CORNWALL AND BACK

I'd heard about the Scarlet Tanager near St Levan church in Cornwall on thursday evening but it was intitially a report, only seen for a short while and not from 2:30pm til dusk so I didn't go straight away, knowing that locals and birders staying in Cornwall would check it out, early friday and thought that, if it stayed, it would settle down for all to see.

I went to the farm first and the Cetti's Warbler showed really well for a while, giving probably the best views I've had of one.

The pager went off just after ten 'Scarlet Tanager still present'. OK, I thought, it'll be pinned down now so off I went. After a five hour plus drive without stopping, the bird had shown well for three minutes, then once briefly in flight, in the morning and that was it, no further sign til dusk ! Where it disappeared to was a mystery, there was the odd Sparrowhawk about but I decided to stay overnight, in Penzance, in case it was just a case of patience.

No sign the next morning and then on my pager 'Scarlet Tanager on St Mary's, Scilly', aaaargh ! This message must have been especially disconcerting for some birders who'd jumped off Scilly for the St Levan bird. I tried to get on a plane or chopper but they were all fully booked. No sign of it after 1:50pm so I wouldn't have got it anyway and no sign today. Ironically, Pyro, Gripper and Devil Birder turned up at St Levan early morning, just in case, before getting the Scillonian over to Scilly. What a surprise they must have got !

The largest congregation at St Levan's church for many years. More birders were inside praying that the Tanager would show again.

Grey Gables and it's garden. The Tanager chose not to show well here.