I rushed down to Maenporth on the 23rd around dusk to try and help locate the King Eider for Gary's list on his arrival in Falmouth. Although a distant duck on the sea looked to fit the bill it was simply too dark and distant to be absolutely certain so a second visit the following morning was due.
Leaving around 8am from Dan's place on the 24th, we made our way back to Maenporth via Swanpool. First up was the Long-tailed Duck and Ring-billed Gull which I'd confidently told Gary would still be there today thanks to their ongoing presence. As such I was rather worried when all I could point out was the Ring-billed Gull with no initial sign of the LtDuck! Thankfully, after several more minutes of scanning there was a sigh of relief when the 1st win Long-tailed Duck flew in and landed in its usual favoured corner. In fact, this was my first time I had seen it in flight in all the 4 months it's been present so I'm beginning to wonder if it's getting a little more edgy and keener to leave.
Gary Prescott, Me and Dan
On to Maenporth... To begin with there was only the female Eider to be seen, along with 2 Great Northern Divers and a distant grebe sp. off Bream Cove. It was a full hour or so until Gary came back from a brief scan lower along the cliff exclaiming he had 2 distant eiders (most likely the female Common and the 1st win drk King). Being at Maenporth and looking south meant there was a great deal of glare from the sun on the water which had been disguising the bird. Fortunately, walking a short distance south along the coastal footpath, we obtained much better views enabling us to confirm the ongoing presence of the King Eider! Brilliant!!
Note the rather conveniently placed camera bag over the jacket, now reads "King Birder"
Best of luck Gary for the rest of your adventures! I look forward to challenging your biking birding year list record in the near future!
Where did Gary start, how far does he have to cycle still? Very nice pic of the three of you.
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