Leader

Julian Sykes

Day 1	Meet at our Penzance hotel where we shall spend the next week - 7 nights at the Queens Hotel.
Days 2-7	Explore the sites of SW Cornwall. Some mornings and evenings spent watching for passage seabirds, with the rest of the time visiting iconic birdwatching sites. One day we’ll take a sea crossing for cetaceans and possibly Bluefin Tuna.
Day 8	After breakfast we say our farewells.

Weather	September in Cornwall can vary enormously, from warm sunny days to wet and windy, with the latter sometimes being the more preferable! Temperatures should remain good, with a range from 15-25ºC
Walking	Mostly easy walking on level ground up to two miles, but there is potential for some inclines/declines in the valleys - all on good roads, paths or tracks.
Boat Trip	Full day trip, with time on land. Large boat with cafe and toilets.
Meals	All included from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast on Day 8.
Insects	Biting insects are unlikely to be a problem.
Accom	Double, twin and single rooms all ensuite.
Group	6

Seabirds passing iconic rocky headlands, waders feeding in estuaries and reservoirs, migrants making landfall in beautiful, wooded valleys and cetaceans offshore, says it all.

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	*   Pendeen and Porthgwarra for seabird passage
	*   Red-billed Choughs on the Lizard and headlands
	*   Day trip to the Isles of Scilly
	*   Waders at Hayle Estuary, Stithians and Marazion
	*   Visit the iconic Land’s End and its valleys
	*   Chance of scarce migrants making landfall
	*   Fabulous Penzance hotel with sea views

Day 1	We arrive at our comfortable, family-run hotel overlooking the beautiful Penzance Bay, only minutes from the train station. If timings and the weather are favourable, we shall make a short late afternoon walk to a nearby public park, with well-maintained gardens. This is home to the unusual Un-armed Stick Insect, plus some birdlife, with Firecrest a possibility along with the commoner UK species. Our hotel overlooks Mounts Bay and from our rooms it is possible to see Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher. We’ll always keep an eye out in the bay, as we should also see our first Gannets, gulls and auks.
Days 2-7	Penzance is a fabulous place to be based for this Cornish adventure, with a road network in all directions. We shall be keeping an eye on the weather and the local information services to ensure we make the most of the week, but we shall also visit most of the iconic sites. Pendeen, Porthgwarra and the Island at St Ives, are a few of the famous seawatching points in southwest Cornwall and we aim to make a few visits. In the right conditions, passage Manx Shearwaters are joined by their rarer cousins – Balearic, Sooty and possibly Cory’s Shearwaters. Arctic and Great Skuas can be seen chasing Kittiwakes and terns, plus there is the chance of Pomerine Skua, Sabine’s Gull, European Storm Petrel and Grey Phalarope, if we are lucky. September is also synonymous with wader passage in the UK and we shall visit the coastal sites of Hayle Estuary and Marazion Beach, along with the inland reservoirs of Drift and Stithians, to try and find a good mix. Along with the expected commoner species we also hope to see Wood and Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Spotted Redshank and Whimbrel, with the outside possibility of Jack Snipe and Pectoral Sandpiper. It will be great fun looking through the flocks of birds, honing our identification skills in a ‘wader masterclass’. This holiday though is not just about sea and shorebirds, as it is also getting to peak migration time for land birds too and time will be spent wandering the tracks and paths around the headland. Either side of the famous Land’s End are gorgeous, vegetated valleys leading down to the sea, with the most notable being Nanquidno and Kenidjack, amongst several more. These can be migrant traps for passerines making landfall, or feeding up to continue south towards Africa. Annually something ‘mega’ turns up, but we at least hope to find a Wryneck, Black Redstart or Melodious Warbler amongst the commoner pipits, warblers, flycatchers, wheatears and wagtails. For one full day, we shall take to the sea for an exciting day tour to St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly. This could certainly prove to be one of the highlights of the week, as we hope for not only seabirds on the Scillonian crossing but also cetaceans such as Harbour Porpoise and Common Dolphin. We should also encounter lots of gulls, terns, Gannets and auks, but hopefully some shearwaters and petrels giving us a completely different perspective, as they fly past the boat. We have a few hours on the Scillies largest island – St Mary’s and our choice of destination will depend on which species have been seen during the last few days. A day will be spent driving to The Lizard Peninsula to see the famous ‘Cornish Choughs’, which returned as a breeding species to the county in 2002 after a 50 year absence. Lizard Point is the most southerly part of the UK and as a consequence can also attract its fair share of migrant birds on their passage south. From the village we shall head slowly out to the famous Lizard Point, looking out for wildlife and maybe sampling the local ice cream. Once there, hopefully the Red-billed Choughs will be amongst the other corvids and we get to see them wheeling around making their distinctive calls. Although there is going to be a focus on all things wildlife, we shall also endeavour to call in on some of Cornwall’s premier tourist sites such as Land’s End, Sennan Cove and the Minack Theatre. We shall have a wonderful week in this equally wonderful southwest corner of Britain.
Day 8	After breakfast and one last look out into Penzance Bay we shall leave this lovely welcoming hotel and say our farewells to each other, before heading home.

Just some of what we hope to see..

Great Northern Diver	Pectoral Sandpiper	Puffin
Great Shearwater	Curlew Sandpiper	Wryneck
Balearic Shearwater	Spotted Redshank	Yellow Wagtail
Sooty Shearwater	Wood Sandpiper	Black Redstart
Storm Petrel	Grey Phalarope	Whinchat
Great Egret	Arctic Skua	Barred Warbler
Spoonbill	Great Skua	Firecrest
Osprey	Little Gull	Red-backed Shrike
Hobby	Sabine’s Gull	Red-billed Chough
Little Stint	Black Tern