Pallas's Warbler and yet more of the Bonaparte's Gull

With the weather being a bit hit and miss at the moment and the weather forecasting even more so I haven't been out and about anywhere for a few days. I have also been feeling a bit under the weather myself but by Friday 17th April I was a bit more up to speed and so I headed down to St.Ives to look for a Pallas's Warbler and a Yellow-browed Warbler being seen there. The Yellow-browed Warbler had been found in a very small park in the centre of St.Ives and had given itself away by singing, a second bird was then found but it turned out to be a Pallas's Warbler and so it seemed a good opportunity for me to try and see both species together.

I caught the 9:13am train from Plymouth, the first train of the day on which I could use my Devon and Cornwall Railcard and as I headed down into Cornwall the forecasted rain arrived. It was drizzly and murky when I finally arrived at St.Ives at around 11:30am but it soon cleared up although it remained dull and overcast.

There were 2 birders already present at Trewyn Gardens when I arrived there and they quickly got me onto the Pallas's Warbler as it flitted about in the trees, it never stayed still for a second and ranged widely amongst the leaves and branches but I had some great views of it. It frequently hovered underneath the leaves to pick off insects but I never managed to get a look at its yellow rump although occassionally it showed brief flashes of it as it moved through the vegetation. The central crown stripe wasn't always that obvious either, not helped by mostly looking up at the bird but I did get good views of it at times when it moved down to the lower branches.

Pallas's Warbler - a jammy record shot

There wasn't any sign of the Yellow-browed Warbler though and it was soon time to head back to the railway station but I was very pleased with the views I had of the Pallas's Warbler, only my second ever sighting of one.

Against my better judgement I bought a Warren's pasty for lunch which as usual was pretty vile so I fed some of it to an adult Herring Gull with its tongue hanging of its chin, either a birth abnormality or a more recent injury. Whatever the cause it seemed quite fit and healthy.

Herring Gull 

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

While waiting at the station I watched 3 adult Gannets diving for fish out in the Bay along with around 15 Sandwich Terns, and from the train back to St.Erth I saw lots of Shags and a Grey Seal.

On arriving at St.Erth I headed down to the Hayle Estuary, the tide was out but I quickly picked up the long-staying 1st winter Bonaparte's Gull out on the mud and close off the causeway bridge amongst the usual Herring, Greater Black-backed, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A 1st Summer Mediterranean Gull was also present amongst the Black-headed Gulls.

Bonaparte's Gull 

Bonaparte's Gull

Also seen were 6 Whimbrel, a Curlew, Oystercatchers, 19 Redshank, 3 winter-plumaged Bar-tailed Godwits and 2 Canada Geese. A Stock Dove feeding out on the saltmarsh was a surprise while along the river near the bird hide a pair of Reed Warblers were seen and a Cettis Warbler was heard. To round off the day my first Green-veined White of the year was seen along the roadside on my walk back to St.Erth station.