Twitching Cornwall is not something I normally do - psychologically, it's too far, and it's not very green either... The last time I did so was in March 2007 with Dave Craven, when we spent a cold and sleepless night in the car at Stepper Point to connect with a Gyr Falcon, then seeing White-billed Diver on the Hayle and Dusky Warbler in Newquay later in the day.
So more than 10 years later, I could no longer resist another Cornwall twitch, this time solo - despite having a couple of lifts offered, I hadn't been able to get down prior to today due to family and work commitments - and I was beginning to think it was now or never.
Setting off at 8.30 last night, I overnighted at Tiverton (this time in a Travelodge - much more civilised than the back seat of the car), and was on site at Treeve Moor just after 8.30 - and just after the bird had been showing quite well (I shouldn't have had that cup of tea in the hotel). However the Catbird showed well 20 minutes later or so, and again briefly on a further three occasions, and I left for home just after 11.30 (so that I could get back to give Freya her supper and bath). A Short-eared Owl was a bonus, and I enjoyed watching a Song Thrush, sat out in the open at 30m range, be identified as a Redwing by a fully kitted out birder.
So worth it, definitely, but with views of the Catbird amounting to no more than a couple of minutes across two hours, and 12 hours sat in the car driving over 700 miles, I'm not planning to twitch Cornwall again any time soon. Unless it's something completely off the scale... a Varied Thrush (preferably fully pigmented) would do it...
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| Grey Catbird |
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| Still quite a few people coming and going |
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