Ring-necked Duck etc

Finally connected with the RND at Marloes Mere, in company with 8 Tufted Ducks and the Scaup, viewable from the car park and the Oriole Hide.  Spent most of its time asleep, hence just one distant picture with it's head up.  Even asleep the domed peak to the crown was obvious.  The Glossy Ibis still there too, at one point had it with the RND and the Scaup in the same 'scope view - nice!

The Dale gull roost was pretty impressive, a minimum of 19 Mediterranean Gulls (18 adults & 1 2ndW) amongst a more sizeable Black-headed Gull roost than yesterday.

Fishguard divers

From Fishguard Fort - 3 Red-throated Divers and an unidentified small, lone, brown duck too far out to get anything on it. Adrian had earlier had 2 Great Northern Divers close in to the inner breakwater.
On the way there, in a huge ploughed field at Llantood, there were over 2,000 Lapwing and Golden Plover - a lovely sight and sound to end the year. A few Skylark with them too.

Brian....

No problem! It was in with the Scaup & Tufted`s.

Dale

Quick run out this afternoon starting at Goultrop with 6 razorbill, c10 RT divers, 1 GN Diver and c50 scoter. Briefest of looks from pull-in at Gann - 5 Brent. Up at the Airfield - managed 7 mediterraneans amongst a flock of BH and Commons before they repositioned themselves. 100+ Chaffinch in the ploughed field by first gate. What looked like a small huddle of max 50 lapwings was flushed to reveal c250. The marauding male sparrowhawk responsible also putting up large flock of small birds (inc 100s of skylark, chaffinch, linnet and goldfinch) from the dense kale(?) field by the next gate way. Worked my way through the 25 pipits on the flooded runway, all Meadows. There was a larger quieter one which was keeping a little separate from the others but fairly sure it was a meadow as well. 6 ravens displaying. Made a brief stop at Marloes in the vague hope of dropping straight on the Ring-necked duck, just the tufties and scaup, with a distant silhouetted diving duck/grebe in the middle of the north pond - Derek apologies if that was you I spoke to in car park I had to rush to meet my daughter and I was already late!.

Diver flock!

Having just had a pleasant hour watching porpoises off the Fishguard Harbour outer breakwater yesterday lunchtime, we were driving back along the breakwater when a flock of eight divers flew over the breakwater wall from the harbour and out to sea towards Pen Anglas. By the time I stopped the car and got out with my bins they were too far away to identify as other than Diver SP. Presumably they were in the harbour and spooked by something! Given the prevailing conditions there may well be more sheltering in the harbour today.

Marloes Mere, Ring Neck Duck

Managed to nail it this afternoon, after a couple of days of running round in circles & lots of emails & phone calls to Dave. While I was satisfied with what I was looking at, I need to see it in better lighting conditions for my own peace of mind. So, thanks to the anonymous observer who found it - & commiserations to Dave, who missed it by the thinnest of juncus!

Marloes & Dale

Early afternoon at the Mere and the Tufted Duck count was up to 8 (5 drakes), the Scaup was still present (as Sash reports) and also the Pochard.  I too had the 4 Pinkfeet, and flight views of the Glossy Ibis.  I could not find or even sniff the Ring-necked Duck, yet late afternoon it appears (from a very distant photo) that Derek G did see it, as viewed from the car park.  It's elusive!

On to the Gann where 47 Teal was a good count on the lagoon and 4 Mediterranean Gulls graced the shoreline (3 ads & a 1stW), one of the adults sporting a nice green ring which I could not read.  On to the roost at Dale where 7 adults presumably included the 3 above, Common Gulls were in excess of 80 birds.

Martin's Haven and Marloes

A windy walk up and around the Mere this afternoon.
The Glossy was showing very well, flying around frequently. The Mere appeared devoid of dabbling ducks until something put them up: perhaps 100-plus Teal, and many tens of Mallard, Shoveller, Gadwall and Wigeon.
The Tufted Duck were in a small gaggle in the North irrigation pond, just viewable from the NT car park. The Scaup was viewable, but I could not find the "other" duck; one for tomorrow.
Lots of Snipe on the Trehill fields on the way back, with one Jack Snipe. 200-plus Lapwing and the 4 Pink Feet amongst perhaps 50 Canadas.

Newgale Marsh - Hen Harrier

The Marsh has drained a little from yesterday but is still well-flooded. On arriving at around 1300 hrs, all that could be seen were c30 mallard and several gulls. But then the mallard and a flock of 100+ teal lifted off in obvious panic, followed by flocks of snipe, totalling at least 300. The cause was a male hen harrier quartering the reed beds, with a distant sparrow hawk closing in from the rear of the Marsh. The harrier was frustrated in his attempts to snatch a snipe as they were too agile. The sparrow hawk disappeared into the trees on north side of the Marsh, making no attempt to hunt.

Marloes Mere

The Scaup Dave found yesterday, still on the North irrigation pond with 5 male Tufted. There is also another what appears to be, an aythya duck, which was frustratingly showing itself from "around the corner" as it were & then diving. Could this be the Ring Neck that was noted in the hide logbook & on birdguides? I dunno, windy conditions buffeting me & my scope didn`t help. Also 1 male Pochard. No sign of the Glossy for a couple of days, I suspect it`s keeping out of the wind.

Newgale Marsh - Merlin

The water level in the Marsh was high late this afternoon, but there were few birds to be seen apart from c20 curlew, small flocks of starling and the occasional snipe. Three shooters who tried to get into the Marsh from the south were prevented by the flood. Their dogs put up 3 teal which flew out of range; as they did a merlin flew low over the guns and the Marsh disappearing into the scrub on the northern side.

Marloes Mere

1st W male Scaup at Marloes Mere with 5 Tufties on N irrigation pond viewable from car park. Also drake Pochard and 4 Pink-footed Geese (latter to W of Mere in field with Canada Geese).

Ring-necked Duck - Marloes Mere

A first-winter drake Ring-necked Duck at Marloes Mere today, along with the Glossy Ibis (per Birdguides).

Dale

Gann: 27 Brent (26 on foreshore with single bird on pools), c20 wigeon, 11 Little Grebe, female merganser originally in bay but flew onto pools. 2 Little egret, 7 Goldeneye (4male) - 2 female on pools the other 5 out in bay. Up at a very blustery Kete: A couple of large mixed flocks of gulls (both c 1,000 birds) mostly BH and Herring. Managed to pick out 3 Mediterraneans and 4 Commons also a summer plumage BH with full brown hood. Coast path - 1 stonechat, pied wag and a couple of pipits.

Waxwings in Narberth

At least 2 Waxwings today in trees at Allensbank, Narberth (Ed Hunter).

Marloes Mere at dusk

Glossy Ibis, 6 Tufted, 1 pochard were the unusual. Somebody shooting over Trehill put everything to flight, 250-300 ducks mostly Teal & Wigeon, didn`t realise there was so much hiding in the reeds.

Tawny Owl at Newgale Marsh

Twenty-two curlew flew in at about 1620 hrs and a couple of snipe got up and flew around before settling again; there was no sign of the large numbers of late. Circa 25 starling dropped into the reeds as the light went, possibly to roost. A tawny owl flew across the Marsh from right to left calling.

Rosebush

Pantmaenog: Nice morning up in the hills with a few birds about. Seemed to be more goldcrests than usual, party of 10 Long-tailed tit, 2 stonechats, small flock of redwings and 2 snipe put up separately from beside the path. Ty Rhyg: Just a couple of Bullfinch and a Great-spotted woodpecker. Rosebush Res. 10 Fieldfare, 11 Tufted duck, the male Pochard, 8 Goldeneye, 4 Little Grebe and a couple of teal. This evening whilst nipping over to Pembroke Dock called in at Cosheston Pill (by Watersports Centre) the 2 Great Northerns were giving excellent views just mid-channel (100m out) picking up crabs every dive it seemed, 50-60 curlew up towards the recycling depot.

Landshipping general area - waders and waterfowl

Couldn't help being impressed by David's observation yesterday of 300+ snipe at Newgale area. Today (around lunch-time) at Landshipping, where we walked a circuit with family, we noted a flock of snipe roosting on the seaweed covered-shore and on adjacent turf totalling at least 100 birds. We cannot recall seeing anywhere this number of snipe roosting together in such numbers in this area before. We wonder if flooding experienced in certain parts of Britain has forced snipe to move away from wetlands that are just too flooded at present? Perhaps even the local marshes are just to wet at present?

Equally impressive were flocks of 2,000+ golden plover and 1,200 to 1,500+ lapwing in the air between Landshipping Quay and Sprinkle Pill (flushed and panicked for several minutes by a hunting peregrine). Teal numbers were also impressive, with at least 1,000-1,500 birds estimated to be feeding/resting along the shore between Landshipping Quay and Rigan Pill. In the distance we could see about 100 shelduck feeding on the Sprinkle Pill shore and about 3-400 dunlin were flying about in the general area. 

Waxwings

Have just returned from Rudbaxton where 3 Waxwings were feeding on Ash keys behind the Church tower. They were being blown about a bit by the strong wind and soon flew off. They flew past Great Rudbaxton Farm towards Bowlings Farm and Poyston. I could not relocate them from the road by the former and suspect they went on towards the latter.

Lots of Ash trees in Pembs, at least for the time being, perhaps we should be looking at them closely with Waxwings in mind.   

St Bride's Bay

Newgale to Goultrop yesterday revealed less than a hundred Scoter...and no sign of Surf nor Velvet (or any Scoter in fact) at Broad Haven.  However, 300+ Snipe circling a flooded Newgale Marsh in big flocks was quite a spectacle.

Today another 'run-of-the-bay', although not quite as thorough, revealed just a single drake Common Scoter (at Haroldston), but redemption at Goultrop Roads with no fewer than 15 Mediterranean Gulls amongst a sizeable roost of Black-headed, Lesser Black-backed & Common Gulls (10 adults, 3 2nd-winters, 2 1st-winters).

Merry Christmas All / Nadolig Llawen I Pawb.

Around and about Martletwy

While out walking a regular road circuit in the Martletwy area (working up an appetite for our Christmas meal) we weren't seeing or hearing too many birds, mostly just the familiar thrushes and corvids etc. However you never quite know what might be around the next corner!

On Burnett's Hill we were delighted to find a flock of at least 9 yellowhammers but even more surprised to see at least 2 tree sparrows with them - all perched for a moment on electricity wires before going to the ground to feed in a small weedy stubble field. There were a few skylarks and meadow pipits with them. We have walked this route regularly for at least 13 years and this is our first sighting in this area of tree sparrow. Being closer to home we hoped for a photo but although only returning 10 mins. later with a camera etc, there was no sign of them at all - they seemed to have moved on.

Our only other recent sightings of note have been two Gt Northern Divers off Cosheston Point on 23rd December (presumably birds that have been reported elsewhere in the Haven and other nearby embayments recently). There were also a few greenshanks in the general area.

If anyone would like to take part in the BTO Winter Thrushes survey, it's still not too late. For example there are still some random core squares we'd like to encourage folk to look at between 27th December and 10th January - for more information here is the link http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/winter-thrushes/survey-methods

My Birdtable

2 pretty visitors this morning, as well as good numbers of Blue & Great Tits,  Chaffinches and the odd Greenfinch, this Coal tit & a male Blackcap. The Blackcap pic was taken through glass. A female was also here a few days ago. 
Glossy Ibis at Marloes this morning.

Marloes Mere

Glossy Ibis still here (there)

Waxwing - Spittal

Hi all, seasons felicitations, out of the kitchen window this morning, with the usual gardeners - chaff, bull, green, goldfinch, siskin (incl 2 stunning males), redpoll and a waxwing (flew towards Hwest!!)

(Trevor Theobald)

Late fledging Blackbirds

As a regular reader of the blog I noted the other day a comment about a late fledged Blackbird being seen.
I have had one myself in the garden a few days ago, although I haven't seen it the last couple of days. Hope its ok. I have never noticed such a late fledged Blackbird before. Are these sightings unusual ?
(Philip Walker - Rosemarket)

Fancy some walking in January?

How about this for a challenge?

http://birdingbyfoot.blogspot.co.uk/?m=0

You might find something you didn't expect within walking distance from your house....and burn a few extra calories, save some money on fuel....

Dale

Pickleridge Pools: 10-12 Little Grebe, 7 Goldeneye, few wigeon and teal, Little egret, female Merganser and a greenshank. Airfield: Flock of 30 linnet by the sheep feeding area, dozen or more pipits and a few pied wagtails on the flooded runways. 2 pairs of ravens displaying. Female kestrel hunting merlin-style down the valley at West Dale. Goultrop: 20 Scoter close in.

Surf Scoter

Surf Scoter still present this afternoon at Broad Haven (Mervyn Jones).

Surf Scoter - Broad Haven

Having had my plans to check the western part of Carmarthen Bay for seaducks scuppered due to the grim weather, after some housework, Christmas shopping and lunch, I decided I had to get some fresh air this afternoon.  I decided to head west from Haverfordwest to Hasguard, checking wet fields for gulls etc, and then head north along St. Bride's Bay to Newgale.

Lots of gulls on Haverfordwest Racecourse, but couldn't find a Med Gull amongst them.  At Goultrop Roads a Great Northern Diver, 14 Red-throated Divers, 2 Razorbill and 7 Common Scoter.

On to Broad Haven where the sea was rough and the wind and rain lively.  Pulled the car up just beyond the Ocean Cafe Bar, and scanned the sea from the car with the 'bins - almost immediately picked up a duck quite close in, just beyond the surf, alone and giving a good impression of a female/immature Eider.  Got out of the car and set the scope up in the most sheltered spot I could find (in the lee of the Christmas Tree!) and was slightly puzzled when a brief view of the bird cresting a wave showed a pale face patch - female Common Scoter?  Then a slightly better view when the double face patch and Eider like profile came together - a female/immature Surf Scoter!  Got a few more good scope views to be 100% sure, and then phoned village resident Stuart Devonald who was quickly on the scene, and text out a larger group of local birders.

Following a chat with Derek G, it seems very likely that this is the 'Velvet Scoter' that he saw close inshore yesterday.  Hopefully the wind will calm down and better views will be had - given that it seems keen to ride the waves, a high tide should provide the best views.  I would guess that it is a first-winter female based on today's views, though I would like better views to be sure.

ps - late yesterday afternoon had 6 Med Gulls on Dale Airfield - 5 adults (1 with white ring) and a 2nd winter (green ring), and another 7 adults in the roost in Dale Roads.

Firecrests

2 stunning Firecrests in St Davids this afternoon on the road that runs behind the cathedral.At Newgale Marsh 2 adult Med Gulls,good numbers of Teal and Snipe.The Dowrog Common towards dusk 1 male Hen Harrier,1 Merlin,2 Kestrels,1 Sparrowhawk and a Little Egret flew over heading in the direction of St Davids Airfield.

Med Gulls

9, on Milford RFC pitch, with a few Black Headed Gulls. 8 were adults, 3 of which were sporting White darvic jewellery, the other 1 was a first winter with a slightly more up-market alloy ring. All were tolerant of me being quite close as I tried to read the codes, however a passing Sparrowhawk freaked them & they winged it off towards Gelliswick, from where I`d just come from. It was about 4:15 pm, I didn`t bother going after them - they probably settled on the sea anyway.

Newport Fri am

c100 Wigeon in 2 flocks - at the bridge & on the Parrog rocks. A flock of c20 Snipe on a shingle bar upstream. A colour ringed Common Gull( or European Mew as I found out I had to call it on the Net) that seems to be from a Norwegian scheme.

Broad Haven

1 Velvet Scoter (f) close inshore, c130 Common Scoter, 6 Red Throated Divers.

Marloes Mere

Glossy Ibis still present, c300 Lapwings in the fields at Trehill.

Fine sunny day on Brownslade and Linney Burrows

Yesterday (18th Dec) managed a day on the Range helping with a general biological survey of the dune area. It was a fairly quiet day for birds but noteworthy species included c. 1000+ golden plover noted frequently in the air over Freshwater West area. Two days earlier, Annie and had I noted a similar-sized (but almost certainly different) flock flying over fields near Martletwy where we often see them in winter.

Yesterday, flocks of lapwing were quite widespread over the dune grassland - probably in excess of 500. Numbers of waders on the beach at Frainslake were modest but included c. 70 oystercatchers, c. 50 curlew and a few ringed plovers. Offshore there were 2 red-throated divers.

In Frainslake Valley a single tufted duck was present on the millpond and there were several little grebes there, including trilling males plus not less than 7 water rails in the nearby swamp. Towards dusk raven numbers were building up at a scrub roost-site; in excess of 50 had been noted before we had to leave the Range. Very few winter thrushes were recorded and surprisingly only a couple of choughs seen all day - they're probably somewhere on the Angle peninsula.

Great Northern Diver

This Great Northern was on Pembroke Mill Pond this morning, seen and photographed by Maureen Klimaszewski. Perhaps the same bird Paul G saw at Pennar recently.

Regarding Black Redstarts at St Davids Hd, there had been 10 different birds this year (lots more sightings) but 11 now with Byron's today.

St.Davids Hd.

This Black Redstart showed briefly on the Head this morning.  Mike has had no fewer than ten sightings here this year -  Just wondering how many individual birds might be involved ?.

 The Head today had  a distinctly atmospheric and peaceful feel about it, and the tranquility was only broken when  the resident Raven decided to have a good old 'honk'.

Plumstone Mountain

3 Hen Harriers(1 male),1 Merlin,1 Buzzard and c.50,000 Starlings roosted at dusk.Earlier in the day the female Long-tailed Duck and 1 Scaup were still off Wiseman's Bridge,along with 40 Red-throated Divers,500 Scoter and 20 Red-breasted Mergansers off Amroth.A quick stop at Landshipping for lunch produced 5 Pintail,30 Greylags,6 Black-tailed Godwits and 1 Greenshank.

Late fledging Blackbirds

Within the last week or so Ian Campbell reports a recently fledged Blackbird in his garden, which had been preceeded by one around 3 weeks prior.

Low-flying Crows

I've been walking the dog in the evenings down in the Cwm-yr-Eglwys / Pwllgwaelod, specifically to see the starling-like displays of jackdaws and rooks coming in to roost. This evening was the best show yet - really quite something. The crows were split into 3-4 wheeling flocks when I arrived around 4:30 pm, twisting and turning like shoals of sardines in the sea. They usually end up in the tall trees on the south side of the valley after some noisy formation flying, but today they came very fast and low into the top of the willow scrub right opposite me. Some birds were flying through gaps in the gorse on the hillside they were that low. Quite large groups of birds passed me at head height and the combined force of all that feather power sounded, or felt, incredible. They continued chattering away as they settled, and once in a while a noise like wind tearing at a wet sail rippled through them. I was wondering why they were acting like this - wind direction, a disturbance at their usual roost perhaps, when the silhouette of a large peregrine (I think) came floating along over our heads.


Another interesting silhouette flew by in the gloom - I think it was a water rail, which I've seen on a previous occasion coming into the 'swamp', in the twilight, from the direction of Dinas Head. It was so dark by this stage though, that I could hardly see the robin hopping along the path in front of me, or the dog for that matter.

Heathfield and Penberi

Amongst several hundred Black-headed Gulls this morning, 3 adult Med Gulls and a leucistic Herring Gull. At Penberi, the female Scaup showing unusually well; the plumage now developed to textbook appearance.

The Corse - Castlemartin

During todays WEBS count carried out between the top of Castlemartin Corse and Freshwater West we recorded 47 spieces.  Great views of a quartering adult Male Hen Harrier, but the most spectacular sighting was the mixed flocks feeding in the stubble fields around the Gupton Farm.  As is always the case with extremely large flocks,  estimates of numbers are no more or less than guesstimates.  Huge flocks of Linnets outnumbering Chaffinches with many other speices mixed together - i.e. Goldfinch and Greenfinch.
8 Greylag Goose, 60+ Widgeon, 120+ Teal, 13+ Mallard, 42+ Shoveler, 2 Heron, 1 Male Harrier, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 3+Moorhen, 2 Coot, 6 Oystercatcher, 280+ Golden Plover, 29 Grey Plover, 1000+ Lapwing (maybe 1500 when all seen in the air together), 30+ Snipe, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 65+ Curlew, 106+ Wood Pigeon, 5 Meadow Pipit, 1 Stonechat, 9 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Chough, 400+ Starling, 5 Reed Bunting, 800+ Chaffinch, 1200+ Linnet (could even be 1500 in hugh flocks) and the odd Brambling with the Chaffinch.   As you can see haven't listed the more common garden Birds and Gulls.

Many thanks to John Best who like me has never seen such large flocks of Linnets and Chaffinches together.
Altogether a great days birding.

Woodcocks

Chris Pierpoint`s comments have jogged my memory - 3 Woodcocks this week on my commute to work & back, 2 at Rickeston yesterday evening & 1 flying over the road at the first Cleddau bridge Wednesday evening.

Gann

Late afternoon at the Gann, 31 Brent Geese (all pale bellied), 30 Wigeon (a good count here), 16 Goldeneye (6 drakes), 1 Great-crested Grebe, 1 Little Egret, 1 Dunlin, 6 Redshank, & 4 adult Mediterranean Gulls in the roost which was around at Dale, viewable distantly from the Gann.

Dinas

Found a woodcock skulking at the side of the road down to Cwm-Yr-Eglwys last night.  Also 12 fieldfares flying in over the coast path and golf course at Newport.

Glossy

Still at the Mere, first light this morning.

Glossy Ibis

Still at Marloes Mere.

Christmas Meeting

Christmas Party Meeting of the mid Pembs at Furzy Park on Monday 17th December
We hope you will come along and make the meeting more enjoyable. The party is free, but please bring a small plate of festive food and if possible a raffle prize. There will be a quiz kindly arranged by Stuart. Hope to see you!

Black-tailed Godwits at Pembroke Dock

At lunchtime today there were 50 black-tailed godwits in front of the Fort Road Martello Tower, with a single shellduck, 8 redshank and over 100 dunlin.

Wiseman's Bridge

Still 1 Long-tailed Duck,1 Velvet Scoter and 5 Scaup(Ed Hunter).No sign of the Waxwing in Goodwick this afternoon.

Greylags

24 Greylags flew upstream past Picton Point calling loudly in that distinctive farmyard goose manner. Also present a Little Egret and a Greenshank.

Rosebush and Cleddau

Pantmaenog - very quiet but more than compensated with sighting of a young goshawk. Rosebush Res: 14 or 15 Tufted, 4 Goldeneye, 3 Little Grebe and a snipe. 4 swans were visible from up at Pantmaenog but no sign when I got down there. Picton Point: Teal in 100s, 11 shelduck, 4 Little Grebe, 25 redshank, and big flock of dunlin, estimate 500+, wheeling around.

Odds and Ends

The female Merganser still at a cold and windy Dale this morning and a single Chiffchaff at Monk Haven. Yesterday, the female Scaup still at Penberi with Woodcock nearby and a ringtail Hen Harrier out at St Davids Hd, probably the one seen earlier by John and Marion down the coast.

Waxwing

News from Peter Howe, that he has heard of a Waxwing associating with Starlings in a Goodwick garden over the weekend.

Pennar

Highlights late afternoon-1 Great Northern Diver,3 Great Crested Grebes,4 Knot,4 Blackwit,1 Greenshank,9 Grey Plover,3 Shoveler and c.500 Wigeon.

Year's End at Pencarnan

On our final day, this year here at Pencarnan, we were pleased to add three species to our annual lists. A Ringtail Hen Harrier flew past the caravan window during the "breakfast" watch. Midday, a Redhead Merganser overflew the campsite, and as dusk fell we scoped a Great Northern Diver in Whitesands Bay.

During our eighth year here at Pencarnan Caravan Site, we added  six species to the "window list".....Grey Wagtail, Sabine's Gull, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit and Ortolan Bunting.

And to the Bush list? Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Cuckoo, Ortolan Bunting, Buzzard, and during an October downpour - 3 Swallows. All in all, a good year's birding. You better believe it! If not, your your in the wrong place! Merry Christmas to all and hopefully we'll bump into you next year. Cheers JB and M

Goodwick Rugby

Winter thrushes on the rugby field this morning - 10 redwings and 2 mistle thrushes amongst song thrushes, blackbirds, and starlings.

Swallow

A note from Paul Davies to say that his wife saw a Swallow at the entrance of Newton Hall, just north of Crundale today.

Broad Haven

A midday visit produced 15 Red-throated Divers and at least 150 Scoter in seperate flocks,no sign of the female Velvet Scoter though.

Dale

Gann: Pickleridge Pools - 16 Goldeneye (7m9f), 6 Little Grebe, 3 Little Egret, Heron, 20ish Teal, 11 Cormorant, female merganser, sparrowhawk spooking flock of pipits. 28 Brent and c50 wigeon on foreshore. Airfield: Flock of 20 fieldfare. (lots of Song Thrush scattered across airfield and coast path). 84 snipe (the walk across between runways via pond threw-up 74 birds, no doubt plenty more sitting tight).

Ty Rhyg

A walk in the sunshine turned up one each of Willow Tit, Woodcock, Redpoll and Crossbill.

Black Redstart near Angle

A walk along the coast path from Freshwater West to Angle - currently receiving a haircut from some beef cattle and sheep so heavy going in places! Highlight a black redstart flitting about the coastal slope 3/4 of the way to Sheep Island. Otherwise the usual birds - skylarks, rock and meadow pipits, stonechats, dunnocks, but no linnets. A scattering of song thrushes along the coast path. One snipe near East Blockhouse, flock of lapwing (>100) in coastal field on South Studdock. One kestrel, a couple of buzzards, 2 ravens, no peregrine. Chough (guess 2) heard but not seen near Sheep Island.

Long-tailed Duck

The Long-tailed Duck was still off Wiseman's Bridge along with 7 Scaup this afternoon(Ed Hunter).

Swallows

Still two Swallows feeding around St David's church in Hundleton this morning.

Med Gull

The very efficient Med Gull ringers were able to translate my misread on Sat to an actual bird.
Green AATL had been ringed as a pullus near Hamburg in July 06.In Feb 07 it was at the Axe Est in Devon. In Summer 09 it bred at its birth place & in Oct 09 I saw it at Newport. In Dec 11 Annie photoed it flying over Ramsey Sound. This summer it was back near Hamburg & then to Newport on Sat.

Goldies

For several days a flock of  around 300  Golden Plover and at least 100 Lapwing have been feeding in a stubble field at Croeswdig farm near St Davids. In an adjacent field today, well inland from their normal haunts were 4 noisy Choughs.

Marloes Mere Sat/Sun

Glossy Ibis present all W/E. c150 Lapwing, besides the usual ducks, pair of Gadwall, pair of Tufted. male Kestrel, 5 Fieldfares, Jackdaws seem to like the area - several hundred coming & going, Starling numbers appear to be dropping, from thousand`s to just a few hundred.

Llys y Fran

Red kite, 4 Great Crested grebe, 1 Little grebe, a few redwings, 3 goosanders (2m1f), 3 Goldeneye, 20 mallard, 15 teal and kingfisher. 2000ish gulls mostly LBB and BH.

Strumble and Fishguard

Between 09:00 - 10:00 this morning: one Black-throated Diver, one Red-throated Diver, 12 Common Scoters, and small numbers of Gannets, Fulmars, Kittiwakes and auks.  Also, two Great Northern Divers in Fishguard Harbour.  

Newport Sat am

Highlights were 2 M Goosanders quite close upstream, 3 ad Med Gulls including 1 with a green ring which I think I've misread, c50 Curlews on the mud & a serendipitous Kingfisher in a casual scope on the Parrog rocks.

Firecrest in Dale

A Chiffchaff and a Firecrest feeding on the warm, sunnny ivy covered wall in the Dale Community Garden  next to the church. I saw them twice about 2 hours apart so I assume they are making Dale home at present. Also a GSW drumming across the valley and the most deafening din from the rookery.
Rosemary

Pantmaenog

A beautiful morning on the Preselis today.  Had a walk around Pantmaenog in the hope of seeing the "strikingly white" Redpoll seen by Brian last week, no joy but did see 4 Redpolls in flight only.  Also there 2 Red Kites, a Jay, 6 Reed Buntings, 7 Meadow Pipits and a few Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits.

Across the road at Rosebush Reservoir a single drake Pochard, along with 5 Goldeneye, 14 Tufted Duck and a handful of Teal and Mallard.

Finally a good gathering of gulls at Withybush Airfield on the way home, but nothing unusual amongst them (mostly 1stW Herring Gulls).

Long-tailed Duck and Scaup

Ed Hunter has seen the Long-tailed Duck and the 4 Scaup this morning off Wiseman's Bridge.

Velvet Scoter and Scaup

Clive Jones had the Velvet Scoters and the Scaup yesterday at Wiseman's Bridge.

Swallow

Late news from yesterday, at least one Swallow still feeding in the fields near St David's church in Hundleton.

Gann

A cold and blustery Gann late afternoon, highlights included 14 Goldeneye on the lagoon (4 adult drakes), 4 Mediterranean Gulls (all adults), 3 Grey Plover, 12 Turnstone, 6 Redshank, 2 Ringed Plover and a Little Egret.

Glossy Ibis

Still at Marloes Mere.

Purple Sandpiper,Long-tailed Duck and more Velvet Scoters

A lone Purple Sandpiper picked its way over wrack covered rocks on St Margaret's Island Tenby at high tide.At Amroth c.40 Red-throated Divers,20 Great Crested Grebes,a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and at least 500 Scoter were offshore.Finally Wiseman's Bridge which proved to be the best site of the day with a cracking female Long-tailed Duck,4 Scaup,3 female Velvet Scoters associating with a flock of 25 Scoter,5 Mediterranean Gulls(4 adults and a 2nd w)and 5 adult Kittiwakes were part of a large gull roost at dusk.

Black Redstart

There was a Black Redstart at St Davids Hd (the 10th of the year) and the female Scaup still at Penberi. At Heathfield GP 5 Pochard seemed quite good for anywhere in Pembs this year.

Swallows in Hundleton

There were two Swallows feeding in the fields opposite, and next to, the church in Hundleton this morning, presumably these are the same two birds that have been seen around Pembroke Castle recently.  The birds were taking the opportunity to get some feeding done in the late autumn sunshine and seemed to be finding a decent supply of insects.

Cosheston Pill - Watersport Centre

Lunchtime today - 18 shelduck, c12 Black-tailed godwit, Little egret, 3 Greenshank, 50+ Teal, 20+ Mallard and a few wigeon. Highlights: A kingfisher perched on bank of a steep muddy channel and a Great Northern diver in the mouth of the Pill. Kestrel sat on top of street lamp by Techno Centre (regularly seen here).

Leucistic Blackbirds

We saw these two Leucistic Blackbirds within ten minutes and 1/2 mile of each other - the first at Morrisons at about 2pm, the second at Crundale.

Black Redstart

Feeding on the piles of dead leaves brought up by the tide at Aberforest this morning were 2 Rock Pipits, a Pied Wagtail, a Robin &.......a Black Redstart.

Waxwings

7 Waxwings were behind Argo B&B in St Dogmaels briefly this morning before flying up river, also Dipper there (H O'Sullivan).

Gupton Farm - Farmland bird survey

 

A farmland bird survey at Gupton Farm on Friday found more than 5700 birds using the fields, with 38 species recorded and notable counts of 43 Blackbird, 1006 Chaffinch, 72 Greenfinch, 456 Golden Plover, 1003 Lapwing, 557 Linnet, 101 Meadow Pipit, 375 Skylarks and 42 Song Thrush.  Cetti's Warbler and Chough were among the less common species recorded.   Thanks to Richard Ellis, Annie and Bob Haycock for their help carrying out the survey.

 

Elsewhere, good numbers of Guillemots were still on the main stack at Stack Rocks today, with many more auks sat on the sea.  Also, good to see several pairs of Raven displaying along the coast.

 

 

Marloes Mere this morning

Glossy Ibis, in the field with the cattle, flew onto the Mere, a nice male Kesrel at the YHA. Big (ish) Jackdaw flock, Starlings, usual ducks. Not a breath of wind, which is unusual here - or in Pembs for that matter!

Swallows and Kites

The 2 Swallows were still present yesterday afternoon at Pembroke Castle Xmas Fair (Mark and Wanda Woodward).
There were Red Kites at The Old Mill Grounds, Haverfordwest today (Peter Howe), Treffgarne Quarry and Rosebush. At Pantmaenog there were 2 Willow Tits and a brief glimpse of the Great Grey Shrike (Kathy Y-P).

Stack Rocks

A full complement of Guillemots was back at Stack Rocks today, c.98% in summer plumage.  Also, Choughs and Ravens in the area.  Still plenty of haws near the Stack Rocks turn off, but just a single Fieldfare and some Blackbirds feasting on them. 

Greylags

16  Greylags flew upstream past Picton Ferry at noon. Two Jays were busy ashore collecting acorns. In this a year of a poor acorn crop they are probably hard pressed to find enough to bury and they are usually done by this time locally in a year of better yield.

Rosebush area

Pantmaenog - GGS still awol. 2 red kites and 5 ravens. Small flock of redpoll with a strikingly whiter bird amongst them. (Red Kite with wing tags near Scolton on way but couldn't stop - possibly white with blue or green number 3 or 5 but only briefest view). Ty Rhyg - again no sign of GGS, lots of fieldfare. Rosebush res - c25 Mallard, c20 Teal, 5 Little grebe, 11 Tufted, 3 Goldeneye, red-headed goosander and a Pochard (male).

Glossy Ibis

At Marloes Mere, 12 months now. Couldn`t find any unusual Ducks, most of them sheltering out of the stiff North breeze.

Spotted Redshank

This email received yesterday:

At W.Williamston today,a Spotted Redshank flew in and preened for a few minutes on the SW side of the river Carew.Unfortunately a couple of gunshots put everything up and I lost sight of it.A Greenshank was feeding further along the river towards Lawrenny,but the hundreds of Fieldfares which had been around recently seem to have moved on.

Regards,Alan Collens.

Velvet Scoter

The female Velvet Scoter was still off Broad Haven this morning with c200 Scoter and 4 Red-throated Diver.A search of Fishguard for Waxwings proved unproductive(Plenty now in Wales and as close as Llanelli) but a Great Northern Diver and 7 Red-throated Diver in the harbour were nice.Late afternoon saw me at the Dowrog Common and again a Short-eared Owl was showing wonderfully in good light,3 Hen Harriers(2 male) and a Merlin put on a fantastic show at dusk.

Marloes Mere

Too late, too dark this evening for anythng, however, yesterday`s entry in the hide notebook read "Glossy Ibis, Ringtail Harrier & interesting duck" (!)

Sandy Haven and Monk Haven

2 Jack Snipe and 4 Greenshank with the usual suspects at Sandy Haven and a Firecrest in the churchyard at Monk Haven today.

Newgale Marsh Snipe and Solva Harbour

I was at the Marsh at around 1240hrs today and there were very few snipe evident; however a large Kuhne und Nagel truck, which was parked behind the pub, reversed towards the Marsh with its reversing bleep sounding - that put up snipe by the dozen! No snipe at Solva Harbour, but there were three oystercatchers, a redshank and the regular wintering little egret.

Newport Thurs pm

A lovely afternoon.
At the bridge a M Goldeneye, a Kingfisher, 67 Mallards, 12 Teal, 8 Little Grebes & 2 Herons.
On the mud c10+ Redshanks & Oystercatchers, 77 Curlews, 15 Ringed Plovers & a Dunlin.
Around & about a Little Egret & 10 Turnstones.
In the bay 2 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Red Throated Divers & c80 Wigeon.
No out of the ordinary gulls.

Newgale today

This email received from Mark Cherry today:

Following Ray's post, I dropped by, hoping to find Snipe for this year but no luck. In exchange, got male Pintail as a new life tick! Viewed from the car park next door to the pub. Also 1 Meadow pipit, close by (unusual brownish tint on upper chest, pale legs), 1 Moorhen, 3+ Mallard pairs, 2 Carrion crows pacing a raised grass patch (1 carrying a short twig, 1 carrying a pebble in their beaks), 20+ Teal, 3 Pied Wagtail. 9 Curlew flew in as the light diminished.

 

Mark C.

St Davids Hd

The adult male Merlin still present and, hopefully, wintering; also Woodcock and a few Snipe. The female Scaup still on Penberi Reservoir.

Flagged Black Tailed Godwit

 At last a reply, seen in August at the Gann in a flock of ten. Ringed at Moeze, France (half way down the Bay of Biscay) on the 28/12/08 as a 1y. Seen several times in the same area - mostly wnter months. This is the 1st UK sighting.

Pembroke Dock

Quick look around the 'Dock' at lunchtime. Cosheston Pill - Watersports Centre: c40 Mallard, c30 Teal, c25 Redshank, 10 Black-tailed godwit, 4 Little grebe, a greenshank, 2 shelduck, 3 Mute Swan, a moorhen and 6 each of oystercatchers and curlew. Front Street: 12 Black-tailed godwits, 10 Mallard, 6 Redshank, 2 turnstone and a Little egret.

9 Wells

Hanging around this morning with a mixed Tit flock were two Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff.   Further down the valley lots of Song Thrushes and a pair of Bull Finches were enjoying a berry breakfast.

Late Swallows and news from Haverfordwest

Received an email from Chris Brockway reporting 2 Swallows high over Pembroke Castle Mill Pond for about 10 minutes this morning. Also from Peter Howe: a Green Sandpiper and Woodcock yesterday at the Old Mill Grounds, Haverfordwest.

Red Headed Bunting.

An adult male in the hedge behind Lockley Lodge.Some of my fellow wrinklies may well remember the bird that sang beautifully from the same location about 30 years ago.A flyover Crossbill from the same loacation,and a Chiffchaff in the willows at Marloes Mere.

Jackdaws

At the Gann this morning, two male Goldeneyes. The only other notable feature was a huge (500 or so, maybe more) flock of Jackdaws feeding on the shoreline and flying around, "chacking" all the time. There seem to be more Jackdaws around this autumn/winter than I can remember - perhaps they have had a really good breeding season with the fields nice and wet for digging up leatherjackets and the youngsters tucked up dry and warm in their chimneys and tree holes?
Rosemary

Daugleddau area

This afternoon: c30 Greylags over Fowborough, settled in field near Black Tar. A group of 4 redheaded Goldeneyes were off Picton Point and a Greenshank off Picton Ferry from whence groups of Mallards, Teals, Lapwings, Dunlins, Redshanks and a Curlew were visible along the edge of the mud flats on the rising tide.                              

Fishguard Harbour

Four Great Northern Divers, several Shags and a winter-plumaged Black Guillemot in  Fishguard Harbour this morning.

Velvet Scoter

Forgotten to mention in previous post, had Paul's female Velvet Scoter at Broad Haven this morning.  It wasn't very close, it was alone, although there were at least 110 Common Scoter scattered in 5-6 flocks in the area.

Gulls & Berries

Out for a bit of gull fest this afternoon with Paul G, started well with 2 lovely adult Mediterranean Gulls at Gelliswick.  At the top of the hill out of Gelliswick there were another 4 on the rugby pitch, 2 of which had white darvic rings, sadly couldn't read either of them as the grass was just a tad too long.

Very few gulls in Milford Docks, a Little Egret & 2 Redshank the highlights at Castle Pill, and 3 Redshank the best at Llandstadwell (I remember the days when this was a great spot for gulls).  On to Haverfordwest and a check of a berry-laden Hawthorn in Prendergast didn't produce the hoped for Waxwing - surely won't be long before we do, given the invasion into the UK.

Some great gulling around Withybush Airfield, the vast majority of the 1,000+ gulls being first calendar year (1CY) Herring Gulls.  On our way to Llys-y-fran a nice Red Kite north of Crundale.  At the reservoir an sizeable roost developed, Black-headed Gulls probably in excess of 1,000, and 40+ Common Gulls (mostly 1CY) were notable, highlights were 3 adult Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Greylag Geese in with the 328 Canada Geese.  It was worth the many soakings!

Newgale Marsh

The marsh is flooded again and early this afternoon there were 100+ common snipe, active and very visible, with flocks rising from the reeds every few seconds before circling then dropping into the vegetation again. There was one, possibly two jack snipe with them.

Teifi Marsh

From the viewpoint this morning we seen ~ 3 f Goldeneye, a pair of Goosander & a stunning Firecrest.

Karen & Dawn

Pembrokeshire Bird Group Conference

For more please use the link to the Pembrokeshire Bird Group   Lyndon

Marloes Mere

 Before the rain, early this morning. Glossy Ibis, Starlings everywhere! impossible to count. c200 Lapwings, 30 Snipe.

Velvet Scoter,Swans and Owls

The day started well at Broad Haven with a fine female Velvet Scoter offshore, along with 50 Scoter,2 Great Northern Divers,3 Red-throated Divers,1 Great Crested Grebe and 4 Med Gulls(3 adult and 1 1st w) on the beach.Next on to Newgale Marsh where 2 adult Whooper Swans and a further 4 adult Med Gulls were showing well from the pub car park,but no hoped for Water Pipit yet! Late afternoon saw me at the Dowrog Common where on arrival a Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl were performing perfectly in brilliant light,and finally an adult male and a juv Hen Harrier roosted.Oh,and the Scaup was still present at Penberi.Phew..what a day!

Glossy Ibis

Still at Marloes Mere. c150 Lapwing, no sign of the Whoopers - there were a couple of 4x4`s in the fields they favour - so they must be elsewhere, they were recorded in the hide notebook for Wenesday.(21st) Teal & Wigeon in good numbers, nothing else to speak of.

Goodwick Moor

Beautiful light on Goodwick Moor this morning.  Seems to be more birds around after the gale, or at least they are more visible now.

Best one was a Firecrest - back of the gorse adjacent the rugby field path (near 2 x stonechats and 4-5 Meadow Pipits).  Several Goldcrests too amongst trees at west and east side of reeds.  Of the more usual species, many Blue Tits and Blackbirds (~50 I'd guess).  Long-tailed tits in small groups (12-20 birds?).  Conservative guess at 3 x water rail (2 x west side reeds and 1 x close to footpath on east side).  Cetti's Warbler - at least 2 singers.  Little Grebe - 1 x opposite the flagpoles near Moorhens.  Two GS Woodpeckers flew over the reeds too.  And a nice bullfinch calling below the pub.

If you're listening - a big 'thank you' to those who manage the reedbeds and maintain the board walk!

mystery bird

Raven?

Bittern at the Teifi Marshes

These Bittern photos were taken by Tommy Evans from Kingfisher Hide on the Teifi Marshes at about 11:30 today:

Mystery bird

The following email was received from Peter Howe today:

Interesting photos having looked as close as possible and flicked through the field guide can vulture be ruled out on the tail, all vultures tails are too short apart from Egyptian and bone crusher, but wings of bird in question seem too long to be Egyptian, eagles wise surely the wing are not broad enough for white tailed, with the evident long tail and what seem to be yellow feet combined with white flashes on the underwing possibly point to golden?? Comments and location would be welcome.

Re: Eagle or vulture

I believe there was an escaped Egyptian vulture around SW in October not sure if it has been accounted for recently? Might this be it?

Plumstone Mountain

An hour with Mervyn late afternoon was pretty good with a male and a ringtail Hen Harrier,Kestrel and a Merlin dashed through.I was also able to pay more attention to the Starlings today and i estimated about 50,000+ birds around the conifers before we had to leave at 4.30.

Pembs Bird Conference

If you are unaware, there has been a change of venue. See Lyndon's post yesterday for details.

Castlemartin Corse

A lovely morning on the Corse. In addition to species seen on Sunday by Morris and John, 15 greylags on the water upstream of the pine trees, and a Cetti's singing on the N side. A female merlin was perched on a fencepost surrounded by floodwater.

Eider.

A juv/fem Eider in the bay at Dale.A Red Breasted Merganser in Dale pools.An adult male Black Redstart at Renny Slip.

Mystery bird photos

Some distant photos. The sighting was on Sunday morning but as yet the place has been witheld.

Vagrant or Escaped Eagle?

The following email was received today. Sounds interesting. There are some photographs but they are proving difficult to download at the moment. At present the site is witheld. Any further information and accessible photos will be posted.

 '... i watched these  birds from  a far distance..... the four smaller birds i think were buzzards  the other bird was very much larger   my son said it looks like a wedge tailed eagle  the size of this bird was really large..... when compared to the smaller buzzards  from a distance i thought  at first it was a great skua but could  see it was a bird of prey from the  wing tips which were very long and even from  a great distance.......the large bird was just flapping away while the smaller ones were really bothered by him he just seemed to be dismissing them as if they were just trivial annoyances  and just kept going his own way with the others just trying to  move him on......'.

                                                                            regards

                                                                                        E   EDWARDS

Goodwick Moor

In all that rain yesterday, at Goodwick Moor:
One water rail and one Cetti's warbler heard.  The Cetti's gave a rambling series of quite varied calls over a few minutes, with short sections of song mixed in.
35 x oystercatchers on the rugby field with BHG, HG and CGulls
6 x lapwings flew over, also a flock of about 12 dunlin + 3 knot-sized waders
(130 lapwing and 80 curlew in fields near Berry Hill, Newport in the evening)
And a particularly noisy flock of long-tailed tits at the eastern end, near the pub.

Dowrog Common

Rob Davies had 2 adult males and 2 ringtail Hen Harriers on his BTO count on Sunday 18th November.

Fishguard Harbout Outer Breakwater.

Two snow buntings today after a few days with none...

Pembs Bird Conference – URGENT

Unfortunately circumstances have resulted in a change of venue for this event on Saturday. The conference will NOW be at the ‘Cleddau Bridge Hotel’. For those of us travelling from H’west the Hotel is just over the toll bridge on the Right hand Side. Registration is still at 9.15am Many thanks to Valero refinery and staff for still hosting the event for us at the new venue. We really hope this message reaches everyone intending to join us. Please let others know just in case we cannot contact them. Thanks Lyndon

Solva Ysterday

A report of Peregrine and 2 Choughs at Solva yesterday. From Sandra Young

Plumstone Mountain

5 Hen Harriers put on a fantastic show late afternoon on my BTO roost count,including 3 adult males.Also 2 Goshawks and 4 Buzzards hunted a Starling roost of around 30,000 birds.Is Plumstone now one of the most important winter Hen Harrier roosts in Pembs?

Marloes Mere, Afternoon edition.

 8 Whoopers close to the road atTrehill, 1 male Kestrel, 1 large female Peregrine, 1 male Sparrow Hawk. No sign of the Glossy today, nor any of the "missing" Ring Neck Duck. c150 Canadas in the stubble weren`t hiding any other geese in their ranks.

Castlemartin Corse

A good day on the Corse today, good number of Birds as follows:-
Black tailed Godwits x 14,  Golden Plover 320+, Curlew 160+, Snipe 150+, Mallard 45+, Teal x 86, Lapwing 600+, Shoveller x 8, Moorhen x 18, Coot x 7, Wigeon x 6, Redshank x 2. On Fresh West beach 3 Grey Plover, Magpie 38 en masse, (is this a parliament)? Rooks 40+, Raven x 2, Jackdaw 100+, Crow x 6, Chaffinch 800+, with a few Brambling. Kestrel x 1, Merlin x 1, Buzzard x 3,Wood Pigeon 23+, Dunnock x 2, Wren x 1, Bullfinch x 4, Meadow Pipits 70+, Linnets 300+, Stonechat x 4, Pied Wagtail x 1,
Starlings 1000+, Black headed Gulls 23+, Herring Gulls 22+, Song Thrush x 4, Blackbird x 9, Skylark x 4, Pheasant x 5, Reed Bunting x 3 and 1 House Sparrow.
Great birding with my friend John Best.

Pantmaenog

Pantmaenog: No sign of the GGS today or yesterday, must have gone walkabout! Lots of thrushes around with ever present calls from passing Fieldfares. Large mixed flock of Redwing, Fieldfare and Mistle thrush on pastures. Flock of 18 Reed buntings, pair Red Kite and a dipper (my first up here). Ty Rhyg: Plenty of fieldfares. Sparrowhawk and flock of crossbills calling. Rosebush: Red kite. c20 Mallard, 6 Tufted, about a dozen Teal, 3 Goldeneye, 7 Little Grebe, Moorhen, Coot and a snipe. Merlin on hedge at Woodstock.

Ring Tail Harrier

At Marles Mere, 8 Whoopers at Trehill, 13 Snipe, usual Teal, Wigeon, big Jackdaw flock West.

Marloes Mere

Had a look for the errant Ring Neck Duck - to no avail. 8 Whoopers, as previous post.

Marloes Mere

Failed to find the Glossy Ibis and the Canada Geese had left by mid day (except for one which can't fly) but well over 200 Teal and around 50 Wigeon but only 4 Shoveler.  The 8 Whoopers were in the fields nearby (2 adult and 5 young). 7 Little Grebe, 6 Tufties, 30 Coot and 9 Gadwall were the highlights.
Massive flock of Jackdaw on the western fields plus large numbers of Starlings. 

Marloes Mere

Glossy Ibis, c40 Lapwing, 2,500 Starlings (& increasing by the minute) in the field behind the Britton hide, where there is now a cattle feeder, which also attracted some 200 - 300 Jackdaws. 39 Canada Geese on the Mere, c20 Snipe, good numbers of Teal & Wigeon.

Graham`s Marloes mystery....

In a word, Decoys. Canada Geese are problematical at MM, which may explain why the Whoopers apear to have relocated to Newgale. I had a look at Marloes at last light this evening - nothing.

St Davids Hd am

Rather quiet today but a couple of interesting sightings: 2 Stock Doves west were the first migrants of this species I've seen here. A single flock of 200 Woodpigeons also headed west. Later a tiny-looking adult male Merlin chased  a small bird around for a bit. This is unusual in that female/immatures are the norm here. Always something interesting.

Newgale Whoopers

There were seven whooper swans at Newgale Marsh this afternoon; two adults and five juvenile birds. A water rail was squealing from the reeds.

Nine Wells

A pale Chiffchaff at Nine Wells with blackish legs got me excited,but unfortunately i never managed to get any further views of it.Like Skomer i must have had at least 30 Snipe at Newgale Marsh.

Marloes mystery

At 3-oopm the 8 Whooper Swans were feeding in the stubble field below Trehill Farm. At the bottom of that field, near the Mere, a man set out 12-15 dummy Canada Geese before retiring to the field boundary. Does anyone know what this was about?

Dowrog Common

7 Whooper Swans flew west towards dusk,an adult male and a ringtail Hen Harrier roosted,with a Barn Owl hunting when the light had almost gone.

Skomer

Loads of birds, mainly thrushes, around first thing this morning - 160 Blackbirds, 75 Redwings, 65 Song Thrushes, 7 Fieldfares & a Mistle Thrush. Also 2 Woodcocks & 600 Woodpigeons, 55 Skylarks, 140 Chaffinches, 5 Bramblings & a Lapland Bunting flew over

There were more Snipes than I've ever seen before on Skomer flying around this morning - at least 30 & Sarah flushed 4 Jack Snipe at South Pond.

The Ring-necked Duck is still on North Pond

Bosherston

The Long-tailed Duck and the presumed Scaup x Tufted Duck were the only ducks on the eastern arm of the lakes this morning, but always in close proximity of each other.

Lapland Bunting - Newgale

One flew over Newgale Marsh this morning (Paul G).

Skomer

The Ring-necked Duck is still on North Pond & a Snow Bunting flew over

St Davids etc

A promising start was a Green Sandpiper calling somewhere over the house as I left this morning and then the juv/1st winter Scaup was back at Penberi after a week's absence. There were a lot of Thrushes at Whitesands, mainly Blackbirds but with quite a few Song Thrushes, a few Redwings and single Mistle Thrush and Fieldfare. Chaffinches were going over (150+) and there were 3+ Bramblings with them, also a handful of Skylarks. Two Crossbills noisily flew over heading inland, possibly males since I think I could make out some red but difficult to be certain; the bill is extremely distinct even from below. Out on the Head there was a Short-eared Owl and a couple of Snipe. To complete the raptors, there was also Merlin, Peregrine, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrels and a couple of Buzzards. The most curious migrant though was a Moorhen in the Porthmelgan Withies. On the way home, near Heathfield, a tight flock of c70 Siskins were a bright and noisy finale as they buzzed around some Alders. A good, late autumn day.

Yellow Browed Warbler.

One in the willows to the left of the Britton hide this morning.

Skomer

Ring-necked Duck still on North Pond. Apart from the odd thrush, that is all!

Aythya Ducks

It's been an interesting couple of days regarding Aythya ducks, I spent some time with Steve Berry watching (actually mostly looking for) an extremely skulking First winter male Scaup near Jordanstown then followed with interest the comments on the Bosherston bird. It seems like there's always something to learn with these ducks. I'd  also like to add a caution about judging these things from a few photographs. To make my point I've added a photo I took yesterday at Heathfield GP.

And no it's not one! It's an adult female Tufted Duck which made me talk to friends and think very hard for a spell.

Bosherston Aythya....

As Paul suggests, the mix of features makes it difficult to name this bird with any certainty as either a Scaup or Tufted Duck, and I certainly agree that the features Paul noted rule out a true Scaup, so I guess that the bird must be either a hybrid or abberant Tufted .  Either way, it is nice to have a local Long-tailed Duck, it's been a while...

Aythya

I saw this bird yesterday through my telescope and i came to the conclusion it was a Scaup-faced Tufted Duck,due to its small size,small white facial blaze,the extensive black on bill and the pale band behind the bill tip not features you would associate with a true Scaup.In hindsight perhaps the head shape wasn't quite right for a Tufted Duck so could this be an Aythya hybrid?Also like Clive i was more interested in the Long-tailed Duck than the Aythya species it was with so probably didn't pay it the attention it deserved.

Scaup/Tufted Duck at Bosherston

Assuming that Paul and I are referring to the same duck at Bosherston, and I suspect that we are, I'm not sure that 'Scaup-faced Tufted Duck' does it justice.  I initially blogged the bird as a Tufted Duck, but had only had distant views with 8x bins and had not paid it any real attention: primarily due to the distraction of the Long-tailed Duck - a species that I hadn't seen for a few years since seeing them on their breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle :-). 
On getting home, however, I noticed that there were a few Lesser Scaup in the country and I started to feel a bit ill at ease that I hadn't checked the bird with the Long-tailed Duck.  Consequently, I scrutinised my pics of the Long-tailed Duck and came across this image of the offending Aythya duck (here in the company of two female Goldeneyes).  This pic clearly shows that the bird has a rounded head, which is almost flat in the middle (no hint of a tuft or a peaked crown), and has grey on the mantle, not great features for a Tufted Duck.  However, the bird certainly isn't a 'classic' Scaup either, as it was quite small and, with the benefit of hindsight, might have too much black on the tip of the bill.  All comments welcome......

Bosherston

The female Long-tailed Duck still today, and a Scaup-faced Tufted Duck (Paul G).

Skomer

The Ring-necked Duck is still - it did wander down as far as Green Pond but went back to North Pond - it will probably end up on Marloes Mere sooner or later
A stunning adult male Black Redstart was in North Haven & about 1500 Woodpigeons went over this morning

Bosherston

The female Long-tailed Duck was still present in the same place and with the same companions as yesterday, i.e. in the eastern arm between Eight-arch Bridge and Grassy Bridge with an imm Scaup, four Goldeneye,  six Goosanders and a Kingfisher.

Marloes Mere, am/pm.

Early ths morning, 8 Whoopers in the fields, Glossy Ibis. This evening, the 4 Pink Feet flew in from Skomer with some c150 Canada Geese, landing in the stubble at Trehill fields. The Whoopers were on the Mere washing & feeding. No sign of the White Fronts. c150 Lapwing flying West, a huge flock of Starlings (about an acre of sky`s worth) flew over me heading towards the Angle peninsular, I remained completely unspotted!

St Davids Hd am

The Black Redstart was present again at the Burial Chamber and there was a Short-eared Owl and a Woodcock in Porthmelgan Valley as well as a 'collybita' Chiffchaff in The Withies.

Marloes Mere

 Whoopers, Pink Feet & White Fronts all still there,  Starlings impressive, didn`t see the Glossy.

Dawn flight of Fieldfaresand Snow Buntings increase.

I awoke on Thursday morning to see thousands of winter thrushes, Chaffinches and Starlings passing through the ruddy dawn light, a thrilling spectacle! They were still passing by in big waves  as I let the dogs out and managed this snapshot. Visible migration of relatively common birds, but surely one of the highlights of the birders year...
Meanwhile this afternoon, Snow Bunting numbers on the Fishguard Harbour outer breakwater had grown to a little flock of five. They were relatively jittery so only one blurry shot of all five together.

Skomer

The Ring-necked Duck is still on North Pond today, its not the most exciting bird I've ever seen!

Long-tailed Duck at Bosherston

A small group of northern ducks comprised a female Long-tailed Duck, three Goldeneye and at least one Scaup on the eastern arm of Bosherston Lakes late morning, between Eight-arch Bridge and Grassy Bridge. Also six Goosanders and a Kingfisher there - and the two Otters of course.

Marloes Mere, last light.

Whoopers still in Trehill fields, Glossy Ibis also still there,the 4 P/Feet & W/Front Geese seen by others today.

Brambling

Nice to see the first Brambling of the winter in our St Davids garden today.  Not so nice to see - a sick
Greenfinch on the same feeder.