As has been my wont for the last few years the New Year saw me visiting The Lizard in Cornwall for a week.  There is nothing that I like better than to walk out along the coastline and encounter the elements and the wild ruggedness of the landscape.  Lowland Point (pictured) is usually one of the first places I head to where usually it is just me and the sea and the rocky shore.  There's always something of interest, either in the bird and marine life or in what the sea has thrown up.  I've learnt to linger, even in a storm, and take time to sift through what can be found.

Mediterranean Gulls and Firecrests are common encounters at this time of year giving the feel of rarity.  Wintering Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps also pop up hinting at the warmer climes - although no sense of that on the first day I arrived.  Instead a storm blew from the southwest throwing foam onto the beach and driving rain.  Guillemots and Razorbills sat on the sea while Kittiwakes along with a single Fulmar and Manx Shearwater sheared past.  And then a small wader flew up from the beach and settled just ahead of me - the first treasure in my search: a Purple Sandpiper!  This was my first ever at Lowland Point in over 40 years of visiting.

Further along the shore I came across three large eels washed up on the rocks.  Each about a metre long I realised they must be Conger Eels - a species I had only ever heard of and never seen.  Perhaps victims of the storm or more likely a fisherman's by-catch.  They looked fairly fresh with just the first marks of gulls beginning to feed.

In the afternoon I opted for the shelter of the wooded valley that leads down to Tremayne Quay on the Helford River.  Along the way, more Firecrests and a brief glimpse of a Marsh Tit as it made its way along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits.  The river banks held Curlew, Redshank and Greenshank - all welcome additions to my year list and by the end of the day I had run up a total of 57 species.

The next day I took advantage of a break in the weather to visit the Helford River again in search of a Red-necked Grebe.  I knew one had been sighted a while back and in previous years I had managed to find one just off the mouth of Frenchman's Creek where it enters the main river.  I scanned with my telescope for a while finding several Great Northern Divers in the process.  Just as I began to lose hope a Red-necked Grebe swum into view - a juvenile bird - and gave good but brief views as it constantly dived, only staying surfaced for less than a minute at a time.

Later in the day, another bird - an adult - was found by another birder and at times both birds showed together.  I, however, had moved on, picking up a very smart Black-throated Diver off Dennis Head and the usual wintering Common Sandpiper on Gillan Creek.  A brief look at Coverack Sewage Works revealed at least 4 Chiffchaffs along with a very pale Siberian Chiffchaff of the tristis race.  This was to be the first of several 'Sibes' with another 3 seen at Helston Sewage Works later in the week along with another obliging Common Sandpiper.

I finished the day on Goonhilly Downs with a hunting male Merlin, my Cornish tally now up to 70 species.  The next day saw me back along the Coverack coast from Lowland Point with the target set as 'Grey Beach' - a sheltered cove that often attracts passerines and waders thanks to the abundance of insects out of the wind and the, presumably, warmer section of sandy cliff.  Last year I found a Water Pipit feeding amongst the seaweed with the Rock Pipits...what might be in store this year I wondered?

Despite there being a flock of around 20 Rock Pipits my search revealed no unusual pipit.  However, I did note many Chiffchaffs flitting around on the cliff, catching flies so I turned my attention to them as previous years had revealed a Siberian Chiffchaff and a Black Redstart.  However, the bird that caught my attention this year was a little Yellow-browed Warbler - my 5th find of this species this year!

Making the most of the sun I visited Kynance Cove in the evening where a pair of Choughs were enjoying the clifftop thermals and a Peregrine soared across the downs.  The rain however, returned with a vengeance the next day so I headed out in the car for some roadside birding.  In a sodden field full of Redwings I found 3 Cattle Egrets but the rain denied any decent photos.  At this time of year, finding any livestock puts you in with a good chance of finding these birds and flocks of up to 100 have been seen in previous years.

Moving on to Gunwalloe Cove and some more car window viewing I found a Red-throated Diver on the sea with a lone Guillemot.  Diving constantly, the diver (and the weather) denied me any decent shots but I did manage just one record shot!

The next day, in contrast, was sunny and bright and I joined two local birders - Steve & Joe - for a visit to Loe Pool in the hope of locating the regular wintering Bittern.  Joe had a secret weapon in the form of a thermal imager and very quickly located a likely heat-blob in the reedbed.  Sure enough a Bittern-like area of feathers could be seen but the bird quickly moved further into cover and out of sight.

We moved around to the other side of the reeded area noting several Cetti's Warblers, a Firecrest, Kingfisher and at least 3 squealing Water Rails as we did.  Once again we located the likely Bittern heat-signature and before long we had managed to train my scope onto the bird.  We all had reasonable views of this highly elusive and highly camouflaged bird before once again it disappeared.  The short video clip below shows how well-hidden it remained!

Three Goosander were also on Loe Pool and on the way home I picked up a juvenile Marsh Harrier near the Lizard village and Golden Plover and Snipe over Goonhilly Downs.  My Cornish year list had reached 89 species with one day left but more rain forecast.

Undeterred, the next day I headed out to Lowland Point for a good soaking but, truth be told, I find battling the elements somewhat therapeutic - especially when I know there's a hot shower to go back to!  The wind was blowing directly onshore with no chance of shelter.  In a short lull in the rain I scanned the sea revealing a steady passage of auks - Guillemots and Razorbills - along with a strong passage of Kittiwakes.  Three Manx Shearwaters went past too and a Cetti's Warbler called from Godrevy Beach.  The real find however, and a sad one at that, was a dead Common Porpoise on the beach.  The Great Black-backed Gulls had begun to tuck in and when I walked back later the tide had reclaimed the corpse.  It is not the first cetacean I have found on this beach and it is always a sorry sight, particularly as I had seen a small pod of porpoises heading past Lowland Point just a couple of days ago.

I reported the dead porpoise to the Cetacean Strandings Investigations Programme (CSIP) based at the London Natural History Museum.  Here you can report both dead and live strandings and hopefully the information will contribute to a better understanding of these ocean-going creatures.

My time in Cornwall was up but my stormy visit to Lowland Point gave me one more gift in the form of a Whimbrel - a scarce wintering bird and no doubt one of the first to be recorded in Britain this year.  Soaked through I could return for my hot shower with 90 species under my belt for the week and a respectable 114 for my British Year List 2025.

I love visiting The Lizard in Cornwall - I have a long history there and many happy memories.  Lots of those memories are connected to birds and this recent trip from 13th to 19th October 2024 made a few more!  I had noted the arrival of a few exciting birds in the previous few days - notably, The Lizard's first Red-flanked Bluetail and a Lapland Bunting just a short drive from where I would be staying.

En route to Cornwall I realised that to get the Bluetail (a potential lifer for me) I would be arriving at dusk with a long walk to the site and no guarantee that the bird would still be there so instead I eased off on the gas and made a pit-stop at Davidstow airfield.  The airfield is an intriguing mix of wild, windswept beauty and the remnants of an abandoned, hilltop airfield now grazed by sheep.

This combination means the site often attracts rarer passage birds and my target today was a long-staying Great Grey Shrike.  I followed the road to the dropped pin and sure enough, there were a group of assembled birders all staring gratefully at the Great Grey Shrike.  I joined them and enjoyed cracking views of this smart bird along with 20 or so Crossbills in nearby pines.

I left as other birders went in search of a reported Hawfinch and continued towards The Lizard but not before clocking a smart Yellow-legged Gull amongst the sheep!

Arriving at Goonhilly Downs on The Lizard and you know you are in a special place - the wide open grassland surrounding the former 'Earth Station' with its huge satellite dishes makes for a unique vista.  My target bird a Lapland Bunting, reported over the last few days along the central track from Traboe crossroads.

I parked up and walked slowly along the track a few hundred metres until I spied a small brown form picking around at the edge of the track.  I set up my scope and, sure enough, a Lapland Bunting!  I moved closer and the bird seemed unbothered by me allowing views down to about 10 yards!  I was able to see its lovely chestnut wing coverts, facial markings and observe its low hopping movement as it fed discretely along the track.

At one point the bunting flew up with some Meadow Pipits, calling as it went and I soon found the cause of its alarm - a hunting Merlin!  The Merlin cut across the moor towards me and sat up in the wind like a Kestrel just above my head.  I wondered if it had noticed the bunting but as I walked on I turned to see the bunting hoping ever closer to me - perhaps finding security in my presence.  The Merlin perched up by a small pool and I left both birds to work things out!

While I had been watching the bunting news came it the the Red-flanked Bluetail had shown again in the fading light!  A pang of angst went through me as I questioned my decision not to trek out to see it that evening.  I now had a dilemma as my accommodation for the night included a full breakfast in the morning.  Should I rush out early to see the Bluetail and miss breakfast or enjoy breakfast and arrive in a more leisurely fashion, trusting that it would not leave?

Not being a real twitcher I chose the latter option, figuring that in the poor weather the bird was unlikely to up and leave and anyway, it takes far more than a bird to persuade me to skip breakfast!  I slept well and, the next day, after a fantastic breakfast headed out to Kynance Farm in search of my quarry.

The weather was 'moist' on 14th October in the way that it so often is in Cornwall with a fairly stiff breeze too.  I arrived at 'Jolly Town' - the apparently unofficial name given to a group of cottages at the top of the valley leading to Soapy Cove just north of the better-known Kynance Cove.  A few other birdwatchers were already searching but, as yet to no avail.  I joined them, circuiting the cottages before trying my luck down the valley towards the cove in case it had moved location.

Drawing a blank and finding the valley even more windy and wet I figured the best bet was to stake out the sheltered side of the cottages where I would go if I was a small migrant bird from the East.  Waiting patiently for quite some time the inevitable thoughts began to creep in that maybe it had gone after all.  Another group of birders arrived and, with fresh enthusiasm went off looking for the bird the other side of the house.  I remained alone standing near the sheltered stone wall surrounding the cottages' gardens weighing up my options.

And then it happened!  A pale little bird hopped down by my feet just like a Robin would and hopped around before flying up to the top of the wall again.  In that moment, binoculars weren't need for I had clearly seen the Red-flanked Bluetail up close and personal!  I immediately nipped around the other side of the cottages and alerted the other birders who all rushed back.  We lined up and before long the Bluetail appeared, shy at first but eventually giving all of us outstanding views.  The local Robin, however, was not so impressed and chased the Bluetail back and forth, letting the visitor know who was boss!

The Bluetail was a truly beautiful bird with its pale orangery flanks and subtle blue tail.  Like so many birds it twitched its tail constantly but unlike many birds just in a downwards movement.  It was quite something to think that this bird had come so far - possibly from Siberia and certainly far from its wintering quarters in SE Asia.  Thankfully the weather cleared enough to get some pleasing shots and Jolly Town felt just that little bit more, well, jolly!

I headed back to the car and back into the Lizard village where I finally caught up with the over-wintering Rose-coloured Starling on wires by The Green.  I say finally because it has eluded me for several years but actually, being a juvenile each year, it cannot be the same bird.  It was nevertheless pleasing to observe this pale bird with a yellow beak perched with its cousins on the telephone wires.

My first evening and full day in Cornwall had certainly delivered and it made me wonder if the rest of the week would be a big anti-climax!  Or maybe there'd be more?  As if to point me in the right direction an evening seawatch off Porthoustock gave me good views of a pale-phase Pomarine Skua as it flew out and landed on the sea.  A pod of at least 8 Common Dolphins also went by to conclude an epic day.