A different type of Stormy! 13th October 2018

We had settled into the holiday cottage the night before and retired preying that the gale force winds would drop overnight so that we could investigate the Kenidjack Valley in the morning. Perhaps my lack of religious devotion counted against me because the morning dawned as rough as the night before, it was still blowing a hoolie out there! We were now at a bit of a loss, not really knowing what to do and way out of our comfort zone. At home we would probably have just spent time at our local nature reserve huddled up inside the hide there but here, with the lack of reserves except for the one at Hayle, what could we do? My thought was to try Pendeen Lighthouse and see if the winds were blowing any birds in close to the shore so we drove the short distance there. There were a few other birders there, all watching from inside their cars at the lower car park (so a hide isn't necessary, just use the car. Bingo!) but visibility was very poor and I couldn't see much at all apart from the ubiquitous Gannets. After ten minutes or so of straining against the incessant rain and seeing very little, we decided that this wasn't really for us (we'd have to invest in that new scope) and we thought a coffee would be in order. While sitting and enjoying a most delicious flat white in St Just's finest cafe a message arrived via the mobile informing us that a Leach's Storm Petrel (a bird we had only seen once before, in the Outer Hebrides last year) was "lingering offshore the carpark at Mousehole". Salvation!

We were at the designated carpark within half an hour and joined the throng of birders staring out into Mounts Bay. The locals knew that when you have strong southerly winds, seabirds are forced into the bay and then struggle to exit again and have to fly reasonably close to the southern shore of Cornwall. Mousehole faces to the south and very conveniently has the carpark in which to view from. Naturally we were too late to see the Leach's which had already vacated the scene, it had obviously got wind of our imminent arrival, but there was quite a bit of action over the sea with lots of Gannets, many Kittiwakes and a few Manx Shearwaters passing to the west. Birds were relatively close in at less than a hundred yards so even without a scope we were able to see them. It was still raining but it had mostly relented to just a light drizzle which was more comfortable but still completely useless for photography. 

Gannet

The chap to my right announced that there was a Storm Petrel approaching from our left and both of us were quickly on to it. It flew very slowly into the headwind and afforded really good views. No bigger than and looking a bit like a House Martin, the Storm Petrel (just a common European) spent a good five minutes to clear our viewpoint and possibly our best views of one since seeing them at their breeding lairs on Mousa in Shetland years ago. Only problem was that, try as hard as I did, I couldn't get the bird into the camera view finder and random shooting at the sea brought no usable frames at all! Practice required there!

Other birds continued to pass but the activity was slowly tailing off. To my left a man jumped out of the shelter of his car and shouted "Skua!". I looked, immediately locked onto the bird and was rewarded with a really good view of a Curlew! Seems I wasn't the only amateur sea watcher present!

Curlew

Next up another Storm Petrel appeared, this time flying much quicker into the wind and passing at some pace. It appeared longer winged and more robust than the previous Storm Petrel and as it turned and rolled over the waves a V-shaped white rump patch could be made out as opposed to the squarer patch of the European Storm Petrel designating this bird as a Leach's Storm Petrel! Unfortunately, once again, I managed to focus on everything but the bird with the camera! Apart from the odd windy day at Farmoor I don't get much time taking photos of distant birds riding waves and am definitely not good at it! Later on I learned that a Wilson's Storm Petrel had also been logged along with Great and Balearic Shearwaters, all birds that I've never seen. Maybe next year we'll look at going to the Isles of Scilly and join some of the pelagic cruises where all of the seabirds are encountered at close quarters and in good numbers.

Shag

We just had to get into our most favoured spot, the Kenidjack Valley. For the last few years we had been lucky enough to rent a holiday cottage right at the top of the road that leads down into Kenidjack but unfortunately that is no longer available, so now we were relegated at having to drive there and park. It was far too windy still for this walk to produce much in the way of birds but we both love this place and it's just about our favourite walk, barring the Scottish pine forests, anywhere in the UK. We did see a couple of the local "Cornish" Choughs and found a Black Redstart at the cove right at the seaward end of the valley but photographs were virtually impossible to obtain. All of the usual spots where good birds are normally found were very windswept and although we could hear Chiffchaffs and the like, we weren't able to see any!

Chough

Pretty much defeated by the incessant winds we headed back to Pendeen taking in a brief look from the lighthouse. Again a steady stream of Gannets were passing by and more Manx Shearwaters were out there too. A multitude of Kittiwakes passed by as well. A Peregrine Falcon flew hard and strong below our vantage point, too fast for me to react with the camera yet again. This wasn't a good day for photography at all!

Gannet & Stormy Sea

After Mrs Caley had retreated to the warmth and sanctuary of our holiday cottage, I, because I never want to give up while there's daylight left, went for a wander around the local clifftops and footpaths. I was amazed at the size, and the amount of devastation to the scenery, of the Levant mine which is next door. What a mess that place is! Leave that one to the tourists I think. I am ever hopeful of encountering a Wryneck or such like when walking along the coastal paths (I found one once at Botallack) but of course I hardly ever find anything other than common stuff like Dunnocks and Stonechats. But you have to try! A Herring Gull watched me pass, probably wondering what type of idiot would be out birdwatching in such conditions.

Herring Gull

In the failing light I sat and watched the Gannets out at sea and a sweet Little Rock Pipit which huddled in a cleft out of the wind before flying up and alighting on a rock just like the one I was using for shelter.

Rock Pipit

On my walk back I was treated to a flying show by one of the local Kestrels. It's always a pleasure to take a bit of time and actually watch birds even the more regular ones. The Kestrels mastery of the air is second to none, able as it is to hover on the wind while looking for a meal and launching into dives when a target is identified. Too dark for any winning photos now but I tried, and failed as always, anyway. 

Kestrel

Hopefully the storm will have passed by the morning and we'll be able to get down to some proper valley birding but I shouldn't complain too loudly about a day that brought two different species of Storm Petrel!