Requires you to give your car a long run now and again. Especially if it's been laid up for a couple of weeks while you've been struck down by plague. It's good for the engine.
So, where to? The Dove From Above* was tempting, but outside Defined Twitch Radius, and not that tempting. The Gull of Doom* was more tempting, but way outside Defined Twitch Radius and on the wrong side of London and there. The Tea Tray* was even more tempting, and while Defined Twitch Radii [sic] can be bent, it's mobile and elusive nature was an issue.
Or I could visit somewhere I've been meaning to get to ever since I acquired a Shiny Key and have a go at the Tundra Peregrine. With Tundra Bean and Pink-footed Geese, Spoonbills maybe even doing something, the possibility of another Bittern, and a leucistic Lapwing too - who could say no??
Also a nice run for the li'l car, once I got past the assortment of temporary traffic lights that multiply like bacteria at this time of year...
[[*No, I'm not going to apologise for those.]]
Walmsley Sanctuary was pleasantly overcast with a fresh breeze blowing from the NE - ie. straight into the hide. It was also typically packed with birds and a joy to behold. No sooner had I walked in than [Cornish Birder] pointed out the Tundra Peg, sat in a field looking, well like a great big scary falcon sat in a stubble field. Brilliant! I sat myself down to get a good look at it.. and it flew off. Drat. BV most definitely D, but I was ready to wait.
There was plenty to keep me occupied in the mean time. Spoonbills x 3 started playing around with sticks and balancing on the stone wall [[one such 'stick' was longer than the Spoonbill holding it; when it tried to hover while holding said stick.... oh dear oh dear............]]. The Bittern flew in and, after striking a few poses, spent a good quarter hour hunting in flooded rushes at the back of the marsh. Later it decided to go for a run, heading towards the public hide before it's courage failed and it hid behind the stone wall. Perhaps it had been inspired by the pair of Red-legged Partridge which had gone whizzing along a bank on the other side of the main pool a few minutes earlier? The four grey geese were also most accommodating - posing like they were auditioning for the 3rd edition of Collins, even swimming in front of the hide. Shameless hussies the lot of them! ;) All the while noisy Canadas flew in and out [[often very close to the hide - we really need a tower hide at Exminster, you know.]], while waders [Curlew and Lapwing {Including the leucistic individual}, plus a few Snipe] and wildfowl [Mute Swans {no Whooper}, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler {40}, Pochard {3}, Tufty, Gadwall, Pintail{6}] plus at least 4 Little Grebes and plenty of Coot and Moorhen kept active. A fair-sized flock of Starlings [about 700] was mobile around the fields east of the reserve, with several hundred more scattered around within it.
Time passed. While all the fun in the last paragraph was happening, [Cornish Birder] left, [Famous Cornish Birder] arrived for a quick look about, then left too. I was glad I'd wrapped up [though wishing I'd wrapped up a bit more]. More than 3 hours had gone by - lunch was eaten and the coffee was getting low [[Oh no!]] - when at last the Wigeon suddenly all hit the water [This being the sign that the Peregrine was likely about]. Was it ever! Coming from the estuary, it popped over the trees right of the hide and made a mock attack on the Wigeon, Curlew and Starlings on the right side of the main pool, curved around right in a low circle, then banking right over in front of the hide, before it turned away and powered off low up the Amble - lifting a touch to clear the wire fence at the back of the Sanctuary - and finally disappearing behind the trees. Ho-ly Shit. The photos do not do this bird justice.
After ascertaining that it hadn't landed anywhere - which took about half an hour [[I think I might have been in shock ;) ]] - I decided that it would be a good idea to beat the rush hours at Wadebridge and Bodmin and also take in a minor detour to settle a small outstanding matter. Dozemary Pool was as cold and bleak as you'd expect from 6 degrees and windy, but this time it wasn't frozen, and so the drake Lesser Scaup was at a nice distance for proper appreciation [as opposed to being on Colliford at the limits of ID-able range]. This it duly got, as did the 3 Goldeneye, 7 Teal, 7 Tufty, 4 Mallard, 2 Little Grebe, 60-odd Lapwing and the 300 strong flock of Golden Plover. Some of which were in almost full s/pl. :) It's not often you can head home having seen everything you hoped for and a bit more. Ok, so I did spend 4 hours sat in the wind [and 45 minutes huddled against a stone wall, also in the wind] for my birds, so it wasn't quite the piece of cake it reads as [[Got to learn to write better..]], but still... great day.
It's good to be back.
:D
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