Cornwall - Sun, sea and sand dunes

This weekend, I was down in Hayle, in Cornwall, for a family birthday. We were staying at the Beachside Holiday Park, just outside Hayle itself. It's right on the beach and, for the money, you can't go wrong.



The first day, Friday, was hot hot hot which made for a great sunset.



As the holiday park was situated at the top of the sand dunes, and the seagulls were flying along the beach below, I saw it as a good opportunity to practice my "birds in flight" photographic skills.

To start, a couple of shots of a Yellow-legged Gull.





And to finish, a shot of a Herring Gull flying off into the distance.



The following day, while everyone else went down to the beach, I decided to have a wander around the sand dunes to see what I could see.

As I reached the top, I spotted a Meadow Pipit which had just caught a grasshopper. I later briefly spotted the juvenile which these grasshoppers were being fed to. Judging by the size of the juvenile, it had been fed a lot, but not too many to stop it flying off before I could get a shot of it.



It was lovely to see so many butterflies flitting around the grasses and wild flowers.

Small Copper.



Brown Argus.



A Brown Argus sharing a Common Bird's-foot Trefoil with a Purple Hairstreak.



Six-spot Burnet.

Small Skipper



As I continued to walk around, it was clear that there were thousands of Grasshoppers for the Meadow Pipit to choose from. They were very active, enjoying the sun and warming themselves on the sand.



I had a wander over to the dunes on the other side of the holiday park which were a lot more over-grown with brambles and bushes. I wasn't disappointed and was able to spot another two bird species to add to my growing list.

A female Whinchat (I think) eyeing either me, or the bee I also managed to capture in the shot.



And a brightly coloured Linnet.