SEAWATCHING in Cornwall is my main interest in birding, mainly because the county lends itself perfectly to an incredible passage of seabirds and a its also a brilliant opportunity to find your own birds. This summer and autumn has been exceptional and arguably better than 2022.  The following is a synopsis of around 250 hours pure seawatching from two prime sites in West Cornwall: Pendeen and Porthgwarra. Summary: there are many highlights but the following are the best and worthy of mention: Fea's Petrel: two sightings, 30th July at Porthgwarra and then a personal find of one at ..read more

 EXCITING news broke on Saturday 2nd December 2023 when a White-crowned Sparrow was reported on Facebook.  Photos soon appeared on the popular news channels and details emerged that it was coming to seed in a private garden. Birders assembled in a Rosudgeon residential close on Sunday morning and were rewarded with good views as it eventually perched up in a hedge and on a rooftop. White-crowned Sparrow has a wide distribution across North America and has three distinct forms: West Taiga, East Taiga and Interior West.  Pacific populations differ to the Taiga/Interior group in ..read more

 Seawatching takes centre stage in this post.  Naturally, Cornwall is strategically positioned to take full advantage of the wealth of seabirds passing both coasts. Other than an adult Pectoral Sandpiper at Walmsley, non-seabirds have been painfully thin on the ground. The stand-out highlight on the 1st of the month was the Fea's Petrel off Porthgwarra (for its third day). Porthgwarra is THE top UK site for this species with around 25 records. Many of these birds spend a few days here while they circuit feed the Land's End area. If you catch the correct conditions, its quite feas-ibl ..read more

 July started with some notable seawatching off Pendeen Watch.  The 1st and 2nd saw a front move in from the west, creating perfect conditions for Pendeen.  Highlights included high numbers of petrels including 144 Storm Petrel on the 1st and another 24 on the 2nd.  At least three Wilson's Petrels were found. The first one was found at 06:23 and another at 09:20.  Incredibly, another was found at exactly 06:23 on the following day (2nd). This could easily  be the same bird circuit feeding, though difficult to prove either way. Sooty Shearwater numbers maxed out at ..read more

Band-rumped Petrel at Porthgwarra, Cornwall, 22nd October 2022 (The notes below are a copy of those sent to BBRC. The record has been accepted and is the 4th for Cornwall). Notes:  The seawatching season has been noticeably protracted this year. Warmer sea temperature in the Approaches has seen above average numbers of Blue-fin Tuna chasing bait fish and in turn, attracting high numbers of seabirds. Berry Head and Lizard seawatchers have been setting county records this autumn with four figure counts of Great Shearwater. On the 21st, Mark Darlaston reported a decent seawatch from Berry He ..read more

 The Squacco Heron and star bird of April carried over in to May and performed well for the many visitors.  Philip Hambly, the owner of Lethytep reserve collected £400 for Cancer Research and was delighted with the response.  Other rarities continuing their stay from April included the Bonaparte's Gull at Hayle, female Montagu's Harrier at the Lizard, Great White Egret at Hayle and the Pink-footed Goose at Marazion. Squacco Heron, 1st summer, Lethytep, picture courtesy Philip Hambly. Squacco Heron, 1st summer, Lethytep, picture courtesy John St. Ledger I was j ..read more

 The Alpine Swift influx continued on the 1st of the month with a showy bird around Par docks, Par garden centre, Spit beach and Par beach pool. The St Ives bird showed well in the town on the 5th and was joined by another.  They were thought to go to roost in the church tower.  The following morning just one appeared from the tower.  The second bird failed to appear.  Another Alpine Swift moved east  through the Nanjizal area quickly on the 7th. At least five birds seem to have been involved in the influx. Duplication or under-estimation can't be ruled out though ..read more

 On the 5th April, the wind direction changed overnight from North East to South West and conditions were typically mild and wet. Reuben Veal visited Hayle Estuary early in the morning and found a first winter (second calendar year) Bonaparte's Gull on the estuary, easily viewable from the causeway bridge. Being of American origin, this species seemed out of place among the many Mediterranean rarities that turned up in Cornwall on the 4th and 5th. The most notable were six Black-winged Stilts at Walmsley, three more at Gunwalloe, Alpine Swift at St. Ives, Hoopoe at Perranporth, Black Kite ..read more

 March weather started with high pressure, generally dry and mild.  From the 10th a westerly airflow took hold resulting in heavy rain and stormy conditions more akin to Autumn. Gull watching took centre place with an adult and second winter Ring-billed Gull at Hayle, a handful of Caspian Gulls and Yellow-legged Gulls, and a probable second winter American Herring Gull on the 1st. Also notable and a recent phenomenon was a very high count of at least 800 Common Gulls at Hayle.  Around half of them were juvenile birds indicating successful breeding somewhere further north of Corn ..read more

 February 2023 weather was dominated by high pressure with an easterly airflow for most of the month. Temperature was generally warm for the time of year. Over wintering long-stayers included the two Little Buntings at Boscregan accompanied by a healthy 200+ Skylarks and a Lapland Bunting, female Ring-necked Duck at Helston boating lake, two Serins at Sennen, Velvet Scoter off Marazion beach, four Whooper Swans at Skewjack and a juv. Rose-coloured Starling at Sennen,  Various white winged gulls were dotted around the normal sites including at least three different Glaucous Gulls, thr ..read more