BIRDS 



fairly-sheltered land by the middle and lower reaches of the Camel, in the 

 fertile valley of the lower Allen, and the long low-lying stretch of land 

 between Pentire Point and St. Tudy. The estuary and tidal river have 

 naturally a considerable influence on the bird-life, while the low-lying land 

 from Wadebridge southwards facilitates the passage of birds into the district 

 from the southern half of the county. 



The wild coast-land to the east is the home of the chough and the 

 buzzard. Probably nowhere in the British Isles is the latter so common as 

 between Hennacliff and Boscastle. To see half a dozen at a time is a common 

 occurrence, and this year five nests were found along half a mile of cliff face. 

 The chough is unfortunately scarce, but has lately been increasing. The 

 raven is also unusually common in the east of the district, especially about 

 Kilkhampton. The white-tailed eagle appears to be an occasional visitor to 

 the cliffs between Hennacliff and Bude, and peregrines still breed sparingly 

 on the coast. The sheldrake nests regularly and in increasing numbers at the 

 mouth of the Camel, its only breeding station in the county. The stock-dove 

 breeds among dead gorse on the cliff face, and on the undercliff at Dizzard 

 Head and elsewhere, while the rock-dove has recently established itself at 

 several centres along the coast. The rock-pipit is locally plentiful. The shag 

 is common, but the cormorant somewhat scarce. The oyster-catcher now 

 breeds as far east as Bude, and the razorbill and guillemot at intervals up to 

 the Gull Rock, near Marsland Mouth. The puffin nests in considerable 

 numbers at Tintagel, and there is a colony every year at Trevalga. The 

 herring-gull is locally common, but the lesser black-backed gull relatively 

 scarce. Two or three pairs of the greater black-backed gull breed every 

 year. The kittiwake is often much in evidence, but does not appear to nest. 

 In spite of the increasing number of jackdaws, bird-life, however, except 

 about Gull rocks and other favoured spots, is not by any means abundant on 

 the coast. 



Of small land birds the most interesting is the lesser white-throat, 

 which occurs as a fairly regular autumn casual between Launceston and Bude, 

 but has not been observed anywhere else in the county, except once 

 at Scilly and once at Bodmin. 



The absence of suitable cover on the long stretches of exposed land 

 naturally results in a scarcity of warblers, wagtails, goldcrests, and many other 

 small birds, and a greatly interrupted distribution of the starling, the jay, the 

 rook, and the hooded-crow. While the dipper, willow-warbler, great, blue 

 and long-tailed tits, wren, grey wagtail, meadow-pipit, chaffinch, greenfinch, 

 linnet, corn and yellow buntings, swallow, martin, magpie, nightjar, green 

 woodpecker, and cuckoo are widely distributed, the whitethroat, blackcap, 

 spotted flycatcher, nuthatch, sand-martin, pied wagtail, gold-crest, coal-tit 

 and marsh-tit, though all breeding in the low-lying portion of the western 

 area, are practically limited in the eastern half to the valley of Bude, where 

 most of them are autumn migrants. There is, however, a large colony of 

 sand-martins at Widemouth every year. The goldfinch is fairly common 

 about Boscastle, and, like the bullfinch, occurs in several of the coombes. The 

 long-eared owl appears to be unknown, except by the Camel to the south of 

 Egloshayle. The white owl still lingers in the St. Minver district and 

 about Poundstock. 



319 



