Peek-a-Boo

This well hidden Long-eared Owl was found this morning by Brian Mellow, a well known cornish birder, when it flew out of cover at Land's End. It was later re-found by Brian Field sitting in a small Willow bush almost invisible to the naked eye. It probably doesn't think it can be seen, but is keeping a close eye on the gathered birders.

Red-breasted Flycatcher. Kenidjack. 20/10/2012

Red-breasted Flycatchers are annual visitors to cornwall from Eastern Europe. The west Penwith valleys seem to attract the majority of birds mainly during the Autumn period, so it was no surprise that this little gem was found at Kenidjack.

Montagu's Harrier-revisited

Jamie Burney a musician from Derbyshire composed a piece of music for the fiddle and called it "Montagu's Harrier". Having seen my film of the Monty's at Croft Pascoe on youtube, Jamie asked if he could use the footage to put with his music. I gave Jamie the footage which he has edited to compliment the piece, I think it brings an atmosphere of wilderness to the monty's as it quarters the heathland. What say you?                  Nice one Jamie!
 For more of Jamies music visit http://www.restlesshead.com/ or http://www.jamieburney.com/

Red-backed Shrike, Housel Bay.The Lizard, 14/10/2012

I finally caught up with the juvenile Red-backed Shrike that has been around the Housel Bay area on the Lizard for the last few weeks. It was quite obliging, and was content feeding on Bumble Bees on the edge of a stubble field. What a cracking little bird!

Paddyfield Warbler. Church Cove.The Lizard. 9/10/2012

Paddyfield Warbler is a native of Asia and a rare vagrant to Britain in Autumn. The recent Easterly winds brought this one all the way to a small overgrown quarry in Church Cove on the Lizard. It was surprisingly showy, occasionally coming to within a few metres of the gathered birders, much to their appreciation

Olive-backed Pipit. Pendeen. 09/10/2012

Olive-backed Pipit is extremely hard to come by in Cornwall. The last twitchable individual was at Porthgwarra in November 2004, so when Ian Kendall found this one in a small valley at Pendeen in West Cornwall local and visiting birders took the opportunity to catch a glimpse. Though it gave excellent flight views it wasn't easy to see on the ground. Eventually it settled on a nearby hedge just long enough to get this short sequence. four seconds to be precise!