American golden plover, Dale airfield

A frustrating visit with lingering fog only lifting briefing to give way to a glorious clear spell before descending again. During the clear spell an American golden plover was heard calling over the former stony field heading north over the ploughed field (SM 79286 07090) its calls subsided so I think it dropped down in the ploughed field but despite scoping from every angle no further sign before the fog rolled back in. Whilst earlier plodding along in the mist I put up a green sandpiper, a curlew and a dunlin. 4 grey heron were heading west as was a flock of 14 jay. Lots of pipits and skylarks on the damp runways. Song thrush in the scrub looked new in.

Sunday. Second generation Red-veined darter at a quiet Marloes mere. Dozen each of clouded yellow and wall brown on the road to Kete. Flock of 100 linnet. Couple of chiffchaff in Mill Bay. A little grebe on the pond.

Saturday. 2 yellow-legged gulls joined the 600 LBBs on a very low Llys-y-fran. 3GC grebe inc a young bird.

Stumble head

 Leach's petrel 6

Artic skua 2

Gannet  100s

Manx shearwater 1000

Chough 3

Raven 2

I was there between 930 to 1130 

The Gann - a 5 raptor moment

 A beautiful day at the Gann late morning/early afternoon. Good to bump into Caroline P. there and share a few good sightings. A tide rising to high in the early afternoon had moved most of the waders from the foreshore and a sprinkling of Redshanks, Greenshanks, a couple of Dunlins and a Bar-tailed Godwit were on the pools. At about midday a juvenile Marsh Harrier showed over the saltmarsh towards Mullock's Bridge and spent an hour hunting in this general area. About the same time 3 Buzzards circled over the estuary, one a very white bird that initially gave a good impression of being an Osprey. It took until 1pm for the unringed Osprey to show up, circling for a while over the estuary. Immediately prior to its appearance the Marsh Harrier had flushed a Sparrowhawk from a root-crop field and, for a moment, we had the fine spectacle of 5 species of raptor in the air at once; Osprey, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, 2 or 3 Red Kites and a Buzzard.  

                                                        Light and dark(er) Common Buzzards

                                            Marsh Harrier tussles with a much larger Red Kite

                                    Today's Osprey. Differences in detail to the plumage suggest this 

                                    unringed bird may be a different individual to the one seen here on 

                                    1st September.

West Williamston Osprey

Circling high half way up the Cresswell River, too far away for a photo. Also a female sparrowhawk mobbing a crow. Otherwise pretty quiet.

Sparrowhawk

This impressive beast was seen at Camrose by Moira Jenkins - at first thought to be a Goshawk but then revised to Sparrowhawk. The prey was a wood pigeon.

Hardworking Osprey

From Peter Law: At least one Osprey still enjoying the delights of the Gann this morning, although a late breakfast proved elusive. After long glides against a blue sky and five attempts focused on the ponds, including one where it appeared to have a caught fish which was too heavy to carry away, it flew off towards the mouth of the Haven. 

It was joined at one point by a Red Kite and then two buzzards showed up, flushing a sizeable flock of Curlew.

A few Greenshank and Redshank on the ponds and Little Ringed Plover began arriving as the tide turned.

Wryneck, Martin's Haven

A wryneck the pick of a look around the Marloes peninsula this morning. After a thorough check of a blustery and damp Deer Park, Martin's Haven was much more sheltered with a few more birds inc blackcaps, a chiffchaff, linnets and stonechats to keep me lifting the binoculars. The wryneck flew along the upper slope from the jetty end and settled in a gorse on the ridge above the WC, it didn't stay long before it looped across over the WC towards Lockley Lodge and came down in the bracken out of sight.

Plenty of young linnets and goldfinch. A merlin, a kestrel and then a peregrine all on the prowl. Big flock of chough flying around between the mere and Martin's Haven, I did a quick count of 48 but lots of swirling around and changing places as they do to be 100% sure.

Later the osprey was fishing above the crossing at the Gann before drifting out into the bay. First couple of little grebe on the pools.

Turtle Dove - Milford

 A Turtle Dove in a Milford Haven garden this morning (Paul Warren)

Osprey performed well for over two hours at The Gann this morning.

Arthur & Marilyn Rivett regular visitors from Suffolk

 

Tregwynt and Abermawr

From Alan Seago: Firecrest at Melin Tregwynt bridge this afternoon. 1 chiffchaff still around but sand martins long gone. A pair of very vocal ravens and a kestrel being mobbed by corvids. A gannet out at sea and grey wagtail on the river. 

Withybush airfield

 Was surprised to see a juv Ringed Plover on the airfield accompanied by a female Wheatear.

A lot of swallows moving through and a kestrel hunting around

Strumble Head

A freshening 4-6 W- NW brought a handful of Strumblers and a good selection of passing birds. Highlights: 2 Leach's petrel, 1 storm petrel, min 6 Grey phalarope, a sooty shearwater, a balearic shearwater, 2 adult Sabines gull, 5 Little gull, 10 Arctic skua and 2 Bonxie, as well as c100 Scoter, 9 whimbrel, 4 barwit, 4 ringed plover and 2 dunlin. A trickle of commic terns. Good numbers of common dolphin showing most of the session, always hard to estimate true numbers but likely 50-100 individuals.

Gann Sept 16th

From Michael Thornton: Down visiting West again, I was down the Gann today 16th and saw the following - Osprey, Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Goshawk, Little Egret, Curlew, and a lot of Oyster catchers some with rings on (Orange ring on left leg with what looks like Black ring on right leg with yellow digits).

Llandilo

 Approx 140 Canada Geese, 39 Grey Lags, 9 Stock Doves and approx 30 Wood Pigeons on maize stubble near Llandilo this morning

American Golden Plover - Skomer

An American Golden Plover flew low east over a fog-bound Skomer Island early evening yesterday.  It called four times as it went, so perhaps was looking for somewhere to drop in.  Still foggy here this morning but we will do our best to find it!  Otherwise very quiet, a couple of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler and a single Blackcap.  At least 2 Marsh Harriers have been around for a few weeks now.