Strumble Head

A freshening 4-6 W- NW brought a handful of Strumblers and a good selection of passing birds. Highlights: 2 Leach's petrel, 1 storm petrel, min 6 Grey phalarope, a sooty shearwater, a balearic shearwater, 2 adult Sabines gull, 5 Little gull, 10 Arctic skua and 2 Bonxie, as well as c100 Scoter, 9 whimbrel, 4 barwit, 4 ringed plover and 2 dunlin. A trickle of commic terns. Good numbers of common dolphin showing most of the session, always hard to estimate true numbers but likely 50-100 individuals.

Gann Sept 16th

From Michael Thornton: Down visiting West again, I was down the Gann today 16th and saw the following - Osprey, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Goshawk, Little Egret, Curlew, and a lot of Oyster catchers some with rings on (Orange ring on left leg with what looks like Black ring on right leg with yellow digits).

Llandilo

 Approx 140 Canada Geese, 39 Grey Lags, 9 Stock Doves and approx 30 Wood Pigeons on maize stubble near Llandilo this morning

American Golden Plover - Skomer

An American Golden Plover flew low east over a fog-bound Skomer Island early evening yesterday.  It called four times as it went, so perhaps was looking for somewhere to drop in.  Still foggy here this morning but we will do our best to find it!  Otherwise very quiet, a couple of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler and a single Blackcap.  At least 2 Marsh Harriers have been around for a few weeks now.

Baird's sandpiper, Newport

Not content with the Pec sandpiper, George and Fiona only went and found a Baird's sandpiper at Newport yesterday, in the area of the boat club and Parrog but mobile depending on disturbance. That's the 2nd for Newport this autumn following the Baird's found by Paul G in August, and 3rd including the Dale airfield bird. Go check those beaches and ploughed fields more American waders yet to be found. And dotterel time as well. Never a better time to be out, plus the rain helps.

Pectoral sandpiper, Dale airfield

Walking on to the airfield via the lane from Marloes village around 7:30am, a short-eared owl passed over heading in the general direction of the mere, followed by 2 golden plover accompanied by a smaller straight billed sandpiper. It was very blustery with some drizzly showers, not ideal birding conditions for scanning the ploughed fields where yesterdays waders had been. Just a couple of ringed plover hunkered down and in the adjacent field c10 golden plover and 3 ringed plover, again everything was shaking so not easy to check but all looked like European goldies. Around 9am I spotted George and Fiona approaching from the direction of the water trough pools area so went to meet them, just as we were 25m apart George flushed a pectoral sandpiper (approx location SM 79501 06837) it took off giving its sharp trep, trep, trep call, as it went westward it seemed to bear around to the north over the stoney field but lost to view so may well have dropped down. Between us we checked the runways again but no sign. Other birds a peregrine and a kestrel having a spat. Flock of 50+ goldfinch A whinchat by Lower Marloes farm. A very vocal redstart in the withies by Lower Marloes farm, it turned out to be mobbing what appeared to be a sleeping pigeon with a couple of magpies. Chiffchaff and a very bright willow warbler only other migrants. Quite a few wall butterflies along the sheltered lanes and some common darters.

Hook WeBS - 11 Sept

The most unusual birds on a generally quiet WeBS count: a Curlew Sandpiper in the company of Dunlins and Ringed Plovers at Fowborough Point and a Manx Shearwater making its way up the Western Cleddau towards Haverfordwest. 2 Common Sandpipers on the Western Cleddau section also.

Great Crested Grebes (4) have now reappeared and there are still a decent number (55) of Curlews at the mouth of Sprinkle Pill. Teal (30) are starting to trickle in and there are quite a few Greenshanks (10) knocking about.

WeBS and Stackpole

Richard and I covered Castlemartin Corse, while Rob covered Broomhill Burrows today for WeBS. Very quiet on the WeBS front with one Grey Heron, 58 Herring Gull and a few Water rail heard. 

Understandably the area is very dry at the moment. 

Richard had a Peregrine bomb past on the upper section and I saw one later on the lower, assume to be the same bird. I had Kestrel hovering over fields D7 and D8 (and seen perching on fence post) and one female Marsh Harrier was seen being mobbed by the Carrion Crow. We got four calling Cetti warbler between us.  

On way up a pair of chough were seen moving along the Gupton side of the area and later five birds were feeding on the slacks / dune area. 

Two wheatear were seen on the lower section one at Starmans and the other on the dune/slacks area. There seemed to be quite a lot of Stonechat about. 

Rob had 4 Jay across Broomhill Burrows.  

Kestrel at distance perching 

The rear end of the Peregrine as it shot through

Poor image of the Marsh Harrier 

Wheatear at Starmans

Three of the five chough seen 

Later on I decided to walk up onto headland at Stackpole. On the Warren two Spotted Flycatchers were seen in a tree. Only one pair of chough seen on my headland walk, they were catching flies as well as getting grubs out of the ground.  

Pair of Chough

Chough after the flying bugs!

One of the Spotted Flycatcher 

Pembroke BIRD GROUP WALK

Goodwick Beach

From Mike B: Attached some photos taken by the flag poles at Goodwick beach at approx 16.30 on 9th Sept 2026. 

Buff-breasted sandpiper, Dale airfield

A pre-work visit turned up a Buff-breasted sandpiper at 7:50am, it was in the ploughed field at the top NW corner towards Marloes village side. SM 79288 07004. The sandpiper was in the company of a mixed wader flock including c10 golden plover, 6+ ringed plover, couple of dunlin and a sanderling. Easy to miss as they spent most of the time out of sight roosting or pecking around in the hollows. One of the golden plovers looked a bit plain but never clear views and checking my photos all I can see on them are golden plovers. A buzzard drifted across the field and flushed the waders in to the ploughed field just to the east but I expect they'll be back in the original field at some stage. After yesterdays heavy rain there was surprisingly very little standing water. A few wheatear and a whinchat only other birds of note.

 

Castlemartin Corse and an Osprey.

Went on a pre WeBS potter today along part of the Corse. Very quiet down there today. Highlight was a pair of chough feeding in a field off Starman's track, a buzzard and a very distant kestrel being mobbed by corvids. A few small birds in the hedges including a whitethroat. 

Reed bunting feeding along track 

Whitethroat 

Grey Heron 

Buzzard 

Though realise its borderline being Pembrokeshire....  yesterday a friend took me to Teifi marshes for a change of scene. Again very quiet there though trip was made worthwhile by an Osprey (7H6 blue ring) flying past down the river. Have reported the sighting online. Looking on Avifauna and other sources this is a male bird ringed in Scotland (near Inverness) in 2022 and a regular visitor to the area.  

Osprey 7H6