Marazion Dipping

It was overcast and cooler on Saturday 12th April and with showers/rain forecasted for the afternoon I planned to have a quiet day at home. However news of a Sedge Warbler and a Whitethroat at Saltram saw me heading out for a quick look about before the rain arrived, needless to say I saw neither but I had an enjoyable walk anyway with a singing Mistle Thrush, a Common Sandpiper, the pair of Red-crested Pochard and 3 Linnet the highlights. A Nut-tree Tussock moth found in the Marsh Mills Underpass was also my second moth sighting of the year.

Mistle Thrush

Male Red-crested Pochard - plastic but fantastic

Mandarins

Stock Dove

I had planned to have a quiet day at home again on Sunday 13th April but with news of a Savi's Warbler reeling at Marazion Marsh and during the daytime too I decided to go and have a look for it. Savi's Warbler is a bit of a bogey bird for me, it was regular at Minsmere back in the 1980's but every time I visited I neither saw or heard one although I was never there at dawn or dusk when they mostly do their "singing". Also my success rate this year for target birds at Marazion is just 33% with Hoopoe seen but Booted Eagle and Pacific Diver dipped and I really wasn't sure how the day would pan out.

The bird had been reported on Birdguides that morning at 08:11hrs so I knew it was still present before I left Plymouth on the 08:45hrs train, the first train to Penzance on a Sunday. When I finally arrived at Marazion Marsh at around 11:20am there was quite a crowd of birders at the railway bridge overlooking the Marsh but there had been no sight or sound of the bird since it had been reported earlier. The conditions weren't great either, it was overcast, cool and breezy, and in a case of deja vu I wished I had my winter coat and gloves with me again as I did 3 weeks ago when I visited Marazion Marsh to see the Hoopoe.

Marazion Marsh - There's a Savi's Warbler in there somewhere

I wandered around the Marsh to keep warm and to stop getting bored but regularly returned to the bridge to look and listen for the Savi's Warbler but it was not meant to be today and my success rate at Marazion this year has now dropped to 25% - never mind.

I did find a very vocal and showy Sedge Warbler, my first of the year, and at least 3 Reed Warblers were heard chuntering away in the reeds. Cetti's Warblers were vocal and occassionally showy too and other sightings of note were a pair of Stonechat, a Raven, 7 Teal (4 males), a female Mallard with 5 very small ducklings and a male Reed Bunting.

Sedge Warbler

Stonechat

The sun was beginning to appear from behind the clouds when I left at 15:00hrs although the cold wind wasn't easing any. The journey home was uneventful and the Savi's Warbler was, as expected, finally seen and heard again at dusk but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Maybe I'll try again?

With Easter looming large we had planned to have a day out on Maundy Thursday (April 17th) and then a quiet Easter weekend at home. However with Thursday forecasted to probably be the best day of weather over the Easter break David decided to head down to the allotment for the day while I headed out to Wembury for a walk.

I managed to get myself organised again and caught the 6:30am bus on a chilly and mostly overcast morning although it did warm up and get sunnier as the day wore on. It wasn't too busy at Wembury either with the cool temperatures probably helping to keep people away.

A Cetti's Warbler was singing in the valley to the beach , I even managed to get a brief view of it for a change but I still couldn't confirm if there are actually 2 males present. However on checking out the wheatfield I found 2 pairs of Red-legged Partridge present confirming my 4 bird theory.

I set my scope up for a seawatch at The Point, I nearly didn't bring it out with me but I'm very glad I did. I scanned across the sea for about an hour from 8am onwards, at first it seemed very quiet with just a few Gannets and Fulmars seen but then I picked up small groups of Auks moving about offshore, mostly heading west with a few east and a few landing on the sea but all too distant to fully confirm ID. Cormorants and Shags were also moving about and a winter plumaged Great Northern Diver was seen resting and preening on the sea. A pair of Common Scoter flew east and around 30 Manx Shearwater were seen moving west over a 5 minute period but the best birds were 2 Red-throated Divers flying west together, my first confirmed sighting of this species at Wembury.

A probable Wheatear was picked up heading over the sea towards land but I lost sight of it while a silent Pipit was seen flying away along the coast and probably of the Tree persuasion but I wasn't able to confirm or deny its ID. A Swallow also came in off the sea and later 2 were seen hawking insects over The Point where the male Dartford Warbler also made a very brief appearance.

 

Dartford Warbler - the full zoom on my camera has packed up so this was the best shot I could get

Cirl Bunting

Along the beach a Whimbrel was roosting with 24 Oystercatcher but it sadly never called. 5 Turnstone, 8 Little Egret, 3 Mallard (2 male), 2 Shelduck and 3 Canada Geese were also seen.

Whimbrel

My first Holly Blue of the year was a welcome sight and I was pleased to also get a good view of my second Red Admiral of the year after January's very brief sighting of one. A brief flight view of a Speckled Yellow moth became my third moth species of the year and I also thought I had found some Spring Squill growing at The Point but they turned out to be Bluebells that were very stunted due to being grazed by horses.

Red Admiral

Stunted Bluebell

Not so nice was seeing 3 young men with paddleboards/sea kayaks who were wild camping out on The Mewstone despite it being a No Landing Site and right in the middle of the breeding season for the sea birds present there. Even worse was seeing a small fishing boat arrive just off the beach near the sewage pipe and start to gather in its fishing nets despite it being in a marine conservation area where fishing is actively discouraged (although it is not illegal to do so), quite a few large silver fish were seen being hauled in before it headed back towards Plymouth. In all the 38 years I've been visiting Wembury I've never seen either of these things before, a sad state of affairs and showing a continuing decline in respect towards the natural world around us. I did report the incidents to staff at the Marine Centre at the main beach and have forwarded details and photos to them but I guess there isn't much that can be done about it.

Mewstone Trespassers

Wembury Marine Conservation Zone Fishermen on the "Carly D" (P600)