Monday 4 December 2017

Castlemartin Corse wetland this morning; Bosherston Lakes E. Arm late this afternoon

A visit was made to Gupton this morning by various observers (including Chris Oliver from the NT, Clive Hurford, Holly Harries, Mike Young-Powell, Paul Culyer of NRW, Richard Ellis and two NT placement students based at Stackpole) to undertake a winter birds survey for the NT. Myself, Paul Culyer and a Lithuanian student looked at the rushy pasture fields along the margins of the Corse reed-bed.

Interesting birds seen by us all included c. 500 or more lapwings. They were regularly in the air over the valley (few seemed to land though as far as I could tell from our valley-bottom location). Very small numbers of golden plover flew over and perhaps 20 or more curlew probably landed on the grassy slopes closest to the coast.

However, snipe was the most notable species in the rushy pasture/wetland zone. At least 438 snipe were flushed as we walked through the fields, with flocks of up to 70 or more in the air over the reed-bed on occasions. Only 3 jack snipe were positively identified but others were most likely present.  Calling water rails, at least one singing Cetti's warbler and several reed buntings were in the reed-bed zone but water levels on the margins were probably too low for duck species. Disappointingly, we didn't see a harrier species and also failed to find a short-eared owl - sometimes they are found roosting in the marshy pasture zone.

I'm not sure what the other members of the team recorded on the farmland. Within our particular patch the variety of species was reasonably good although, apart from snipe, numbers of other birds were low.

Much later on, a pre-dusk visit to Bosherston Lakes E. Arm was not particularly productive. There seemed to be only 3 goosanders on the lower E. arm of the lake. A flock of 75 woodpigeons came in to roost in the lake-side woodland as c. 700 or more jackdaws were in the air preparing to roost. Two firecrests went to roost in an ivy-draped sycamore below the 8 Arch bridge just as it got dark.

Bob