PORTHLEVEN

Porthleven is situated on the South coast of Cornwall between Penzance and the Port of Falmouth, and has long history as a fishing Port which is still very active today. It is also a tourist hot spot during the Summer months where you can wander around the harbour visiting the small shops for all kinds of Nick Knacks,or maybe just enjoy its fine beaches and explore the tidal rock pools. The South coast of Cornwall is the more tranquil side of the County and the climate and Landscape are more temperate and completely different to the harsh Atlantic North Coast  with its high cliffs and pounding seas. Upon saying this it still gets ravaged by Southerly and South Easterly storms when seas can break over the church and waterfront buildings. So I hope you enjoy a brief look at one of our Cornish Gems.

The Church and East side of the Harbour.

Looking from seaward back towards the inner Harbour.

Looking East towards Loe Bar with its small coves and beaches.

Harbour Defences.

Young or Old everyone loves exploring Rock Pools.

Getting ready to set Sail.

And off to the open sea.

MACRO MANIA.

This was originally intended to be the post for Sunday, but a certain Squacco Heron at Par put paid to that idea. With the weather warming up over the last week everything has started to come to life, so time to dust off the Macro lens and start poking around in the undergrowth to look for the little things that reside there.
So this selection of images are from the last week, and hope there will be many more to follow over the coming months.

Finally this lovely shaped little plant (its only 10mm across) has been on my garden wall for years,and I cannot identify it from any books. I think it must be an Alpine variety so maybe someone knows and can solve the mystery.

SQUACCO HERON (A BEAUTIFUL MORNING WITH STUNNING BIRD)

"Oh what a beautiful Day" and it certainly was when a rare visitor from Southern Europe a Squacco Heron turned up at Par just outside St Austell. So left home just after 7am this morning with Paul from "Cornwall Birding website ", and Ashley from "Ashley H Photography Blog site". arriving at Par just before 8am. Taking a short walk to the pool where the Heron was seen we met Mark Whittaker from "Fat Wagtail Blog" and he pointed out the bird partly hidden in trees on the small island in the pond.
At this point it was difficult to get a clear view, and Mark said it had dropped down about 07.30 and took quite a large fish. So it looked like we were in for a long haul, and we were right it stayed in its perch for two hours before deciding to move. I can say that from then on things got a whole lot better as it moved down through the branches to ground level over a period of about 1 1/2 hours and gave plenty of photo opportunities before it went back into the trees.

So this was a Lifer for me and a stunning bird to boot, so I have selected a set of images from the beginning when we arrived up to the time it returned to its perch before we left. This bird has left a great memory imprinted on my brain.

CITY BACKWATER MONOCHROME

Another image from the Black & White  archive, which was taken on a pleasure boat trip from  Falmouth up the River Fal then into the Truro River into the city. Boats can only get this far on the high tide, at other times you have to disembark at Malpas and either walk or take a bus into the city.

THROUGH THE MISTS OF TIME.

Took a couple of walks across Buller Downs on Monday and Tuesday Morning, this is fast becoming a favourite place for me as the photo opportunities are very good. Another factor is that every time I hear and get distant views of a Cuckoo which I would like to Photograph, but these are very flighty birds and are off at the first sign of me. So on Tuesday morning with a lot of Sea Mist coming in from the coast, I could hear it calling further along the lane, so decided to just move quietly along when Whoosh a bird went past me at shoulder height about four feet away. Another Cuckoo heading in the direction of the calling one, and it landed  fifty feet away in the bottom of a gorse bush for about five seconds so did I get it well!!!

Also this week I managed to get the Moth trap out for the first time, but very little to show not surprising really as I have now lost the large Sycamore at the back of the house, The farmer had it cut down as it was becoming a bit of a hazard. So here are a few images from the last couple of days.

HEBREW CHARACTER.

I just had four of these in the Moth Trap with a Garden Carpet which flew away.

CUCKOO.

So here is the best shot I could get of the second Cuckoo when the mist cleared for a while and it was on a post on the far side of a field.

HERRING GULL.

GORILLA  FOX IN THE MIST.

About fifty yards past the Cuckoo the mist closed in again and just caught this Fox as it scurried away and stopped to make sure what I was. He (I'm sure it was a dog Fox) was about 30 feet away and almost hidden by the fog.

WHITETHROAT.

LINNET.

DUNNOCK.

As you can see all the clear images were taken on Monday in much better conditions.

BEETLES, CLOCKS, BIRDS, AND FLYS.

Just a short roundup of the weekends activity, On Saturday morning I went to Marazion,and finally nailed the Marsh Harrier for a few brief moments when it was flushed by Corvids so I did not get any images.
There were still plenty of Sedge and Reed Warblers with the odd Cetti's lurking under cover. Next I drove to Holman Moor and took a walk, just the commoner stuff around with a couple of Buzzards soaring high overhead.
Back home I had a wander around the Garden with the Macro setup and managed a couple of pics.
All in all not a very exciting weekend,as Sunday I stayed at home as our two eldest Grandchildren came over with their parents and spent a pleasant few hours with them.

BLUEBOTTLE.

The flying season is getting underway this Bluebottle was sunning itself on a Planter.

JUVENILE STONECHAT.

STONECHAT.

A small family of this years Stonechats were enjoying the sunshine at Marazion.

DOR BEETLE

This Dor Beetle was taking a stroll through the grass.

DANDELION CLOCK.

This is the seed head of the Dandelion and we call it a clock, as when we were children we used to blow the seeds off and recite a rhyme about time, and for the life of me I cannot remember it. So come on all you intelligent people who can remember it for me?