A local ornithologist who wishes to remain anonymous tells us that five Cornish Choughs were spotted on Sunday (August 14) at Prawle Point and three at Berry Head. The birds may have come across from Brittany.

The Chough, a red-legged and red-billed member of the crow family, has been associated with Cornwall for centuries. It appears on the Cornish coat of arms, and legend connects it with the soul of King Arthur. Cornwall was the last stronghold of the chough in southern England (it had been in decline since the 18th century) but they had disappeared altogether by the mid-20th century – the last successful recorded breeding was near Newquay in 1947.

Although trophy hunters were blamed for the loss of the Chough, it was changes in farming practices that really did for it. This bird lives on picking at insects and digging for grubs with its bill, so it needs short-cropped grass - teeming with insects, spiders and other invertebrates - in order to survive. In the old days, clifftops and heathlands were grazed by cattle, sheep and ponies – this kept the scrub and bracken at bay – but when animals were removed to inland fields, the short turf on cliffs became densely overgrown.

Then in 2001 wild choughs were sighted at Lizard Point. They found the short insect-rich grass they needed and so they stayed, and they have been breeding here successfully ever since.

It is apparently the highest number of sitings of the birds in the area since the birds used to breed at Bolt Head in the 1930s.