HOUSEL COVE, THE LIZARD - KYNANCE COVE - GUNWALLOE FIELDS - COPPERHOUSE CREEK
WEATHER: Our third day in a row of sunshine and a light breeze
The fantastic weather continued, a cloudless sunny day was lovely to be out in, but great weather is not conducive to great birding. Very few migrants species are about and those that drop in do not stay for more that a day. We realised this once again when drove down to the Lizard to look for a Melodious Warbler first thing this morning.
I must say that we are visiting some beautiful places and enjoying the walks even though we are seeing very few species, Mike and Lorna are having a great time, so they tell me!
Housel Cove looking towards the Lizard
Housel Cove is just a stone's throw from the Lizard, we parked in the village and walked down to the Cove. We searched hedgerows and gardens for anything that moved and found two Firecrests in one bush! That was a great start, we listed many common garden birds including our first Chaffinch of the trip!!!
Red-billed Chough flew over us issuing their loud shrill call, a call that we were going to be hearing many times during the morning. We made it down to the South Coast path at the Housel Cove Hotel, what a fantastic site to build a hotel, The Cove is so picturesque, I took a picture of it!
We listed a few Chiffchaffs and our first Willow Warbler, the sky was full of Barn Swallows and a few House Martins and along with dozens of Jackdaws, Rooks, Crows, Magpies, a few Choughs and Ravens we were kept very busy. We searched the scrub for one of two Melodious Warblers that had been seen yesterday, Stonechats and Robins were all that came into view.
We noticed further along the path and inland a little, were two birders spending a lot of time starring into a small copse and we thought that they may have the Warbler. Walking back inland and circling around through a couple of fields found us in the same place as the two guys. We saw two more Firecrests in a hedgrow, lots of Linnets, Goldfinches, Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits in the fields.
The Melodious Warbler had not been seen today but we were now in the correct place, we stayed for another hour enjoying the scenery, the weather and some common species. A distant telephone wire held over a hundred Barn Swallows and two House Martins!
We gave up around 11am and walked back up into the village to retreive our car, a short drive across to Kynanace Cove NT Car park took a few minutes. Sitting in the car park we decided to eat our lunch before making the walk down to the Cove. The breeze had picked up a little but it was still fantastic out there.
Kynance Cove is a beautiful spot
We saw very few species on the way down, just a few Stonechats, Robins, Jackdaws and Chough. Many butterflies were on the wing, dozens of Large and Small Whites, we also saw Painted Ladies, Red Admirals, Peacocks, a Wall and our first Clouded Yellow of the trip. Yesterday a Monarch Butterfly had been in Kynance Cove.
Painted Lady taken by Mike
We sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee at the 'Cafe in the Cove' before taking a slow walk back up to the car park, no new species jumped out. (We did find out later that someone had photographed a Common Nightjar on the side of the track that we had walked along!!).
On the way back to Camborne we decided to pop into Gunwalloe Village because a Turtle Dove had been seen in the same field for the last two days. After spending some time looking into the wrong field, where we found a few Wheatears, Stonechats, a pair of Kestrels, good numbers of Goldfinches and Linnets and another Chaffinch, we were pointed into the right direction by another birder who said the bird was not now present!
a juvenile Turtle Dove sat nicely for our cameras
We tried anyway and as luck would have it, we found the bird. Mike filled his boots taking pictures and Lorna stayed in the car!
Our last birding of the day was taken at Copperhouse Creek, I say birding, but all we did was to sit on a bench, munching a world-beating Cornish Pastie from Philps. Followed by Apple Turnovers! We listed all the usual species in the creek nothing new was added to the trip list, but an inch or two was added to our waistlines!!
Later we called the bird-log in the pub next to the hotel, a pint of 'Dumbar' beer went down to join the pastie and the Apple Turnover.