A look down memory lane

I've been meaning to copy some old slides from my collection.  I managed to find a used Nikon slide copier and link it to my digital SLR.  The slides are from various Cornish photographers including Pete Walsh, Gary Cockill and Brian Mellow.  I used to use these exact slides at evening slide-shows and at the time thought they were stunning quality.  They were the best of the day but how things have moved on with the constant improvements in technology.   All of them are unaltered and appear exactly as the slide appears.  I'm sure the photographers won't mind me reproducing them here again.



Pectoral Sandpiper, Drift, late 1980's by Pete Walsh. Drift is one of the best sites to see this species in the county. A flock of four was seen last year here and Jim Dustow and me found a flock of seven here in the late 70's.



Lesser Yellowlegs, Carminowe Creek, Loe Pool, Gary Cockill.  Lesser Yellowlegs continues to appear regularly in Cornwall with two or three annually.  Spring records have increased as well recently.



Pectoral Sandpiper, Drift, Pete Walsh



Dotterel, Porthgwarra, early 1980's. by Brian Mellow.  In the 70's and 80's the moor at Porthgwarra was a regular staging post for flocks of Dotterel as they make their way towards their wintering grounds in North Africa and Morocco.  Sadly Pg doesn't attract the numbers and just a handful are found throughout the county now.



Curlew Sandpiper, Stithians Res, mid 1990's, Gary Cockill.  Curlew Sandpiper has always been a scarce but regular passage migrant in Cornwall.  Occasionally, numbers can be high depending on the weather but Cornwall is probably too far west of the main migration flyway.



Pectoral Sandpiper, Stithians, late 1980's, Pete Walsh.



Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Chapel Lane, Stithians Res, Pete Walsh.  Buff-breasts have had a resurgence in numbers recently with some decent flock records eg seven together at Stithians (and exceptionally a flock 33 in Ireland last year!).  The species migrates non stop from the tundra breeding grounds to Argentina and flies out over the Atlantic, hence susceptible in Atlantic storms. In America, the species will create serious interest on migration.