Land's End
Over the years, we have amassed dozens of visits to Cornwall and return again this year assisted by local birder John Swann. To maintain the working relationship with the two different hotels we have been using for many years, we decided to run two trips in parallel, one based at the Mount Haven Hotel in Marazion and the other at Menwidden Farm bed and breakfast near Ludgvan.The Mount Haven tour, led by Neil, will offer a higher standard of accommodation and fine dining and is hence more expensive. The Menwidden Farm Tour led by Ashley will be less expensive but rooms are much more basic [though en suite in some cases] and the menu is home cooked fayre rather than fine dining at the Mount Haven. October is a fantastic time of year to be birding in this region, and many people travel to the Isles of Scilly at this time in the hope of vagrant land birds from North America will be swept across the Atlantic by the fast moving depressions typical of the time of year. However, West Cornwall is also excellently placed to receive these arrivals but has the added bonus of no crowds, and a real opportunity to find our own birds! Its enviable geographic position, sheltered valleys and many headlands ensure that there is always something of interest to be found. The walks are mostly over easy terrain with one or two steeper climbs and average four or five miles per day. As usual on our migration holidays, we do not set a fixed itinerary, but are flexible to take into account weather conditions, tide times and the arrival of any major rarities. We do however expect to visit all of the sites mentioned below plus a few not mentioned in the main itinerary. As always the weather is paramount to the success of finding rare birds though the beauty of Cornwall in October is that they can appear from any point of the compass—Siberian vagrants from the east are just as likely here! Whatever the weather we are sure to have a very enjoyable, bird-filled and relaxed break among some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in all of Britain. Our bases are only a short drive from the RSPB reserves of Hayle Estuary and Marazion Marsh, and both sites will be frequently visited during our stay. Water Rail, Jack Snipe, Common Kingfisher and Cetti’s Warbler may appear at Marazion and we saw Ring-necked Duck here in 2005, while the Hayle offers a great opportunity for viewing large numbers of wildfowl, gulls and waders on the oncoming tide. We have seen Pectoral, Spotted, Least and White-rumped Sandpipers, Glaucous Gull, Common Crane, Osprey, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Wigeon and Green-winged Teal here in the past, though Mediterranean Gull, Common Greenshank and Green Sandpiper are regular. The valleys of Porthgwarra and the Land’s End area are excellent places to seek tired migrants and birding can be memorable here. Common migrants can be few by this time but the quality can be excellent—Barred and Pallas’s Warblers are annual and that Yellow-billed Cuckoo just might turn up during our stay! The airfield at St Just and the coastal fields at Nanjizal and Polgigga can host vagrant Buff-breasted Sandpiper or Upland Sandpiper as in 2005, while flocks of Common Starlings should be checked for Rose-coloured [we have seen many over the years]. In addition to such regular rarities as Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Ring-billed Gulls, Red-eyed Vireo and Wryneck we have enjoyed ‘three flycatcher days’ [several times!], Pechora Pipit and Britain’s first Alder Flycatcher, giving an idea of the quality available on this excellent tour. Neil Donaghy or Ashley Saunders and John Swann will lead this tour, where we can expect to see approximately 100 species.
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Introduction
