An Alpine Swift was taking in the sights of Newquay this weekend. Found on Friday afternoon, it was still present today (Saturday). I watched it last night trying to roost on the balcony of the Rocklands Hotel late in the evening. Three floors below, it would have noticed a large hen-party from Swansea dressed as Life Guards ;-) on the way to the pub. Early this morning it could not have missed the revellers stumbling home from the clubs. That's Newquay for you.
Anyway, the bird performed well sometimes flying just a few feet above our heads. This species is in fact a new Cornish tick for me, having dipped many before. Alpine Swift is not a rare bird in Cornwall, probably annual in small numbers. They're just difficult to catch up with.
This record is the 30th for mainland Cornwall and only the second for August, the majority occurring in Spring.
