Swallows

2 swallows on our electricity wires today!! If they are "our" breeding swallows then this is incredibly early - usually they arrive about 17th April. 

Rosemary Royle

Goshawks

 After days of cold wind it was, unexpectedly, warm enough to sit outside in the garden and I’m glad I took advantage.  Early afternoon I looked up to see a large raptor soaring overhead and with binoculars to hand found it was a Goshawk. After being approached by a Crow it moved on and started displaying briefly with some slow wing beats. A second Gos then appeared chasing the first bird and they both flew off eastward.

Westfield Pill.

A stunning drake Mandarin.3 drake, one female Gadwall,with signs of nest building taking place, and a very vocal Cetti's warbler. 

Swallow

 A single bird flew across  the road in front  of me at Rickeston as I was returning  from Milford  about an hour  ago.

Sandwich Terns

 Two close inshore  at the Gann this afternoon.

Marloes Peninsula

Spent a bit of time around Mere and Deer Park today. Ran into Andy Sims on my way round, said to him I had not seen a swallow yet and just after we parted ways one flew past me, heading west across the headland! It must have heard what I had said! Shortly afterwards saw a buzzard getting harrassed by a herring gull over field to east of fort. 

Saw 4 Tufted duck as well as a lone Pintail on the Mere. The highlight though being a lone Black Tailed Godwit. Various gulls had come in for a bit of a wash which included 2 Black Headed gull. Had one Swallow (different to the one above) and 6 Sand martins over the water. 

Had to attempt to try and get an image of a Sand martin! 

Black Tailed Godwit  

 

Got out to sit on Wooltack Point just at the right moment today. I first saw a number of gannet coming past and then suddenly this turned into mass diving of birds. Amazing to watch, though I then forgot to count how many, would have been in excess of 40 birds. Moments later I realised it was all related to a pod of Common Dolphin that had come along the coast and then went into Jack Sound to feed. Lovely to watch how nature works together dolphin from below, gannets above. Also saw a couple of Kittiwake, a shag, 2 oystercatcher and a fulmar (alomg with the usual gulls). The Wheater are back in most of the normal locations around the Deer Park.  

Some of the gannet after one of the mass dive sessions 

Due to wind some birds were passing close to the end of the point 

Common Dolphin moving towards Wooltack Point

Fulmar 

Coal Ln, Sageston

Made some effort recently to check the receding flooded field at the bottom of the small valley along Coal lane between Sageston and the Ridgeway. 

The 5 Egyptian Geese (first seen at the end of February) were again there this evening along with 19 Greylag Geese. Yesterday evening a Green Sandpiper and a quick stop on Thursday afternoon produced a Jack snipe. 

Nevern

From David Collins on 27th: 

When driving through Nevern village, at 18:00 hours this evening, I saw at least three swallows and three house martins flying around together.

Fishguard Harbour

On the Stena side of the harbour this morning a group of 5 Great Northern Divers, a single Great Crested Grebe and a Sandwich Tern. 

Millin Pill WeBS 23/3/26

Like reports from other WeBS counters on here numbers of waterfowl were quite low, although there were still a group of 31 Teal. Was nice to see the 2 Green Sandpipers still present in the upper Pill reaches. There were 8 Redshank and a single Greenshank at the Pill mouth. 

Flushed 4 Snipe from the field by the Pill and later a bonus Jack Snipe got up from about 2 feet from where I was walking, if only I had looked down a split second earlier! (thinking of Caroline Pickett's similar comment!)

I could see David O's flock of Black-tailed Godwits on the far bank of the main river although there is now 18 instead of 16!

Incubation at the mini Heronry is underway with what looked like 3 birds sitting, plus an apparently unoccupied nest.

It was nice to a pair of Skylarks over an arable field adjacent to the farm, which although winter sown may provide some nesting opportunities due to the uneven take up of the crop as a result of poor weather over the winter. 

Minwear & Pickle woods this afternoon

A visit to Minwear and Pickle woodlands this afternoon, to undertake some recording for the BTO Cudyll Cymru (Monitoring Raptors in Wales) project, produced target species, e.g. buzzards displaying. 

Among numerous woodland residents seen and/or heard, at least a dozen or more blackcaps were singing in expected territory areas (based on where they have been recorded in previous annual BBS observations). Several chiffchaffs were also singing in the woodland, in usual/expected places. 

A look over the Eastern Cleddau below the picnic site produced several swallows and others near Blackpool Mill. There must have been at least 20 or more feeding over the river but, surprisingly, no sand martins. A single dipper was seen in a usual territory zone near Blackpool Mill. 

NB all species were identified (as usual) by trusted human eyes and ears only! 

Hoopoe

From Craig Nicholl: Walking down from the car park towards Runwayskiln a Hoopoe flew across the access road into the field on the left and sat on the hedge next to the telegraph pole. After a few moments it flew off in the direction of Marloes hopefully back to the Church it favours! 

Marloes peninsula

Made the most of the warmer weekend weather with a good look around the peninsula. The mere is looking great, still plenty of water and lots of shallow margins. Some nice scrapes towards Martins Haven as well have promise. There's been a lone male lapwing for a few weeks (probably the same that was here last summer) and he was doing his evocative call and display flight. Let's hope there's a mate soon. 3-4 pairs of chough, with one pair carrying balls of what looked like wool towards a nest site. Carrion crow sat on her cliff edge nest. Stonechats and pipits nest building. Pair of buzzards displaying. A pair of gadwall were quietly tucked away and look like they may be nesting. Pair of shelduck. Coot also starting to build a nest. c20 sand martin over the mere, single male wheatear on Renny Slip, a willow warbler, about 6 chiffchaff, a blackcap and 2 swallows and another striking male rubicola-type stonechat (always seem to get them early spring but don't seem to hang around). Dozen peacock butterflies enjoying the sunshine. 

Small grebe

From jajosullivan: There was a small Grebe Species on the flat calm sea just off the end of the southern cliffs at Freshwater East around 4pm today,. It was clearly a smaller bird than usually seen there even though distant. Despite clambering over the rocks I couldn't get close enough to be certain of species. It appeared to have "horns" so was perhaps a summer plumaged Slavonian, it was however distant and the views were not helped by my being perched on top of a rock. 

Stackpole Head

From Debbie Head: 3 male wheatears on the top of Stackpole Head

Razorbills have been rafting the last couple of weeks, now going in and out of nest holes, ( only had my phone for photo)

Dinas Mountain

4 Wheatears and 6 Golden Plover this morning.