has been a bumper year for them here in the South West. And I was very pleased to see my first UK Pallid Swift during an influx of them into the UK after seeing many of them over the years on my European travels (including in Izmir in Turkey a few weeks ago!).