Cirl buntings have returned to Cornwall, and a summer walk on the Roseland Peninsula offers a rare opportunity to spot these charismatic songbirds, says
Pete Dommett
he cirl bunting was once widespread across the south of England. But by the late 1980s – due to a loss of its favoured, traditionally managed, mixed farm habitat – it was in danger of disappearing as a British breeding bird.
Thankfully, a long-running RSPB project has now boosted the population in its South Devon stronghold by 10-fold. The scheme has also returned the species to neighbouring Cornwall – the first successful reintroduction of a songbird in Europe.
CASTLE ON THE COAST
Tear yourself away from the eye-watering views at St Mawes Castle – built in
1540 by Henry VIII – and head to the end of Castle Drive. Go through a gate into Newton Cliff and follow the footpath through fields thick with bracken and bramble and alive with butterflies (painted ladies were plentiful in 2019). Along the rocky shoreline of Carrick Roads, sandwich terns can be spotted among groups of gulls, identified by their striking yellow-tipped black bills.
EXOTIC MALES
The path ends at Church Town Farm – a prime place to look for cirl buntings. As you join the road and walk uphill from the boatyard, scan the hedge tops and field margins for sparrowsized birds. Females cirls are streaky brown, while males are exotically marked with black throats, matching eye-stripes and bright yellow bellies.
TROPICAL TEA-BREAK
Carry on to the charming church of St Just-in-Roseland. This 13th-century granite chapel sits in lush, semi-tropical gardens on the edge of a tranquil creek, the perfect place for a mid-walk picnic. Cornish cream teas are available from Miss V’s Teashop nearby. After a scone (or two), climb a set of steps (opposite the toilets) that leads on to a green lane and, eventually, out into open farmland. Follow the hedgeline, right, to a gateway and then a track around to the left.
Just before you reach the main road, cross over a stile on your right (signposted to Halwartha) and take the footpath along the top of