Trip reports

LOST IN THE MIST

Saturday, 15 October 2011

But first we spent three days visiting birding sites in Somerset, Devon and even Cornwall. We started at Stert Point on a sunny, warm day and were treated to the sight of hundreds of shelducks. As ever, there were little egrets and the usual array of waders and shore birds including greenshank and knot; some lucky person saw a clouded yellow butterfly. At Dunster Beach in front of an endless row of beach chalets, the machair-like sward was full of horned poppies and Vanessa spotted a hummingbird hawk moth on some soapwort. A large flock (40+) of linnets followed us along the beach.
The next day was Hartland Point where we had the best icecream ever. We didn't see a great deal however and moved on to Tamar Lakes where we had two special birds - a grey phalarope and a black tern - that got us all ticking! Isley Marsh on the Taw and Torridge estuary was next and here we saw spoonbill. Another visit the next day gave us bar-tailed godwit, common sandpiper and whimbrel.

On the Saturday, we set sail for Lundy. What started out as sunny and warm quickly turned into a dank, grey drizzly day. What a disappointment; Lundy was swathed in a thick white mist which made finding The Old Light - a collection of lighthouse buildings where some of us were staying (I was in the pigsty!) an interesting experience. After 45 minutes of blundering about in the mist, I finally found my billet after practically walking into it in the murk; how can you not see a lighthouse? Dinner was in the Marisco Tavern in the 'village' and coming back in the pitch black with a torch was not for the faint-hearted - but we birders are made of sterner stuff ...
We were left to do our own thing on Lundy so on the following days we went our separate ways and different people saw different things and birds. Cherry puzzled throughout her stay about a mystery bird she had spotted briefly and couldn't identify. Checking it out at home afterwards, it turned out to have been a juvenile wryneck.
I wandered round the bays, inlets and cliffs of the west coast and spotted a chimney two thirds the way down a cliff. On investigating I found a little path snaking its way down the cliff where I came across the Battery, intact with two cannons. In the 1800's these were fired every ten minutes when the mist was too thick for the lighthouse to be visible. It must have been exhausting for the two gunners who lived down the cliff in tiny cottages with their families - eleven children in all. When the inspector from Trinity House visited, the children were sent to hide among the rocks as they weren't supposed to be there, it being considered an unsuitable location in which to bring up children. One can only imagine the danger and privation those families suffered. Later, I caught up with Mike's party and they were keen to show their 'find' on Pondbury pond - a pectoral sandpiper, a first for me.
The next day dawned bright and sunny - I know because I was up at dawn keen to join a group of ringers who had a number of mist nets set up. It was fascinating watching them work as they measured, weighed and ringed the chiff-chaffs, blackcaps and goldcrests. They blow on the belly of the birds to see how much fat reserves they have to see them through their migration. Some had so little you knew they weren't going to make it.
On the last day, I walked through the wooded area near the village and saw a spotted flycatcher and a goldcrest and heard the squealing of a water-rail. Also seen were sika deer, feral goats with lovely coats and big horns, Soay sheep and seals singing on the rocks near the landing stage. We left in glorious sunshine wishing we could stay longer. Our bird bag for Lundy was around 41 and for the whole trip 93.

Frances Evans