Friday 22nd October: The Valleys and Sandy Cove

On Friday morning and with little wind forecast, rather than doing some sea watching first thing I decided to get over to Nanquidno and Cot valleys to see whether I could connect with any yellow-browed warblers. At Nanquidno a bird had been reported for several days in the copse by the ford so that's where I started. I met with a female photographer who was staying at the house right next to the ford. She'd seen the bird several times on previous days but not that day so far. I wandered around a bit and crossed over the stream to check out the other side. The habitat all looked great but the best I was able to come up with was a single firecrest.

Next on the Cot valley where I soon found another firecrest in the company of a goldcrest but once again no warblers. I met a fellow birder who'd found a couple more firecrests lower down the valley but he too had not had any warblers so I decided that I'd better get back to the cottage and start my DIY work. I did manage a photo of the Cot firecrest on my point & shoot camera which came out quite well.

The Cot valley firecrest

I spent the morning painting a grotty wall where a bookcase had been, the idea being to make the interior less revolting for when we come down to visit. There was also lots of black mould which was going to have to be removed later on. After lunch I had an appointment with the builder to discuss progress and after that I felt that another brief birding break was called for and duly set off for Sandy Cove in Newlyn where there was supposed to be a snow bunting hanging out. I soon found the bird which was as approachable as they usually are. Most of the area was in deep shade but there were a couple of sunlit areas and I was fortunate enough to get some photos off in this area so the bird was well lit and nice and close.

The Sandy Cove snow bunting

Whilst I was in the area I nipped down to Point Spaniard just past Mousehole where there was supposed to be a yellow-browed warbler. The copse habitat looked great though viewing was somewhat restricted. I met a fellow birder who'd been there for about an hour and a half without luck so it wasn't looking promising. We staked out the area for a while to no avail before I realised that I would have to get back for some mould scraping and departed. Back at the cottage I spent a couple of hours taking off the damp mouldy paint from the walls and after these efforts the wall looked a lot better. There's something really off-putting about seeing mould on your walls and bare plaster is infinitely preferable.