Read Our Blog

For most of my life birdwatching was largely focused on identification, and (hopefully) seeing new and rare species: it was about list-making – life lists, locality lists, annual lists etc, as I illustrated in my last blog (March 2022). In my teenage years I flirted briefly with bird

The start of a new year. For many birders it is time to start a new list.. Keeping records of sightings is central to my birding. I have been keeping a natural history diary for about 20 years, and this generates my annual list of species. During the pandemic the numbers have diminish

When: Tuesday 21st June, 19:00-20:00 Where: Zoom Lead: Amelia Bridges Join volunteers as we sit down at our monthly meeting finalising upcoming events & ongoing campaigns. All welcome. For any more information please email looemcg.events@gmail.com.   This event is free but we

When: Tuesday 19th July, 19:00-20:00 Where: Zoom Lead: Amelia Bridges Join volunteers as we sit down at our monthly meeting finalising upcoming events & ongoing campaigns. All welcome. For any more information please email looemcg.events@gmail.com. This event is free but we rely o

When: Monday 1st August, 13:30-16:00 Where: Hannafore beach, meet below the coastguard station Lead: Matt Slater (Cornwall Wildlife Trust) Join marine biologists for a supervised snorkel event to reveal the secrets of the sea and come face-to-face with some amazing marine wildlife. It

When: Monday 1st August, 14:00-15:30 Where: Hannafore beach, meet below the coastguard station Lead: Matt Nott (LMCG) Join local marine biologists during National Marine Week to explore the rocky shore! delve into gullies, crevices & rockpools to uncover some of the amazing critte

When: Sunday 14th August, 13:30-15:00 Where: Hannafore beach, meet below the coastguard station Lead: Matthew Nott Come and join local experts as we explore the rocky shore, finding lots of the amazing critters that live on it! Learn about starfish, crabs, fish, anemones and lots more

When: Tuesday 16th August, 19:00-20:00 Where: Zoom Lead: Amelia Bridges Join volunteers as we sit down at our monthly meeting finalising upcoming events & ongoing campaigns. All welcome. For any more information please email looemcg.events@gmail.com.   This event is free but

When: Sat 10th September, 11:00-14:30 Where: Meet at Hannafore fields gate at the end of Marine Drive Lead: John Meakin Join us for this fun and healthy social event. We’ll meet at the Hannafore fields gates at 11am and walk along the coast path to Port Nadler where we will do a beach

When:  Tuesday 20th September, 18:00–20:00 Where: Zoom Lead: Amelia Bridges All are welcome as we begin crafting our events calendar for the coming year. Please sign up via our Eventbrite page: www.looemarineconservation.eventbrite.com, and for more information, contact looemcg.events

When: Tuesday 18th October, 18:00 – 20:00 Where: Millpool Centre, ground floor meeting room Lead: Amelia Bridges In the age of the climate crisis, moving away from the use of finite fossil fuel resources and towards renewable sources of energy is imperative. The area off the coast of

When: Saturday 29th October, 14:30 – 16:00 + Where: Hannafore beach, meet below the coastguard station Lead: Matthew Nott Fancy finding some cool crabs & stunning starfish? Well why not join local experts as we explore the rocky shore! We ask that all attendees come along with sui

When: Tuesday 15th November, 18:00 – 20:00 Where: Millpool Centre, ground floor meeting room Lead: Amelia Bridges Known as ‘The Lone Kayaker’, Rupert Kirkwood has been capturing incredible images of marine wildlife for over fifteen years, clocking up over 27,500 paddled miles in the p

As the year draws to a close, I find myself looking back on some of my birding experiences in 2021. Because of the pandemic, my birdwatching has mainly taken place in south-east Cornwall within a dozen miles of Looe, but there is one major and influential exception. My daughter and fa

The hobby of birding sometimes brings surprises. In migration seasons it is often the arrival of a rare bird – usually a bird that has landed up in the wrong place. In April I was surprised by the Hoopoe which went astray on its spring migration northwards and landed in a garden near

January 28th. Ping! An email message has dropped into my inbox from Claire Lewis, resident warden on Looe Island. She has seen the first Cormorant’s egg of the year! The seabird nesting season has begun! Cormorants are truly early birds and on Looe Island many start nesting in January

As November drifts into December and autumn gives way to winter, the focus of my ornithological attention increasingly moves offshore. I frequently visit the seafronts at East Looe and Hannafore. This is the time to scan the shallow seas for exciting visitors from the north. Divers! G

Autumn for John Keats was the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ but for the birders of Cornwall it is more likely to be cherished as the most exciting time of year for finding unusual birds; each day news comes via the internet of sightings of rare visitors dropping in during

My grandson sometimes asks me what my favourite bird is. He says his is Goldfinch. For the last decade my favourite bird has been Oystercatcher. The old English name for this bird (and one used in Cornwall) is the ‘Sea-pie’ – a reminder of its black and white livery. Perhaps Sea-pie m

In mid-May my daily exercise walk shifted. I forsook the cliff path and the beach: the spring migration was mostly over. I decided it was time to return to the estuary, and follow the fortunes of its resident breeding birds. I had spotted a Shelduck pair on the river in March and I wa