Castlemartin penisula

Whilst surveying vegetation today, noted a grasshopper warbler reeling away in scrubby/rank grassland on the Range. Doubt if it was still breeding, though they do nest in the area.

Swifts still evident feeding along the coast.

Small flocks of goldfinches (up to 20 or so) and linnets (30 or so) feeding; it seems to me that goldfinches have had a brilliant breeding season - juvs have been very numerous on the Castlemartin peninsula since June.

Flock of c. 100 juv starlings on a fence - considerably more than could have been produced from the paltry breeding population on the Range.

At least 4 kestrels feeding along the coast - probably the local pair plus their young though may be the first of the autumn passage migrants through the peninsula.

Small flock of c. 12 turnstone at Pen-y-holt Bay.

Large numbers of oak eggar moths now emerging - in excess of 50 males noted on the wing today, flying typically low and fast through the grassland areas. Great Green Bush Crickets (large, green distinctive locust-size insects) now very numerous across the peninsula - loud stridulations starting up from mid afternoon onwards.

Stack Rocks:
Our odd gull pair reported on the blog a while ago, LBB (male) mated with a presumed LBBxHerring (female) looking remarkably like an adult yellow-legged gull (but I doubt if it was) failed to rear anything at Stack Rocks. They had three chicks in June that disappeared when small; they re-layed but nothing hatched by end of July. The adults are still hanging around though.

The kittiwake colony (what is left of it!) failed to rear anything for the second or third year running. I have watched weekly as the number of chicks (only 18 hatched) gradually dropped to a single 1/2 to 2/3 grown chick (looked promising) but it then also disappeared! The colony is sadly doomed - it has slipped gradually from 550 pairs to about 20 pairs over the last 15 years. I guess they have moved to Caldey/St Margarets; they can be prone to moving like this. So who knows they may start moving back again one day!