Cornwall with Julian Sykes

The Speyside Wildlife Trip Report

After our recent autumn holiday to Cornwall, Julian sits down with Sally to chat about the highlights and itinerary - this was recorded during one of the recent storms so there is a slight interference in the audio at times.
“Our trip to Cornwall this year was ‘off the scale’ in regard to the numbers and variety of seabirds seen, along with a fantastic array of waders and passerines. We therefore enjoyed a tremendous week in mostly glorious weather - which is always a bonus!
We managed a few headland sea-watches from Pendeen and Porthgwarra, but it was our ‘day trip’ to St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly that produced some unforgettable moments. We had close encounters with five species of shearwater along with other quality seabirds, including the mega-rare Red-footed Booby on Bishop Rock Lighthouse.
All the commoner waders were seen around the reservoirs and estuaries but two Buff-bellied Sandpipers, Kentish Plover, Little Stints and Spotted Redshank kept things interesting. Land birds were not so forthcoming, but a Red-backed Shrike on St Mary’s and Pied and Spotted Flycatchers on the mainland were all good to see, as well as the iconic ‘Cornish Chough’. It’s certainly not all about birds as we had bow-riding Common Dolphins, Harbour Porpoise, breaching Bluefin Tuna from Lands End, plus Adder, Slow Worm, plus various butterflies and dragonflies, which all added to a wonderful week in this south west corner of England.”

Speyside Wildlife is a wildlife tour operator based in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland. Established in 1991 Speyside Wildlife has been offering wildlife-watching day trips, tours and holidays in the UK and Overseas. We cater for a wide variety of wildlife-watchers, from the dedicated wildlife enthusiasts to those who simply wish to include some wildlife-watching as part of their holiday.
For more information please click here.