Not really worth a blog but I had a quick stroll across to Stoke Park at about 6 pm and saw 8 beautiful long-tailed tits – one kindly posed high up in a tree in the last rays of sunshine on an amazing day for October when the temperature reached 22 degrees centigrade.
PS I found a few more birds when I reviewed the photos I had taken.
Blue tit
Mallard
Moorhen
I was sitting quietly beside the small pond at Duchess Pond watching a stonechat and a meadow pipit when two women with 16 dogs arrived. The dogs surrounded me (and ruined my tranquility) and then the women started throwing balls in to the pond for the dogs to retrieve which ruined the tranquility for all the wildlife around.
I moved on and managed to follow the stonechat in to the reeds.
Over the park I saw two ravens.
There were just a few moorhens on the big pond and one very smug cormorant who had the whole lake to himself.
That is until another dog walker arrived with a small pack and started throwing balls in to the pond. The cormorant flew off and I went home; both of us were a little disgruntled.
We returned to the Hayle Estuary by taking the train from St Ives just along the most beautiful piece of coast to Lelant Saltings. It was then just a short walk along the road to the Old Quay Inn where good views of the estuary are to be had. By walking just a few more yards along the road we came even closer to the birds, especially teal, curlew, oystercatcher and common redshank.
The Hayle Estuary from beside the Old Quay Inn
We then had lunch in the Old Quay Inn (it would have been rude not too especially as the landlord had been flagged on the web as birder friendly). We then caught the train back to St Ives where it seems we always see turnstone.
Teal
Oystercatcher
Curlew
Common redshank
Wigeon
Little egret
Black-headed gull
Canada geese in flight
Immature gull
Turnstone
Click below for photo gallery from today:
Normal service resumed: still a lovely sunny day but a sweater needed as we walked around St Ives.
Not too many birds around but enough to provide some entertainment photographing them.
Turnstone
Turnstone
Turnstone
Great black-backed gull
Great black-backed gull
Immature gull
Starlings
And then I was distracted by these chaps:
In yesterday’s blog I said the weather here in Cornwall was “as good as it gets”. Well, I was wrong as today it got even better: with not a cloud in the sky nor a breath of breeze the sun glared down on us all day long.
We made our way to Kenidjack Valley which is just outside St Just and a few hundred metres north of Cape Cornwall. This had been suggested to us as a good birding site and indeed only a few days before a wryneck had been spotted in the valley. However, other than a few robins and a couple of wrens, there weren’t many birds to be seen. But in the glorious sunshine we saw quite a few butterflies and we were not at all disappointed as we had some wonderful views of the Cornish coast and in particular we saw lots of Cornwall’s tin mining heritage.
Cape Cornwall – the chimney stack dates back to 1894, when Cape Cornwall Mine was in operation, extracting tin and copper from out under the sea. Now, the site is part of the Tin Coast and Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.
Relics of Cornwall’s tin mining industry
Robin
Robin
Wall
Small Copper
Small White
Small tortoiseshell
Small Tortoiseshell
Better still we had a wonderful view of a wheatear which posed and flitted about showing why “wheatear” derives from the Old English for “white arse”.
Wheatear
Wheatear
Wheatear showing its white rump
After our walk through the valley and along the coast we then drove on through St Just to Sennen where we had spectacular views of the cove and a couple of oystercatchers, pied wagtails and again lots of gulls.
Oystercatcher
Pied wagtail
Pied wagtail
Sennen Cove
On a beautifully sunny and warm September day (as good as it gets) we visited the Hayle Estuary in Cornwall.
We walked from the station at Lelant along to the Old Quay Inn where we could see a plethora of gulls, waders (including oystercatchers, curlews, teal , wigeon and spotted redshank), Canada geese, a greylag goose, grey herons and little egrets. We were too far away to capture much in detail but it was wonderful to do some birding sitting on the decking of The Old Quay Inn having a refreshing drink.
Hayle Estuary
Greylag goose
Oystercatcher
Curlew
We then drove on a little to visit RSPB Ryan’s Field and then RSPB Camsew Pool where the highlight was a Sandwich tern and a rock pipit.
Sandwich tern
Rock pipit
Little egret
I am sure there were lots more but we needed the help of more experienced birders. However, the only other birders we saw were standing on the busy B3301 and that didn’t really appeal to us.
Click below for gallery of photos from today:
A pleasant trip to Chew Valley Lake today chatting to other birders and seeing a few birds from a distance at Herriotts Bridge and Herons Green.
Great white egret on the lake from Herriotts Bridge
Great white egret on the other side of the road
Hobby at Herriotts Bridge
Hobby at Herriotts Bridge
Peregrine at Herons Green
Peregrine at Herons Green
Buzzard at Heron’s Green
Buzzard at Heron’s Green
Immature black-headed gulls having a drink at Herons Green
Click below for gallery of today’s photos:
Following some very heavy overnight thunderstorms we started the day with a visit to the smaller nature reserve of S’Albefuereta just north of Alcudia and then, after lunch, we returned to S’Albufera. It was extremely humid and most of the hides were quite unbearable. Perseverance was rewarded with good views (and some good shots) of black-winged stilts, spotted redshank, green sandpiper, spotted flycatchers, purple and grey herons and even an avocet.
Spotted flycatcher
Stonechat
Marsh harrier
Glossy ibis
Black-winged stilt
Spotted redshank
Spotted redshank
Green sandpiper
Green sandpiper
Spotted redshank and black-winged stilt
Spotted flycatcher
Purple heron with grey heron behind
The ubiquitous little egret
Avocet
A kite (not the avian sort)
Click below for gallery of photos from today
When we first arrived in Majorca the first bird we saw was a hoopoe, which I gather is fairly common here on the island. On that occasion I didn’t have my camera with me and have spent the last couple of days searching around the farmland adjacent to the hotel where we are staying searching for an opportunity to get a photo. I was particularly pleased to get another opportunity today when we revisited the Parc Natural de S’Albufera.
Hoopoe
Crested coot
Black-winged stilts – is this really the time for this?
Glossy ibis
A lone avocet
Cattle egret
Juvenile little ringed plover
We restricted our visit today to a couple of hides near the information centre and were very pleased with what we saw. The highlights were a glossy ibis, a purple heron, ringed plovers, green sandpipers, snipe, lots of black winged stilts, little egrets, cattle egrets, purple swamphen,spotted flycatchers, a local crested coot with Ariana Grande type ears and several other birds which I need to research.
Crested coot
Snipe
Black-winged stilt
Green sandpiper
Purple heron
Purple swamphen
Spotted flycatcher
The new hide at the reserve has proved the most successful for us. It must be amazing here when birds are migrating to Africa later in October, especially as that seems to be quite a rainy season.
Audouin’s gull
Click below for gallery of some of the photos from today’s visit to the Parc Natural de S”Albufera on Majorca:
Well its just like what they say about London buses, you don’t see one for ages and then two come along together. Not really together, as the osprey we saw today was a long way from the last one in Somerset: this one was on the Parc Natural de S’Albufera in Majorca.
We met a very gruff attendant at the information office and then ended up walking for miles without seeing anything special (other than a Purple Gallinule – Purple Swamphen and a dead snake) only to realise that all the best things to see were close to the information office.
There were little egrets (and a few cattle egret) everywhere.
The other highlights were black-winged stilts, avocets, Audouin gulls,ruffs and both grey and purple heron.
Although it was very hot it was also very overcast and not particularly good light for photography. However, I’m sure we shall be going back when its a bit brighter.
Some extra photos from yesterday’s trip to RSPB Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve.
When you haven’t had much luck with your bird photos surely the best place to go is the Somerset Levels which rarely disappoints.
Avalon marshes with Glastonbury Tor in the background
Today was a much fresher day but it was really beautiful at RSPB Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve. We were often sheltered from the fresh breezes but fully benefited from the sunshine.
Close up of a buzzard
Great white egret
The skirmish between marsh harrier and buzzard
Juvenile great crested grebe
Great white egret
Even the mallards looked their best in the sunshine
At RSPB Ham Wall we enjoyed the frequent sight of great white egrets and little egrets and then were entertained by the scuffle between marsh harriers and a buzzard. But the most exciting moment was at Shapwick Heath where we saw an osprey fly in with its supper and pose confidently on its post and devour its prey.
Osprey with its supper
The journey there and back was also a sheer delight through the British countryside at its best.
Click below for gallery of photos from today
