Once again, we have grabbed our binoculars and taken part in the Big Garden Bird-watch. Not all of our regular visitors made an appearance - such is luck - but we were still pleased with the results. A total of 14 different species - one more than last year!
So those were our feathered friends that decided to show up, but we've got a little list of those we were half expecting as well. All of these characters have been spotted in our grounds, but obviously had somewhere better to be on the day:
Non-attendees:
- Fieldfairs (a couple of weeks ago we saw dozens with a flock of starlings)
- Nut-hatch
- Bull Finch
- Long-tailed Tit
- Barn Owl (OK, we'll be fair - we weren't really expecting to spot any, but we have at least one resident family in our Owl box!)
- Chaffinch
- Greenfinch
- Wren
- Buzzard
- Sparrowhawk (just as well we didn't spot one of these, as we wouldn't have seen much else!)
- Cuckoo
- House Martin
- Thrush
- Swallow
- Swift
- Rook
- Tawny Owl
- Pied Wagtail
- Redpoll
- Jay
In the local area, we've been lucky enough to see all of the following at one point or other:
Herons
Avocets
Spoonbills
Egrets
Oyster-catchers
Peregrines
Kingfishers
Kestrels
Teals
Henharriers
And many more! If you fancy learning more about Cornish birds, we can recommend the Cornish Birding website here. If you've visited Cornwall, we'd love to know what birds you've spotted on your travels about the county.