Adrian Langdon, fresh home from a photographic tour of Spain gives his take on this weeks photos. As he says at the end…keep them coming… we really enjoy seeing them.

“A slightly quieter week in terms of volume, but certainly not lacking in quality, with several standout images and a good spread of species across the county.

The week began on Monday with some excellent images of Sandwich Terns by Simon Willson, taken at the Hayle Estuary. These elegant coastal birds were captured particularly well, and Simon continued this run into Tuesday with more high-quality shots of the same species. Also on Tuesday, Ian Sowerby, walking from Tresillian to St Clement, produced a nice image of a Common Sandpiper, while Martin Webb added a strong shot of a Little Grebe from Stithians.

Wednesday saw a noticeable arrival of Northern Wheatears across the county, with several members capturing their return. Vic Booth photographed birds at Davidstow, while Rick Napp recorded them at Minions. However, Steve Guscott stood out with a couple of cracking images of a male Wheatear taken up at Bude. The moors and north Cornwall clearly proved attractive to these early migrants. Elsewhere, Paul Davies at Walmsley delivered a superb close-up of a Grey Heron, which deservedly featured as Photo of the Day. The long, narrow composition worked beautifully, highlighting the bill, head and crest in striking detail. He also followed this up with a pleasing image of Gadwall in flight.

By Thursday, attention turned to Swanpool, Falmouth where a drake Pintail had arrived. Rebecca Bowyer and John Irvine both produced really good images of this smart duck, probably my favourite of the British ducks.

Friday brought a nice image of a male Linnet from Caradon Hill by Piri Bullen, while Saturday saw Simon Willson once again returning to form with further images of Sandwich Terns, this time taken at Carnsew Pool at Hayle. Tony Wilson also revisited the long-staying Lesser Yellowlegs on the Truro River, a bird that continues to linger rather than heading north with other waders.

Sunday was quieter, with fewer submissions, but Vic Booth’s image of a Chiffchaff in blackthorn blossom at Chapel Amble stood out as a lovely seasonal scene and a fitting way to round off the week.

To sum up, my favourites of the week were the cracking Drake Pintail from both Rebecca Bowyer and Jon Irvine, the close-up portrait of the Grey Heron from Paul Davies and the 2 shots of a Northern Wheatear by Steve Guscott.

Checking out all of these photos in detail I finally decided on the Wheatears by Steve Guscott….. but which of the two to select as both were super quality. In the end I chose the bird that was in profile with a catchlight in its eye and its bill partially open. The colours were vivid but natural, typical of a bird in breeding plumage, the background was an “easy on the eye” colour, with no distracting hotspots. Congratulations Steve!

Overall, while the number of images was lower than in previous weeks, the standard remained high, with some excellent photography and a clear sense of spring migration getting underway. Thank you to everyone who contributed, and as always, please keep your photographs coming—whether migrants, residents, or moments from your local patch, every image helps build a wonderful weekly record.”

Thanks for a comprehensive summary Adrian, and congratulations Steve, capturing your second POTW this year.