TABLE OF CONTENTS Secretaries' Report ... ... ... ... ... 3 Treasurer's Report ... ... ... ... ... 5 Subscriptions etc. ... ... ... ... ... 9 Appeal for New Members ... ... ... ... ... 9 Obituaries ... ... ... ... ... ... 9 List of Contributors ... ... ... ... ... 10 Cornish Records ... ... ... ... ... 12 Arrival and Departure Tables ... ... ... ... 61 Cornish Seas ... ... ... ... ... ... 66 Isles of Scilly Records ... ... ... ... ... 69 Arrival and Departure of Migrants in the Isles of Scilly ... 88 Survey of Tresco ... ... ... ... ... 91 Sea Birds off the North Cornish Coast ... ... 96 The Birds of Porthcothan ... ... ... ... ... 99 Birds of the Camel Estuary ... ... ... ... 105 Migrant Terns on Camel Estuary ... ... ... ... 110 An Analysis of Wader Migration Patterns in Cornwall 1946-1965 ... ... ... ... 112 Committees ... ... ... ... ... ... 118 List of Members ... ... ... ... ... 119 Rules ... ... ... ... 132 1 THIRTY-FIFTH REPORT OF The Cornwall Bird-Watching and Preservation Society 1965 Edited by Revd. J. E. BECKERLEGGE with the kind assistance of A. G. PARSONS and N. R. PHILLIPS SECRETARIES' REPORT FOR 1965 On December 31st the Membership of the Society was 707: 111 new members having been elected during the year. Three meetings were held at Truro being the Annual General Meeting, the Autumn Meeting and one devoted entirely to bird matters, at which no business was taken, on February 27th. Under Rule 6 Mrs. K. Birtill and Dr. C. J. F. Coombs retired from the Executive Committee: Dr. R. H. Blair, Mr. N. B. Exelby and Mr. W. J. Julyan were elected to serve on the Committee. Dr. C. J. F. Coombs was elected to the Chairmanship of the Society in succession to Dr. R. H. Blair; the President and other Officers being re-elected. Dr. R. H. Blair was unanimously elected as Honorary Member of the Society after Mr. A. C. Hosking and Mrs. M. P. Visick had spoken of his long and valuable service. At the Autumn Meeting Dr. Coombs gave an account of a visit to North Africa in which he penetrated some three hundred miles south into both mountainous and desert zones. His talk and films of a relatively little known area were very much appreciated. At the informal meeting Mr. W. J. Julyan gave a talk "Around the reserves" especially mentioning the Dutch Reserve at Naardemeer: and Mr. A. G. Parsons gave an account of a winter visit to S. Sweden in regard to birds of prey. Eight Field Days were held during the year and were well attended. If any Member has knowledge of an area known to be of interest and in which no Field Day has been held they are asked to communicate with the Field Meetings Organiser. The Field Days were as follows:— May 8th. — St. Erth and Hayle Estuary. May 22nd. — Cotehele area. June 19th. — Bolventor-upper reaches, Fowey River. July 8th. — Boscastle—Trevalga cliff area. 3 Sept. 4th. — Porthkidney Beach, Lelant. Sept. 21st. — Mawgan Porth. Nov. 27th. — Tamar Lake. Dec. 11th. — Marazion Marsh. Rarities noted during the year included: Cory's Shearwater, Glossy Ibis, Gyr Falcon, Goshawk, White-rumped Sandpiper, Whiskered Tern. White-winged Black Tern, Crested Lark, Aquatic Warbler, Bluethroat. Woodchat Shrike, Great Grey Shrike, Irruptions of Bearded Tit and Waxwing occurred. Records, arranged in the order of the B.O.U. List whenever possible; or else in the order of this Report; should be sent to the Rev. J. E. Beckerlegge by January 31st. The Editor and Recorder appeals to all active members to send in their records so that as complete a picture as possible of the County's bird life can be gained. Details of rarities should be written in the field before reference to books is made. Accounts written up, after books have been consulted, are often value-less, and coloured by what the observer has read. Also when an observer announces without producing very convincing evidence that "there is no doubt" about the species claimed it often means that there is very considerable doubt. The numbers preceding species named in the Report refer to the 1952 B.O.U. List. Geese visited the Amble area during the winter 1964/65 in normal numbers. Members are again earnestly asked NOT to approach the Sanctuary from Trewornan Bridge, but to go to Tregorden Farm, which is clearly sign-posted, as is kindly allowed by Mr. and Mrs. Bax. This is to prevent disturbance of the geese and makes supervision of the Walmsley Sanctuary easier. The Restriction of Access Order is still in force against both Members and the general public. The Editor thanks all members who have sent in their records, and looks forward to an increased number of observers sending in their 1966 records in due course. He also expresses the pious hope that in 1967 the Report will appear earlier than it has done in recent years. 4 TREASURER'S REPORT, 1965 During the year under review (1965) the Society was advised by the Cornwall River Board (now the Cornwall River Authority) of the final figure of the Society's contribution towards the cost of the River Amble Improvement Scheme — in so far as it affects the Walmsley Sanctuary. This sum amounts to no less a figure than £l,024.3s.l0d. It is rather more than had been anticipated which was some £800 as mentioned in the Chairman's notice circulated to members and printed in the 1963 Annual Report. The increase is due to the Society having gained more land as a result of the carrying out of the Scheme. One of the concessions granted to us by the River Authority is that we are allowed to discharge this obligation by annual instalments of £100, free of interest, and the first instalment was duly paid in 1965. The fact that we have now to find this additional payment each year means that we have little margin to spare — at least for the time being. However I do not think there is any cause for despondency. General expenditure — like all kinds of expenditure these days — is going up, but so too is our income. During the year your committee decided to sell some books — a set of John Gould's BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN — which had been presented to the Society some years ago and this has produced additional capital of something over £400, which together with a further sum of £200 transferred from the deposit account, has now been invested and will increase our income by about £30 per annum. Secondly, thanks to the willing help of many members and a certain amount of advertising and propaganda, our membership is gradually increasing and at the end of last year exceeded 700 for the first time. If this progress can be maintained and a net increase of (say) 50-60 new members added each year this will produce additional income of about £25 per annum. Last year 111 new members were elected and 50 went off for various reasons, leaving a net gain of 61. The third item of income which is increasing is that due to the covenanting of subscriptions. This produced £7.9s.6d. last year, and for this year I have twice as many deeds of covenant to submit for repayment of tax and the standard rate of tax has of course gone up too. So far the number of members covenanting subscriptions is small — 32 including the additional ones this year. Surely in a membership of over 700 we can look forward to at least a 100 entering into deeds of covenant which would produce additional income to the Society of at least £35 per annum. From these three sources of income therefore — capital investment, increasing membership and covenanting of subscriptions — we should be able to anticipate an increase in our overall income of (say) £60 per annum, to off-set the new outgo of £100 to the River Authority. So please do continue to help all you can by introducing your friends as new members and electing to covenant your subscriptions. And now I come to the account itself. There is a slight increase in overall expenditure due mainly to general increased costs. 5 The chief items affected are: Printing and Stationery — this is up £14 but most of this will not be repeated this year, such as the printing of the Ryves Memorial Fund rules, deeds of covenants and receipt books. Postages are up by £15. This is due mainly to the increased charges, circularising and a good deal of correspondence in regard to new members. Secretarial Expenses are up £9. Insurance is up £10 due to the cost of an Indemnity Policy we have been obliged to effect in connection with the Walmsley Sanctuary. Advertising is up £9 which is due entirely to my having paid a liability of £9.10s. — for 1966 during last year — to secure a discount. And finally there is of course the first instalment of £100 to the River Authority to which I have already alluded. On the income side: Subscriptions are up by £10; the sale of Annual Reports by £7; Badges by £1; Interest on Investments by £6; and Bank Interest by £3. All items of income therefore are slightly up on the previous year, plus of course the additional income of £7.9s.6d. by repayment of income tax in respect of covenanted subscriptions. This enables us to balance the account with a modest credit balance — that is excess of income over expenditure — of £9.Is. —. And now a look at the Balance Sheet: On the Liabilities side the Accumulated Fund is slightly down owing to a further depreciation of our holding of War Loan. The Legacies Fund is increased by the net proceeds of the sale of the books previously mentioned by £423.14s.0d. The Memorial Funds have increased by the addition of £3.19s.l0d.