Cornwall - Sat 24 Mar to Sat 31 Mar

No birding on the first Saturday of the holiday as we were travelling, but a wander around the cottage on Sunday morning produced a singing male Cirl Bunting, so a great start to the holiday. A walk around St Just in Roseland was quite productive with a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers being close in off one of the small beaches.

After lunch we took a walk down to Porthcurnick Beach where a Long-tailed Duck was present and a couple of Great Northern Divers were in the bay. I popped out late in the afternoon for a sea watch off Pendower beach which proved to be profitable with the highlight being the long-staying Pacific Diver (only my second sighting of this species). Several Black-throated Divers were also present.

A nice summer-plumaged Red-necked Grebe was added to the trip list as well as a couple of Slavonian Grebes.

Three Razorbills were also seen and a female Common Scoter was noted. Finally, five Sandwich Terns were my first for the year.
Monday saw us head to Caerhays Castle, via a stop at Lower Porthpean where I successfully twitch three Surf Scoters (a Long-tailed Duck was also present offshore).

Caerhays Castle Gardens were interesting and a singing male Siskin added a splash of colour.

A Blackcap was seen and a Chiffchaff was in song. A very striking Great Black-backed Gull was on the lake, with partial melanistic plumage is was quite a bird (it was probably the same bird seen at Hayle the previous week and in the Isles of Scilly last year). 

Later in the afternoon I popped to Ruan Lanihorne where a Whimbrel was seen with a few Curlew.
On to Tuesday and a trip across the River Fal and a visit to Trebah and Glenduggan gardens, lots of nice plants but little in the way of birds.
Wednesday started with a walk along the beach at Carne where out to see there were pretty much the same range of birds as I had seen in Gerrans Bay from Pendwoer earlier in the week. After lunch I popped back to Ruan Lanihorne where a couple of Spoonbills were seen.

A bright morning on Thursday so we took a walk to Percuil and back, eight Cirl Buntings were probably the pick, including a very fine singing male.

A few Greenshank were on the estuary.

In the afternoon I took the chance to do another sea watch off Pendower. I saw the Pacific Diver again but other than a male Common Scoter it was the same selection of divers and grebes. A Peregrine was a nice addition to the trip list though and a Stonechat was singing away.

Friday, the penultimate day of the holiday, and a walk from Pendower beach up to Melinsey Mill produced at least eight singing Chiffchaff and a Marsh Tit at the mill was a nice find. More of the same offshore in the afternoon from Porthcurnick and Portscatho.
Our final day before heading back home and whilst the packing was done I popped back to Pendower for a final sea watch and recorded my first Red-throated Diver of the year. A Fulmar was also offshore though the number of divers seemed to be less than earlier in the week. On the drive back we detoured to check out Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor where I saw a drake Lesser Scaup and a female Greater Scaup alongside a few Tufted Duck and a drake Goldeneye.
A wonderful end to a great family (non-birding!) holiday and the trip list was 90 species by the way!