The Screech Owl Sanctuary.

Bittern. (Out of Bounds)

Photograph and Snippet. Andy Cross.

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Has anybody been to a nice birding site in Lostwithial ? We were taking our grandson out for the day and decided to go up where i heard where there is a bittern when i got to the spot i had a good look aound and there was a bittern walking around like he owned the place As i always carry my camera i took a few shots but its to far away to get a good photo see attached photo When you are driving through Lostwithial take the road to the castle and keep driving on until you see a layby on your left with a bench up on the bank now on the right hand side you will see a gate which is slightly overgrown but will give you cover now you are looking down on a swampy area and you dont have to wait long to see the bittern if you look near the water area because you are looking down and the vegetation is short and sombody with the right camera will get some great photos andy cross.

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That would appear to be an easier bird to see and photograph than the Par bird.

Probably be very interesting to the Bittern hunters.

Wildfowl

Out of Bounds Report.Yesterday. R. Lane

"Away Day to the Truro River: On the afternoon, main road drive to Truro, little was seen other than the occasional Redwing and at least one Fieldfare. On the high ground before Twewithen however, there were many Lapwings standing in frosty fields, awaiting a thaw. The sensible ones had flown to the fields thawed by the weak sun ! Probably several hundred.
On reaching the Truro River the high tide were driving the waders to their roosting area (opposite Sunny-corner), together with a few ducks, but the sun was setting and the light poor. However,it was possible to make out flocks waders and duck. The numbers are probably all under-estimates, but they included:- c.20 x Shelduck; 20+,Teal; 100+, Dunlin; 30+, Blk.Tailed Godwits with the odd Redshank and Greenshank. No doubt there were other oddments. The best came in to roost on a wooden boat on the Sunny-corner side, just before we left: an overwintering Common Sandpiper, hovered and piped around the boats, annoyed at our proximity ! " No doubt we missed as much again !"

Thanks for the report Roger.
You certainly had a good bird count.

Out of Bounds. Davidstow.

It was a cold, wet and miserable morning that Andrew Carey and myself set out for Davidstow.
Arriving close to the Control Tower we saw Derek Julian and Jon Mitchell.
 Derek said  a Buff- Breasted Sandpiper was in the grass across the road.
John had the bird in view on his scope and kindly let me see what was a life tick for me.
Andrew took a few record shots in the Arctic conditions.
 I was frozen and cursed myself for leaving my fleece and gloves behind. The wind chill was awful and it blew straight across the Airport. Apart from 3x Ringed Plovers nothing else of note was seen.
We did try later to get closer to the bird  but unfortunately we never located it again.

Carne Hill. (Out of Bounds)

Report sent by. John Rance 25th June 2010.

FYI, at Carne Hill last night,

At least 3 Nightjar, 2 churring and another hunting, 1 Yellowhammer, several Tree Pipits , 1 male Cuckoo, 1 male Stonechat, Buzzard, Kestrel, and an Adder.

Thanks for the report John..

Even though it is *out of bounds* I feel it is close enough and of sufficient interest to be included on the Blog.
The Tree Pipit would be a Life Tick for me ...

Marsh Fritillary's at Ninestones

Marsh Fritillary. ......Eurodryas aurinia.

Although I was pleased enough with the image I do realise that the somewhat cluttered backdrop draws the eyes away from the main subjects.

Marsh Fritillary (Uncluttered)

The above photograph was taken by Steve Rogers using my camera attached to his Nikon 300 f2.8 lens mounted on a tripod.

The pin sharp image has nothing in the frame to distract from the main subject.

A lesson learnt.

Marsh Fritillary's

What an interesting day yesterday was….not so much in the Birding World but the Butterfly, Moth and Dragonfly genre.

We were having a short break alongside the River Fowey in the Ninestones area when John Nicholls……happened along complete with magnifying glass and a very up market looking butterfly net. We were soon being introduced into the world of Micro Moths…One of those he showed us was just a small dot on a Buttercup flower. He later found a pair of copulating Marsh Fritillary’s which are in fast decline over most of Europe. which we were very lucky to have the opportunity of photographing .

Later we met Steve and Patricia Rogers and went back to the site and watched as Steve took very carefully thought out photographs. He also took a few photograph with my camera on his setup one of which I have put on the Blog to show how a professional attitude produces better images.

Now I cannot pick up tips verbally very easily but I most certainly do watch and take on board how another photographer operates even though I sometimes appear in Dreamland.

What did I learn.

Always use a tripod whenever possible for stability.

Plan your picture carefully….I watched Steve move blades of grass until he was happy with the resulting image.

It is not the equipment used…..but the person behind it.

I have been lucky in my two years in the Natural and Birding World that I have rubbed shoulders with
Some of the Counties top men and picked up a great deal of interesting information along the way and I hope I will continue to do so.

Out Of Bounds Butterfly Report.

General Butterfly Report R.Lane. 23rd May 2010.

Not a lot on the 3rd scorching day, c.25degsC again, if not more,
and I am exhausted, might even take tomorrow off ! 3 basic localities
visited but obviously too early for the 1st which was Respryn(SX0963) at
10.30am:

1 x Brimstone;

1 x Lg.White;

12+, GVWhites;

2+, Orange-Tips

And a Dipper feeding young !

Next was Bunny's Hill (SX1167), with the usual problems and few
species:

1 x Lg.White;

10+, GVWhites;

1 x Red Admiral

12+, SPBFritillaries(all pristine, bright orange + blk.)

2+, P.B.Fritillaries(surprisingly good, more tawny?)

30+, Bloodvein Mths;

15+, Sp.Yellow Mths;

Last was Breney Common(SX0560) where I was last evening(5pm),
bit earlier today i.e. (2pm) with consequent increase in numbers:

1 x Brimstone;

2 x Lg.Whites;

30+, GVWhites;

15+, Orange-Tips;

1 x Sm.Copper;

2 x Peacocks;

2+, SPBFritillary;

20+, MARSH FRITS.

12+, Sm.Heaths.

Thanks for the lists Roger.

You sure have impressive totals.

Butterfly Reports ( Out Of Bounds ).

Reporting from out the Area. R.Lane. 21st-22nd May 2010.

"Yesterday I drove 50mls for 5 new year species, today I drove 60mls
for just 2 new species ! Can't win them all, but it sure is hot wherever
you go.

Today (Sat): 1st stop NW Goss Moor (SW9359), where I met Paul (B)
just leaving! I went on to see the following:

1 x Grizz.Skipper; 12+, Dingy Skipps; 2 x Lg.Whites; 15+,GVWhites;
5+, Orange-Tips; 1 x Holly Blue(PB); 1 x Red Admiral; 1 x Peacock and 1
x SPB.Fritillary (also seen earlier by PB). The most prolific Leps were
40+, Burnet Companion Moths !

In attempting to get to Breney Comm. from there I ended up N. of
Bodmin with an overheated engine. I eventually found the road to Breney
Comm. (from the north) was completely closed! The car overheated again
and I decided to give up and went to Cabilla Woods (SX1365), which was
fairly useless in the sweltering heat of the day 1-2pm, butterflies take
siestas over the 'noon-time' hours, hence I saw only the following:

6 x Brimstones; 2 x Lg.Whites; 12+ GVWhites; 2 x Orange-Tips; 2
x Sm. Coppers and 1 x Peacock. Otherwise it was 2 x Sp.Yellow Moths and
a solitary Bee-fly, my first record there, I think !

Since it was only 4pm I decided to have another try at
Breney, this time from the SE. Thus my only time there was from 4.30 to
5.30pm, a bit late for most species, even at 20degsC ! However, did
quite well for an evening hour with the following (at SX0560):

20, GVWhites; 10+, Orange-Tips; 1 x SPB.FRIT; 2 x MARSH FRITS
and 3 x SM.HEATHS ! The Marsh Frits were out late wing-drying,
basking on dry molinia grass and taking long flights at speed. probably
more in the 'day' !"


"Had not been to Perransands/Penhale
for well over 6 months until today. Totals for late May should have been
higher, but after the last winter most species are 2 to 4 weeks late.
Most were fresh looking to-day. Anyway, to get started, only 2 stops,
the 1st at Glanvilles Field,Penhale (temp. 25degsC +, total sun all
day). (Parts of SW7856 & SW7857)

15+, Dingy Skippers;

1 x Grizz. Skipper(ab.'taras')

6 x Lg.Whites

20+, G.V.Whites;

10+, Orange-Tips;

1 x S.Copper (male)

25+, Brown Argus

12+, Comm.Blues;

4 x Peacocks(overwint.)

1 x Sp.Wood;

1 x Cinnabar Moth

ZERO x Wall Brown & Sm.Heath.

The 2nd stop was Gear Sds/Penhale Sds(parts of SW7656 &
SW7756):

1 x Grizz.Skipper (normal)

5+, Dingy Skippers;

1 x Lg.White;

6 x G.V.Whites;

2 x Orange-Tips;

40 +, Brown Argus;

30 +, Comm.Blues;

1 x Peacock(overwint.)

15+, WALL BROWNS

4 x SM.HEATHS.

10 +, Cinnabar Moths.

Nectar is in desperately short supply and majority were flying
rapidly between buttercups and whatever else was available"

Thanks for the reports Roger. Even though they were out of bounds it shows what can be seen if you have the knowledge and know where to look.
I am sure they will be of great interest to the Blogs Butterfly fans.

Lizard Visit.

No report from me today.
I went down the Lizard for the CBWPS annual general meeting. Met a few new and interesting people and put a face to a couple of names. Prior to the meeting I had an excellent Crab Salad lunch at Lizard Point which I thoroughly enjoyed and to cap it off I saw a duo of Chough's flying close by and a Whitethroat perched on a bush.
A rather satisfying day out at Britain most southerly point.

Out of Bounds

Well! ..It was one of those days when things did not go according to plan.
The alarm sounded at the crack of dawn and we were on our way to Welltown Manor close to Boscastle hoping to catch sight of the American Vagrant.. White Throated Sparrow that had been showing well yesterday.
Unfortunately for us and all the other early risers the bird had not read the script and did not show.
After three and half hours watching we gave up and headed off to Walmsley Sanctuary. Very Little was seen and the only really notable bird was the Wood Sandpiper which was a Year tick for me.

Although bird wise it was a disaster sort of day....neither of us took a single photograph..it was not all doom and gloom.
At the Manor we met Monts (The Lanner Janner) and his friend Mark. Although over the last year we have often commented on each others blogs we have never met until today. It was nice putting a face to the Blog Monts.

I would also like to thank the owner of Welltown Manor for allowing us access to his property...a true gentleman who even apologised to Angie and myself for the non appearance of the bird during our visit.
Thank you Sir.

This post also appears on http://alectobeestie.blogspot.com/ A&T Birding.

A Trio of Ticks.

Yesterday was another one of our days out with Derek Julian, Sam, Ben and Poppy. The target species was an American *** star vagrant at Langton Herring west Dorset. We started out at 0530hrs and arrived around 0745hrs to be confronted by a very chilly wind and cold conditions. A few other early birders were also on the site and after an agonising 30 minutes the Bufflehead was sighted .The walk was very tiring in the conditions and when we got there we located the bird a good 600-800 yards out on the opposite bank. We had to content ourselves with viewing through the scope. That was my second life tick of the day as a Barn Owl was spotted on the A30 pre dawn.
The next stop was Radipole Lake and I had another slice of good luck while I was in the RSPB site looking at the bird books when young Ben Julian said."That's a Cetti's Warbler" and pointed outside. I only had time for a quick grab shot through the window but at least it is recognisable. Smart lad that Ben.
We also went to Portland Bill and Fleet but the only other year tick was a Red-legged Partridge.

A good if somewhat tiring day ended up with three life ticks and four year ticks.
Also we saw A Hooded Merganser at Radipole Lake but could not tick it.
Many thanks to Derek....also wife Sam and of course Ben..... for giving us the opportunity of his lifetime experience
which always ends up with us getting more life ticks.

This post also appears on A&T Birding

Roseland Peninsular

Another day out with Derek Julian took us around the Roseland Peninsular looking for seabirds and anything else that happened along. According to Angie a shade over seventy different species were logged today which was very near her record.
Overall the day was a shade better than yesterday with eight Year Ticks and three Life Ticks.

Life Ticks
Cirl Bunting
Black-necked Grebe
Lesser Scaup.

Year Ticks.
Sylark, Greenshank, Gannet, Cirl Bunting, Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Black-necked Grebe and Lesser Scaup.

Also seen.
Peregrine Falcon, Goldeneye, Razorbill, B.T.Diver, G.N.Diver, 228 Linnets on wire, Slavonian Grebe, Shag, Cormorant,Med Gull, Stonechat, Curlew, Oystercatcher,Little Grebe, Raven, Buzzard and many of the small and popular birds and gulls.

Thanks again to Derek Julian for taking the trouble and patience to give out expert advice and sightings.

After leaving Derek ..Angie and myself proceeded to Dozmary Pool to see if we could find the Lesser Scaup...as luck has it we were rewarded with a good view in a matter of a few minutes.
Another good day birding.

This post has been duplicated on A&T Birding.

Report from Roger Lane. (6th February 2010)

"Virtually no birds to report today since it was warm enough for Butterflies ! Managed 5+, Red Admirals at Trenarren, and another 1 x Rd.Admiral here in Holmbush ! 6 for 6thFeb. can't be bad ! Also 2 Wasps and a Bumblebee.
Regarding birds, the few were outside your area and 'common'. My best was a Dipper flying up the Pentewan Valley (first for 2010 !) Way down below Lon.Apprent. at Nansladron Bridge. Otherwise it was mostly Redwings, 2 flocks of c.50 and 1 flock c.100 (latter at Treesmill).
Finished up at Par Pool (as ever), but other than 6 x Tufted D. there was only 1 x Little Grebe.

Thanks for the report Roger.

My list today....
Eider (female)..Port Mellon
Razorbill, Red-necked Grebe and Red-throated Diver. St Austell Bay . Meva.
Guillemot and 19 Black-throated Divers...Gorran Haven.
Green Sandpiper at Caerhays Castle Pool.
Also G.N.Diver, Kittiwake, Shag, Med Gull, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Slavonian Grebe and most of the usual LBJ's.
A great thank you to Derek Julian who once again provided the expert advice and sightings.
A Dipper, Grey wagtail and Buzzard were also seen by me down the Manoa Valley with a Chiffchaff and Goldcrest or two with Angie who forced me into a return trip.
Two life Ticks
Eight Year Ticks.

I thought I saw a White Butterfly a little way past The Lost garden of Heligan but I cannot swear to it as I was driving and could not look back.

Somerset Levels

It was 5-30am and we were on our way to the Chew Valley Lakes and the Somerset Levels. Four species had been targeted...Great Egret, Smew, Glossy Ibis and Ruddy Duck before they exterminate them.
The first stop (well second...the first was the customary Mc Donalds :-( ) was Herriots Pool on the Chew Valley Lakes complex. Derek Julian soon had us onto a Smew on the water opposite and almost immediately Ruddy Ducks along with Goldeneye and Tufted Ducks. Next stop was Cheddar reservoir where we were surprised with Red-crested Pochard on the far side which were again soon picked up by Derek's scope. Good going.it was just 1045 hrs and with three life ticks in the bag things looked rosy.
Bladon Waters, Burnham on Sea and Catcott Nature Reserve did not add to the tally but we added greatly to the day list.
Next came Shapwick Heath RSPB and again nothing was added to my list but Derek and Angie heard a Cetti's Warbler in the reed beds but there was no chance of that with me.
Derek decided to return to Catcott NR as the Glossy Ibis had been seen daily for some time now and as providence would have it , three of them flew overhead giving all in the hide a good view.
We dipped on the Great Egret but added the Red-crested Pochard , Glossy Ibis , Smew and Ruddy Duck to our Life List thanks to the expert spotting skills of Derek.

Yep....a good days work.

Out of Bounds.

A very good days birding today.

First up was a Raven around the Cambourne area of the A30.
Second was the Whooper Swan at Drift.
Third came the mixed flock of Lapwing and Grey Plover in a field close to Sennen.
Fourth was the Long-tailed Duck in Sennen Bay.
Fifth was the capture of the Cattle Egrets at Brew Farm Sennen. We dipped on them earlier missing them by minutes.
Six came at Marazion Marshes when the Bittern obliged by flying overhead.
Seventh and last was the Purple Sandpiper at Jubilee Pool Penzance.

The Long-tailed Duck, Cattle Egret and Bittern were all Life Ticks.
The Purple Sandpiper was my hundredth this year.

Weekend Away.

We are off (Angie and myself ) on a birding weekend so the blog will lay dormant till sometime on Monday.
Keep sending your reports / photographs and I will update as soon as I can.

Spoonbills

Late afternoon we got a message that there were six Spoonbills on Dinham Flats along the Camel Estuary. Off we went on the twitch and duly saw them through a scope. Another life tick..watch out Mr Evans we are on your tail.

Buzzard

Buzzard ...........Buteo buteo

I have been trying to get a half decent shot of a Buzzard and till yesterday have failed. Generally Angie spies one on a post and commands me to stop the car and she is out of it like a greyhound coming out the red box. The same thing happened yesterday but the Buzzard was probably having a rest and gave me ample time to get out and photograph it. ...a few minutes later in the air he/she was being mobbed by thirty plus Corvids. No wonder rests were needed after meals.