Durleigh Reservoir, Devoran and Stithians Reservoir

On the way down to Cornwall, I couldn't resist adjusting the route to include a stop at Durleigh Reservoir, where the juvenile Purple Heron was easily seen, enjoying the sun in the trees near the manor house, along with two Great White Egrets. 43 Great Crested Grebes were almost entirely at the same end of the reservoir, including several young; I'm not sure I've ever seen such a breeding season congregation. Four House Martins, two Sand Martins, two Little Egrets and a family of six Mute Swans were also seen.





I met up with Liam in Penryn and we headed over to Devoran, finding three juvenile Curlew Sandpipers, along with five Knot, a Whimbrel, three Ringed Plovers, 81 Curlew, 23 Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits, 16 Dunlin, 16 Oystercatchers, a Teal and a Little Egret.



Stithians Reservoir in the evening offered a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, 13 Little Grebes, two Shovelers, two Wheatears, a Willow Warbler and two Little Egrets.

Stithians Reservoir, Devoran and Porthgwarra

Getting some work done in the morning, we then headed out to Stithians Reservoir, where we had to shelter behind some trees to view out of the wind. A few more waders were present than on the last visit (though nothing scarce/rare). These included a Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, three Greenshanks, two Ruff, 21 Dunlin, six Ringed Plovers and 26 Curlews. At least a couple of White Wagtails were among a few Pied/Whites and 20 Meadow Pipits.

Twitching Devoran again for the juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs, we were successful this time and I enjoyed nice views of my third example of this species in Britain. Also present was a Whimbrel and a Bar-tailed Godwit, along with the Spotted Redshank, 85 Curlews, five Dunlin, 27 Black-tailed Godwits, five Mediterranean Gulls, a Sandwich Tern, a Grey Wagtail and 44 Teal.

My visit concluded with a late afternoon seawatch from the cove at Porthgwarra, the highlight of which was picking out a Grey Phalarope as it tracked west. A Black Tern went the same way, along with 30 Balearic Shearwaters, four Bonxies and two Sooty Shearwaters.

juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs

Porthgwarra, Pendeen and Devoran

Among about 30 observers gathered at Porthgwarra first thing were myself and Liam, along a few other familiar faces. Anticipation was high but after an hour or so it couldn't be denied as a damp squib. An adult Roseate Tern picked out by Liam was by far the bird of the day, while a juvenile Little Gull was also a highlight. Other bits included four Great Shearwaters, five Balearic Shearwaters, 14 Sooty Shearwaters, a Common Scoter, reasonable numbers of Kittiwakes and Sandwich Terns, a flow of Manx Shearwaters, an Arctic Skua, eight Bonxies, an Arctic Tern, a Common Tern, a Raven and a Grey Wagtail.

Mid-afternoon news from Pendeen - and more-or-less straight westerlies - had us heading straight there but we had only four Balearic Shearwaters of note before getting fed up and heading to Devoran to twitch a Lesser Yellowlegs. We dipped. However, nice views of an Osprey were had, along with a Spotted Redshank, 10 Black-tailed Godwits and a Kingfisher heard...

Devoran and Stithians Reservoir

Before I headed home, Liam and I headed out for a bit of birding near Falmouth. First up was Devoran, a nice little site where we had seven Greenshanks, four Common Sandpipers, 70 Redshanks, four Whimbrel, seven Black-tailed Godwits, 18 Dunlin, 94 Curlews, 20 House Martins, six Mediterranean Gulls, a Sandwich Tern, 16 Oystercatchers, 70 Redshanks and two Little Egrets.

From the hide at Stithians Reservoir, we enjoyed views of single Green and Common Sandpipers. A Snipe, a Willow Warbler, nine Swifts, seven House Martins, a Little Egret, an Oystercatcher and two Lapwings were also present.