After hearing of the Amur Falcon at Polgigga in West Cornwall on the Thursday evening, I made the easy decision to get up early on the Friday morning ( thankfully a day off ) and drive down to hopefully get to see it. This is only the second record for Britain and the first for Cornwall, and obviously a lifer for me. The Amur Falcon breeds in S.E.Siberia and N.China before migrating to winter in S.Africa., so how it found itself in West Cornwall I don't know. On arrival I was relieved to be told the bird was still present in the area , though had flown from its roosting site, I teamed up with a couple of birders I knew from 'up my end of the county' and thankfully the Falcon was relocated hunting around nearby fields and hedgerows, quite distant at first but then giving some very close flybys before at around eleven o'clock gaining height and disappearing into the distance. I took a few distant record shots and a couple as it flew overhead, but at the end of the day was just glad to have seen it as those who arrived any later went home disappointed.
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| Amur Falcon, first distant view through the heat haze. |
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| Amur Falcon |
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| Amur Falcon take off |
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| Overhead |
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| Overhead and away. |
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