Backward Birding: Fun Time In The Sun Shine

Oh dear.
Blame the happies.

So, a very long but very rewarding day, with an actual Lifer [I've almost forgotten what that feels like...] at the start [which is where we want it].

The week had been a long and stressful one, once I'd reluctantly decided that a post-work twitch would give a brief period of fading light and a serious chance of dipping what was said to be an annoyingly elusive bird. Despite the reasonable fears of the traditional weekend bunfight [let alone the Friday Night Special - Saturday Catbirds and all that.....], I got up at work time on Saturday and made entirely reasonable speed west, with only minor delays for over-running road works and insanely slow drivers. Unlike many coming from parts north, I met only a few wisps of mist.

A very nice birder was on traffic control at the field entrance [which has almost no visibility for drivers going in or leaving] where I joined the sunny side of 50 vehicles - this before 8am - and ambled down to see if it had bee- "Oh it's right there."

Cha-ching.

Let's see that first grainy photo again;

Record shot

The sun climbed, the bird flew about, posed, called, posed some more.. It was all good, and apart from the odd sharp word to the inevitable 'stand-in-fronts', it was a pretty quiet affair. Especially when the Catbird flew into the hedge to our immediate left and started calling from the far side. A line assembled and stayed quiet, and the bird - once a Blackbird moved off - came through to the sunny side and posed. Oh my giddy aunt [and her great big camera].

Shots!

"Jeez, how many of you guys are there??"

Yes, utterly unashamed repetition from last post.

Very little cropping required

Red bits!

I have more, I do and I do...

Ahem.

Scaling shot

Smaller than it looked!

Ok, enough.

So, needing to stretch the legs, having seen as good views as possible without it actually landing on my scope, and [gasp] actually wanting to go there..... I ambled down the road to Land's End.

This here sign is chained off.

You have to pay to be pictured with it.

The actual End of Britain

[plus inevitable first and last grocklepot]

Small swell rolling in...

Looking West

Longships

Wolf Rock

The Armed Knight

Kettle's Bottom

[plus Fillis off the Longships chain]

Shark's Fin

The Brisons and Cape Cornwall

And don't forget;

Scilly!

[plus trawler]

Ok, ok, enough pretty scenery. There were quite a few small passerines about, with a few showing rather nicely;

Inevitable Mipit

Bathing beauty

Even more confiding was this;

Puffball sp.

[I think this is Lycoperdon mammiform -

despite being in a car park -

as there are old wooden space dividers]

Right. Time to move on. But where to? I know, let's find somewhere to sit down and maybe see an educational bird or three..?

Guard Duck!

Argh! No, not the Muscovy... But some of you know where I went now;

That'll be Drift

From the hide*

'slightly' less distant

I was looking for these three disreputables;

1w Ring-necked Ducks!

Pretty much the only non-adult males I've laid eyes on. Hmm. Well, they were certainly different from the moulty Tufties present, though no classic posing, of course [that would be helpful]

About as close as they got

They were very naughty, staying as far off as they could. Any hint they were getting reasonably close and-

Drat!

Other species gave more obliging views.

Little Egret

The Headless Buzzard Of Penwith

Strikes terror wherever it flies!

Lots of these in the woods

old Armillaria ostoyae, I think

It was a trifle disappointing, as the best gull in the extensive group was a LBB, and only a lone Green Sand lurked up the arm. Oh well.

Onwards!

Ryan's Field, Hayle

Rather different from last visit, with actual birds on display...

Kingfisher action shot!

But never mind blurry grainy nonsense ['What? Now?!?'..]

Little Egret

Showing well

And now, he smiles, please observe some slightly larger heron spp.. I present a series of somewhat gratuitous and possibly unnecessary photos, going well beyond 'record shot' and into 'almost publishable', which isn't bad for a teeny hand-held pocket camera.

Big words, I know.

What do you think?