No 63 - Summer 2017 Amur Falcon — a first for Cornwall Blog and photo by Steve Rogers On Thursday evening 6th July, west Cornwall birder Mark Wallace found the rarest bird of his career so far. A regular walk after tea down Bosisto Lane chanced upon the county's first ever Amur Falcon, a small falcon displaced thousands of miles from where it should be. After some discussion and checking of photos, the bird was identified as a first summer female (i.e. a young bird no more than a year old, aged by the heavy wear to the flight feathers and scapulars). The news was duly relayed and a few locals con- nected that evening. At first light on Friday (05.38) some 200 of the UK's keenest as- sembled for a sighting. They were not dis- appointed as it was found roosting in a bush by the side of the road near the disused quarry. It remained at the roost site until 09.20 when it flew off towards Nanjizal. It was briefly seen in flight at 11.03 and that identified as a Red-footed Falcon throughout Sea to winter in Southern Africa. The route was the last sighting. its stay and was only identified retrospectively that they take from Africa back to their breed- The record is the first for Cornwall in photos. ing grounds is as yet unclear. It was earlier and only the second for Britain, following a The species breeds in south-eastern treated as a subspecies of the red-footed falcon male in Yorkshire at Tophill Low from 14th Siberia and Northern China before migrating in (Falco vespertinus) and was known as Eastern Sept to 15th Oct 2008. This bird was mis- large flocks across India and over the Arabian Red-footed Falcon. Simon Taylor has Board update new BTO role Your Board last met in June at Allet and covered the following issues including: Simon Taylor has been appointed the BTO Re- gional Ambassador for Cornwall. Simon’s main *An update on the Seabird Survey, which involves interest is the Nest Record Scheme and during counts from both land and sea. The Board agreed the winter months he participates in the Wetland to accept a sub-contract from Natural England to Bird Survey (WeBS). carry out specified surveys from a boat. One of his main new roles will be the *Good news on the financial front, as the Treas- promotion of the BTO and its various activities in urer confirmed that a long-awaited payment of Cornwall. Simon’s role is distinct from that of £5300 for work at Maer Lake had been received Peter Kent who is BTO regional representative. from the Environment Agency. This could poten- Simon has set up a Twitter account and Pitch perfect! tially be put towards the planned hide at the re- intends to produce a newsletter before the end of serve. the year. A pair of Oystercatchers broke with *A renewed plea from the Recorder for rarities descriptions. These are very difficult to get and we their traditional coastal nesting site and might suffer by having so many visiting birders. chose the centre of the pitch at the *The news that Birds in Cornwall 2013/14 had Wadebridge Camels Rugby ground. gone to print and work on 2015/16 was well un- After almost 4 weeks the rem- derway. This would CONTENTS nants of the 3 eggshells were found but clear the backlog of it's not known whether they hatched reports. *A report from the successfully or were finally predated. News p1 CWT on progress at Chairman’s Chat p3 Full marks to the guys at the Middle Amble Marsh Bird report p4 rugby club for ‘cutting around them’ and on work at Wind- Gull update p8 and leaving a large patch of ground for mill Farm. The Board BIC p9 them to have a chance. also heard that work to provide more informa- Reserves p10 tion signs at reserves is Field meetings p14 Photo: Adrian Langdon in hand. Palores – July 2017 President: Ian McCarthy n June I was fortunate enough to set foot on one of this country’s most spectacular CBWPS Board Ibird locations, the Bass Rock in the Firth of Forth. Edinburgh is visible in the distance and the cosy town of North Berwick but a mile or two away, yet the 350 Chairman: Mark Grantham foot rock is as thrillingly removed from the human world as it is possible to find. 07818 497470 Even on a calm day, getting ashore is a challenge, as you make the dizzy [email protected] step from boat to rock. The smell is overpowering because this is the home to Vice-chairman: Bruce Taggart 150,000 Northern Gannets, the biggest single gannetry in the world and the one that 01752 829163 gives the bird its scientific name (morus bassana). Gannets cover almost every [email protected] square foot, a packed seabird city with all the noisy squabbling, bickering and com- Hon. Secretary & Phil McVey ing and going that is an avian version of the human rush hour. Minutes Secretary 07740 923385 Up I climbed, picking my way [email protected] along the path so as not to Honorary Treasurer: John Stanlake disturb the nesting Gannets 01752 848541 within touching distance on [email protected] either side. They are awesome Conservation Officer: Tony Blunden creatures close to: three foot 01326 291064 from tip to tail, a six foot [email protected] wingspan, snowy white and County Recorder: Dave Parker black with that soft caramel 07932 354711 yellow on their heads, a face [email protected] of mesmerising power, fea- Honorary Solicitor: Greg Adams tures delineated in black, a 07770 638443 cool, pale eye that watches [email protected] you intently, and a dagger of a Editors Birds in Cornwall: beak that no herring wants to meet. I was in East Lothian on a seabird drawing Phil Taylor, Hilary Mitchell course (in the company as it happens of another member of CBWPS). Trying to 01736 810933 capture the essence of Gannet or Fulmar or Razorbill in the field adds a dimension to [email protected] the enjoyment of birds that will be understood by bird artists and photographers Director: Dan Chaney alike. It is strange that the drawing/painting of birds somehow adds to your under- [email protected] standing of their lives and their extraordinary bodies in unexpected ways. 07762 179343 The seabird artists visited several wonderful sites during the course, but for Director: Derek Spooner us all the Bass Rock was the undisputed highlight—a true wonder of the natural 01503 265590 world, and the birding memory of a lifetime. [email protected] Simon Marquis Officers The Cornwall Bird Watching & Preservation Society Membership Secretary: Angela Moore 20 The Copse, Boscoppa, St Austell PL25 3EU 07944 988599 [email protected] Assistant County Recorders: Tony Mills Registered Charity No 1144724 Editor, Palores: Simon Marquis 07711 883876 The CBWPS was founded in 1931 to encourage the study and pres- [email protected] ervation of birds in Cornwall. The Society has over 1000 members in Website administrator: total. It owns 4 reserves and manages jointly several others. The Dan Chaney Society organises weekly bird watching field trips (some jointly with Field Meetings Officer: the RSPB local members group). Palores (its colour newsletter for Gordon Mills members) is published quarterly. 01209 718144 [email protected] 2017 Subscriptions: Adult £17 Publicity Officer: Beth Heasman Family £21 [email protected] Senior Citizen £14 Reserve Wardens: Senior Family £16 Life Membership (contact Angela) [email protected] Adrian Langdon [email protected] Dougy Wright Subscriptions were due by 31st January 2017. Cheques made out to [email protected] Dave Parker ‘CBWPS’ or pay by Gift Aid if you can - it saves the Society £1900 a [email protected] Dave Conway year. For all payments, membership applications and enquiries [email protected] Dan Chaney please contact: Angela Moore, Membership Secretary, [email protected] Graham Sutton 20 The Copse, Boscoppa, St Austell PL25 3EU Independent Examiner: Mr S.G. Hawkey ACA 01637 873838 Palores is published in January, April, July & October. Design and typesetting by the editor. To advertise contact the editor. Full page ad £100. Half page £50. Small ads and notices free to members. 2 On the subject of Chairman’s Chat seabirds, I'd just like to say thanks publicly for the sup- t doesn't feel much like summer at the mo- port we've had from boat Iment, with a grey sky the rain mizzling down operators, and in particular outside. But we did have a hint of summer a few Adrian and Vanessa on the weeks ago and this may well just be enough for Mermaid, to cover large sec- many of our birds to have got broods off. tions of the coast as part of The effects of weather on birds are the Seabirds Count survey. hugely varied, although cold wet springs will Over the summer we've man- have an obvious detrimental impact. Our Barn aged to cover all of the sec- Owl monitoring so far this year has hinted at a tors from Falmouth to Mark Grantham very up-an-down season. The dry spring meant Helston, Penzance to St Ives, that we saw large clutch sizes, with many pairs laying five or six and a large chunk of the north eggs, so all was looking good. But the period of wet weather that coast. Thanks as well to all followed soon put a dampener on things and second visits saw those who flogged the coast widespread brood reduction, with most pairs reduced to just two or path to tick off all of those three chicks.