SCILLYSPIDER: Spotted Crake singing at Porth Hellick!

Sunday, 29 April 2018

Spotted Crake singing at Porth Hellick!

This Red-rumped Swallow was first seen flying through St Agnes by Graham Gordon and a few hours later I picked it up at Porth Hellick with some 150+Sand Martin

By far the best news of today was Amber Rudd resigning as Home Secretary from the Tories after the Windrush scandal!!

With Northerlies in the air this morning, I wasn't expecting to see much today on my day off. With a Whitethroat in me garden that encouraged me to get out and do an hour or two in the field. I checked Lower Moors for yesterdays Grasshopper Warbler and 2 Whinchat but it was dead. It wasn't so good at Porth Hellick either although 3 Tufted Duck were new in. I was scanning through some 30 hirundines from the seaward hide, when I heard a Spotted Crake to my right. It only gave two burst in succession and therefore I thought that I would leave it as it's probably something else. However, I heard it again and in two minutes it sang on and off. After ten minutes I never heard again and I informed other birders. It was thirty minutes later that it was heard again by a single observer. We waited around but nothing and twenty minutes later I was at Trewince. I could see immediatly that there was a movement of hirundines moving through with a single Siskin and in the fields there were 2 Whitethroat.

Single Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Siskin, 2 Whitethroat and moving through good numbers of hirundines at Trewince

This female and 2 male Tufted Duck at Porth Hellick were new in

Coot and Moorhen

I had lunch at Juliets with Martin, Ren and family when Graham let me know he had a Red-rumped Swallow move through over the Big Pool, St Agnes. Shortly afterwards, news came on about the male Pied Flycaycher was still at Carreg Dhu Gardens, a Lesser Whitethroat was singing at Porth Hellick and on St Martins the 1st winter Laughing Gull was still on the cricket pitch. With the light so good I thought I would go and look at the flycatcher. On the way I picked up the juvenile Iceland Gull at Porthloo. At the gardens Robin joined me and there we discovered that there were 2 male Flycatcher in the garden! House Martin and Swallow were moving through with my first Swift of the year.

This adult male Pied Flycatcher has been in Carreg Dhu Gardens for the last five days.

Today this 1st summer male Pied Flycatcher joined the male in the gardens. Both birds showed superbly in the bright sun light

There were also Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff and 4 Blackcap in the garden

Collard Dove

When a Red-rumped Swallow disappears from St Agnes we know where it will be seen next and just before 18.00, while talking to Turtle, I picked the Red-Rumped Swallow out of the 150+Sand Martin hawking over the pool! Shortly afterwards there was a small crowd and after some time everyone saw it only for it to disappear again. As there were 30+Swallow and 25+House Martin at Salkee that I checked out before visiting Porth Hellick, I thought that maybe the swallow might have joined them up there. I was talking to Wayne Collins on me mobile only to cut him off as the first bird I see fly past at very close range, is the Red-rumped Swallow. Here it gave me crippling flight views and it might be possible that there are 2 Red-rumps around but we couldn't be 100% sure. Maybe tomorrow will change that. I thought that I would check Lower Moors to see how many hirundines were there. 10 House Martin and 14 Swallow. Flying around together were 6 Snipe. Just after 21.00, Scott Reid and I made our ways to Porth Hellick, hoping to hear the Spotted Crake and in the bright moon light, all we could hear were Snipe.