Summer plumage waders in Cornwall

I took these shots last week on the beach and rocks in Mount's Bay.  I counted about 140 Sanderling, 30 Dunlin and seven Purple Sandpiper.  All of them were in nice summer plumage. May is the best month (and short window) to see waders in their best plumage.

First summer Ross's Gull at Bowling Green Marsh, Devon

A first summer Ross's Gull has been present at Bowling Green for two weeks though was only identified last Thursday by Rob Laughton.  It was previously considered to be a Little Gull.  But who would expect to stumble across this species which should be inside the Arctic Circle?!  It certainly created quite a twitch of around 50 birders today.  It was always distant and these two shots were the best that I could get, peering through a gap in the hedge.

Red-breasted Flycatcher at Housel Bay, Lizard

This evening I saw my first Spring Red-breasted Flycatcher for Cornwall.  A female was feeding well tonight at the pond at Housel Bay, Lizard (same site as the Bufflehead).  From 8pm it started feeding feverishly and was continually calling (tacking like a Wren).  The species is regular in the Autumn in Cornwall but rare in Spring with just a handful of records only.

Duke of Burgundy at Noar Hill, east Hampshire

I visited Noar Hill this week to see the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly.  The weather was perfect and I managed to see about ten individuals.  Most of them looked fairly worn but this one was perfect in back light.  The site is a gem of a place and given a bit more time, no doubt would have thrown up a few more species.  As it was, I also saw Green Hairstreak, Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Small Heath, Small Blue, but missed the Grizzled Skipper.  Later in the season, the site is also good for Brown Hairstreak.

Summer plumage Purple Sandpipers at Battery Rocks, Penzance

On bank holiday Monday I counted 16 Purple Sands on the Battery Rocks.  This date is getting quite late for this species.  These last remaining wintering birds will surely be moving north back to their breeding grounds in the next week.  Now is the only window to see this species approaching full summer plumage (unless of course you visit Norway or Greenland).

Below are some images from Monday.  They were taken around midday in poor light.  I used flash (Nikon SB-600) to give the image a bit of lift.

Great Spotted Cuckoo at Kynance, Lizard.

A Great Spotted Cuckoo was found at Kynance on the 24th April.  It was refound by Dan Eva on Saturday 3rd May just a few hundred metres away from the original spot.  After a good hour searching on Saturday evening, we eventually saw this elusive bird fly low across the heath.  By all accounts, it was just as elusive the next day.
I managed one fly-by record shot, but just to show what they should look like, I have posted a library image of one I took in Cyprus a few years ago.
This is the ninth record for Cornwall, the last being one at Chapel Carn Brea in late March and early April 2009.

Northern Wheatear images from St Gothians this weekend

This stunning male Northern Wheatear posed just nicely in the early morning light yesterday.  The species breeds in the area but this bird was with several others so is most likely a migrant moving north.

Leucistic Bar-tailed Godwit on Marazion beach

I found this odd looking Bar-tailed Godwit today feeding on the beach with six other Barwits.  If anyone else has seen this distinctive bird (other than on Marazion beach) it would be interesting to know.

Whimbrel and Stonechat at Marazion Marsh

Two Whimbrel were showing well yesterday feeding on the grass bank at Marazion.  A pair of Stonechats at the east end of the marsh are on territory as well.  The female below was very obliging in late evening sunshine.

Adult Black-tailed Godwit at Marazion today

I found this adult Black-tailed Godwit in full summer plumage today feeding on the grass bank and very close to the road.  Normally this species stays close to the water but for some reason was happy to feed with the Whimbrels today.

24 year old Guillemot found dead at St Gothians

Back in February I found a dead Guillemot at St Gothians NR with a ring on it.  I submitted it to the BTO and was surprised to find that this bird was just shy of 24 years old.  Quite an age.  Further details relating to the find are shown below:

Ringing Scheme:       Ring Number: T77296         Species of bird: Guillemot

This bird was ringed by Clyde Ringing Group as age nestling, sex unknown on 27-Jun-1990 at Sanda Island, Argyll and Bute OS Map reference NR7304, co-ordinates 55deg 17min N 5deg 34min W.

It was found on 16-Feb-2014 at Gwithian, near Hayle, Cornwall OS Map reference SW5841, co-ordinates 50deg 13min N 5deg 23min W.

The bird was Freshly dead    Bird Found

Remarks

It was found 8635 days after it was ringed, 564 km from the ringing site, direction S.

Montagu's Harrier at Croft Pasco, Lizard

A Montagu's Harrier was found on the Lizard on Wednesday on the downs around Croft Pasco pool.  I saw it today on several occasions, but never close.  The three images below are 50% crops.

The species is rare in Cornwall, averaging about one or two records annually.  Several birders with me today were pleased to notch up a new county tick.  It is of course the rarest of all UK breeding raptors with just a handful of breeding pairs in East Anglia and southern England, hence the strong interest in this migrant.  The species last bred in Cornwall in the early 70's.

The population for the western Palearctic is estimated at 35,000-50,000 pairs.  The global population is unknown but could be anything between 150,000 to 200,000 individuals. This uncertainty is due to most of the world's population being situated in Russia where it is not quantified.  The species is a long distance migrant.  Birds from Europe spend the winter in sub-Saharan Africa, while those from the eastern part of the range migrate to the Indian subcontinent.

Breeding and wintering range of Montagu's Harrier.

References: Wikipedia.