Sunday 14th February - Pendeen

Today was a very quiet and low key day. After exchanging Valentine's Cards this morning whilst having our morning cups of tea in bed, my VLW and I were in full DIY mode for almost all the day. First off was an inventory of all that needed doing to the cottage both inside and out. There was nothing too terrible though the plumber had been over-zealous when he installed the new pressure reduction valves and we couldn't coax out much more than a trickle, far too little to have a proper shower. Our usual two inexplicable damp patches were their usual damp selves and the plaster needed hacking off so that it could all dry out. There was some mould in the bathroom that needed sorting out and lots of touching up of the paintwork inside and out.

Mid morning I did take a fifteen minute break to have a stroll down to the lighthouse and this did coincide with a nice patch of sunshine to brighten up what was otherwise a rather dull and chilly day. A pair of Raven were hanging about on the wall of one of the neighbouring fields and seemed to enjoy this vantage point, returning to it several times during the day. A Kestrel was hunting over the same fields and a few Herring Gulls were loafing around in the distance. As I headed back towards the cottage I heard the familiar call of a Chough and looked up to see a lovely flock of fourteen of them all circling around over the cottage itself before heading off along the coast.

The two Ravens

Whilst I worked I would periodically stop to stare out at the sea with my bins. There seemed to be a fair bit of movement today with a steady stream of Auks all heading west and lots of Kittiwakes and Gannets all feeding away just offshore. At just after midday I happened to look out and spotted a Bonxie really close in near the cliffs just to the west of the lighthouse - that was nice to see. On another occasion I spotted a Diver heading west (probably a Red-throated though it was too far to be sure). I made a mental note to try and fit in a sea watch or two if I have a moment later in the week.

Late afternoon we went for a quick yomp back down to the lighthouse to clear out heads though by now it was getting rather chilly. After a bit more DIY we decided to head up to Pendeen for a pub meal and this time tried the North Inn as a change from the Radjel. Here I had a really good Monkfish curry which I can thoroughly recommend. Then it was back to the cottage to veg out for the evening before hitting our beds at an early hour again. Tomorrow, I'm hoping that I'll actually find some time to head out for a bit of proper birding.