HAYLE ESTUARY
Pre-Tour birding in Cornwall
WEATHER: dry, sunny sp[ells but a little windy.
Today I traveled down to Cornwall in readiness for the week-long trip across to the Isles of Scilly. I traveled by train and stopped off in Hayle where I visited some old friends Mary and Brian and their son Dolphin Dave. Later I was collected by some of the birding group who are to join me for the tour of the Isles of Scilly. David, Reg, Cherry and Roy and I then went birding along the Hayle Estuary.
The weather was bright and sunny a little windy but not bad at all and the birding was excellent. We view a flooded meadow from an RSPB hide before walking across the main road to view the estuary.
Lews and Geese over the Hayle Estuary
Hide tide was just minutes away and many birds were arriving in the flooded meadow to feed or roost. Apart from dozens of Canada Geese we saw Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Redshank, Grey Plover and Lapwing.
From the roadside we could scan a good section of the estuary where hundreds of birds fed. Two Ospreys were circling overhead putting all the waders, ducks, geese and gulls up in a panic.
Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover
We listed some nice species in good numbers, including Wigeon, Teal, Pintail (just 1 bird), Med Gull, Brent and Greylag Geese, Cormorant, Little Egret (20+), Grey Heron and Shelduck.
A little later we scanned the water meadow again, many more birds were feeding there now that it was hide tide. We added Oystercatcher, Greenshank, Dunlin and a nice Spotted Redshank to the list. A Kingfisher was one of the last birds added to the list as we left.
A nice meal was had in a pub