Wildlife

James Lowen

Photo: Joe Tobias

We waited a while back at the A394 railway bridge, south of the pine belt. With nothing transpiring, we reluctantly decided it was time to head via Philps pasties for home.

We were the second car in the lay-by, grabbing three hours' cramped kip before first light whispered its imminence. After an hour of scanning in dingy dawn light, at around 0830, another birder and I simultaneously clocked the bird soaring just left (north) of the pines in which it had indeed presumably roosted. Whoopee! Yeah! After a few minutes' watching it, we zipped round to the south side of the pinewood, hoping for closer views. These did not materialise as the bird elected to fly north instead, and out of site.

We made it no further than the A30 lay-by, south of Crowlas, before another message came through that it was showing again back at the railway bridge. A swift about-turn and we were there, enjoying the closest views yet (admittedly in murky light) as the bird flapped and flopped around the pines that it would surely roost in before night encroached.

Just shy of three eyes and one breakfast burrito/double espresso later (Jordan's in Marazion: fully recommended), the eagle was refound at Crowlas. Dashing that way, we had a brief glimpse before it again disappeared. Searching the area, we picked it up again and for thirty minutes or so watch it leisurely glide and flap eastwards, with what looked like a Starling in its talons. Heading east for a closer view, we managed a nice encounter as it slalomed between trees and as if it knew the terrain well, and cruised over houses as if it thought them as inert as maquis cliff faces before it again disappeared again somewhere near the original pine belt.

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14 January 2025 Suited and booted

I was surveying on the North Norfolk Coast on Saturday 12 Jan when the remarkable news came through that the pale morph juvenile Booted Eagle that had been seen in west Cornwall in October 2024 had been rebound, nearly three months later, near Marazion. This is a species with which I have form: I dipped the original UK/Ireland bird in 1999/2000 (which, controversially, was not accepted in category A of the BOU/IRBC lists - for somewhat dubious reasons) and then dipped the Bucks/Oxon bird last November. As the sightings progressed throughout the early afternoon, I joined Mike Buckland to watch the repeat-wintering female Pallid Harrier come into roost at Warham Greens. Around 15h20, not far off the time a Cornish eagle should be thinking of bedding down, the bird was lost to view behind the tract of pines it had been sailing around all afternoon. The chances seemed very high that it had roosted. And a roosting mega bird of prey means one thing... cash in brownie points, make some phone calls, then drive overnight to be on site for dawn. And thus Mike, Ade Long, Joe Tobias and I joined forces for a fun, if knackering, 27 hours.

A fine first twitch of the year, in excellent company, and a 25-year ghost laid to rest.