July 2011

31st. First visit to Chew Valley Lake in ages. Some good birds including 6 little egrets, a garganey, a turnstone, 5 little ringed plover, 7 green sandpiper, 5 common sandpiper, 2 dunlin and 4 stock doves.

Some pictures from our family holidays, 9-23 July in St Ives. The weather was iffy at times, but there's always lots to do there. First time we've managed a summer holiday during school term time in years, as our daughters were doing GCSEs and A-levels this year, finishing earlier. I did an hour or so seawatching from the Island most days (the north westerly winds are ideal for doing this at St Ives), and saw 2 bonxies, a pomarine skua, a Balearic shearwater, a sooty shearwater, tens of thousands of manx shearwaters, about 38 common scoter, a peregrine stooping repeatedly at a storm petrel (and 8 other stormies during the week), and an ocean sunfish. There was a Dartford warbler between Zennor and St Ives, and a pair of peregrines here too. I saw at least one whimbrel on the Hayle Estuary, but missed a splendid summer plumaged Pacific golden plover by 2 hours. Our cottage was in the middle of a herring gull rooftop colony. Three youngsters on the neighbouring roof started making their first flights on our last day. A dead warbler in the middle of town on 21st looked like a migrating willow warbler in bright plumage that had flown into a window.