Grey seals, courtship and mating. Cornwall, November 2025

 Having spent 2 and a half hours counting, photographing and generally monitoring the Grey seals we were just finishing recording all the data for the Seal Research Trust when I noticed a boat offshore with people looking our way in a manner that made me think ..."something's up"!

A quick dash to the cliff overlook and I saw what they were peering at... there was a pair of seals showing really well and in courtship mode.

Fortunately for me and my camera the light was behind me and the seals were looking amazing. 

I was in a field above the cliffs at quite a distance from them and I was using a Nikon mirrorless camera on silent shutter with a 500mm lens and well aware not to disturb them. 

A few times one of them would glance my way but they were more interested in each other.

They stayed in the same area from 15:39 hrs when I first saw them until 16:20 hrs when another courting pair swam amongst them and the males checked each other out.

I took many photos so here is a small section of them.... still lots!

 

The Glossy Ibis invasion September 2025.

 

 

We started seeing a few Glossy Ibis in at Walmsley sanctuary (the reserve I manage for Cornwall Birds) on the 5th Sept, not unusual as these birds are known as inveterate wanderers and have often turned up at this time of year. I had a report of 12 individuals using the whole Amble marshes SSI site but when I got down there with my camera I could only find 7,which was still a good count!

However by Sunday 7th things were kicking off in the County with 33 being seen around the Scillies, 34 at Predannick and then another large group (or the same group) at Ruan Lanihorne. 

I anticipated that we were in for a big group at Walmsley as it is a classic Ibis habitat and we had previously supported a group of 18 though a winter back in the winter of 21/22.

I got a call to say there was a big flock in the reserve and when I arrived I counted 41 birds. 

After a while our resident male Marsh Harrier spooked them and they flew off toward the Camel estuary.

That afternoon 50+  were recorded on the estuary and then later 92 were counted in at Walmsley.

Then they were gone!

Later that day there was a report of 91 flying over the River Dart at Totnes in South Devon... maybe 70 miles away.

Had to be the same flock, as by Tuesday morning there were none left at Walmsley or in the whole Amble valley.

I know that there has been a massive influx in Britain and I hear that 12k pairs bred in Coto Donana this spring with a high success rate. Water levels are now dropping in Spain so maybe we are picking up these birds, especially since we've had very strong Southerly winds of late.

Super birds to see and I'm hoping we may have a few to watch through the winter.........

 

 

 

Osprey on the River Camel Aug/Sept 2024

  

About a month ago a juvenile Osprey arrived near Wadebridge and started to hangout near Target pool, visible from the Camel Trail  1 mile marker just beyond Pendavey bridge on the Wadebridge - Bodmin section of the disused railway line that is now a major tourist attraction.
The bird looked to be roosting in the tall oaks above the river but having watched it intently recently I think it's roosting elsewhere and only flying in at first light to perch up and preen.
Because a similar Osprey used the same trees last autumn it was automatically assumed it was the same bird but looking at the plumage it's almost certainly 2 different juvenile birds.
Last years bird would normally have stayed in its winter quarters in West Africa for at least the first year and sometimes 2 years.

So these trees and the undisturbed bit of the river must prove attractive to Ospreys on their Southerly migration. There's no doubt that there is plenty of food as its been seen taking mullet regularly and there have been many hundred fish in that short section of River during late summer although numbers have dropped off rapidly in the past week despite huge Equinox spring tides.

I've spent many hours in a small canvas hide in various places including the  middle of  blackthorn copse with my cameras but still failed to get any shots of it with fish, although others have been luckier in that respect.
In order to prevent any disturbance I approached my hide in darkness, often starting at 5am, and never left until the bird had flown off. It's not in my interest to disturb it as obviously I won't get any views or photographs!
By sitting and watching this bird for long periods of time I was privileged to record lots of intimate behaviour, especially so when it was preening or falling asleep on the perch with its eyes gradually closing and the third eyelids passing across the eyes.

One of the funniest moments was after it had had a failed dive & it flew to it's favourite dead elm but instead of landing on the central trunk it tried to land on a dead branch at speed.
The branch snapped off at the node with the trunk and both Osprey and branch went tumbling through the air with a loud crack!
That was enough for the bird, it flew off looking most indignant or maybe embarrassed and I never saw it again that morning.
Here is a selection of photographs I've taken , sometimes many in one session but also sometimes none at all after 4 cold and dark hours on the riverbank.
We do have to suffer for our art...... but the rewards are fantastic,  just watching these iconic birds at close quarters is amazing.

As an aside there are plans to build an Osprey nesting platform in the near vicinity very soon using the cut off electricity poles by the river... watch this space!

Bit of a sh*t shot ha!