A Few Days in Cornwall

Last week we took advantage of a Groupon offer and had 4 nights down in Cornwall in Harlyn Bay just outside Padstow. It's six years since we were down that neck of the woods, so it was nice to visit some of favourite places and walks.

We started off with a walk around Pentire Head and the Rumps, which we had done a two or three times in the past and have our favourite coffee stop at the Rumps where we sit and watch. What we had forgotten is that to get there from the NT Lead Mines Car Park is quite up and down and that we are six years older, but we managed it and completed the circular walk back via Polzeath.

Of course along the way there were some birds! Unfortunately for some inexplicable reason I had left the camera in our hotel room! What a plonker! Only realised just before we got to the car park and didn't want to turn back, so just have to make do with a list of what we saw and a scenic snapshot taken on my phone.

The birds..... 

Blackbird, Blackcap, Buzzard, Cormorant, Fulmar, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Rock Dove, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Skylark, Swallow, Twite, Wheatear, Willow Warbler, Wood Pigeon and Wren.

The view....

So next day I did remember my camera and we went for a walk from Harlyn Bay along the coast towards Padstow, a nice flat walk, with quite a few birds about..

Oystercatchers,

 Jackdaw,

 Skylark singing,

 Nice views,

 Fulmar on approach!

 Bee, sorry don't know what sort,

 and Rook

In addition Pipits, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Stonechat were about. We then went into Padstow for an obligatory Cornish Pastie, but the weather was now turning nasty, so other plans were shelved and we did some coastal driving for what scenery we could see through the rain!

Last day took us to Trevose Head for a walk down to Booby Bay and back again  fantastic scenery and more birds too...

Our destination ahead,

 and on the way, A Skylark or two,

 and where we started from,

 Linnet,

Beetle.... any offers for what species?

 Herring Gull,

 Meadow Pipit,

 Crazy Surfers

and a look back to where we had been.

After this we went to the National Trust at Lanhydrock for another Cornish staple, a cream tea and it was very nice thank you! With only a Buzzard (with a dodgy feather) troubling the camera.

Haden Hill & Corngreaves NR Last Week

Well  we haven't done ant birding for three weeks for a number of reasons, so it was nice last Wednesday to get out for an hour and take a stroll around our local patch Corngreaves NR and a bit of Haden Hill Park for an hour or so in the spring sunshine.

It always seems quite when we first enter the reserve, but we soon started to see a few things;
Treecreeper,

 Robin posing nicely,

 Green Woodpecker,

 Grey Squirrels everywhere of course,

 a few Long-tailed Tits

 and a Jay looking for a bite to eat.

The lower pool didn't produce anything exciting, just the usual Mallards, Coot, Moorhen and a couple of Canada Geese. Elsewhere of course the obligatory Crow, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Blue, Great and Coal Tit, Blackbird, Chaffinch and Dunnock.

The final sighting was a Sparrowhawk, just as we returned to the Corngreaves Car Park. So a nice hour in the sunshine and thankfully not too many dog walkers down in the reserve.

Islay

We arrived on Islay a week late after re-arranging our accommodation and ferry. The crossing was still a bit rocky, just glad we got there. We were based in Bowmore and despite many reports of divers, grebes and ducks seen from the harbour we saw very little, just some Red-breasted Merganser, our kitchen window overlooked Loch Indaal, seeing plenty of Gulls, the odd Oystercatcher and some Red-breasted Merganser.

We travelled the island thoroughly and saw 63 species in the week, we looked in all the places that 'people' were saying they had seen things, but none of the rarities were found. (Cackling Goose and Green-winged Teal) Scoter and Slavonian Grebe of which there were almost daily sightings also eluded us. Eben the famous Otter at the Bunnahabain Distillery failed us, although we went a few times when the tides are allegedly most favourable.

Here's a few snaps of some of the things that dained to show themselves:
White-fronted Geese at Loch Gruinart,

 Barnacle Geese at Loch Gruinart,

 Stonechat,

 Two White-tailed Eagles at the Oa,

 Hooded Crow,

 Starlings,

 Ringed Plover at Loch Indaal,

 Greenshank at Loch Gruinart,

 Lapwing at Loch Gruinart,

 Little Egret at Loch Gruinart,

 Lapwings,

 Believe it or not that's a female Hen Harrier at Loch Gruinart,

 Chough at Ardnave Point,

 King of the Sheep,

 Rock Pipit at Loch Indaal,

 Red Deer on Jura,

 Great Northern Diver at Bunnahabain,

 Common Seal on its perch,

 Eider om Loch Indaal,

 Part of a flock of 30+ Chough at Ardnave,

 Whooper Swans on Loch Ardnave,

 Pintail at Loch Gruinart,

 Roe Deer at Loch Gruinart,

Scaup on Loch Indaal,

and Brown Hare at Loch Gruinart Hide Car Park

We still had a great time though, we can't all be on Shetland for the Tengmalm's Owl! Other birds of note without photos, were a group of Snipe on the rocks at Bruichladdich on Loch Indaal, a couple of Brent Geese seen near the same place a couple of days later, Sparrowhawk over our back garden in Bowmore, a White-tailed Eagle taking a Teal at Loch Gruinart (awesome) it all happened to quickly to get a picture or any video, a Peregrine trying the same the day after and failing! Black-guillemot in various places around the island, a Red-throated Diver off Jura.

We finished with a small pod of Common Dolphin from the ferry back to the mainland. All in all a great couple of weeks with 82 species seen in all.

Lochaber area - West Coast of Scotland

We had a two week stay in Scotland the first week should have been on Islay, but due to the high winds we couldn't get on the island, so after lots of phone calls and gnashing of teeth we managed to swap our two weeks around.

So we started at Glenuig on the west coast, the main objective here as last year were the Pine Martens in the Cottage Garden. This is a video from one of the camera traps we put up, I have loads on the video camera too, but decided most were too big to put up on the blog.

Another regular visitor was a Badger, again here's a bit of camera trap footage:

So apart from this we went out most days, these are some of the highlights:
A mean looking Buzzard giving us the eye!

 Golden Eagles over Glenmoidart,

 Oystercatcher at Glenuig,

 Otter, one of three seen, all at a distance from the Wildlife Hide on Loch Sunart,

 Common Seal - Loch Sunart,

Not quite Monarch of the Glen,

 Grey Heron - Loch Sunart,

 Goosander - Loch Aline,

 Golden Eagle - near Loch Linnhe,

 Goldeneye - Loch nan Ceall, Arsaig

 Red-breasted Merganser - Loch nan Ceall, Arsaig

 Great Spotted Woodpecker at the Cottage.