Birding highlights in Cornwall August 2022

 August weather started typically warm and humid with a westerly airflow.  Mid month was exceptionally hot, leading to more humidity and an almost tropical feel. End of the month saw the wind shift to easterly with high pressure.

The Least Sandpiper was present on the 1st for its sixth day at Drift. A Wood Sandpiper and up to seven Green Sandpipers were keeping good company. A juv Garganey and two Shoveler were also seen together at Drift on the 2nd.

Seawatching took precedence on the 2nd when the wind switched to south westerly.  A Fea's type Petrel was seen off Pendeen at 8.35am and a decent haul of 176 Cory's Shearwaters off Porthgwarra. A further 40 Cory's and 11 Balearic were counted off the Lizard. A possible Fea's Petrel was also seen at 13:55 off Porthgwarra.

Rare seabirds continued to be found on the 3rd.  A long overdue Caspian Tern was seen flying past the Lizard point and a Wilson's Petrel was found in relatively calm conditions off Pendeen. So calm that no locals thought it worthwhile visiting this famous headland. Rame Head also scored well with two Long-tailed Skuas, a first summer and second summer.  The Least Sandpiper remained until 3rd August, lasting eight days, despite disturbance from idiots birding from the front of the hide and walking the shingle margins.  A healthy 11 Green Sandpipers and three Wood Sandpipers visited Drift on the 7th.

An unusual record at Nanjizal during the first week of August involved a male Black-headed Wagtail (Feldegg) seen on several occasions. Even more odd was female of the same race and another female, possible a Blue-headed type associating together.  The first wandering Rosy Starling appeared at St Buryan on the 5th.

Early passerines on the 7th and 8th included a Pied Flycatcher at Porthgwarra, Garden Warbler at Kenidjack, Lesser Whitethroat at Pendeen, three Tree Pipit at Nanjizal and a juv Cuckoo at Bartinney.

A Spotted Crake was seen at Nanjizal pond on the 10th. This species is decidedly difficult to come by these days, averaging about one a year. Marazion marsh was once the place to find them but sadly this site is just a shadow of its former self. There are previous records of Spotted Crake at Nanjizal, so its not an unprecedented record here.  Staying with Nanjizal, a sizable 113 Sedge Warblers were also ringed on the 10th.  The start of a respectable passage of Green Sandpipers also began on the 10th with 17 at Drift and 23 on 13th.

An adult Icterine Warbler was found on the 11th by Lizard stalwart Dave Collins. This county rarity was just reward for the hours of patch work by Dave. It was still present on the 13th. An influx of Pied Flycatchers arrived on the 11th with a maximum of five at Nanjizal.

Ad. Icterine Warbler, Kynance, picture by finder Dave Collins.

Two Common Nightingales were trapped in the Nanjizal nets on the 13th. This site is the number one spot for Nightingales. More migrants appear here than any other location in Cornwall (possibly the uk?). Another Nightingale was trapped at Nanjizal on the 14th, this time a control from Rutland Water. A fourth bird was found at Pendeen.

Common Nightingale, Nanjizal, Picture by Reuben Veal

An impressive haul of Green Sandpipers were counted at Drift Res. on the 13th. At least 23 were seen with four Wood Sandpipers for good measure. Another Wood Sandpiper was seen at Marazion marsh, an unusual site for this species.  The extreme heat has dried up the small isolated ponds and as such is the likely explanation for so many waders finding their way to Drift and Stithians.  Returning Ospreys were seen at Tresillian and Drift.

A Stunning Black Kite was photographed well at Drift Res. on the 14th.  Sadly it was misidentified and submitted as a Marsh Harrier, meaning no locals would see it.

 Pied Flycatchers and Whinchats continued to be found in low numbers in the normal coastal valleys on the 14th.

Bird of the month candidate for the lucky few was a stunning Aquatic Warbler trapped in the nets at Nanjizal on the 15th. In line with several national records this month, it was only time before one was found in Cornwall. 

Aquatic is indeed a prize find. The last record was also at Nanjizal: 1CY trapped 7th Sept 2019; then another 1CY trapped by E. Inzani, processed by Pete Rosevear 29th Aug 2018.  Before that, a 1CY photographed in the field on the Lizard 3rd October 2015 (T Blunden).  The last record from Marazion was way back on August 12th 2012 (also trapped).   Marazion Marsh was once THE place to find Aquatics but has since been knocked off the perch.  No less than six recent records have come from the nets at Nanjizal.

1CY Aquatic Warbler, 6th for Nanjizal, all pictures courtesy Reuben Veal.

Seawatching started a new phase on the 14th with a Wilson's Petrel and adult Sabine's Gull off Pendeen. 42 Storm Petrels were seen here in the evening. Another adult Sabine's Gull was seen on the 15th along with a flurry of Arctic and Common Terns. 120 Storm Petrels were also counted. A Black Tern, one Cory's and one Great Shearwater were seen off Porthgwarra on the 16th.

The wind shifted to North and up to 30mph on the 17th. Two Wilson's Petrels was seen with 89 Euro Stormies off Pendeen, plus another Sabine's Gull.

Events changed for the better on the 18th.  The south coast was the place to be. Sea temperature graphics for the period showed a warmer belt of water stretching from West Africa to the south west approaches. Predictably a Desertas/Fea's type Petrel was seen off Porthgwarra, and it or another was seen later in the afternoon here.  If that wasn't enough, two Wilson's Petrels were seen.  The start of a decent passage of large shear's included 26 Cory's and 50 Greats.  Lizard Point scored with four Great Shearwaters.

Adult Wilson's Petrel, Falmouth Bay, Picture by Jon Irvine.

A Wilson's Petrel lingered off Porthgwarra on the 19th and 20th, whilst four more Wilson's were seen well and photographed from the AK pelagic out of Falmouth. The Desertas/Fea's Petrel was seen again on the 20th late afternoon, prompting a large twitch the following day.  Those assembled early enough were treated to close views of the Pterodroma. More memorable was the tussle with an Arctic Skua for a couple minutes.  Six Wilson's Petrels, 389 Great Shearwaters, 156 Balearics and 46 Sooty Shearwater completed a stunning day.  At least ten Wilson's Petrel were counted off Southerly Point, Lizard, but interestingly, less than a handful of large Shears were seen. Finally, a single Wilson's was seen off Pendeen, completing a record haul of at least 17 birds from mainland Cornwall.

Desertas /Fea's type Petrel, Pothgwarra, Aug 2022, picture by Nigel Rogers.

A juv Long-tailed Skua was seen off Rame Head and possibly the same bird seen later off the Lizard (21st).

Almost unnoticed among the seawatching hysteria was a Red-backed Shrike at Caerthillian, Wryneck at Nanjizal and a secretive Melodious Warbler at Kenidjack.

Rare seabirds continued to be seen on Monday 22nd.  The Desertas/Fea's Petrel was seen off the Scillonian near Land's End and a high count of 151 Cory's Shearwater passed Porthgwarra.  Three Wilson's Petrel were seen from the ever-productive AK Wildlife pelagic in Falmouth Bay. 

94 Balearics were counted off Downderry on the 23rd. South East Cornwall is a productive area for this species, indicating that Balearic Shearwater enters the Channel further east than the large shears.  Finally, a single Wilson's was seen off St Agnes Head on the 23rd, rounding off an incredible period for rare seabirds.

The start of a notable passage of Black Terns began on the 24th with a single off Pendeen.  Three were seen off Newquay on the 26th and an impressive 20 in four flocks off Pendeen.  This species has become scarce in recent years, prompting the Society rarities committee to consider requesting descriptions.

A Sabine's Gull, four Grey Phalaropes, 22 Cory's Shearwaters and a Little Tern were seen off Pendeen on the 25th. The little Tern Spent some time feeding near the Three Stone Oare.

A Melodious Warbler was trapped at Nanjizal on the 26th. It had a fat score of 6 indicating that it had been feeding well locally. This bird could conceivably be the recent Kenidjack bird relocating. The First Little Stint of the year appeared at Drift.  A Little Tern found at Hayle Estuary later relocated to Porthkidney.

Two Dotterels were observed near Windmill Farm on the 28th and two juv Pectoral Sandpipers were found at Siblyback Lake.  A third Dotterel was flying around the Land's End area. A healthy seven Curlew Sandpipers at Hayle and a Temminck's Stint at Maer Lake rounded off a notable arrival of waders.

An Ortolan Bunting was found on private land near Skewjack on the 28th and a mini arrival of Wrynecks were also found in West Penwith. The top prize came on the 29th when a stunning first winter Paddyfield Warbler was pulled out of the Nanjizal net. What a fantastic time Nanjizal is having!  Continuing with the run of rare passerines, a juv Woodchat was found at Carn Owles and considered to be the badius (Balearic) form.

A Little Tern appeared at Drift Res, an unusual location for this species on the 30th.  Two Spoonbills appeared at Hayle Estuary and the Gannel Estuary.

First winter Paddyfield Warbler, Nanjizal, Aug 2022, picture courtesy Reuben Veal and Kester Wilson.

In summary, August was an exciting month with some fantastic seawatching, rare waders and a sprinkling of rare passerines.

Bird of the Month: Fea's / Desertas type Petrel seen several times at Porthgwarra delighting scores of birders.

Runners up: Paddyfield Warbler and Aquatic Warbler at Nanjizal, Caspian Tern off the Lizard.

Birding highlights in Cornwall July 2022

 July weather started with a westerly airflow but changed to a north easterly airflow in the second week, often with blisteringly hot conditions. The 18th July turned out to be the second hottest ever day in the UK's history of weather records.  From the 24th to 31st, the weather changed to a westerly direction.

THE FIRST notable seabird of the month was a Long-tailed Skua off the Lizard on the 2nd, presumably a non breeding Bird. Out of season ducks included a Greater Scaup at Stithians and Red-breasted Merganser at Carnsew Pool on the 3rd. 

Returning waders started to trickle through from the 5th July. Stithians is always a good place to search as the water level drops quickly here in the summer. Two Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, two Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper were found here on the 5th.  Tresemple Pool hosted 35 Redshank and three Greenshank on the 6th. The non breeding female Marsh Harrier continued its summer at Walmsley.

A Quail was heard singing at Pentire on the 9th and a dark morph female Honey Buzzard was seen flying over Nanjizal. An adult Purple Heron was also seen here on the 11th (5th record this year). Two more returning Little Ringed Plovers were seen in the Foxhole area on the 13th. The species doesn't breed in the county but certainly passes through in respectable numbers.

A small Cory's / putative Scopoli's Shearwater was photographed at distance off the Scillonian, near Wolf Rock on the 13th.  Three photo's suggested a Scopoli's based on the small size, smallish bill and a relatively large amount of white in the primaries. Its unlikely to progress further though as the photo's weren't conclusive.

An adult Honey Buzzard flew over Devoran on the 16th and Purple Heron at Nanjizal the same day were the scant highlights of pretty barren week. 21 Gadwall fledged at Nanjizal pools.  Wader passage continued in small numbers at Drift with Little Ringed Plover, two Green Sandpiper and three Common Sandpiper.

Presumably the same non breeding Purple Heron seen at Nanjizal on the 11th and 16th was seen flying eastwards over Sennen on the 18th at 08:50 and later at Porth Reservoir at 10:50. At least five Purple Herons have been seen this year in the county. The numbers reflect a general increase across the UK. Somerset now has breeding birds on the Levels.

Northern Wheatears appear to have done well locally with fledged young birds reported at The Lizard, Kenidjack, Pendeen and Porthgwarra.

The wind shifted briefly to south west on the 19th and a Cory's Shearwater was promptly seen off Mousehole. Four Balaeric Shearwater and a Sooty Shearwater were seen off Porthgwarra on the 23rd.

The wind strengthened from the south west on the 24th. Porthgwarra was again the place to be. The highest single day count for the last ten years of around 370 Cory's Shearwater was logged. In addition, 26 Sooty Shearwater, 12 Balearic and six Great made for a memorable day. Just one skua though surely reflects the unfolding bird-flu disaster happening at the top of the food chain.

Cory's Shearwater, pic by Steve Rogers.

The wind changed direction again on the 25th. Pendeen scored with 15 each of Cory's, Great and Sooty.  122 Euro Stormy's were also counted here but Pentire, Newquay fared better with a Wilson's Petrel. This is the first Wilson's for the year. Skuas were again low on numbers with just one Arctic and four Great.

The last big year for Cory's was 2011 when a total of 1437 were logged for the year.  This included a massive 800 at Porthgwarra on 6th July 2011. In contrast, less than 50 were recorded in 2010. Thus, this species is prone to irruptions based on food availability and sea temperature.

The month end saw the normal passage of returning Willow Warblers. 64 were counted at Porthgwarra on the 26th and a decent haul of 95 were trapped at Nanjizal.  The following day the nets were put out around the pond and a surprise male Black-headed Wagtail was trapped.

The star bird of the month was found on the 27th. An adult Least Sandpiper was eventually identified at Drift Reservoir.  Initially considered to be a Temminck's Stint, photos soon appeared online and its true identity confirmed. This is a superb find and represents just the 9th Cornwall record.  The last record was in 2006 when a long stayer juv. commuted between Hayle and Copperhouse.

The month ended with a Wilson's Petrel at Pendeen on the 30th, two Cory's Shearwaters and a single Great Shearwater here on the 31st.  At Porthgwarra, 105 Cory's were logged.  The Glossy Ibis remained at Maer Lake.

Least Sandpiper, Drift, July 2022, picture by Joe Jones.

Bird of the Month: Least Sandpiper

Runner up: Cory's Shearwaters in higher than normal numbers.

Least Sandpiper at Drift Reservoir 27th July 2022

 A quiet July eventually sprang in to action when a Temminck's Stint was reported at Drift Reservoir. As is normal these days, photo's soon appeared on the internet and chat groups. Questions were asked when the tail pattern, especially the lack of white outer tail feathers, didn't quite fit with Temminck's, itself a rare wader in Cornwall. Long-toed Stint was also mooted as a potential confusion species. Eventually the ID was confirmed with more photographs as an adult Least Sandpiper based on the white supercilium meeting across the forehead, the call, jizz and the lack of white sides in the tail.

Thanks to Nigel Rogers and Dave Flumm as the original finders.

Least Sandpiper, Drift Res, (picture by Joe Jones).

This record is the 9th Least Sandpiper to occur in Cornwall, the last being 16 years ago at Copperhouse and Hayle from Sep 17th - Oct 15th 2006.

All records:

2022: Drift Res, adult, July 27th - Aug 3rd.

2006: Hayle and Copperhouse, juv, Sep 17th-Oct 15th.

1993: Hayle Est., first winter, Sep 22nd-Oct 4th.

1991: Landulph, adult, Aug 25th.

1986: Portscatho, 1st winter moulting to first summer, Feb 9th-Apr 20th.

1983: College Res, 1st winter, 3rd-9th Sep.

1966: Camel Est, Sep 13th-22nd

1890: Mousehole, caught by a fisherman, September.

1853: Marazion Marsh, 10th Oct, shot. Apparently this record is the first for Britain and Europe.

Least Sandpiper breeds in sub-Arctic and boreal habitats from Canada to Alaska and winters in northern South America, Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and southern North America states. Many migrate in the Autumn direct from south east Canada over the west Atlantic towards South America.

The Stuart Hutchings portfolio part 3

The four photographs below were all taken in Cornwall and Scilly.  Black and white photography was Stuart's favourite medium.  In fact, of all the photo's given to me, none are in colour!

Blackpoll Warbler, most likely the St Agnes bird in October 1984.

Juv Pectoral Sandpiper at Stithians Reservoir.



Least Sandpiper, Feb 1986. Twitched by hundreds of birders as it fed on the cliff edge near Portscatho.



Long-billed Dowitcher.