Celtic Deep - Wilson's Storm Petrels (9!!)

My first West Coast Pelagic (https://www.westcoastbirdwatching.co.uk/guided-trips/pelagics/) of 2026 out to the Celtic Deep today turned out to be a belter.

On the way out a couple of us had brief views of a Fin Whale, always a highlight of any trip out there, just a shame it didn't show for everyone.  All the local breeding seabirds were seen including Manx Shearwater, European Storm Petrel, Atlantic Puffin, Common Guillemot, Razorbill and Black-legged Kittiwake.  Small groups of Common Dolphins popped up along the way but none stayed with the boat.

Once out to our chosen spot we cut the engines and drifted.  Roughly an hour later we had views of a Wilson's Storm Petrel, our key target for the day.  Over the next hour or so a total of nine birds were recorded, including 2 together on 2 occasions.  Most birds were adults in various stages of moult, at least one was pristine.  A new Welsh record (the previous highest day total was 4)!

Whilst out in the deep and up to the Smalls and Grassholm we recorded an amazing 13 Ocean Sunfish - never seen more than 1 on a trip before!  Happy faces all around.

Hook / Sprinkle Pill

A first visit for a month or so at high tide today. A Black-tailed Godwit in summer plumage was roosting on the mud flat along with a few Curlews. Something (possibly a fox?) disturbed the birds roosting in the salt marsh and suddenly a few Curlews became 99.  A single Whimbrel patrolled the water's edge, with a Redshank, Greenshank and 2 Common Sandpipers making up the waders. Others - 7 Little Egrets, 7 Greylag Geese, 26 Canada Geese, 2 Buzzards and a Red Kite. Non-birds - at least 3 Clouded Yellow butterflies in the salt marsh vegetation.

Marloes Mere

3-4 Yellow wagtails and a dozen pieds shadowing the cattle. 6 dunlin, were joined by another eight with another flock flying around but didn't come down. 4-5 snipe and a blackwit. 10 young teal.

More Mediterranean Gulls

62 Mediterranean Gull counted on the reef below Giltar Point and the south end of Tenby South Beach yesterday evening including two coloured ringed birds from Dutch and German projects (details submitted).

This morning 43 there in a quick look. Two new colour ringed birds but couldn't read them! 

Mediterranean Gull - post-breeding dispersal

Down from the bridge at Newport, 6 Mediterranean Gulls and then at the river mouth at least 20 more, all ages represented. Also 2 red-head Goosanders - look like adult females.

Coed Glynaeron, near Mynachlogddu. Croeso or not?

From Bethan Mary Evans: I went there yesterday and found the gates padlocked.  Have you any info about this?

Later in the afternoon I thought it wise to check the access to Ty Rhug and there a discovered a NEW sign at the gate saying CROESO!  

(PS Not a bird but there were clouds of Painted Ladies at the gate and beyond, prob 100s.) 

Gann

From Dan Watson: A brief look at the Gann this morning whilst working on the area: 1 Med gull, 7 dunlin, 5+ whimbrel, 3 greenshank, 2 Common sandpiper.

Marloes Mere

First visit for a week or more late afternoon, I timed it well, with a juvenile marsh harrier taking a turn around the mere as I arrived putting up everything including a wood sandpiper, 4 dunlin, 4 snipe, a curlew and a black-tail godwit. 5 young teal and about 100 starling. 2 bright willow warblers in the gorse. Dragonflies stole the show with a male Southern Migrant Hawker in the dried up scrape behind the Britton Hide (possibly another couple that refused to settle). Still some red-veined darters, and a few ruddy darters appearing.

 

Swifts

From David Meanwell: Three swifts over Puffin Way Broad Haven at 3pm today (Tuesday)

Brynberian Moor - if you build it they will come

After leaving the tropics of Haverfordwest it was surprisingly cool with a bit of mist Brynberian side - not ideal for dragonflies, of which there were very few. Some conifers edging the moor have a few cones and crossbills were calling in them. Redpolls buzzing around as usual. Family of greenfinch feeding on seeds in a cypress with a mixed flock of other finches. Just a single juvenile and a singing male whinchat this afternoon. Flushed a snipe whilst checking for damsels. Two family groups of young redstart flying down to grab insects was great to see and for once they were preoccupied enough that I could get a photo or two. Highlight though was a Hobby that appeared and skimmed the tops of the bracken as it homed in on a pipit. It did a couple of wide circuits travelling low and fast out on the moor and then over the treetops around the edges. About an hour later I spotted it perched up in a dead tree on the edge of the moor but had gone by the time I got closer. The bracken is pretty high in places, had me thinking of that scene in Field of Dreams when the old baseball players appear from Kevin Costners characters corn field, magic.

Haverfordwest

 Last Sunday had 3 oyster catcher over the house that was an interesting record, but today noticing large movements of wood pigeon in the Cleddau valley………any one else 

Re "Help"

Just a bit of a guess, and not sure how or if even possible, but it looks like a hybrid Canary/Tenerife Blue Chaffunch. Unlikely presumably, to be a wild hybrid vagrant, so whatever it is, its most likely an escapee.

Help!

From John Witehurst: In the garden today……think an escape/captive bred bird….but really little idea