HAYLE ESTUARY & GWITHIAN GREEN

ENGLAND

CORNWALL (Redruth), (WSW)

National Grid SY 5489 3619 (Hayle RSPB hide), SW 587 416 00^o00´/00^o00´ N/A ha 1-14m, estuary, dunes and pasture

August (most recently August 2010)

Birding Site Guide

Follow the A30 to Hayle. The Hayle Estuary is one of the best known birding sites in Cornwall and it gets its fair share of rarities. The best point to view from the W end is the pub car park, unfortunately just birding from there is not allowed by the owner now, so make sure you are either staying at the pub or spending money there first! Instead it is possible to view from Lelant railway station platform, just let any staff there know what you are doing, so you don’t need to get a ticket. All along the B3301 going E are possible sites to bird from, Copperhouse Creek can hold different species. To get to the RSPB hide take the B3301 E from the pub and then take the first right down a track and park near the fly-over. Under the fly-over is the hide and views of good marsh habitat can be seen. We saw many species of common waders and gulls, the place being particularly good for Mediterranean Gulls.

After the town of Gwithian, anywhere NE of here can be accessed for birding. The parking spots and dunes will determine which are the easier areas. However be warned that at the best time of year for birding (August on) it can be very busy for tourists. Towan dunes has paths to the beach and there are several pools in the dunes, good for waders and terns, if dogs aren’t swimming in them. We saw Black Tern (photo Justin Carr), waders such as Spotted Redshank and Wheatear.

Author: BSG

www.birdingsiteguide.com