Plumstone

Starlings seemed to appear in numbers from soon after 5pm until we left around 5.30pm. We didn't witness any exaggerated gyrations with most dropping straight into the plantation but the sheer number of birds was fantastic to see, some coming at head height! At least 2 sparrowhawk, 2 kestrel, 2 buzzards, a merlin had a go, at least one peregrine and a goshawk earlier pre-starlings but didn't notice it once the action began. Also in the forestry a flock of around 10 bullfinch and a GS woodpecker.

More of the same....

At lunchtime I decided to take a drive around the area between Milton and St Florence, in the hope that the Ibis flock had dispersed into more viewable fields.  This hope was largely forlorn, though I did manage very good fight views of a single bird flying low over Coal Lane - about halfway between the Ridgeway and the B4318.  The Ibis was flying pretty much east to west, over an area where large pools of frozen floodwater were present either side of the road, and where small numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover were feeding in adjacent fields.  More surprising than the Ibis were two Dunlin skating around on the surface of the icy floods.

Dowrog and Fishguard

The 2 Glossy Ibises were in the usual Dowrog field at 9:35am, also a Little Egret dropped in nearby. This afternoon both the Black Guillemots were visible from Fishguard Fort along with 5 Red-throated Divers and 3 Great Crested Grebes. Most surprising record was 2 1stW Sanderlings on the grassy roadside verge behind the beach at Goodwick; with Oystercatchers and Starlings. At Sealyham, the Green Sandpiper was calling at dusk though I couldn't see it.

Ibis............again

The 23 Glossy Ibis again flew over Carew Cheriton this evening. Same details/flight path as yesterday although a little earlier at 16:53. They descended as they flew over the A477 over Milton and may well be roosting around Radford Pill which is off the Carew River.

Gotcha!

To quote that well known phrase from the Falklands "I counted them all out and I counted them all back in"! Having watched the astounding spectacle of 23 Glossy Ibis flying off to roost yesterday I determined to find where they were feeding during the day. At 07:20 this morning I was in position up on the Ridgeway with Carew Cheriton and the Carew River in the distance spread out below me. Of course I was miles too early and with a hard frost and -2 degrees c. I was starting to freeze nicely by 08:25, although the wait had been enlivened by 4 Buzzards, a Peregrine and a few Lapwings passing. At 08:28 I picked up a group of likely looking birds over trees near Carew Cheriton and sure enough in the scope they were the Glossy Ibis - all 23 of them. Amazingly they came on towards me and dropped in below a farm a quarter of a mile or so away. Astounding!!! I then went down to the farm and with permission was able to find them quickly in the corner of a field sunning themselves in an attempt, no doubt, to warm up. I was able to get a few photos but a closer approach was not possible with open ground between me and the birds. The Ibis' then started to disperse to an adjoining field near to some ponds. As hypothermia set in I set off for home to warm up. Hopefully the sun will thaw out the ground and allow the birds, which have probably been in the area for a few days at least, to feed. One bird had a ring - see pic - but unfortunately not readable.
There are no rights of way near the fields in which the birds feed and in respect to the people on the property, which is a busy working cattle farm, I cannot give the precise location. The best way to see the birds is to watch them flying to roost - details in post below.

A Day Out

At the LlysyFran roost there were 2 ad Yellow-legged Gulls and 2 Med Gulls (ad & 2ndW). Also a strikingly pale (eastern?) abietinus Chiffchaff was at the top of the northern arm. A Jack Snipe showed very well in flight at Garron Pill and 4 Pintail were at Landshipping. With Paul G.

Ibis Overload

So far we have had the three Glossy Ibis at Marloes and the two at St Davids. I have also received a report today of a single bird in the Walwyns Castle area.
Having received a tip off from Richard Ellis of a flock of 20 or more birds (!) flying over near Carew a couple of days ago which he thought were Ibis I joined him this afternoon feeling a little sceptical. However, at 17:01 I was astounded when 23 Glossy Ibis appeared flying near to Carew Cheriton Church heading roughly ESE to WSW. They passed over quickly pretty close and disappeared in the direction of Milton and the Carew River beyond. Clearly they were off to roost but where do they spend the day! 23 must be some sort of record!
Hopefully they will stick to the same roost flightpath. Map below shows where we observed from "A" - the stub road which is off the Carew roundabout. The white line is the rough flight line of the birds. Apologies for the photos - not one of my better efforts. Well done Richard Ellis.

Carew River

On the upper reaches of the Carew River by Carew Mill late morning 32 Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 20 Dunlin and a few Teal.

Skomer and Skokholm - Bird Group -Monday 6th Feb

We are pleased to welcome Chris Taylor, warden Skomer, as our guest speaker next Monday 6thFeb 2012. The presentation will be in ‘The Patch’ Furzy Park, Haverfordwest commencing at 7.30pm. Chris will be including in his talk information info regarding previous research on Skokholm and of the proposed new Bird Observatory on the Island. This is a great opportunity for many to find out more about Sk and Sk and for ‘Birders and Ringers’ to find out and discuss how they can be involved and support the project if they wish to. I am sure many of you will find this particular evening of interest and we look forward to seeing both Trust members and Non members. Admission is free and for further info please phone Lyndon on 01437 721859

The two Glossy Ibis are...

...still in 'their' field by the Dowrog

The Marloes Glossy Ibis

The three birds are still around but now in a field to the west of Marloes Mere which is actually pretty dry so I suspect they are now using the very west end of the Mere mainly. Haven't gone far just a bit harder to find.

Ring Ouzel

The wintering male Ring Ouzel was on the lawn of the pink house at St Justinians before flying to the round tower this morning.

Dowrog - and the precision of Ibis roost flights

A couple of late afternoon visits to Dowrog on Friday and Saturday were rewarding, with the two Glossy Ibis, a Barn Owl and Hen Harriers (m+f) seen on both occasions, and a Short-eared Owl also seen on Saturday afternoon.

Of particular interest, however, was the precise timing of the Glossy Ibis flypast over Dowrog to the roost at St David's Airfield over the two days.   I photographed the birds as they flew over Dowrog Common on both afternoons, and the time of the photographs differed by only six seconds over the two days (they appeared at 16:47:34 on Friday and 16:47:40 on Saturday).  Impressively precise body clocks those birds have....

Mute Swans

Yep Derek,
meant to congratulate Rich Stonier on the Pen Caer owls, stunning, Strangely enough there were two Mute Swans in the inner tiderace off the Mackerel rock , floating towards Strumble Head lighthouse on Friday at about four pm, A passing Fishing boat spooked them and they flew off in the direction of Fishguard. Rare enough as a fly-by but distinctly odd looking sat on the sea!

Owl Pics...

Stunning photos Rich, now I know what a rat really feels like....!

Plumstone

I have had problems blogging recently so installed Google Chrome as recommended. Its slower than a slow thing in reverse... any ideas?... anyhow good to meet up with J&J yesterday at Fishguard Harbour. It was probably the first time I have heard a GND call other than in films etc. I dropped in to see Jack Donovan at Withybush (who is recovering well from a bout of pneumonia in ward 11 if anyone wants to visit him). He told me about a GND which someone handed into him which he put in the bath and which kept him awake all night with its howling!


After seeing JD, I went to the starling roost at Plumstone/Roch and watched from near the abattoir. Before the first starlings arrived a ring-tail hen harrier flitted in and out of view out on the moor and then a big heavy female Goshawk came lumbering in off the moor to the plantation.
It seemed a few thousand starlings had arrived from the opposite side of the plantation as I missed them coming in, but they performed a few gyrations above the trees with brief views of some raptor stirring them up. But this was nothing but a taster. They started coming in from the north east, more and ever more. I was trying to keep up with a rough count and then another stream started coming in from the east. Did I say stream ? more like a torrent , black swathes in the sky as far as the bins could see! and then even more from the south east, and then even more from the south, ribbons of many thousands of starlings several miles long. I gave up counting. Millions no doubt, but I gave up on any meaningful estimate.


They all kept on coming, sweeping into the aerial maelstrom above the plantation, millions of swirling wings whooshing loudly, stirred and re-stirred by hunting raptor sorties. Here a Peregrine, there a Gos' several Buzzards and with a Raven cronking maniac laughing at the craziness. A single bird got separated and was snatched by a Buzzard in mid air, a Peregrine winged off up and up and then stooped back into the fray... For a few moments a Gos' sat bemused on a treetop before plunging back into the general mayhem. As the night took hold and last trickles of starlings slunk in to the murmuring wood, more Buzzards seemed to be following them in. Safety in numbers perhaps, but the numbers also attracting the danger.
.
I have seen a few Starling roosts over the past forty years or so but this one takes some beating , not so much for the gyrations but just sheer numbers and also the variety and numbers of raptors they attract. I think the raptors attentions may have something to do with the lack of really flamboyant protracted shows that I have seen elsewhere but this has to be, minute for minute, the mos texciting birding spectacle I have seen anywhere!

Black Gullemot

The summer plumage bird was in Fishguard Harbour this morning.

Bird Records 2011

This is just a reminder if anyone has not yet sent in there 2011 bird records could they either send them to Jon or myself within the next couple of weeks. So far we have received very few.

This can be done by the record submission link on this blog,many thanks.

Got em!!! (5th Time Lucky!) (28 Jan 12)

Say hello to the camera shy Strumble Shorties!!!  2 Owls showing well late afternoon Saturday.

Ty Rhyg (28 Jan 12)

The Great Grey Shrike showing on and off for most of the morning at Ty Rhyg.  Ranging widely.

The St Davids Ibises

As reported earlier the birds are extremely wary at the fields where they have been feeding on Dowrog (Gobaith). Even from the distance suggested earlier, they can be startled by people and cars; they are very different to the confiding Marloes birds. Bernie seems to have a good overview of their movements. They roosted at the Airfield pool as usual, arriving at 4:50. They put on quite a show as they arrived and could be seen well out on the water. Also here 3 Short-eared Owls with another at Dowrog earlier. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew over Carnhedryn later. Also today a 1st W Little Gull and 2 Ad Med Gulls at the south end of Whitesands Bay.

iceland

There was an adult Iceland Gull near the mouth of the Haven viewed from the ferry.

Wandering Med Gull

Yesterdays 2nd W Med Gull at Newport had been ringed as a pullus in Holland in June 2010. It spent most of Oct in County Cork, then in Feb 11 was in Gran Canaria, the last sighting before pitching up in Pembs a year later.
2 more 2nd W at Newport today.

WOW

Details and dates for this year's Wildlife Observer Wales (WOW) courses are now available. The courses are developed and delivered jointly by Pembrokeshire College Coastal and Marine Environment Research Unit and Sea Trust and cover Cetaceans, Seals, Seabirds for Beginners and Seabird Monitoring. Click here for dates and for further information and details on the Pembrokeshire College website click here

Deer Park, Marloes

A stroll around the Deer Park this morning was enlivened by a ringtail Hen Harrier soaring over Wooltack Point and then flying over the Deer Park and on towards Marloes Mere. Also a Peregrine and 4 Chough.
At Marloes Mere early afternoon just a few Shoveller, Teal and Mallard and in nearby fields a lot of Lapwing which were put up by a passing Peregrine. Three Stonechats on the coast path above Marloes beach.
I looked very briefly for the Glossy Ibis' in Marloes but no sign.

Ibis

From Bernie Stevens - Glossy Ibis feed daily in field immediately NW of Drys-gobaith on Dowrog Common. They left last night at 4.40pm and returned this morning at 7.40am. People wishing to view the birds are best to park by the cattle grid on the Rhodiad side of the common and walk to the small humped back bridge. The birds can be seen on the field to the left as are looking towards the house. The Ibis here are much more timid than the Marloes birds and they have already been flushed from their favoured feeding site. Grateful if they could be viewed from between the cattle grid and the bridge and not from the gate by the house.

Goodwick

Bumped into Cliff, at the Goodwick end of the Parrog, tending to his octopus with a repast of crab and prawn. After John and I had duly admired the creature, and with those eyes, they look most intelligent, Cliff offered to run us up to the outer breakwater.
While there, we counted 6 Ringed plover and 4 Dunlin, and more interestingly--- both homed in on a familiar but out of place, mournful, double-noted call---- A lonely Great Northern Diver, in summer spots. As Cliff said----Golden Pond.

The other Ibis

After some detective work by Bernie, the two Dowrog Glossy Ibis were tracked down to some fields near the cottages on the moor (Drws Gobaith). Unlike the Marloes birds they are extremely nervous.

Day out

The results of a trip down south today were: 3 Purple Sandpipers at Tenby Lifeboat Station and a female Eider with 300-400 Common Scoter and about half a dozen Red-throated Divers at Amroth. At Angle there was a good selection of duck and waders with a neat Slavonian Grebe, picked out by Paul, actively feeding out on the remaining water. (With Paul G.)

Glossy Ibis/ Marloes Mere

The 3 birds flew in to roost on the Mere, around 16:45, & landed in front of and slightly right, of the Britton hide. (I stopped on the way there at 16:00, & had a look around where they normally hang out, but couldn`t see them.) They flew in from the East roughly from the disused/derelict farm area, though they could`ve come from anywhere I suppose.
Also over the Mere, 1 male Kestrel, several hundreds (1,000?) Lapwing.

Newport Area

This morning a Chiffchaff at Aberforest.
This afternoon at Newport 2 ad Med Gulls & a 2nd W with a readable darvic ring. At the bridge a Water Rail.

Bosherston & Angle Area

At Bosherston this morning pretty quiet apart from 16 Goosander, many of them adult drakes.
At Freshwater West there were 20 grey Plover on the rocks and a flock of c.40 Dunlin and Ringed plover. A couple of hundred Lapwing were on Castlemartin Corse and the fields up above the Corse still hold plenty of Lapwing, Golden Plover and Skylarks.
Very quiet at Kilpaison with 120 or so Dunlin and just 20 Wigeon though the tide was still up and the larger waders were still in the roost on the north side of the bay.

City News

A record shot of the Ibis settling down at their Airfield roost at sunset.

And for something a little less exotic a Long-tailed Tit at Porthclais this morning.

Ty Rhyg Dale and Marloes

Ty Rhyg
Great Grey Shrike showed on right of gate
Great Spotted Woodpecker 1

Dale
Little Egret 2
Bar Tailed Godwit 5

Marloes Mere
Merlin male
Shoverler 4
Gadwall 4
(no sign of glossy ibis)

St Davids Ibises

The Two Glossy Ibises arrived at the pool at St David's Airfield this afternoon at 4:57; Byron Davies and I watched them as they preened and flapped until frostbite began to set in and I left. I looked around Tretio yesterday thinking this would be the favourite feeding area and watched intently this afternoon for them appearing from that region (Tretio campsite is visible from the Airfield). However, somehow they slipped in under the radar and just appeared above the pool. I believe they have been seen, at least in flight, around the area today? Also two or maybe three Short-eared Owls present.

Black Redstart

Appeared today at Pembroke Dock, was there also last Saturday too.