7 RED-RUMPS! (6th October)

St Michael's Mount again

a load more photos of the Mount (not sure I'll ever get tired of adding them to my Marazion trip reports)

Another visit to Marazion, exactly a week after dipping the Spotted Crake at the exact same location.  I arrived on sight (as early as is possible by bus) at 8:40am and immediately connected with the 7 RED-RUMPED SWALLOWS Cecropis daurica fly-catching over the marsh!  Don't we all wish twitching was that easy.  For the next 40-50mins I had enjoyable views as they circled our heads, maneuvering about in the air much like other hirundines (albeit a slightly different jizz to the Barn Swallows).  In fact, the Red-rumps represented 100% of the hirundines present!

one of seven Red-rumped Swallows at Marazion Marsh RSPB, photos of random individuals (finally a non-landscape photo!)

Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica only began to turn up later in the day as ones and twos began trickling through, soon picking up into double figures later in the afternoon.  With such a big success so soon in the day, I had the rest of the day off to trudge up and down Mount's Bay.  Here, I encountered several dozen Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis, lesser numbers of Rock Pipits Anthus petrosus and large numbers of White Wagtails Motacilla alba alba, vastly outnumbering the British Pied Wagtails, Motacilla alba yarrellii (the second unusual sight for the day).  It seems the continental birds are replacing our British counterparts, what with all the Red-rumps about.  Mount's Bay also hosted 10+ Turnstone Arenaria interpres, 2 Little Egrets Egretta garzetta, 6 flyover Curlew Numenius arquata and the occasional Red-rump just about visible from the beach at times.  After wearing myself out along the beach, I returned to the marsh only to be gripped off by a dip in the form of 7 Glossy Ibis which had flown through as I was checking the pipits on the beach (if only I had had a pager)!  Anyway, a big year dip was compensated in part with a Painted Lady butterfly on the beach, 2 Red Admirals, several Small Whites, 2 Mediterranean Gulls Larus melanocephalus and a rather showy Buzzard Buteo buteo (not to mention the numerous others about, at least 2-3 in the air at any one time).  In all, a very enjoyable day and my first taster of the good birds Cornwall, I am looking forward to some good birding in the next few years!

Painted Lady

 An adult winter Starling posing nicely for the camera, I've tried to take a few more better quality pics recently so her's a starter

Buzzard

As you may have noticed I decided to add the Latin names for bird species so as to increase my common understanding of their names, who knows this might come in useful one day, we'll see how long I keep this new trend up for.