Today we
arranged that whilst my VLW would sleep in I would get up early and get some
birding done in and around Penzance before
doing some more extensive food shopping and then coming back.. The rest of the
day was ear-marked for various DIY tasks though we might venture out late
afternoon should there be time. That was the plan and that’s more or less what
happened.
I didn’t
sleep that well - partly as I was woken by a Tawny Owl calling near the house.
I don’t quite understand why they should be around here as there’s no woodland
to speak of. I finally got back to sleep again though I awoke too early at 6:15
and was out of the house shortly after 7 a.m. It had been a wonderfully sunny day yesterday
but it had been a clear night and consequently it was a frosty start as I sped
on the deserted roads over the hill towards Penzance.
From my list of target species I decided to start off with the Little Bunting at Gulval as this
species was hard to get down in Cornwall.
After that I thought that I’d try the Mandarin duck at Drift which should be
fairly straight-forward should it still be around.
I’d been
given detailed instructions by Dave Parker on where to go and so at around 7:30
a.m. I found somewhere safe to park the Gnome mobile, got my gear together and
walked the few yards to the start of the footpath where three stone steps lead
up to a weedy corner of a field. Here I’d been told the Bunting liked to hang
out with a bunch of Chaffinches and that it could often be seen in a Blackthorn
Tree to the right of the field. I was the only person there and as I arrived a
number of Chaffinches flew up from the field into the surrounding bushes. I
started to scan through them and then soon noticed what must be “the”
Blackthorn Tree and sure enough there was the bird sitting on its own in the
middle of it. It was most distinctive with it’s well marked crown stripe and
detailed head markings. I busied myself with taking some photos and video
though as it had only just got light and the sun hadn’t yet reached the field
it was still rather dark and I had to resort to ISO 1600 to get any kind of
shutter speed at all.
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| The Little Bunting |
My next
stop was Drift Reservoir for what should be a straight-forward visit to find
the Mandarin Duck. I parked up and headed down the slope towards the reservoir.
Normally I would expect there to be a large mixed flock of ducks all hanging
out by the gate near the car park and this was indeed where I was expecting the
Mandarin to be. However, the place was almost completely deserted with just a
couple of Mallards lurking by the bank to be seen. Oh well, perhaps it was
further around I thought and resolved to
walk around to the hide to see if I could find it. It was still frosty as I
yomped along the bank though the water itself was remarkably deserted with just
a handful of gulls in the centre to be seen and a couple of Goldeneye on the
far bank. Over by the hide I could see into the western arm and here I found a
few Tufted Duck and a single male Pochard (which I checked carefully to rule
out Canvasback and Redhead). A couple of Gadwall, 4 Wigeon and few other bits
and bobs could be seen but it was all depressingly deserted. I wandered part
way around the western arm with just a Chiffy as a reward and then decided to
head back to the car, defeated in my Mandarin search. Still, the sun had
finally broken out and it was now lovely and warm and one out of two on my
target list wasn’t too bad a start.
 |
| Drift Tufties |
I arranged
for my VLW to text me a shopping list and was soon in PZ picking up our
provisions for the day before heading my way back over the hill to Pendeen.
Then it was time for a welcome cup of tea and to crack on with the day’s
chores. As the weather was so sunny and calm I decided to do some exterior
paint work which is always nice as there’s a chance of hearing or seeing
something on the bird front. Sure enough I soon heard some Chough calling and
eventually located a pair in a field to the west of the house. The sun even
brought out my first butterfly of the year with a Peacock fluttering by and I
even saw a Bee of some species. I made steady progress though as the day
progressed it got chillier but I wanted to get the first coat of all the black
masonry paint on today so I steeled myself to get it finished. By the end I was
really cold and had to have a really hot bath to warm up again. Then it was
time for dinner and a chance to veg out in front of the telly.
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