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

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