I’ve been making my way down to Cornwall for many years to surf and be an emmet. It’s a rich place, and always feels a little bit like being abroad. It was only a few years ago that it became a special place to me for nature after experiencing a bit of a wildlife documentary moment. Walking along the picturesque South West Coast Path, I came across some commotion at the cliff edge. Close enough to not need binoculars, I watched a buzzard predating the nest of a cliff nesting bird. The nesting bird was diving in figures of 8 directly down at the buzzard, trying to fight it off, but to no avail. It was quite a moving experience.

I think the bird defending its nest was a peregrine, but I had no binoculars with me and hadn't yet got back into birding at that point in time (Photo: johndal, Flickr creative commons)

Hoping to relive some fond memories, we set off for the campsite on Thursday evening for a long weekend. It was henting when we arrived and there was a strong wind. Setting up the tents at midnight in what felt like a hurricane was a challenging finish to the 6 hour drive, and an ominous start to the weekend leaving us all a bit teasy. A near-sleepless night ensued. The rain persisted into the morning so we thought that visiting the Eden Project would be a good alternative to being outside.

The Eden Project is well worth a visit. It's got its fair share of birds, mostly there to keep the insect population under control, and of course tons of fascinating information about the rainforest and the environment. More importantly though, visiting led us closer to the south coast of Cornwall. We were now within easy striking distance of some Cornish cirl buntings, so thought we'd take a geek. Thanks to the wonderfully successful Cirl Bunting Project that brought together conservation science and partnership working with farmers, there are now several places along the south coast of Devon and Cornwall you can see these lovely farmland birds all year. Beautiful coastline, groundbreaking environmental projects, and a real conservation success story all in one day.

It was very inspiring to see schools in the area close the Cirl Bunting Project sites getting involved! (Photo: Jacob Sparks, Flickr creative commons)

Back on the north coast the next day, we awoke to glorious sunshine. Surf was most definitely up, but that didn’t mean wildlife had to take a back seat. A huge jellyfish bloom had arrived at much the same time we did, so we were sharing the waves with some friendly blobs. There was no stinging in sight, as small blue and moon jellyfish bobbed around in the swell.

Surfing is pretty tiring, so to give our arms a rest we took to the South West Coast Path. About half an hour in, we arrived at the exact same place I witnessed the cliff nesting bird being predated. It’s a stunning view on its own, but it was made even better by the presence of a peregrine, static in-flight above the cliffs, just about to enter a stoop. It corked the beginning of its plunge for prey, and watching it was definitely an afternoon highlight. What a great little spot for wildlife watching!

Chough luck! We'll just have to see them next time (Photo: Danny Chapman, Flickr creative commons)

We didn’t manage to get down to the Lizard peninsular and Land's End to see the emblematic Cornish chough, but they’re down there, digging for insects. Something else to return to Cornwall for in the near future.

Jack

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