North winds push the Gannets close to shore

Gannet

The strong northerly winds were making the gannets on the north Cornish coast hug the shoreline as they passed down the coast.

I took advantage and set my camera up between the mainland and Mouls island off the Rumps near Polzeath.

Many birds passed by and just a few of them were really close. So close on occasions that I couldn't get the whole bird in frame with the 500mm lens.

Great to see!

Gannet

Gannet

Gannet

Buff breasted Sandpiper

Buff breasted Sandpiper

 

Davidstow airfield came up trumps again with an almost annual North American vagrant with this Buff breasted Sandpiper.

It took a bit of tracking down but out of pure luck it pitched up on the old runway near the tower with some dunlin and ringed plovers where they all preened and dozed.

Buff breasted Sandpiper

 

 

Buff breasted Sandpiper

Dolphin delights

A dolphin leads a fishing boat out of the Camel estuary

An early morning departure from Wadebridge on the flowing spring tide at 05:45 paid dividends this morning as we encountered a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins feeding on the Doom Bar at the mouth of the Camel estuary.

There must have been up to 20 individuals including several youngsters.

Dawn was just breaking and the light levels were low so high ISO was the order of the day until the sun rose over the clifftops and lit the sea.

My grateful thanks to Will Delacour who persuaded me to set the alarm for 4:30 am. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

A white Mute swan cygnet in the brood

White cygnet

 

I came across this white cygnet in a family of Mute Swans this evening. Both its other siblings were the normal brown colour and this one looked really odd, the bill is also a lot lighter.

On reading my books and a bit of googling I find there are a few possible explanations.... one being known as a "Polish Swan", which has pink legs and feet. The morph immutabilis ("Polish Swan") has pinkish (not dark grey) legs and dull white cygnets. (Wikipedia).

I don't have any photos that show the legs so that's a target for later in the week.

The other possibility is that it has a leucistic gene.

White cygnet

 

On checking an earlier photo dated 6/6/2013 I now question whether one of the cygnets was whiter than the others on that occasion. Had I risked a better camera in the kayak then I may have been able to answer that question!

2 months ago when the cygnets were first introduced to the river, is the one nearest the Penn.

I found some interesting research at the following blog.....http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/mute-swan-colour-polymorphism.html

Nightjar

Nightjar

 

I know they are awful pictures but the thrill of seeing 2 nightjars very close was immense.

One was flying all around us before another started churring in the distance. It then gave us a "fly past" before both birds either left the area to feed or went to ground.

I'd not been watching them for maybe 20 years and to have them buzzing around my ears was fantastic.

It was virtually dark and I did try one shot with flash and I show the results as an example of "how not to do it", the flash illuminated the huge eye of the bird. It was not a major problem to the bird as I was shooting from a distance with a 500mm lens and at 1600 ISO.

A privilege to watch these amazing summer visitors to our heathland areas!

Nightjar

 

Nightjar

Sunfish..... Cornish coast.

Sunfish

Watched this sunfish from close range on a RIB out of Rock today whilst helping with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust / Polzeath VMCA Seal survey.

Strange beast!

Sunfish

Sunfish

Sunfish

A wet field trip but still some pictures!

Male Keeled Skimmer

Our Cornwall Wildlife Trust field trip to Stepper point at the mouth of the Camel estuary still went ahead despite the foul weather.

Only 3 of us braved it but there were still some good species hidden from the rain that produced some photos.

Here are a few......

A moody Camel estuary

Great Green bush cricket

Great Green bush cricket

 

Common blue butterfly

Common blue butterfly

 

 

Grasshopper

Six spot burnett moth

A fox forages in a new mown meadow

The fox has picked up my scent!

This young fox was out hunting this evening in a new mown meadow, exactly where I'd seen him last evening.... but this time I had my camera!

I was unable to get downwind of him, so before long as he walked toward me, he started sniffing the air although not panicking at all.

Eventually when he was only a few feet from me he moved off with a sense of urgency.... only to go and lie in the grass 50 meteres away and look toward where I was secreted in the hedge.

Always a treat to get this close to wildlfe and be accepted or maybe just tolerated!