Leaving Shetland yesterday afternoon with news that the Booted Eagle was still in the area, Dan Pointon and I headed south, collecting Owen Parsons from Cheshire en route. We drove through the night and arrived at the site shortly before 08:00, securing a favourable vantage point from which to watch the area should the eagle remain present.
Despite waiting throughout the day, the eagle failed to reappear. Raptor interest was nevertheless steady, with numerous Common Buzzards recorded, along with a Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, and a Merlin. Offshore movement was also productive, with good numbers of large shearwaters passing; both Cory’s and Manx Shearwaters were noted off Pendeen before dusk.
This represented the third Booted Eagle occurrence in Cornwall this year, though none of the birds have lingered for long. The species has a controversial history in Britain and Ireland. A pale-morph immature that ranged widely between 1999 and 2000 is currently placed in Category D, reflecting reasonable doubt over its natural occurrence. This assessment was influenced by factors such as its timing of arrival, prolonged stay, plumage condition, and the long-standing—though largely unsubstantiated—suggestion that Booted Eagles are reluctant to cross large expanses of open water.
With no further sightings reported, we opted to stay overnight in Penzance in case the eagle returned the following day. By lunchtime, however, hopes had faded, and we redirected our efforts to the Lizard Peninsula, where we were rewarded with excellent views of a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling.
Further stops added to the day’s interest. At Helston, two Firecrests were located, while a Mediterranean Gull was present on the boating lake.
With still no news of the eagle, we began the long journey north, pausing at Dawlish Warren. Here we encountered a small group of Cirl Buntings—a male, a female, and two juveniles—feeding confidingly on the golf course, providing outstanding views of a species I had not seen for several years
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