Cornwall - Sat 28 Dec to Thu 2 Jan

Away for the New Year and a family trip to Cornwall where we were so lucky with the weather, lovely bright days with no rain and not even that cold...and despite it not being a birding trip, I managed a few decent birds.
A morning visit to Porthkernick Beach produced a very obliging Long-tailed Duck, and it makes me wonder whether it is a returning bird as I've seen one off this beach in the past.

Off Portscatho a female Eider was present and was seen of Porthkernick a day later. Further out in Gerrans Bay a few Black-throated Divers and a larger number of Great Northern Divers were present.

A female Common Scoter was also noted as well as four Slavonian Grebes.

As always, a few walks around the coast and creeks produced a fair variety of waders despite the time of year and a few Grey Plover were nice to see, including a flock of a dozen birds. A decent sized flock of around twenty Turnstone were also noted at Portscatho during one visit.
Other than a few Mediterranean Gulls there was not much in the way of gull activity, though a lone Kittiwake was noted offshore as well as the more expected Gannets and both Razorbill and Guillemot were also in Gerrans Bay.

It was also good to see a couple of Cirl Buntings around our accommodation and I ended up with a holiday list of sixty-six species...not that shabby.