With constant sunshine and unseasonably warm weather we’ve had a fabulous week birding here in the Cornish valleys. Although migrant passerines have been very few and far between, with the help of an occasional sea-watch and spending time studying the comings and goings on the Hayle estuary, we’ve managed to accumulate a reasonable list. Personally I’ve seen 109 species since we arrived, missing only a couple of things seen by other members of our party. The undoubted highlight has been daily views of the Semipalmated Sandpiper, but raptors have also been a real feature including: Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Merlin, Buzzard, Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owl. A second Siberian Chiffchaff – yesterday at Porthgwarra – with a late Yellow Wagtail, a couple of Black Redstart and that obliging Snow Bunting making for a reasonable supporting cast of ‘bush birds’. All three egrets at Drift, providing a backdrop for the Black-necked Grebe, also deserve a mention. There are few better places to spend an autumn week birding – we’ll be back.