Manc nets Manx

Idyllic week spent in Cornwall, in cliff-top house looking out across Whitesands Bay. Regular views of buzzards hovering in gale-force winds, with the odd kestrel joined on my last day by a celebratory fly-past of 11 red kites.

Surrounded at all times by more whitethroats than you could shake a stick at, with the odd stonechat as well. I was convinced I saw a whinchat, but with hindsight realised it could have been Mrs Stonechat, so I have left it off the list.

One birding walk almost took me to Nanquidno Downs, but I got lost and settled for a few warblers close to the house.

My second trip out was more successful - to the extent that I actually found Marazion Marsh RSPB, but with only 50 minutes free time, my speed-birding did not reveal anything new. The RSPB station at Lands End tipped me off about passing Manx Shearwaters, and told me where I should have gone earlier in the week, but didn't actually add to my list.

On Friday, I rose at 7am, took the South West Coastal Path from my front door and headed North. Despite not being where I thought I was, I was blessed by gannets, fulmars, a range of gulls and 4 passing auks, as well as several distant but clear Shearwaters - finally repaying part of the cost of my scope. I then headed inland, past a spotted flycatcher and spent 10 minutes staring at a bush making a sound like a golden oriole. I was already late, so moved on. I discovered last night that a golden oriole was seen nearby on Friday - that could have been the year's super-twitch.

I had both pied and white wagtails around the house - Collins treats the two as the same species, but I note that Sharpe doesn't. I have therefore added White (wagtail) to my list.

I also saw just under a million rock pipits along the shore.

On the way home, we had a time-pressured stop at Slimbridge. I only had time for 2 hides, and spent most of that staring out of the Kingfisher hide at a bank and holes perfect for a nesting kingfisher. Already late, I made a dash for the exit, but stopped to read the "Kingfisher News" on the noticeboard - apparently since the cold winter 2010/11, no kingfishers have been seen on the site this year.

That's 20 minutes of my life I will never get back.