September 2021

25th. A walk from Clevedon towards Kingston Seymour. Sea lavender still in flower, small copper butterfly, 2 reed buntings and a wheatear.

19th. Grey heron, Sea Mills.

6th-19th. Holiday in Cornwall, based in St Ives.

18th: St Ives Island (8.30- 9.30h):  2 spotted flycatcher, 1 goldcrest, also 2 great northern diver in bay.

16th: St Ives Harbour: 1 bar-tailed godwit 09.10h.

Logan's Rock and Penberth Cove from Treen.

Two chough, photo by Hetty.

Hayle Carnsew pool: 1 great-crested grebe, 1 curlew sandpiper, 4 little stint, 1 knot, 2 greenshank, 4 wheatear.

15th: St Ives Island (08:15 – 09:15): 5 Balearic shearwater, 1 Manx shearwater, 20 Mediterranean gull, 1 wheatear, greenshank over town.

There was a very confiding Wryneck at Pendeen Watch.

And what looks like the final milliseconds in the life of an ant, though the bottom image suggests the ant may not have been ingested (though destroyed).

14th. We walked along the coast path from Wheal Coates to Chapel Porth near St Agnes. We missed out on the wryneck at Chapel Porth, though saw a couple of choughs.

13th: St Ives Island: (07:45 – 09:00h) 2 Balearic shearwater, 6 Sandwich tern, 11 Mediterranean gull (including red-ringed adult HJN1 ringed in Hungary), 2 wheatear. Grey seals interacting in sea. There are two very photogenic kestrels on the Island again. The Mediterranean gull was ringed as a pullus at Csongrád-Csanád, Hungary in June 2011, making it over 10 years in age. It was seen on the Hayle Estuary the year it was born, an has returned there regularly, and also appearing at Hayling Island and Antwerp. I also received news on two blue colour- ringed herring gulls in St Ives. W-196 was ringed as a pullus in St Ives in July 2014, and was found dead, hit by a car, on the wharf by Hetty on 23 August 2020, aged 6. It frequented St Ives and the Hayle Estuary. W-195 was also ringed in the same year, and had similar movements. My sighting on the 11 June 2020 was when it was 5. The most recent sighting was 31 Dec 2020.

12th: St Ives Island  (7.45 – 9.00h):  11 common scoter, 6 Balearic shearwater, 3 Sandwich tern, 2 Mediterranean gull,  6+ common dolphin.

11th: St Ives Island (07.30-09.00): 6 Balearic shearwater, 3 Sandwich tern, 5 Mediterranean gull, 1 dark-phase Arctic skua, ca. 9 common dolphin.

Botallack to Kenidjack Castle, after visiting Kurt Jackson exhibition of Kenidjack paintings in St Just. At least 2 colour-ringed choughs (blue and black-lines on different rings, one bird), and 4 at Cape Cornwall.

10th: St Ives Island (15.00-16.20): 20 Balearic shearwater, 10 Manx shearwater, 30 Sandwich tern, 5 Mediterranean gull, 4 kittiwake, 1 wheatear, 1 ocean sunfish.

8th: Most mornings Florie and I would settle while I did some sea watching from St Ives Island: 12 common scoter, 10 Sandwich tern, 1 Mediterranean gull, 6 wheatear, ca. 6 common dolphin.

7th. Porthleven. Rock sea spurry Spergularia rupicola.

1st-4th. Good birds in garden - great spotted woodpecker, goldcrest, chiffchaff and willow warbler.

1st. The wildlife sculptures at Stoke Lodge.