Self-found Browed Confirmed!!+Pendennis (16th November)

I staked out the browed warbler site the following day after I first saw it (15th November) in hope that it would have remained overnight.  Here I also met up with Dan Chaney (a local birder to Falmouth) but unfortunately we drew a blank despite looking from first light.  However, I did see a phyllo. warbler briefly come through along with a tit flock but it was all too brief to ID.  Enough with tramping around in a dark, dreary and damp woodland, we decided to focus our efforts on the nearby Penryn River, only a short car journey down the road.  We arrived to see pretty much the usual expected species including 3 Greenshank, several Redshank Tringa totanus, Curlew Numenius arquata, Turnstone Arenaria interpres and Little Egrets Egretta garzetta (feeding in the nearby cow field).  We moved on quickly to Falmouth docks overlooking the roofs with their accompanying selection of large gulls, including a relative large portion of Great Black-backed Gulls Larus marinus.  Pendennis, our penultimate stop for the morning produced 3 Purple Sandpipers Calidris maritima (first located by Dan) whilst the occasional Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus also flew past.  On to our final stop off, Castle and Gylly Beach.  Dan once again pointed out a regular Stonechat spot and minutes later a fine male Stonechat Saxicola torquata popped out on the bramble.  Black Redstarts were also on our mind and just as we were about to leave I managed to pick two dark birds flitting about near the wall.  Sure enough, a quick look through the scope revealed a Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros (a female or 1st-summer type) (the other one got away unfortunately).  In all a rather productive start to the day before heading back to uni in time for my first lecture of the morning!

Still rather desperate to get a positive ID on the browed warbler, I returned latter in the afternoon and was very lucky indeed to reconnect with it in almost exactly the same place as to where I found yesterday!  Thankfully it confirmed my belief (based on yesterdays fleeting glimpses) that it was infact a YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER Phylloscopus inornatus!  It performed rather well, feeding in the Maple trees lining the edge of the footpath, occasionally hovering and gleaning insects from the underside of leaves in its characteristic fashion.  As the sky darkened, it suddenly vanished, not after I had enjoyed its presence for some considerable time.  In all a very satisfying end to the day with another self-found scarcity under my belt (Cornwall birding is certainly reaping in the rewards)!

a selection of the better photos of the Yellow-browed Warbler