March 2022

26th. The weather is great at the moment and we walked from Rinsey head to Praa Sands, then on to Prussia Cove and back.

We saw a pair of peregrines and found a young slow worm at Praa Sands. Lots of plants are beginning to flower now, including the three-cornered leek.

25th. Hetty saw up to 4 black redstarts in Barnoon Cemetery while I was back in Bristol. They appear to have gone now. There has been a strong passage through the country recently. In the absence of my 100-500mm lens I have been trying out the old 400mm f5.6 non-stabilised lens on the R5. It can produce some nice images with the 1.4x extender, at least in good light, like with this herring gull.

20th. A white-tailed eagle from the reintroduction programme appeared feeding on a dead calf just up the road at Crowlas. By the time we arrived it had gone, and we only saw a raven before the carcass was removed.

We walked from Botallack to the wonderful Kenidjack valley, where we saw another two chough.

On 18th we visited Botallack, and I saw a pair of chough. One was unringed, the other a bird a colour ringed bird. Hilary, who coordinates sightings of choughs in Cornwall, tells me 'He’s yellow/black paired with unringed. He turns four this year, and he fledged from a West Penwith nest. These two bred for the first time last year so hopefully they’ll fledge more chicks this year'.

There were up to 3 purple sandpipers at St Ives Island during our stay. I saw a female/first winter black redstart in Barnoon Cemetery, and two fieldfare near Hellesveor Cliff.

17th. The adult Kumlien's gull was first seen at Newlyn Harbour on 19 Feb, and it took me almost a month to see it. It was worth it though, although I dropped and damaged my 100-500mm lens! I've seen a couple of distant birds before, but never one as confiding as this. In the morning it was around the rocks at Tolcarne, moving into the harbour as the tide rose. It looked very white in flight.

It swam towards me in the harbour.

16th. Drove to Cornwall for the first time in a while.

13th. No sign of the brambling in the garden today, though at least 15 chaffinches present. Male Kingfisher and flyby dipper at Snuff Mills.

I spotted the first-winter ring-billed gull at Herriot's Pool and got some distant views. At least 3 sand martins too.

12th. Chiffchaff singing at Backwell Lake. Brambling still in the garden.

7th. He's still here.

6th. Three red kites and a barn owl at Norton-St-Philip.

5th. Brambling still in the garden.

4th. Back underground for thermal imaging.

Lesser horseshoe bat hibernating alongside its prey.

Thermal imaging.

We stopped off at Shepherd's Patch, Slimbridge on the return journey to catch up with the confiding glossy ibis there.

It was feeding on bloodworms for some of the time. One is midair between the mandibles in the second shot.

There's been a first-winter ring-billed gull at Chew recently. We didn't see it, but some first-winter common gulls often needed a second look. Ten cattle egrets and a barn owl were around the lake.

2nd. The brambling was still in the garden, at least in the morning. Still having to shoot at ISO 25600 in the gloom. A pair of collared doves too - the first I've seen around here in ages.

1st. A male brambling on the feeder in Bishopston - a garden first! Male blackcap too.

Earlier I was at Woodchester Mansion working on a project on the hibernation ecology of lesser horseshoe bats using thermal imaging and ultrasound detectors. Greater and lesser horseshoe bat below. Red kite near Uley.