Terror from the skies - 10/04/2016

Another trip to see the Gwent glossy this weekend resulted in a new lifer! I power walked down to the screen where it had been seen only a couple of hours earlier, to find a chap from Whitchurch there waiting for it too. We spotted some gadwall out on the lagoons, and there were also quite a lot of other sp. present, including wigeon, godwits, redshank, and shovelers. There were lots of avocet and lapwing.  After nearly dipping again, a gentleman in the 2nd hide pointed it out, just as it came out of a reen! After wandering a round a little bit, it took off, battling the high wind to land in the farmers fields behind the lagoons. After a short time it came back out so another power walk back down to the original screen to see it also payed off with good views of a male marsh harrier out over the
lagoons.

Whiteford Point - Expect the unexpected - 16/01/2016

A hardcore 12 of us made it to the day of the trip, but after a nice early start from Coryton Asda,disaster nearly de-railed the staff trip to Whiteford this morning, when Ai-lin's Berlingo unfortunately met with an untimely breakdown problem just before Pencoed. A quick hour wait in the frost while the AA turned up meant that the car had to be taken to the dealership, which meant that Ai-lin had to tap out, but the rest of us re-jigged the car arrangements and the trip was back on. 

A big flock of lapwing and golden plover in the fields near to Whiteford was the first spectacle. After arriving it was soon obvious that it was a great location, with conifer plantation, saltmarsh, coastline, and dune systems and we were soon racking them up. 

En route we flushed a few jack snipe, my first lifer of the day, along with lots of common snipe. There were also lots of brent, eider, teal, redshank, to name but a few.  

Jack snipe - honest! 

We met up with the early arriver's out at the point, and I was shocked just how much there was to see, not just in the sense of species variety, but also in the sense of sheer numbers. There were several great northern divers,  and a distant Slav grebe finally came down the channel giving some decent views. 

Along the shore towards the lighthouse we stopped again to watch the divers, one catching a crab, and more flocks of eiders, the males throwing back their heads in display. 

Next target was snow buntings! And we were off en route to where they were seen last. A quick flurry of movement out of the corner of my eye, and they were unmistakable. A male and a female scrambling through the high tide debris.

After Whiteford we went to Llanrhidian where Dan had us straight on to ring tailed hen harriers, followed by Geth's Great white egrets and a Merlin! and then swiftly on to shorties. The quartering shorties and hen harriers even clashed on a couple of occasions. With the barn owl a no-show we called it a day, and went to the Greyhound pub for a few beers and a some good pub grub.

Top day. 

 

Ring Neck Duck - 25/10/2015

There's been a bit of wave of great stuff turning up locally of late, only I've been quite slow on the uptake so I decided today to at least get the ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris)  that turned up in Cardiff Bay Wetlands, often frequenting the area off the board walk with the long-returning lesser scaup. This autumn has seen a big fall of yellow browed warblers, including individuals at Roath Rec, and Cardiff Bay. Geth also found a firecrest last weekend on the floodplain.  Goldcrest have also been seen in large numbers coming over from the continent, and also a rumoured Dusky Warbler at Cosmeston...

I took a very eco-friendly trip down the Bay on the train, (more money saving than anything!) and funnily enough Geth and Dan were down on the board walk with a group of other birders. Turns out that it was Geth who reported the Dusky from Cosmeston! The scaup wasn't in attendance, but I was soon on to the RNG, though it kept it's distance most of the time, diving and feeding.

Radyr Redstarts and others - 08/09/2015

After a few weeks (probably months!) of not really having been out and about birding, and the nice fact that I had a day off between enrolment and the course starting again, I went off down to Radyr floodplain on an early start. Shortly after arriving I was on to a kingfisher on the Taff, and could hear a GS woodie in the trees not far from the bridge. It was a misty start but there was plenty of activity, with big flocks of goldfinch doing the rounds.

After bumping into Geth we were on to redstart and tipit, both my first for the site.

Last Friday I also took a day course on coastal plant ID with SEWBREC, and to put it mildly I was out of my depth. However, it's inspired me to make sure I'm taking a more well-rounded approach to wildlife. It was also great getting to see Kenfig in a different light, expertly guided by County Plant Recorder Julian.

The star of the day by far was some Field Gentian, found out near Sker Rocks.

The only other birds of note in recent months was the Cory's shearwater that I saw on a stag do in Croatia and the little stint at Goldcliff, the latter a happy consolation prize from dipping on the temmincks (dodgy scope shot here via phone)-

Skomer, College Trip - June 26th 2015

Catalonian adventure - Barcelona May 2015 Holiday

Osprey!! Easter Sunday - 05/04/2015

Yesterday's quick afternoon trip to BG Marsh added Spotted Redshank and Sand Martin to the year list. Today, an Easter Sunday lie-in and bacon and egg sarnie was enjoyed before I decided to chance a quick trip back down to Bowling Green Marsh where I had been yesterday to see if by chance the Osprey that had been reported in the early morning was still around. I was seriously glad I did because upon coming down the hill, I could see a silhouette of a bird on the perch that I had been told the osprey's favour when they pass through, and my pace quickened. From the hide I could see that it was indeed an osprey and the resident birders were showing some kids through their scopes. The Osprey was sat eating a big fish, but soon took off, catching a thermal that took it soaring above the hide before finally going out of sight.

I met Steve the SW RSPB Visitor Experience Officer, who kindly caught up with me as I left to make sure I didn't leave without the camera! There were 3 grey plovers huddled on the island, and plenty of waders still there after high tide, but with the sun against me I decided to head back up to pick up Jess, and we made our way to Berry head via Starcross, and Labrador Bay. At Labrador, I could see two distant cirl buntings through the scope, and at Berry head the sun had come out and we ate lunch watching rafts of guillemot out on the sea. There were no dolphins to be seen, but there were fulmar, shags and great black backed gull also in the area, along with a resident peregrine which we could see from the visitor centre camera.