Wilson's Storm Petrels - Celtic Deep

Fantastic views of 2 Wilson's Storm Petrels today in the Celtic Deep.  Also a single bird on 1st August which I forgot to post here, which makes it 3 West Coast Pelagics in a row recording this species.  Can we make it 4 on our next trip?!  A steady trickle of European Storm Petrels today ended with a tally of 24.

Also a brief Great Shearwater, and a nice selection of other marine wildlife including a brief Porbeagle Shark, great views of 2 Blue Sharks, and a single Ocean Sunfish.  Once again we came back via  The Smalls and RSPB Grassholm to round the trip off nicely.

Wilson's Storm Petrel (our 2nd, which came to less than 4m from the boat at one point!)

Penally beach

A small flurry of passage waders at the south end of the beach early morning. 1 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 1 Whimbrel and 9 Ringed Plover. At least one of the ringed plovers looked a good candidate for Tundra Ringed Plover (subspecies tundrae), notably smaller and darker mantled than the other nominate hiaticula it was with.

Otherwise 5 Sandwich Tern and 8 Mediterranean Gull on the beach.

St Davids Swifts

I was delighted to see a pair of swifts and what looked like two newly fledged young, while sitting in a garden near the cathedral on sunday Also at least a dozen swifts flying around Marloes a week ago!

?Ring-necked Parakeet

From Melanie Felton: I have just seen a parakeet flying over my garden in Monkton being followed by magpies it was green in colour potentially a ring neck but only got a quick look.  Guess it is an escape. 

Quail

From Mark Piercey: I am not sure if it is of interest but there was a singing male quail calling from 9.10 pm to 9.50 pm this evening at Sutton - approx grid ref 51.802N W005.033

Leucistic or albino Swallow

 A "white" Swallow was seen by Rob Johns on  Pen Caer farmland on Friday. Reported by others two miles away too. The Swallow appears to be an adult with full length tail streamers.. 

Osprey

Was having a bit of much needed quiet time sitting watching world go by, on hillside not far from Gupton Farm, when an Osprey flew over! I did not expect that!! Only passing over and did not hang around.

Please Note: To avoid anyone walking up from Freshwater West and then being disappointed, the path between Starmans and the hide is currently Closed. 

Marloes Mere

The mere's looking great at the moment, plenty of muddy margins and fresh water - a little oasis in this hot spell. New in today was a juvenile Little ringed plover which spent much of the time tucked, almost out of site, in the cattles baked hoof prints. 5 dunlin, 4 snipe were all flushed by an inquisitive red kite making a low pass. 4 yellow wagtails. An adult Lesser black-backed gull with green ring white letters IA on tibia of left leg (I above the A), a Skomer gull I now believe. A few clouded yellow, 2 hummingbird hawkmoths and first migrant hawkers on an earlier visit to a prairie-like Dale airfield. There's some nice pools by the water trough but just pied wagtails and linnets bathing.

Marloes mere

8-9 yellow wagtails around the mere this evening, mostly with the cattle but also picking insects from the margins, some settled in the partly submerged willow to roost. 7 snipe, 3 dunlin. 2 young teal. Nice bright willow warbler and a family of whitethroats. Another Southern Migrant Hawker the pick of only a handful of dragonflies.

 

Giltar Point, Tenby 29th July

From Ian Bartlett: Was great to see good numbers of Stonechat, Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Linnet around the headland yesterday evening and a close up pair of Chough feeding on the golf course was an added bonus.

More Swifts!

From Ian Bartlett: At least 20 circling high above Carew Mill Pond last night (28th). Lots of House Martins and Swallow too.