Scandinavian Rock Pipit, Wembury

After all the excitement of our stay at Harvey it was back to more normal fare with a walk at Wembury on Saturday 4th December. The footpath was a complete quagmire but it was a cold and dry morning with occasional sunny spells as I negotiated the muddy route to The Point and back. 

Wembury

I was feeling flat and listless and I wasn't really in the birding zone but figured the walk would do me good after all the food and drink consumed during our time away at Harvey.

The usual birds were seen with Cirl Buntings and Stonechats continuing to be very showy indeed along the coast path. A Jay was found skulking in the trees behind The Stables where a Great Spotted Woodpecker was also heard "chipping" away. Another Great Spotted Woodpecker was also heard at The Pines where a female Sparrowhawk briefly perched up before continuing over the bracken covered slope in full hunting mode.

Mallard, Oystercatcher, 2 Curlew and 2 Little Egret were out on the rocks with Gannets flying around offshore and around 12 Fulmar back around The Mewstone after completing their wing moult out at sea. A Grey Seal was also briefly seen surfacing close to the rocks but wasn't refound.

I decided to have a look for the Water Pipit along the beach but there was no sign of it this time. There was less seaweed washed up on the beach than on my previous visit and also fewer Rock Pipits but there were still good numbers of Meadow Pipit present. A big surprise was a colour ringed Rock Pipit which allowed a fairly close approach before eventually flying off and on checking out the excellent cr-birding.org website it is a "Scandinavian" Rock Pipit (littoralis) from a Finnish ringing scheme.

Scandinavian Rock Pipit (littoralis) 

Hopefully it will stay for the winter but Pipit numbers along the beach at Wembury are very fluid depending on the amount of seaweed washed up on the beach from winter storms.

Finding the colour ringed Rock Pipit certainly brightened up my walk and added a bit of interest and excitement to my indifferent mood. A flyover Peregrine while waiting at the bus stop for the journey home was a nice end to my visit too. 

Roe Deer at Burrator and Scandinavian Rock Pipit at Wembury

The crap weather continues whenever I have a day off and so getting out and about has been a little restricted. The March doldrums have also arrived where birds are starting to move and I start to get impatient for spring.

Wednesday 1st March and we had a quick walk around Burrator Reservoir on a grey, showery, cool and misty morning. The water level in the reservoir still wasn't high enough for it to flow over the dam but Mavis did send me a recent photo where it was doing so. Bird highlights were a jay, lots of showy goldcrests and singing and songflighting siskins but the best sighting were 3 roe deer - 2 feeding out in the open in a field by the road and 1 actually on the road trying to find a gap in the fence to get into the woodland.

 Roe Deer, Burrator

Roe Deer

Friday 3rd March and I headed out to Wembury on the bus on a wet, cool and windy morning but on arriving at Wembury the rain at least did stop and it stayed dry until I returned home. However the footpath was a total quagmire and I did slip and fall over once but for a change I didn't hurt myself nor get too dirty!

It was quiet bird wise but highlights were :- 4 pairs of stonechats between Wembury Beach and Wembury Point, 1 little egret, 1 female kestrel, 9 cirl buntings (1 male in the hedge by the wheatfield path and 3 male and 5 female in the hedge by the HMS Cambridge wheatfield), roosting oystercatchers along the beach at high tide, gannets and fulmars offshore, a grey wagtail feeding on the seaweed mass on the beach near the second horse field and 2 Canada geese in the sheep field.

I had a brief search for Dartford warblers again at Wembury Point but with no luck and a search through the mobile and flighty pipits feeding on the seaweed mass on the beach by the sewage pipe only initially turned up rock pipits and meadow pipits before I finally found the wintering water pipit, brief views only before it flew off down the beach and looking a bit scruffy and dishevelled compared to my previous sightings earlier in the year, possibly due to the wet and windy weather but maybe also due to commencement of moult into summer plumage.

I also found a littoralis or Scandanavian rock pipit amongst the more usual petrosus birds, showing a marked blue tone to the head, a buffy pink wash to the chest, white wing bars, a distinct white eye-ring and a distinct pale supercilium behind the eye. I managed to take a few rubbish photos which have toned down both the blue head colouring and pinky washed breast, both much more obvious in the flesh than in the photos.

 Scandinavian Rock Pipit, Wembury

 Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit

Arriving back home and my muddy and wet jeans went straight into the washing machine but it had been a pleasent few hours out of the house - just hurry up spring!

West Cornwall Delights

Wednesday 25th January and it was off to West Cornwall for the day on the train. For a change I caught the 7am train - it cost the same as the 8:20am train I usually catch, I'm usually awake early in the morning anyway and it would give me an extra hours birding.

I arrived at Hayle at around 9am and headed off to the Carnsew Pool, walking all the way around the edge, but there was no sign of the now resident spoonbill although I had some nice views of a pair of goosanders feeding at a low tide on the river off Lelant.

Goosanders

I walked over to Copperhouse Creek where the spoonbill has sometimes been reported from and I quickly found it feeding in the river channel but as I walked around the creek to get a better view it flew off to towards the Carnsew Pool - typical! I walked back to the pool, seeing a kingfisher along the old quay along the way, and had some nice views of the spoonbill busily feeding around the pool although it was more distant than the views I had back in October.

 

Spoonbill with Cormorants and a Grey Heron

Spoonbill

Spoonbill

Spoonbill - getting closer

Spoonbill

Spoonbill

Spoonbill

After watching the spoonbill for a while along with 3 adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gulls I wandered off along the estuary towards the causeway bridge, noting bar tailed godwit, teal, wigeon, lapwing and dunlin along the way. From the bridge a large group of gulls were loafing about on the mudflats and I scanned through the herring, lesser black backed and greater black backed gulls but couldn't find any of the recently reported Caspian, yellow legged or Iceland gulls.

I eventually found the wintering green winged teal roosting amongst the teal flock out on the mudflats, a little distant and difficult views as it slept amongst a mobile flock but at times showing well. It eventually showed very well as it waddled off across the mudflats before disappearing into a tidal creek, its white breast stripe being very noticeable.

Teal

Lapwing

Just as I was about to leave the causeway for the walk to St.Erth railway station to catch the train to Penzance I caught sight of a very white headed large gull with dark grey upperparts preening alone on the mudflats - a third winter/sub adult yellow legged gull! Large, bright bill, grey upperparts darker than nearby herring gulls but paler than nearby lesser black backed gulls, larger and bulkier than nearby herring gulls and with olive green looking legs, it certainly stood out before flying to the waters edge to bathe. After a while it flew off and disappeared amongst the roosting gulls but it was quite a distinctive looking bird and nice to find - cue some crap photos (distant views, harsh light, buffeting winds).

Yellow Legged Gull

Yellow Legged Gull

Yellow Legged Gull

Yellow Legged Gull

Yellow Legged Gull (right)

Yellow Legged Gull (right) with Lesser Black Backed Gull (upper left) and Herring Gull (upper middle)

Yellow Legged Gull

Yellow Legged Gull

Unfortunately with the strong breeze it kept itself facing into it and therefore facing me and I didn't manage to get much of a view of its wingtips and both times it flew I missed getting a good view of it but I was pleased to have picked it out.

It was time to head off to Penzance on the train from St.Erth and as the train pulled in to Penzance I noted how rough the sea was looking and was undecided as to where to go, east to Marazion or west to Mousehole, but when I walked over to the bus station the bus to Mousehole was just about to leave so west it was.

I quickly found the male Eastern black redstart on arriving in Mousehole, it was busily feeding along the beach rather than amongst the boulders and was being watched by just one other birder. It was very active and at times came very close to me and I was struck again by how almost curious it seemed to be - cue some decent photos (close, good light, sheltered from the breeze).

Eastern Black Redstart, Mousehole

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Eastern Black Redstart

Rock Pipit, Mousehole

Offshore a few gannets and kittiwakes were flying around in the strong breeze while 2 adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gulls flew along the shoreline. A pale grey seal was sleeping on the rocks of the small island off the beach which was also covered in lots of roosting gulls.

I then caught the bus back towards Penzance and again got off at Newlyn for the walk along the beach promenade to the Jubilee Pool. 3 adult winter plumaged Mediterranean gulls were found amongst the black headed gulls resting on the sea but there was little else I could find on the choppy water.

Turnstone, Newlyn Harbour

At the pool there were 31 purple sandpipers roosting on the rocks at high tide which gave some very close views and a dark grey seal popped its head out of the water by the harbour wall a few times.

 Purple Sandpiper

 Purple Sandpiper

 Purple Sandpiper

I had a quick walk along the coastpath from the bus station towards Marazion before catching the train home but there was no sign of any black redstarts. I did find some roosting waders along the pebble beach though - ringed plover, turnstone, dunlin and sanderling - quite well camoflagued and easy to overlook.

 Sanderling with a Dunlin

 Sanderling and a Dunlin

 Sanderling with a Dunlin

Heading home on the train and I felt pleasently knackered after a busy but very productive days birding.