Hoopoe
I felt rough again on the evening of Saturday 22nd March, I really am getting fed up with all this up and down-ness, but news of an influx of Hoopoes in Devon and Cornwall (and Ireland) had piqued my interest and so I made plans for the next day to go look for one, health issues permitting.
I felt OK-ish on waking up on Sunday 23rd March and eventually decided against my better judgement to head down to Marazion on the train to look for the reported Hoopoe there. Being a Sunday the train times weren't great but the ticket would only cost me £9.75 with my rail card and it was the easiest of the reported Hoopoe sites to get to.
I arrived in Penzance at around 11:10am and it was grey and cold in the strong northerly wind. I caught the bus over to Marazion and on alighting I wished I had brought my gloves with me and also worn my winter coat as the wind was bitter but despite this there were around 30 Sand Martins buzzing around over Long Rock Pool and in amongst them were at least 2 House Martin and 3 Swallow.
A Jack Snipe had already been reported as present earlier that morning but I failed to find it on a quick scan about so I headed off to the field where the Hoopoe was being seen. Unfortunately there was no sign of it either although it had also been reported as present that morning and so I decided to have a wander about to look for it and to try and keep warm.
There was no sign of the Hoopoe in any of the surrounding fields but back at the Marsh I did find a Green Sandpiper along with 3 Little Egret, a Snipe, Teal, Moorhen, Grey Heron and Canada Geese. I hadn't brought my telescope out with me but a friendly birder let me look at the Green Sandpiper through his scope which was very decent of him.
I headed back to the Hoopoe field, there was still no sign of it but while chatting to another friendly birder there he suddenly spotted it feeding on the grass right out in the open where it gave some great views before being spooked by some nearby Canada Geese and flying off and out of sight.
Hoopoe
Hoopoe
Hoopoe
I headed back to the Marsh but there was still no sign of the Jack Snipe although I did find a female Eider offshore as I sat and ate my lunch before I returned to the Hoopoe field for another look. The Hoopoe was immediately refound and much closer this time but was difficult to view through the hedgerow and regularly disappeared from sight. It was a lovely bird to watch though and was managing to find plenty of food, it was constantly on the move but occassionally rested for brief periods before resuming its feeding.
Hoopoe
Hoopoe
Hoopoe
Hoopoe
Time was marching on, I was getting colder and colder and my bus back to Penzance station was due. I headed back to the bus stop by the Marsh where the birder who had let me look through his telescope earlier was still present and he had found the Jack Snipe, I could just make it out with my binoculars bobbing away as it moved through the vegetation but I had better although obscured views through his scope.
My return journey was uneventful and I arrived home tired but very happy to have seen the Hoopoe, only my second one in the UK, with my first one having been seen briefly and distantly in flight at Dawlish Warren in November 2014. It hadn't been a very twitchy day either, there was a steady stream of birders coming and going rather than a large crowd and all of them were very friendly and very pleasant company to be birding with for a change.
The following day was warm, sunny and calm and we had planned to visit Endsleigh Nursery at Milton Abbot to look for a Greengage tree for the allotment but for some reason I Googled it before we left the house and was surprised to find it had closed down a year ago! A quick change of plans ensued and we headed up to Bellever instead to look for the reported Great Grey Shrike there, parking up near the pottery and then walking towards Bellever Tor. We got a bit lost and ended up in a dense patch of trees with no proper pathway but eventually reached our destination, there were a gaggle of birders and toggers present so we knew we were in the right place.
Bellever Forest Art
The Great Grey Shrike was quickly found perched up in a tree but it was distant and the light was poor and there was quite a heat haze too, it was also very flighty and moved around a large area but I managed to get some decent views of it despite not having my scope with me.
Great Grey Shrike - my first since 2017
Great Grey Shrike
David's patience was short lived so it was soon time to head back to the car, the walk back was much easier and along the way we heard and saw Siskins, 5 Crossbills (3 males) and 2 Redpoll up in the pine trees and found a tiny Common Lizard basking in the warm sunshine by the footpath.
With reports of Whimbrel, Shoveler, Black-tailed Godwit and Willow Warbler at The Plym indicating that birds are on the move at last I decided to head out there for a walk on Tuesday 25th March. It was warm and calm again but a little overcast at times although I did manage to find at least 3 Peacock butterflies.
I caught the bus out to Laira Bridge and walked up to Marsh Mills, it was a neap tide and due to be high at around 2:30pm but on arriving off the bus at around 11am there was very little mud on show.
It was very quiet on a quick look around Chelson Meadow with a pair of Stonechat and a pair of Roe Deer of note but at the duck pond I finally caught up with the wandering female Wood Duck. The pair of Red-crested Pochard were also present here along with the usual Moorhen, Mallard and Mandarin.
Wood Duck
Wood Duck
Red-crested Pochard
Around the Park there were at least 9 Chiffchaffs singing away and I also saw a silent male Blackcap feeding amongst the Sloe Blossom. At least 4 Stock Dove and 4 Ring-necked Parakeet were also noted and more Wood Anemone had come into flower.
On arriving at Blaxton Meadow at around 1:30pm there was very little water present and no water was entering through the sluice gates on the low high tide. A lone Redshank was seen here before it flew off to join the 70+ Redshank, 7 Greenshank and single Common Sandpiper roosting along The Embankment. There were also 2 Curlew present, one was sporting yellow leg flags but I didn't manage to read the code before they both flew off downriver and out of sight. No Dunlin were present and neither was the Curlew Sandpiper which had been reported the previous day but the usual Gulls were roosting out on the mud and included 6 very smart looking adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls and amongst them were Shelduck and 16 Oystercatcher.
Little Egret
Out on the river I found a late male Wigeon, a female Goosander and 3 Mute Swan before I headed up to the bus stop near Sainsbury's to catch the bus home.
