Coombe Valley, Cornwall

My dads photo

On the 13th of February, my family and I headed down to Cornwall for our holiday. We were going to be staying in a cottage in Coombe Valley until Friday. We went on many a walks, which gave us the opportunity to see lots of wildlife and spectacular views.

Another of my dads photos

The first morning we took a walk around the local area, which is mostly ancient woodland, it was brimming with nature! During this walk I thought I'd fully try out my Opticron Natura BGA ED binoculars. I'd normally go for a magnification of 8x42, however this time I thought I would try 10x42, and I have to say I love the magnification because it provides closer views. We saw plenty of Blue Tits, Chaffinches, Robins, Goldfinches, Blackbirds, Ravens overhead, Mistle Thrushes and a Goldcrest and Marsh Tit! It was a beautiful, bright, sunny morning, almost like a warm spring day!

My dads photo again!

My mums photo this time!

Longer walks later that day and later that week to several different bays and King Arthur's Castle in Tintagel also gave me plenty of opportunity to try out the binoculars for the whole day, luckily they are a nice weight yet still are very robust. We saw lots of the usual (Blackbird, Mistle Thrush etc.) but we also got great views of a Kestrel hunting over the castle ruins and lots of Fulmars! My binoculars provided a great, clear view of the Kestrel, so it was lovely to see. The Fulmars were sat on cliff edges, mostly in pairs, perhaps thinking about the breeding season?

And again..my dads photograph!

We took a coastal walk, which caused us to cross paths with several Stonechats; the Stonechats we came across were often sat on coastal scrub scanning for food. We also saw many Buzzards, often perched on posts all over, appearing very authoritative. On the last day I got a fantastic view of a Grey Wagtail on the thatched roof of our cottage, wagging its very long tail constantly, allowing us to see the yellow on it - this gave me a very big smile!

Big Schools' Birdwatch

On Wednesday the 8th of February I organised our school to take part in the RSPB's Big Schools' Birdwatch. We soon received our free id poster and I before we knew it we were outside counting the birds!

We decided the best place to do this was in our newly developed conservation area which includes bird feeders, 2 fat ball feeders, a ground feeder, one hanging feeder and a bird table.

The children from year 6 (aged 10-11) came out in two groups; they sat outside doing some colouring in whilst they came over in groups of 4-7 to a small hide we set up. Each group had about 10 minutes to spot as many birds as they could. All the children were very enthusiastic and were eager to tell me what birds they see at home on their own bird feeders too! Overall, we had a good turnout of birds, including Black-headed gulls, Goldfinches, Blue tits, Magpies, Wood pigeons and House Sparrows. Each of the children brought their own binoculars, which gave me a good chance to try out for the first time Opticron Natura BGA ED binoculars. They are fantastic; they feel very sturdy in the hand and provide light clear views!

Due to its success this year I am looking forward to doing the Big Schools' Birdwatch next year and getting more children involved and perhaps doing more activities on the day, such as making our own bird feeders.