Birding highlights in Cornwall September 2022

 September weather started with strong southerly wind associated with monsoon-like conditions. Mid month was dominated by an easterly airflow.  The month ended with strong north-westerlies and heavy rain.

Waders took a leading role on the 1st with at least six Pectoral Sandpipers in the county including four at Siblyback Res. A brief Temminck's Stint at Drift was belatedly identified from photo's but could not be refound. Curlew Sandpipers were found at the normal wader hotspots indicating a good breeding season. All but one were first year birds.

Cornwall's 11th Blyth's Reed Warbler appeared in the famous Nanjizal nets on the 2nd. This site is the only location for all eleven records to date and now competes head on with Fair Isle and North Ronaldsay for this species.  Quite an astonishing feat in itself. A Melodious Warbler was also keeping company with the Blyth's.  (All previous Blyth's Reed records HERE ).

A Greenish Warbler was found next day at Nanjizal though it avoided the nets. Nevertheless, it was the first record for the patch and just the 10th for Cornwall. (Previous Cornwall records HERE).  Staying with rare passerines, a first year Citrine Wagtail was found at Walmsley sanctuary on the 3rd. This is Cornwall's 21st record.

First winter Blyth's Reed Warbler, Nanjizal, picture K Wilson.

First winter Citrine Wagtail, Walmsley, picture courtesy Adrian Langdon.

An incredible seawatch from the Lizard Point on the 3rd will remain in the memory bank for years to come. An astonishing 652 Great Shearwaters, 65 Balearic, 36 Sooty, 12 Cory's, an adult Sabine's Gull and two Wilson's Petrels were logged.  The cream on the cake though arrived two days later. A Band-rumped Petrel (previously Madeiran Petrel) was seen close inside the Manxie line, just beyond the reef at Lizard Point. If accepted by the authorities, this will be just the 4th for Cornwall. A Long-tailed Skua was also logged on the 5th.  A second Madeiran Petrel was seen off Killigerran Head at midday on the 5th. The timings cancel out any thought of duplication.

The southerly wind continued to push uncommon seabirds towards the south coast on the 4th. Porthgwarra did reasonably well with 132 Great Shearwater, six Cory's, three Grey Phalarope and eight Arctic Terns.  A Black Tern appeared at Drift Res., an unusual site for this species.

Cornwall's second Blyth's Reed Warbler of the year was found at a private site at the Lizard (7th). This is potentially the 12th county record and first away from Nanjizal.

The wind turned westerly on the 7th. As expected, two Leach's Petrels were seen off East Pentire. A Long-tailed Skua and 120 Great Shearwaters were logged off Porthgwarra. Low numbers of Cory's continued to be seen from the normal westerly headlands. 

The wind continued in a WNW direction on 8th and 9th September, delighting Pendeen seawatchers. The 8th started slowly in the morning. So slow that several birders left the site by midday. The wind changed subtly back to West in the afternoon resulting in a stunning passage of 20 Sabine's Gulls, five Leach's Petrels, a Roseate Tern, three Pomarine and three Long-tailed Skuas, 150 Storm Petrel, 37 Arctic Skua, 10 Cory's and 29 Great Shearwaters. Not to be outdone, Trevose, Fistral and St Agnes all recorded a Sabine's Gull and Leach's Petrels.

The following day (9th) continued with light WNW winds resulting in similar species variety but lower numbers. Nevertheless, a respectable ten Sabine's Gulls, ad Pomarine Skua, juv Long-tailed Skua, three Grey Phalaropes, three close Leach's Petrels, 38 Arctic Skua, 47 Arctic Tern, Black Tern and a couple handfuls of large shears completed a superb seawatching phase.

The first Yellow-browed Warbler of the Autumn made its way to Nanjizal on the 11th along with a Wryneck and a whopping 254 Blackcap and 57 Sedge Warbler. The latter species has seen a record 3000 individuals ringed this Autumn.  The Citrine Wagtail continued to be seen daily at Walmsley and a new Pectoral Sandpiper was found at Calstock wetlands.

The second Ortolan of the year was found near Three Chimneys on the 12th, a juv Bluethroat at Nanjizal and a juv Red-backed Shrike at Pendeen. All stayed for one day only. A Dotterel flew high over Park Head. This north coast site has had some dedicated watching recently. Patch work clearly pays as each visit turns up migrants. A first year Common Rosefinch was found at Chapel Porth on the 13th. Despite the name, this species is far from common. Just one or two Cornwall records annually is the norm.

The third Blyth's Reed Warbler of the year was claimed on the 14th at Windmill Farm. A Red-necked Phalarope was found feeding on the mud at low tide on Carnsew Pool. Sadly a misidentification delayed locals enough time to connect with this Cornwall mega. Unfortunately, it was flushed by a Peregrine and never seen again. To put this species in perspective, I've seen just two birds in 50 years. The second Greenish Warbler of the year was found at St. Levan. No fewer than five Ospreys were dotted around the county with two at Tresemple Pool giving a masterclass in fishing on the 17th.

A juv Night Heron appeared at Nanjizal, Cornwall's most reliable site for this species (18th). A Melodious Warbler was found in the willows just north of Kynance Cove. This patch is fast becoming the Lizard hippolais capital, following an adult Icterine there earlier. The second Yellow-browed Warbler was found at the Lizard and was in line with a notable fall on the English East coast. An early Lapland Bunting was also found on the Lizard.  Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day on the 19th was a Jack Snipe feeding at the edge of the mud at Drift Res.  The species is normally secretive so one feeding in the open was quite a sight.

Treraven Meadows hosted a Pectoral Sandpiper on the 23rd. Curiously, all of the Pectoral Sandpipers to date have occurred in East Cornwall. Two Glossy Ibis were at nearby Chapel Amble.  A Melodious Warbler was found at Soapy Cove, Lizard and a Sabine's Gull was seen off Pendeen. A male Surf Scoter with 109 Common Scoter was found here next day.

Some brief excitement came from Bray's Cott area on the 24th when a Pallid Harrier was reported. Analysis of photos showed some anomolies though. The general opinion was a 2nd cal year male Montagu's / Pallid Harrier hybrid.

Two Yellow-browed Warblers were found at Porthgwarra and Nanjizal on the 25th and two more the following day at Pendeen and Porthallow.  A stunning Ring Ouzel showing characteristics of the alpestris race was found at Kenidjack. A Red-breasted Flycatcher was found at the Penryn Uni campus, most likely arriving on the same weather system as the ouzel and yellow-broweds.

Ring Ouzel, Kenidjack, Sep 2022, picture courtesy Nigel Rogers.

The wind turned north westerly to north on the 26th resulting in a good seawatch at Pendeen. 47 Cory's Shearwater, juv Sabine's Gull, Long-tailed Skua and a sprinkling of Grey Phalaropes were logged.

A significant movement of 458 Balearic Shearwaters on the 30th was logged at Porthgwarra along with a Sabine's Gull. A further 66 Balearics were seen off Pendeen with two Pomarines Skuas. A solid claim for the third Band-rumped Petrel of the month came from St Ives Island on the 30th.

Finally, the second Red-necked Phalarope of the year was found at Lizard point, spending two days there, delighting Cornish listers needing this rare phalarope.

Bird of the month: Band-rumped Petrels at the Lizard, Killigerran and St Ives.

Runners-up: several candidates including three Blyth's Reed Warblers, Citrine Wagtail, two Red-necked Phalaropes and two Greenish Warblers.

Madeira WindBirds seabirding trip report 25th-28th June 2022

The following is a trip report from a visit to Madeira in June 2022. 

A group of six birders from West Cornwall booked three days with the well known Madeira Windbirds tours and an additional day-tripper sailing to Desertas Island. Windbirds always depart Machico harbour at 3pm and the Bonita da Madeira departs Funchal at 9am. 

We spent seven days in Madeira but this amount of time is unnecessary if its just seabirds you're after. Away from the coast, there's limited birdlife and all of it can be mopped up in a single morning. Any future trips would be for five days maximum.

Windbirds is a professional company specialising in watching seabirds and cetaceans. Hugo and Catarina set up the company18 years ago with a ten-seater, 11 metre rib. Two powerful outboard motors get you 25 miles offshore in approx. 90 mins. The team have exact coordinates of the best places to bird.  

You need full waterproof kit including leggings.  Essentially, you are going to get soaking wet, especially on the South side return leg or when you bird the North of the island on the outward leg. There's no formulae on which side to sit. If its windy, you'll get wet.  I wore deck shoes but a pair of crocks or old sandels is fine. (Your feet will also get wet). A wet bag is also essential for your kit.

Windbirds use a tried and tested method of chumming from a floating bucket of diced fish, laced with fish oil. The bucket is re filled several times during the five hour session.  The rib remains alongside the bucket throughout and never leaves the chum slick. The chum slick is created and pretty soon, the petrels and shearwaters arrive.

Bonita da Madeira is a large day tripper boat specialising in trips to Desertas Grande. The captain will pursue cetaceans or seabirds of interest but keep a respectful distance. The ship lands passengers on Desertas Grande island with a useful and knowledgeable guide to the island's wildlife. We were shown Bulwer's and Cory's breeding burrows. We also saw 12 Desertas Petrels and hundreds of Cory's on the voyage over to the island.  For 80 euros, its well worth it. A free cooked meal and wine is also offered. Well recommended.

The following species accounts give some idea of what can be seen:

Desertas Petrel. Over the four days at sea ie. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th June, we saw 12, 4, 4, 6 birds respectively. Some views were distant and others reasonably close to the boat.  The name Pterodroma is Greek for Wind Bird, and as the name suggests, these birds thrive in high winds and power through the chum slick at impressive speeds. Some circle round the chum bucket but generally move on quickly. You have to be quick off the mark with id. and any photography.  The species breeds on Bugio Island, which is one of the three Desertas islands (adjacent to Desertas Grande).

Desertas Petrel, June 2022 (picture courtesy P Clement)

Desertas Petrel, June 2022, picture by Steve Rogers

Zino's Petrel: Over the four days at sea ie. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th June, we saw 0, 2, 3, 2 birds respectively and had some really good close views. This species is the number one target for visiting birders. Up to date information from birders at the breeding site on the Madeiran mountain estimate around 80 breeding pairs and a total of just 300 birds. Thus, this species is super rare and extremely vulnerable, especially to feral cats and rodents on the mountain where it breeds.

We visited the mountain breeding site at midnight to listen to them calling. Whilst the conditions of rain, mist and strong wind weren't ideal, we did hear the mournful sounds coming from the burrows. The visit is organised by Hugo and Catarina. (50 Euros.)

Zino's Petrel, June 2022, picture by S Rogers

Zino's Petrel, June 2022, picture by P Clement

Bulwer's Petrel: Over the four days at sea ie. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th June, we saw hundreds daily. The species breeds locally on Desertas Island and becomes easier further out in deeper water. Bulwer's visits the chum bucket  and affords close views. That said, its a very tricky bird to photo. Its crazed flight at super speed means only the best modern cameras keep up with it. I took about 500 shots of Bulwer's and just a dozen were acceptable. We were shown a nest site on Desertas in a stone wall with a bird sitting on the nest.

Bulwer's Petrel, the only photo showing a wedge shaped tail, image by M Ahmad.

Bulwer's Petrel, June 2022, pic by Steve Rogers.

Bulwer's Petrel, June 2022, pic by Steve Rogers.

Madeiran Storm Petrel: This species is a prime target and despite local breeding, is surprisingly difficult to connect with. We saw just two birds on the last day. Both visited the chum slick, one staying for 20 minutes giving stunning views. Bob Flood from Scilly Pelagics also saw one the following week. This species was a key target for us as there are a couple Cornwall records. We wanted to familiarise ourselves just in case one flies past Pendeen! 

Windbirds' skill and experience in approaching this species at the chum bucket was perfect, manoeuvring the rib perfectly to obtain the best views.

MADEIRAN Petrel(Image by Marcus Nash).

Madeiran Petrel (image by Steve Rogers).

Madeiran Storm Petrels, lower left by Marcus Nash, rest by Steve Rogers, June 2022.

European Storm Petrel: Just one was seen on day 2.

Wilson's Storm Petrel: One adult in moult was seen on day 3. It visited the chum bucket and regularly worked the chum slick for a 30 minutes affording excellent views, sometimes close.

Wilson's Petrel, June 2022, pictures by Steve Rogers.

Cory's Shearwater: The second commonest seabird behind Bulwer's Petrel. Large rafts of scores and occasionally hundreds of birds seen. There were more on the northern pelagic return leg. Perhaps a couple thousand near the narrow channel linking north and south of the island. This was the largest concentration we saw.  Visits to the chum bucket gave stunning close views.

Cory's Shearwater pictures, June 2022, Madeira, by Steve Rogers.

Manx Shearwater: No more than ten birds seen over the four days. The species is suspected of breeding on Madeira but as yet unproven. Regular summer records suggest otherwise.

Little Shearwater: None seen on our trips but Niall Keogh found one on a ferry trip from Madeira to Porto Santo. One was also seen well from the Windbirds pelagic the following week. Little Shearwater is a prize find and is not guaranteed.

White-faced Storm Petrel: None seen.

Rock Sparrow: One pair seen on the walk to the east end of the island, about 1k from the turning circle car parking area. Berthelot's Pipit and Canary also seen here.

Rock Sparrow, nr Calical, Madeira June 2022, picture by Steve Rogers.

Trocaz Pigeon: We saw a few at Palheiro Gardens north of Funchal and singles dotted around the vast mountain forests.  Madeiran Firecrest was also seen and heard here.

Peregrine Falcon: We saw two on the coast at Machico. Apparently this species is rare here. Hugo and Catarina stopped the rib to photo it. We also saw the occasional Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard and Kestrels. A moribund House Martin found on the Desertas Grande shoreline was unusual.

In summary, this is a relatively easy place to fly to, fairly cheap living and easily accessible with a hire car. Depending on your culinary and drinking habits, the total trip cost from door to door shouldn't cost more than about £1200. Well worth it.