On Par Beach this evening there were 5 Whimbrel, 10, Dunlin, 6 Ringed Plover, 1 Sanderling and about 30 Swift over the pool.

 

 

I have just spent a few days away in London and East Anglia visiting relatives but the day I was allowed to spend at Minsmere produced these pictures.

 

 Sedge Warbler

Marsh Harrier 

 

 Common Tern

 

 Reed Bunting

 Barn Swallow

and finally a Canary! mixing with the Sparrows around a campsite outside London.

A large number of dead sea birds have been washed up on Par Beach and other places along the South Cornwall Coast presumably as a result of the chemical discharges at sea.

I, and others have been collecting them for examination by Falmouth Marine School. This morning I located bags containing some 40 birds that had been gathered yesterday.

At high tide this morning a sweep along the beach produced another twenty They were mainly Guillemots and Razorbills but there was one Gannet and an unidentified Gull/Tern.

One lucky? Guillemot was found alive and taken away by a lady from Tywardreath to be passed to the RSPCA.

 

Another day with some sun and another view of the Green Sandpiper that has been at Par Beach Pool. And around the back there was the bonus of two Water Rails.

My thanks to Daniel Cole for spotting this Green Sandpiper on Par Beach Pool and dragging me out on a miserable afternoon to photograph it.

Images of one of the two Spoonbills at the Walmsley Sanctuary today and a passing Buzzard. Also making an appearance but distant were a Sparrowhawk, Merlin and Peregrine.
Interestingly there was only one wader in the reserve, a Lapwing, but on the estuary there was a flock of 58 Black-tailed Godwits.

 

 

 

 

 Meanwhile on Par Beach this evening the place was buzzing with Wheatears.

Sadly the Common Scoter at Swanpool refused to play for me and stayed stubbornly on the far side of the pool.
So it was back to Par Beach Pool where the light was good and there was a Pochard just begging to have its picture taken,  several Shovelers and some amorous Swans.

The first bright day for a while so a walk around Siblyback Lake was in order. Below is a photograph of the Red-necked Grebe which has been around for a few days. Unfortunately the Lesser Scaup was chased out into mid lake by a pair of Great-crested Grebes and out of photographic range. Also seen was a female Merlin, a pair of Ravens , a large number of Chiffchaffs and some Goldcrests..

Par Beach Pool. Still quite overcast weather and after a few hundred more exposures this is the best of them. You should see the near misses though! These little critters move very fast and not in a straight line!

Is it really Spring? Par Beach Pool hosted about 50 Sand Martins and two Swallows late this afternoon. They were feeding quite close to he edge of the pool but that did not make them any easier to photograph.
It was really quite dim, exposure was 800 ISO, f5.6 at about 1/1000second.

 

A bit of a pot pourri of images from the last week.

Spring has sprung (or has it?)

 

A juvenile Whooper Swan at Helston boating Lake

 

The clay district seen from Rosenannon Downs on a miraculously fine day

I find these lichen covered trees on Bodmin Moor fascinating

A day spent photographing Cirl Buntings at the project in South Cornwall. The object was to try and get images that would help identify the unringed birds. But there was time to get a few more artistic images

A selection of photographs from the last month.

A Spotted Redshank on the Tresillian River 25th Feb. 2013

Two images from the RSPB cruise on the Exe 24th Feb 2013

 

Beautiful colours on the Gossander on St. Andrews Road Pool

A Teal at St. Andrews Road Pool, Par

Christmas is over and so is the inevitable festive season cold so it is time to get out and about again. A gloomy day curtailed much photographic activity but this fine drake Goosander was on St. Andrews Road Pool, Par.