Half a dozen colonies choose to breed on the Cornish Cliffs each year,
returning in February or March,
to build a nest of grass and seaweed,
mixed together with mud and clay, on a ledge or a crevice. A single clutch is laid in late May or early June.
One of the easiest colonies to view is that under the suspension bridge at Lands End.
In the stiff Atlantic breezes the birds almost appear to hover motionless. They have a most beautiful 'child-like' call,
and are most charming to watch.
Above the colony is an RSPB Hide with lots of birding information.
Puffins
Sadly the puffin in Cornwall is in decline. A few pairs breed on Long Island just down from Boscastle and on the Rumps near Padstow ,
but you need binoculars to get a good view , or else have to take a boat trip.
Other Seabirds
The Fulmar has in the last 40 years spread right around the coast of Great Britain.
In season breeding pairs can be seen around the cliffs of Bossiney Cove and Port Isaac, usually nesting a few feet below the cliff top. The young fulmar is a bundle of white fluff and so cute.
If you could get near to the nest you would find yourself on the end of a regurgitated foul smelling oil produced when they feel threatened.
Also choosing to nest on the precipitous cliffs of North Cornwall are Guillemots and Razorbills.
Neither bird builds a nest, but each lay a single egg on to bare rock. Though not breeding in Cornwall Gannets are often seen off the headlands,
particularly Cape Cornwall just up the coast from Lands End
Mention must be made of the herring gull,
which more often than not chooses to nest on the roofs of houses in the seaside towns and villages such as Polperro and Newlyn.
The Estuaries
The Tamar, Looe River, Fal and Hayle Estuaries are internationally important winter feeding grounds for several species of wader, including the Curlew, Redshank and Dunlin.
Birds of the Countryside
The Ancient Oak Woodlands of the Tamar valley are the haunt of the Raven, whose distinctive "croak croak" can be heard over long distances.
If you are very lucky you may see or more likely hear a Peregrine Falcon.
These highly efficient predators are making a recovery after nearly a century of prosecution, and are now breeding again in eyries both inland and along the coast.
Other bids of prey you may see include the Common Buzzard, Kestrel and again if you are very lucky the little Sparrowhawk wheeling and diving through the country lanes after songbirds.
