Pipit Of The Rocks

We parked the car. We were at Beer Head with some of my parent’s friends for a picnic and if I was lucky, see some new birds. We walked along the top of the headland, rain crashing down on the cliffs. We sheltered in some trees and waited for it all to blow over. When it did, we made our way to quite a treacherous path. It was steep and it took us right down the cliffs, with the ocean blue right below us and no fence. Just then, a distant bird was flying by the cliffs and it looked like a falcon. I looked through the binoculars and there flew a peregrine falcon. An absolutely amazing bird of prey.

The path takes us down to a pebble beach. Just offshore, there was a reef where about 9 or 10 cormorants were diving and swimming, heads just visible in the wavy sea. I climb up onto a rock and scan the landscape with my binoculars.

Just then, a small bird comes into view, hopping up the cliff! I watch it hop about before disappearing. The cliff was very sheer and rocky, with just a few ledges and spots of greenery. The bird was hopping around with ease and giving us lots of good views of it’s markings and characteristics. I thought of a few options of bird this may be, but kept counting them out when I got another glimpse of its beak, wings and legs.

Finally, I look through my field guide again and come across the rock pipit. It looked just like the bird I saw on the cliff. Another lifer. Who would have thought that I would see this normally unobtrusive bird on a public beach very close to a busy town!

We run around the beach before having to head back up the cliff.