Cornwall - Sat 14 Oct to Sat 21 Oct

A family trip to Cornwall for the week and we again based ourselves in the Roseland Peninsula having found a nice little place that ticks the boxes for everyone.
The first full day started with a walk down to the "creek" near the cottage. At least four (possibly as many as six) Cirl Buntings were noted as we walked down the lane, with several Meadow Pipits, Chaffinches and Skylarks also seen. On the creek itself the low tide enabled me to find a few waders, with the pick being a single Bar-tailed Godwit. A total of seventeen Mediterranean Gulls were roosting on the exposed mud banks. The remainder of the day failed to produce anything out of the ordinary in the way of birds until I popped down to Pendower Beach late in the day where a Red-necked Grebe was offshore.

 

Monday morning and we managed a bit of time out before the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia hit, the pick being a Merlin which flew in-off at Pendower Beach. The strong winds had washed up loads of Portuguese Man-of-War jellyfish, really amazing creatures.

 

I made a quick trip down to Percuil on Tuesday lunchtime where I found a Firecrest amongst commoner birds. On the estuary a single Grey Plover was seen alongside a Black-tailed Godwit and thirty-four Mediterranean Gulls. Back at our cottage in the afternoon a Spotted Redshank flew over calling.
A trip to the Lost Gardens of Heligan on Wednesday was really interesting, and was livened up by four Firecrests found whilst wandering the grounds. A return visit to Pendower Beach in the evening and I relocated the Red-necked Grebe and found a Great Northern Diver.
Thursday morning and a walk along the beach at Pendower where we found a rather amazing Clam of some sort in one of the rock pools.

A little stroll inland and a Wood Mouse put on a bit of a show.

On the bird front there was not a lot of note other than several Gannets offshore and a couple of Common Gulls. In the afternoon I had a wander down to the creek and saw a Grey Plover and several Greenshank as well as a Kingfisher. In the evening a Noctule bat was flying around outside the cottage.

A trip down to Caerhays Castle on Friday morning where a couple of Stonechats were seen and three Mute Swans were on the lake.

 

In the afternoon we headed out to Ruan Lanithorne where seven Shelduck were on the estuary. Two Common Sandpipers were also noted and an adult Yellow-legged Gull was seen. A quick stop at Lamorran produced a few Teal.
The week away ended on Saturday as we headed back home, with one final addition before we left Roseland as a juvenile Swallow flew over the car. A really great "non-birding holiday" with a final trip list of 75 species.