Sandy Haven Pill / Gann

The 11 Whooper Swans still present in a field next to Sandy Haven Pill early afternoon (details sent to Annie).  Down on the pill there were lots of birds before they were disturbed by dogs off leads (during our 25 minutes there we observed 3 lots of dog walkers in the upper reaches of the pill totalling 6 dogs, all off leads...).  Highlights were 200+ Lapwing and a Kingfisher, and amongst the gulls a single 2CY Mediterranean Gull and 2 Skokholm ringed Great Black-backed Gulls.

Earlier at the Gann we managed to read 9 colour-rings: 2 Redshank (ringed at the Gann), 1 Oystercatcher (Gann), 5 Herring Gulls (Skomer & Skokholm) and 1 Great Black-backed Gull (Skokholm).  A female type Merlin zipped across the saltmarsh and east towards St Ishmaels, yesterday a male was perched on the hedge beside the road between St Ishmaels and Sandy Haven. (Dave & Lisa)

International Swan Census

Please could you all look out for Whooper and Bewick Swans this weekend.  Sorry I'm a bit late in mentioning this here.

The International Swan Census (ISC) estimates the size and distribution of Whooper and Bewick’s Swan populations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. 

Any sightings can be recorded via this webpage or on BirdTrack or your WeBS count - but please make a note of the numbers of adults and juveniles, and the habitat they are using.

Thanks

Annie

17/Plenty of Pipits ! an old mate and thanks Paul, 3 whoopers and a couple of hundred corvids on the wires!!

While making our way back from Whitesands to the Dowrog late afternoon I was surprised to see a small cloud of LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs) fling up from a telegraph line. Around fifty  remained on the line with at least twice that amount had taken to the air in a random mass fly-about . We slowed the car and I managed to confirm they were Meadow Pipits as they flew over us. Circa 150 of them at a catiuos estimate!I am not sure what disturbed them , maybe just us driving by but that amount of Pipits would surely be constantly on the alert for predators and pretty nervy!

Paul G was set up out of the  wind on the edge of the Moor as we arrived but had seeen nothing then at about 15.40 A car was parked at "My" spot😒😉 and as we passed by we slowed down to see who the miscreant might be. What a blast from the past, an old Strumbling mate, Andrew Sinclair whom i had not seen for around twenty years! I jumped out of the car, Andrew got out of his and yep amaisingly it was he! We spent the next half hour sat in his car, ignoring the birds, reminiscing and catching up!

While we chinwagged, Fran walked the dog back towards The W cattle grid and passing Paul on the way back , he told her of three Whooper swans in the field opposite the junction with the St Davids Rd which were still there as we left the Dowrog heading for home!

Heading back into Mathry as we approached the square there were at least 200 maainly Jackdaws but also Rooks line up on crossing wires. This is pretty normal at this time of the year late afternoon, early evening in one or two places locally, but its something nobody seems to comment on! They are pretty exposed to wind and rain but I sometimes wonder if there is some warmth in the insulated wires or is it just a gathering place before heading off in the dark to more shelterd roosts? 

Hook WeBS

I did Davids WeBS this afternoon between Hook Quay and Sprinkle, lovely afternoon and plenty of birds. Mostly made up by Golden plover (2500), Lapwing (1910) and dunlin (1180). Selected others - 1010 teal, 112 mallard, 110 shelduck, 71 wigeon, 22 pintail, 8 shoveler. 81 redshank, 50 curlew, 40 oystercatchers, 9 ringed plover, 4 grey plover, a single black-tailed godwit. 360 Canada geese up in the fields above Sprinkle and one greylag calling. A peregrine flushed all the waders and teal at full tide at Sprinkle. 

Castlemartin Corse WeBS

 

Not a lot of open water today! 

Richard kindly counted the upper corse for me today while I covered the bottom section which is usually Robs domain. 

Richard got a healthy number of lapwing of 1110 (I gained a stray one so 1111 being the final count). 

Richard also had 4 little egret, 37 Golden Plover, a Shelduck and 2 Dunlin on the upper section.   

The 8 Whooper Swans were just up from the hide as I was walking up but flew off at 9:55 looking to be heading to the upper corse. At least they were there for the International Swan Census (ISC) which is happening this weekend. 

The two Mute Swans were on the slacks which are full of water at the moment and moved off up towards the upper corse about 9:44.  

The highlight of the day though happened early on. There were 8 Curlew in the field just beyond the car park at Freshwater West, one of which was colour ringed with yellow ring on left Tibia and a white flag with black writing P23 on the right Tibia. Email has gone off to the ringing program but looking back at the Blog this bird was highlighted by Richard in December 2024 after Steve had showed him a picture he had taken. So already know this bird is from a Netherlands project.  

Curlew P23 

Had what felt like a low count across the 'snipe field' today of just 31 with a few other random ones here and there bringing total to 36. 

140 Teal lifted at one point but quickly disappeared again into the reeds. A lowly count of 12 for the Mallard. Shoveller totalled 43.  

2 adult Female Marsh Harriers intermittently appeared at distance on the far side of the corse, at one point one of them was trying to get a Buzzard to move on from a willow bush by diving at it! 

Butterflies & Moths

Hi, year end again, if you have any moth or butterfly records that you could submit, please forward to...

paul.warren.moths@gmail.com

All records help to complete the picture.

Many thanks 

Paul Warren, Pembs Recorder.

Withybush woods

 A brief visit to the woodland this morning a was surprised to see almost spring/breeding behaviour a pair of treecreepers displaying and chasing round the trees a blue tit taking nest material to a nest box. Also on the pond a little grebe that I don’t think I have recorded at site in the past. And the pair of stock dove (presumably the pair that bred a while back) look to be paired up again.

There is a 20 plus count of collard dove most days, and there seems to be a good colony of house sparrow at the feeders, not much evidence of the rookery becoming active. Nice to see the daffs appearing with snowdrops and any visitors in the coming months should start to see 100s of crocuses recently planted by the Haverfordwest Rotary club, with the 1st Johnston Scout Group.

Green-winged Teal

 A green-winged teal was just upstream of the bridge at Newport this afternoon, in with c.50 teal, perhaps a returning individual?. Also a sneaky water rail just downstream.

Carew

 A good number of birds at Radford Pill and the Carew River this afternoon with the tide rising- 350+ Lapwing, 84 Black Tailed Godwits, 28 Redshanks, 3 Greenshanks, 35 Curlew, 2 Golden Plover, 1 Dunlin, 72 Teal. Also 9 Stock Doves.

Historical sighting

As  excited as I was last April to see my first Hoopoe at Marloes, I was saddened today to read an account of the fate of a Hoopoe in Pembrokeshire at the turn of the Eighteenth Century. In his 'Historical Tour Through Pembrokeshire' Richard Fenton on his section travelling from Fishguard to St Davids, writes

"At Penyrhiw, the farm to which this wild uncultivated tract is a sheep walk, was lately shot a Huppoo, a solitary bird, two being seldom seen together, and in this kingdom very uncommon; even in Egypt, where common, not very gregarious" (p11)

He goes on to describe the bird from Bewick's description with an illustration, adding that  "In Sweden the appearance of this bird is vulgarly considered a presage to war, and it was formerly deemed in our country a forerunner of some calamity" (p12)

 

David Meanwell

Llys-y-fran

Arriving later than usual at 4pm there was already a decent roost forming between the first inlet on the east side and midway to the hide which saved me a walk. 1500 LBB had soon risen to 2500, BH gulls were coming in in waves of 100 or so, mostly from the south, final count was 1900 with more continuing after sunset. Big numbers of Herring gull with many 1winters, final count 910 (which likely topped 1,000 with the late arriving stragglers which seemed to also come in from the south and SW). The late LBBs came in from the east and appeared to have come down from the adjacent fields just above the reservoir. 8 adult Mediterranean gulls, only 20 Common gull seemed a bit on the low side. 4 adult Yellow-legged gulls. A sad sight of a 1w Herring gull trailing 5m of black twine from its legs, I could only imagine the mayhem if other gulls got entwined in it. The adult GBB was again making itself unpopular, it looked like it might have grabbed a victim as it was pecking at a corpse out from the hide but too far for a clear view. I attempted a final total gull count just before I left at 5pm, totalling 6670 with more gulls still coming in. 300 Canada geese, and the 120 Greylag again flew down the reservoir from beyond the hide and dropped into a field on the west side at dusk. 8 GC grebe, definitely 2 courting and one calling in the first inlet. Single Little grebe, single male Goldeneye.

Tenby

 On the side of and under the ramp of the old Lifeboat station 16 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Turnstone and 6 Oystercatchers this morning. Out in the bay off North Beach 9 Great Crested Grebes.