Gulls...

Just a brief note to endorse David's post, there is a lot of gull movement at the moment, so worth keeping eyes peeled.. A flock of some 50 Kittiwakes were feeding in the surf at Freshwater West with birds coming and going all the time, and being joined by different Med Gulls periodically. This is unusual for Freshwater West.

Gadwall/coot

Stupid of me, yes of course the gadwall are parasitic on the coot...coot, diving, doh...Wigeon appear to be picking it up from the gadwall.

One or two common gulls in the gull flock on the Upper Eastern Arm along with bhgs (one or two starting to darken up) and herrings.

N.V.Q. in Chiffchaff & other vocations

 Having read the previous posts from Dave & Mike Y.P. I took myself down to St Ishmaels WWTW, to have a look at the Chiffchaffs. (being on my doorstep it would be rude not to!) Recalling there was a similar scenario there 4/5 Winters ago, I met Mervyn there & we had an enjoyable time sorting through them all (12?)  comparing the varying colour tones. Soon we were joined by Sash & Steve. I soon realised - again, there are several schools of thought/debate about the different races of  these birds. Anyway whatever they are, it`s still good to see the different variation in plumage. I also learnt, (in my case) what N.V.Q. means. Not Very Qualified! Earlier at the Gann, 2 drake Pintails were a new bird for me there.

St Brides and Marloes

St Brides: flock of 17 turnstones on rocks, female sparrowhawk being followed by a group of rock pipits, small mixed flock of tits and goldcrests by main entrance to St Brides castle. Marloes mere: dozen or so each of coot, shoveler, mallard and gadwall. 40 teal. 3 wigeon.

Godwits at Newport

2 Blacktail & 1 Bartail Godwits have been easily visible by the bridge for some weeks. 2 days ago the Blackwits were just upstream on the S side (a favourite spot) & the Barwit jusf downstream. Today (before the crowds) all 3 were feeding with 2 Little Egrets in the lime kiln creek.
Newport also had huge numbers of gulls. Mostly Black Headed (including an ad Med with a white ring which I couldn't read), but also several 00 Herrings & 50+ Common. As usual only a handfull of G & L Black Backs.
A flock of c80 Curlews wheeled over, but otherwise the warm weather is keeping numbers below average.

Glaucous Gull Newgale Marsh

A smashing chunk of juvenile (1CY - first calendar year) Glaucous Gull on Newgale Marsh just after 1pm today, with a large mixed flock of small and large gulls which were coming and going all the time I was there (around half an hour) - I don't recall ever seeing so many gulls there so worth a check if you are passing.  No sign of any ducks despite the river being in flood.  A fantastic end to what has been a stellar year in Pembrokeshire - the best I can remember.  Good birding to all in 2014.

Duck and Coot 'relationship'

I have seen and photographed Wigeon at Bosherston behaving in the same way - is this a Bosherston thing or is it general, suspect it is

Carew

Plenty of birds this morning around Radford Pill and the Carew River - 400+ Golden Plover, 500+ Lapwing, 67 Redshank, 5 Greenshank, 8 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Little Egret, 50 Teal, 20 Wigeon.

Bosherston

From Mike Davey - Bosherston lakes ,Great Crested Grebe fishing on the central arm today

Gadwall and Coot relationship

Just a brief note to clarify the Gadwall/Coot relationship referred to in Richard's earlier post.  It is actually the Gadwalls that are accompanying the Coots - to collect the weed/Chara that is loosened while the Coots dive for food.  BWP mentions a case at Bodensee in Germany where the Gadwalls are totally dependent on the Chara brought to the surface by Coots.    Also, if you watch the ducks at Bosherston, you will see that it is the Coots that are chasing off the Gadwalls.

Bittern, Lapland Buntings etc

The Bittern was showing in the reedbed at the top of the eastern arm of Bosherston Lily Ponds this afternoon, also the female Red-breasted Merganser has been seen consorting with a female Goosander this week.  Also this afternoon, a Great Northern Diver and at least two adult Mediterranean Gulls in the roost in Angle Bay.  Elsewhere, yesterday, there were at least eight Lapland Buntings at Dale Airfield.

Llys-y-fran

A look at the gull roost this evening. c2000 LBB, c500 BH, 50 Herring, 20 Common, 6 GBB and 5 Mediterraneans (2 adult, 3 1st winters). Gulls were dropping in in numbers all the time with lots of BH gulls inparticular as the light was going. 4 GC grebes catching small rudd right in amongst the gull roost. 5 goosander (2m, 3 red-heads). Yesterday: Broad Haven: 3 possibly 4 GN divers, 10 R-T divers only 28 scoter.

Yesterday & Today

Took a casual look from Newgale to the Gann in worsening weather conditions yesterday, never saw the G/W/Teal - or any others for that matter, just two Dunlin on the flooded campsite. only some 45 Common Scoter between Maidenhall car park & Goultrop along with 1 R/T/Diver & 2 G/Northerns. A look at last light at the Gann, much the same as of late, the 2 Grey Plovers back on the small island, with a female Merlin over. This evening at the Gann - again similar to yesterday, with 18 Brent on the lagoon, including the dark breasted bird.

Siberian Chiffchaffs and Firecrest

Another visit, to Monk Haven provided some of the best fun you can have with birds in my opinion. I agree with Dave that there are probably three Siberian Chiffchaffs (tristis) with a bunch of collybita birds at the Sewage Treatment Works. They seem to me to be pretty much classic individuals with one showing very contrasty tertials. They can appear greyer or browner above and whitish below depending on the light and posture, tone-'morphing' as described in Martin Garner's excellent post on 'Birding Frontiers'. Photos below.  More details on my blog. Also the male Firecrest present and showing very well. (with Kathy Y-P)

Martin's Haven Great Northern

A Great Northern Diver feeding very close in, by the jetty, yesterday afternoon.
Very few passerines in this wind, but several small groups of Chough.

St Dogmaels

From John Ramm - On a perfect December morning the view from the jetty in St Dogmaels was superb. 100+ lapwings, 8 redshanks, a bar tailed godwit and little egret, together good flocks of dunlin and ringed plovers. Later in the afternoon, as the tide came in, there were three groups of wigeon. I counted 85 birds in total.

Teifi Estuary

A look at high tide around the estuary from the usual points revealed a high count of  248 Wigeon, and an incease in the near resident Lapwing flock to c600. No Golden Plovers with them which is unusual if the flock is from the local area. Two Little Egrets flying up river to roost, and 100 Curlew, 38 Teal, 30 Oystercatcher off  The Webley. On Patch, 12 Ringed Plover, 6 Dunlin and a few Rock Pipits.

A 1st year Med. Gull was roosting at The Webley yesterday (Jon G).
A flock of c50 Skylarks nr. Pantgwyn Quarry today (Janet A) was a good winter record for the area

A breezy afternoon at Frainslake Sands to Freshwater West

A late visit at high tide to count waders and waterfowl etc was fairly productive. At least 1200 lapwings were roosting on the dune grassland with about 300 golden plovers (the largest flock that I (Bob) have personally seen in south Pembs so far this winter). Usual roosting flocks of curlew (56) and oystercatcher (36) were on Frainslake beach with just a dozen or so grey plovers present. Their numbers also seem a bit low so far this winter. NB the one photographed below was not taken at Frainslake but in Norfolk recently.

There were far fewer gulls generally on the beach today, mainly herring and black-headed. There was no sign of a possible yellow-legged gull (or possibly a hybrid LBB x Herring) photographed in a large mixed flock of gulls at Frainslake on 30th November. The image below, was taken from some distance away, and is a small part of a photo of a flock of around 150 herring, 60 lesser black-backed and 120 great black-backed gulls that were on the beach that day.

Offshore there were about a dozen kittiwakes feeding in the increasingly rough sea. There were also at least 7 common scoters feeding in the bay off Frainslake beach. There could have been more but they were not easy to see due to the considerable swell.

A small flock of 15 linnets was feeding in the grassland but best of all was a fine Lapland bunting  also seen feeding in short maritime turf above Bluckspool Bay.

There were not many choughs in the area (6 in all, including a pair that went to roost above the Furzenips. A pair of displaying ravens were already bringing in new twigs to their nest, a reminder that for early breeders, spring cannot be too far away.

Gann & Monk Haven

A good look around the Gann, including the saltmarsh all the way up to Mullock.  Counted 48 Wigeon and around 100 Teal were present, along with 4 Goldeneye (2 drakes) and 9 Little Grebe.  2 Reed Buntings & 9 Linnets fed in the scrub near the stepping stones, whilst up on the saltmarsh 9 Rock Pipits were counted and 11 Meadow Pipits fed amongst cattle in an adjacent field.  Just 1 Brent Goose (pale bellied) on the foreshore.

Another go at the Chiffchaffs again at the sewage works at Monk Haven.  At least 9 birds present, and in my opinion at least 3 of these looked good for Siberian - 2 quite grey birds and 1 with browner tones.  Educational!  Photo quality quite poor - it is really hard to digiscope warblers!! 2 different birds shown in the photos, the light can make a real difference to how they look, so photos not that helpful.

A day out

A great day out, started with the drake Green-winged Teal at Newgale Marsh, showing pretty well from the pub car park.  A male Stonechat also here, and on the campsite a Dunlin, 7 Rock Pipits and 12 Meadow Pipits.  35 Common Scoter offshore, and more were recorded at Nolton (37), Haroldston (11) and at Broad/Little Haven/Goultrop (c.40) giving a total of around 120.  No sign of any Velvets.  No Divers until we reached Broad Haven, where we recorded 15 Red-throats and 3 Great Northerns between BH and Goultrop.  Little in Milford Docks other than 150 odd gulls, but Gelliswick was better with an adult Med Gull and 2 Great Northern Divers very close in - took us about 15 minutes to see them both at the same time!  Sandy Haven held a Green Sandpiper and a Greenshank.  A quick look at Bicton Irrigation Reservoirs revealed 6 Tufted Ducks (3 pairs), 9 Coot and around 30 Teal, with a Redshank in a damp part of the field by the lower pond - first I've ever seen here!

Highlight of the day was trying to sort out the Chiffchaffs at St. Ishmaels Waste Water Treatment Works at Monk Haven.  At least 9 birds present, many using the filter beds and surrounding trees and vegetation.  Two birds had all the characters of Siberian Chiffchaff (tristis) even though they could look quite different depending on the light.  Have included a couple of cropped photos from Mike - you get the idea, pale and browny/grey with sullied cheeks and dark bare parts.  Did not call but repeat visits will hopefully put that right.  Some interesting stuff on these on Birding Frontiers using the links below - one of our birds did look like a Bonelli's Warbler (with a supercilium) at one point as Martin Garner describes.

http://birdingfrontiers.com/2013/12/20/siberian-chiffchaff-3/
http://birdingfrontiers.com/2013/12/10/siberian-chiffchaff-2/

Also a male Firecrest showing well here.  A final look at Dale failed in the hoped for gull roost (too calm) but the 6th Great Northern Diver of the day put in a good show from the sea front, close inshore.

(Dave A & Mike Y-P)

Stackpole, Bosherston Lakes

A black redstart is still flitting about the rooftops at the Stackpole Centre, along with several pied wagtails. Good duck numbers on the Upper Eastern Arm including >40 gadwall (are there more than usual this year?) with their attendant (kleptoparasitic) coot, shoveler, wigeon, mallard, tufted...

Martins Haven, near Marloes, Pembokeshire

23 chough
130 lapwing in fields
snipe kicked up as we walked across the headland
shag fishing in Jack sound being kleptoparasitised by kittiwakes who were then bullied by the herring gulls. One kittiwake was grabbed by a shag and held under the water for several seconds!

Siberian Chiffchaff

A really productive day with Dave Astins, who will probably blog later with this little beauty, at Monk Haven, one of the highlights.

Grey Wagtails in Haverfordwest

Late this morning there were three grey wagtails by the river in the centre of Haverfordwest.

Lapland buntings - Dale airfield

4 Lapland buntings on Dale airfield NW of pond. Pretty wet underfoot with few dry areas, quite a few skylarks (inc flock of 20) but no pipits. 2 Stonechat. 12 snipe. 13 Song thrush inc flock of 7. Earlier at the Gann: A very heavy hailstorm put up 42 wigeon and 120 curlew, and a pair sparrowhawks (one seen in Dale village later). Also 20 teal, 2 or 3 Little egret, 4 Goldeneye, 8 Little grebe, 10 snipe and a Greenshank.

Belated Christmas Day sightings

Just picking up on a few other sightings - in Jack Sound and Little Sound around 400 Kittiwakes feeding in the north going tidal flow along with a few BHG's, HG's and LBB's and a single adult Med Gull.  Very close to Midland in a tidal eddy at least eight Shag feeding and more around the sound but little else of note.  We are used to not seeing many LBB's around the islands until late February so it was also interesting to see that most of the big gulls were LBB's.
On the Deer Park just a single Stonechat and later between Musselwick and St Brides only one Stonechat was seen - have they recovered from the last two winters or have they suffered in the wet and windy autumn?  I seem to recall lots around in the late autumn but many of these may have been migrants.

Green-winged Teal

Still at Newgale Marsh this morning (Dave A & Mike Y-P). Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Birdwatch

Nice feature about our Orphean warbler in the Jan issue of Birdwatch.

Hook

A mid-late afternoon walk for a low-tide count at Hook.  LOTS of birds.  Highlights included: 624 Teal, 103 Wigeon, 9 Shoveler, 24 Shelduck, 18 Mallard, 41 Greylag Geese, 150+ Canada Geese, 679 Lapwing, 750 (est) Golden Plover, 81 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 12 Black-tailed Godwit, 465 Dunlin, 71 Curlew and 4 Little Egret.  It was lovely and still, a welcome break (albeit shortlived) from the gales.  Try as I might I could not make it 2 Green-winged Teals in a day!

Newgale area

Having aborted an attempt to survey seabirds from St David's Head (sea-state just too rough for the required method) we decided to head back south and had a lunch-stop at Newgale. Having scanned the waterfowl etc in the marsh, we were pleased to see the green-winged teal drake reported earlier in the day by David Astins. We watched the rough sea for a short while from the edge of the shingle ridge and noted several small close-in flocks of scoter, making short flights close to the very choppy surf line. We estimated about 100-150 in total, including at least 2-3 velvet scoters.

Teifi

A look around the estuary found the following:
300 Lapwing, 4 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin, 10 Redshank, 60 Wigeon, 20 Teal, 2 Shag, 3 Little Grebe, only 1 each of Little Egret and Grey Heron. 50 Barnacle Geese of the Cardigan Island flock on the Farm Park fields.
On the Marsh another 50 Teal, and 2 Goldeneye on the river.

Broad Haven

Managed to pop out for an hour. High tide, 44 scoter scattered around. Pretty choppy but light was good nothing unusual that I could see. 2 Great Northern divers and minimum 7 Red-throated divers.

Green-winged Teal

Drake Green-winged Teal Newgale Marsh 10am. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Christmas Day Wanderings

Most prominent species during a lunchtime walk at Nolton was Fulmar....plenty on the cliffs and flying around close inshore.  Around 50 Common Scoter between Nolton & Druidston but gusty winds and poor light prevented a good grilling.  A circuit of Marloes Mere late afternoon revealed far fewer ducks than I was expecting, maybe many were tucked away?  Totals: 3 Wigeon, 10 Gadwall, 12 Mallard, 30+ Teal & 12 Shoveler.  A pair of Tufted Duck on the northern irrigation pond.

Nadolig Llawen Pawb.

The Gann

High tide, everything on the lagoon, 8 Brents inc a dark breasted bird, 2 Grey Plover, 9 Wigeon, 10 Little Grebes, 4 Little Egret, 5 Goldeneye & 2 Redshank. Much calmer than last night!

Dale

Firstly, congratulations to Richards & Mike for the overhaul of Pembrokeshire Birds (the best County bird blog in Britain, in my humble opinion) - looks superb and I look forward to exploring it!

Had a bit of meander across the Gann this afternoon, traversing the saltmarsh a good way up towards Mullock.  No Jack Snipe, but plenty of Snipe, and a nice flock of saltmarsh Rock Pipits (8+) adjacent to the old pits towards Mullock.  At the Gann 90+ Teal and 30+ Wigeon on the pool, along with a Little Egret, 5 Redshank and 23 Brent Geese.  Around at Dale I met up with Derek G and together we had a good look at the gull roost as the already strong wind whipped up even more and the light changed from good to poor and back to good again.  A minimum of 14 Mediterranean Gulls were logged (13 adults & 1 1CY) and birds were dropping in all the time as the light faded.

Merry Christmas to one and all - a photo of my favourite bird of 2013, but then I am biased.....

New Look Blog

Welcome to the new look Pembrokeshire Birds. I have been thinking for some time that the blog, which has been pretty much unchanged for 7 years, was overdue for an update. So, with the help of Richard Dobbins and Mike Young-Powell, who help considerably to run the blog with me, we have put together this new look which we hope you will enjoy.

The old links are still there but in different places. The "Buttons" below the header picture link to some frequently used resources and you will see that there is a new feature in the form of the Rarities section which Mike Y-P will endeavour to keep up to date.

The remaining links are now grouped on the right hand side of the blog.

Please have a play around with all the buttons and links. If any glitches come to light I will do my best to get them sorted asap.

Meanwhile from Rich D, Mike Y-P and myself have a very Happy Christmas! Many thanks to those who contribute to the sightings on the blog and for the fantastic support from all our viewers.

Llys-y-fran and Rosebush Res

Llys-y-fran: Very quiet 3 GC grebe (inc a pair displaying), a single lapwing over and just a handful of gulls (LBB and BH). The flock of Canada geese flew in with a greylag. Rosebush Reservoir: Heavy wintery showers. c50 Teal, 25 Mallard, 11 Tufties, 4 Goldeneye, 2 Shoveler, 1 wigeon. c150 LBB gulls and a couple of Little grebe. What I initially thought was a moorhen turned out to be a dipper swimming along in front of the reeds.

Eastern Subalpine Warbler on Skomer?

Don't worry, this was back in May!

At the time Dave A suggested this looked good for an Eastern Subalpine Warbler because it was so grey & cold looking but we didn't know of any diagnostic features. I've not seen the recent BB article yet but there was a short post on Birding Frontiers recently from Martin Garner pointing out Eastern birds have a different tail pattern - a white wedge on the second outer most tail feather rather than a white spot.
Have a look here:  http://birdingfrontiers.com/2013/11/06/the-eastern-subalpine-warbler-at-yell/

Fortunately I hadn't deleted all my rubbish photos of the Skomer bird yet & found one that showed the tail pattern - is that enough of a wedge?

I left Pembrokeshire in August & meant to write a short goodbye post but never got around to it. I loved the time I spent on Skomer & really enjoyed the birding & meeting Pembs birders & hopefully I'll get back & do a bit more birding on the mainland. One of my favourite memories was bumping into a Red-breasted Flycatcher down North Valley & phoning Richard Dobbins when it had disappeared into a bush. While talking on the phone it popped out again so I put the phone down & watched it again for a few minutes until it disappeared again then picked my phone up & Richard was still talking! 

Looks like I'll never get the hang of getting the photos where I want them & I've done something funny with the text now as well! 

Blackbirds

It is interesting that there were about equal numbers of both sexes at Skokholm during the main migration period. Ringing returns for the months of December and January, when the winter population may be more stable, could be illuminating and as pointed out could indicate differences in behaviour between the sexes.

Skokholm Blackbirds

Of the 23 new birds trapped in October and November (our residents are already ringed by this point pretty much), 12 were males.
Ringing may go some way to helping with your question as it will to some extent allow for differences in behaviour between the sexes. Would be interesting to know the ratios from other Pembs ringers.

Blackbirds

Graham, I wish it had occurred to me to count the male/female blackbirds who have been demolishing the heap of fallen apples in our garden for the last 6 weeks, now you come to mention it there were a lot of males but now the pile is completely gone, and with it the crowd of blackbirds.......

Where be that Blackbird to?

During December 2012 it seemed that there were many more male than female Blackbirds about locally. Was this true or were the females just less obvious?

By late November 2013 there again seemed to be a preponderance of males, so time to test the truth. During the period 4 – 21 December Blackbirds were searched for and logged in three kinds of habitat. One was a block of urban gardens in Haverfordwest, another pastureland bounded by trees and shrubs at Rudbaxton and finally largely deciduous woodland at Picton. Thirty minutes was dedicated to each visit and observations made on 19 dates, sometimes two different plots visited on the same day. A total of 104 bird sightings were logged and of these 90 were males.

This sample covered a minute part of the county so it would be interesting to hear about the broader picture. Anyone sufficiently interested?

Gann

A look at the Gann from the car park late afternoon revealed 4 adult Mediterranean Gulls amongst the gull flock on the beach and 15 pale-bellied Brents.  Around at Dale the gull roost was gathering quite close inshore as the thunder & lightning struck and winds increased, 4 Meds may have been the same collection from the Gann.  I appreciated the shelter the boot of my car gave me, strategically parked....bad light stopped play around 3.30pm.

Teifi estuary

A couple of sightings of note this afternoon;
300 Lapwing opposite St. Dogmael's Quay and an increase in the House Sparrow flock at the Poppit Lifeboat Station. Grain appears to have been put down and the c75 House Sparrows loved it. What else might be attracted to this sand dune feeding station?

Llys-y-fran - Ring billed gull still there

Ring-billed gull still there amongst a growing flock of gulls with birds dropping in all the time. Rough counts LBB 300, BH gulls 250, Common gulls 10 and a 1st winter Mediterranean. 4 noisy Greylags dropped in amongst the Canadas.

Black Redstart

From David Meanwell - Black Redstart sitting on fence outside lounge window Friday 3pm Puffin Way Broadhaven

Castlemartin Corse

A winter bird survey at Castlemartin Corse this morning got off to a good start with a Merlin splitting off  an individual from a flock of 70 or so Linnets. The ensuing chase with numerous twists and turns was a joy to watch (though perhaps not so enjoyable for the Linnet)! The end result of the chase was not seen.

Later I had a close view of another, or the same, Merlin and a Short-eared Owl was seen over the reed bed and marshy areas. Lapwing and Golden Plover numbers have been very low on the Corse this winter so it was good to see 900 Lapwing and 100 Golden Plover near the road to Castlemartin. Following the recent rain there is now plenty of water by the reed bed which has attracted wildfowl with good numbers of Wigeon, Shoveller, Teal and Mallard.

Dawn Chorus!

Something to transport us away from the current changeable weather to the joys of spring......Pembrokeshire Coast National Park are looking for someone to lead a dawn chorus 'listening' in May.  If anyone fancies it please contact Gayle Lister via the office on 0845 345 7275.

Red Kites

Two Red Kites over Cookhill Mill Turkey Farm (On A487 from H'west) this morning.

Tenby

A Great Northern Diver close in to a very blustery Giltar Point this morning. Further along towards Lydstep there were 20 or more Fulmar on the sea and flying repeatedly up to the cliffs.

Green Sandpiper - Houghton

One present on the second pond along Rhoose Ferry Road (Mervyn J) Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Llys-y-fran

Reported today by Dave and Julia Evans:  Llys-y-Fran Reservoir (north end): 1 pair of Goosander, 10 Teal, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Sparrowhawk  and, further down the water,3 Grey Herons, 1 Little Grebe, 1 Great Crested Grebe.

St Davids Head am

A beautiful day to be out and about and some nice birds were 5 Whooper Swans (1 ad) at Ivor's Pond briefly before heading off north-east, a group of 7 Skylarks appeared to come in off the sea and a Hooded Crow was unusually obliging at Whitesands. Great fun in the sun.

Firecrest - Haverfordwest

One again at Withybush Wood in alder carr 300m past the wooden bridge near the first bench. A female Merlin was on the airfield at Withybush.

Bosherston Bittern

This morning at Bosherston a Bittern in the reed bed below Stackpole Court. Also a Chiffchaff near the court.

On the ponds 12 Goosander, accompanied by a redhead Red-breasted Merganser (as noted by Richard Ellis on 10 December). Otherwise a small collection of wildfowl at the Stackpole Court end - several Coot, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal and a couple of Shoveller as well as 2 Tufties.

Teifi wetland birds

A good variety of winter species seen during a good look at the Teifi this morning from the estuary to the river viewpoint on the reserve.
Starting at a cold sub-zero dawn, 100's of Black-headed Gulls and some Common Gulls were coming in off the sea, many landing briefly on Poppit beach. 55 Oystercatchers here too with 2 Grey Plover and a Bar-tailed Godwit until the first dogs arrived.
On Patch a small high tide roost of 4 Turnstone and 8 Dunlin. A fisherman gave a good description of about 15 Greenland Whitefronted Geese over the estuary last week.
Totals from all the viewing points visited included 237 Teal, 192 Wigeon, 150 Canada Geese, 4 Little Egret, 52 Curlew, 3 Grey Heron, 5 Little Grebe, 28 Lapwing, 65 Mallard and 7 Redshank,
From Mallard hide there was a Kingfisher and 20 Snipe. 2 Goldeneye from Curlew Hide, just Teal from Creek hide and 3 more Snipe on the island at Kingfisher hide. From the river viewpoint there was a Grey Wagtail. A Pintail was seen here last week.
Lots of Blackbirds and Thrushes around the reserve too.
A large number of gulls are coming into the estuary late afternoon at the moment so well worth a scan for that rarity waiting to be found!

Pembroke Dock

Lunchtime at Cosheston Pill: Female kestrel on street lamp, c12 Black-tailed godwits, 75+ teal, c20 Shelduck, 2 Little grebe, 6 mallard and a few redshank. Yesterday morning at a very blustery Gann: 4 Brent, 4 Mediterraneans and 20+ Common gulls.

Barn Owl

Great to know that barn owls are still around at Sealyham having seen one at 6:30am this morning hunting along the hedges - definitely made the early morning swim before work worthwhile. Apparently they are really struggling nationally.  Kathy Y-P

Newport Mon

A belated Webs.
At the bridge 80+ mallard (they gather when the river is high), 40 Teal & 1/3 of the 85+ Wigeon. Also there 2 Black T Godwits feeding with the BarT, 2 red headed Goosanders, a Kingfisher, Moorhen & Little Egret & 75 Curlews in 2 groups.
Otherwise just 2 Redshanks, 5 Dunlin & 17 Ringed Plovers.

Daugleddau

Rising tide: Canada Goose 180, Greylag 6, Shelduck 50, Wigeon 40, Teal 80, Mallard 12, Golden Plover 400, Lapwing 800, Dunlin 200, Curlew 20, Redshank 8, Little Egret 1. A compact group of c100 Black-headed Gulls arrived from the E Cleddau.

Goosander/s

This female Goosander was on our garden pond this morning, possibly the same bird that was at Treffgarne Quarry a couple of days ago. A Green Sandpiper seems to have settled in again for the winter.

Dale

Gann: flock of 750+ LBB / Herring Gulls, c50 GBB Gulls, 50+ BH gulls 10+ Commons and 8 Mediterranean, one with almost full hood. On the pools 4 Goldeneye, couple of teal and wigeon. 3 cormorants, 2 Little egrets, BH gulls and greenshank chasing fry in the bay nearest car park. Dale Airfield: Very blustery just 2 sightings of single Lapland buntings.

Broad Haven, Marloes and Gann

Bit of a whistle-stop tour late afternoon. Broad Haven: High tide c40 Scoter, couple of razorbills and a Red-throated diver. Marloes mere very quiet everything keeping undercover and out of sight, 2 chough and 3 snipe plus a handful of ducks. Gann: 5 Goldeneye, c10 Redshank, 10 Teal, 11 Turnstone, a greenshank and a Little egret. 200 or so LBB gulls at top end of pools lifted off and dropped way out in the bay before I had chance of a decent look.

Dowrog

From Dave & Julia Evans -  At Dowrog Common 1550hrs this afternoon,

2 male and 1 (possibly 2) ringtail Hen Harriers coming to roost.

St Davids

From Steve Jarvis - 120ish lapwing and 200+ Golden Plover on the edge of St Davids (Ocean Haze) another 100 lapwing near the Golf Course with several Curlew

Saundersfoot

From Peter Cadogan - There was a flock of about 50 kittiwakes on the sea off Saundersfoot yesterday 10 December, with some black headeds and a few commons. Also: at least 10 red throated divers, 20 or so common scoters, about 20 red breasted mergansers,30 guillemots, 1 sandwich tern,1 great crested grebe AND a pair of dolphins seen briefly

Firecrest - Haverfordwest

One in alder carr at Withybush Wood from the wooden bridge this afternoon and a Red Kite over. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Black Redstart

A male, seen briefly around our works at Pembroke Dock this afternoon. The Glossy Richard saw sounds interesting - returning back from SW England ......?

Stackpole/Bosherston Merganser

A red-breasted merganser was mingling with the dabbling ducks in the Upper Eastern Arm this afternoon. A redhead, but in poor light I'm not committing myself as to female or first winter. First time I've seen one on the lakes in nearly 22 years. I did squeeze off a couple of atrocious photos but nothing I'd dare share here.

MID Pembs Section WWTSWW

The Christmas meeting will be on the 16th Dec13. Please use the link to the Pembs Bird Group Blog site for more details. Lyndon

Glossy Ibis

This afternoon on the outskirts of St Florence a Glossy Ibis. It flew into a muddy patch by a farm gate on a minor road just east of East Jordeston farm at SN080018. Legged it back home for the camera but on approaching the site it was in the air and headed off NW - probably to roost.

Sabine's Gull at West Angle

While scanning for Ivory Gulls on West Angle beach this morning (as you do), it would be an understatement to say that I was surprised as a Sabine's Gull took off and flew across to the opposite side of Milford Haven before flying up-channel towards Dale and out of sight.  Definitely worth checking the gull flocks in the Dale area and any feeding flocks in the Haven. 

Lapland Bunting

Lovely flight shot Clive. Best i could do with Paul M was an adult Mediterranean Gull in a very sizable gull roost towards dusk on the Teifi Estuary.

Dale Airfield etc

At least five Lapland Buntings at Dale Airfield this morning, also Peregrine, Kestrel and plenty of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks.  At Bosherston, where Goosander numbers are still building, there was also a Kingfisher and a small number of Goldeneye.  Elsewhere, at Quoits Marsh there was a Little Egret and Greenshank.

Looking for crossbills...

No luck with crossbills today but nice views of a gos was ample compensation...

Little Egrets displaying

The mild weather seems to have been turning the thoughts of Little Egrets spring-wards - two in the river at the Gann were displaying, walking around pointing their necks and bills upwards and one was fluffing up its well developed back plumes and partly drooping its wings.

Nordic Jackdaws in South Pembs

An influx of Jackdaws into South Pembs over the past week or so has included a small number of birds showing the characters of the 'Nordic' birds - like the top right bird in the pic above..  These birds have been seen in the dune grassland at Freshwater West, in Monkton, and in fields with cattle on the road to Angle- like this one between Newton Farm and the Freshwater West turn-off.

Broad Haven, Marloes and Gann

Broad Haven early afternoon: 220 scoter mostly distant, Great Northern diver and another distant RT diver(?). 200 or so Herring gulls getting excited about something way out in the bay. Marloes Mere: First scan from car park revealed a wigeon and a mallard! Nothing visible from Oriole Hide. Britton Hide better: 15 Gadwall, 10 mallard, 11 Shoveler, 10 wigeon and 12 teal. 2 chough and a male kestrel. Gann: 54 wigeon, 30 teal, 6 Mute swans, c30 Brent, 2 Little egret, 6 Little grebe, 5 Goldeneye (2m,3f), Grey heron, c6 Redshank and a greenshank. Amongst the flock of gulls were c500 LBB, c300 BH, 7 Meds and 4 Common gulls. I left Dave A having a last look as the light was failing.

Newgale

Newgale just after 9am this morning at high tide: 6 Med Gulls (4ads, 1 2CY, 1 1CY), Great Northern Diver, & 120+ Common Scoter, many close in. No pipits. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Ramsey

A quick 1 hour seawatch this morning yielded 1 RT diver, 6 gannets, 7 common scoter, 50+ kittiwakes and 100+ razorbills (c 50% in summer plumage) - fulmars on ledges again today in good numbers. Also - single snipe, jack snipe and merlin on the island and in Ramsey Sound c 400 black-headed gulls and single 1st w Med gull and 1st w common gull

Newport

Nearly 100 Wigeon divided between the Parrog rocks & upstream from the bridge. The Swans seem to be back. Kingfisher virtually guaranteed recently.
Today the Barwit feeding alongside the/a Blackwit.

Marloes Mere

Just before sunset,  1 Drake Tufted, 1 Kestrel (also a drake) Goldcrest in the willows at the hide, Merlin (f) about 120 Jacdaws, a similar number of Lapwing, 1 B/H/Gull, 17 Skylarks in the stubble. Great Spotted Woodpecker. (!)

Hen Harriers - Dowrog Common

3 roosted (1 male) at dusk and a Merlin. As Mike reports the Water Pipit was at Newgale, also a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting the marsh and 2 Red Kites over. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Picton Ferry

There were seven Greylags on the edge of the mud at an extreme low tide.

Water Pipit

Once again at Newgale Campsite. A couple of poor shots here but then it was off leaving a dozen Rock Pipits and half a dozen Meadow Pipits behind.

Pembroke Dock

Low tide today: Cosheston Pill 6 Black-tailed godwits, Little grebe, Little egret and a handful of redshank visible in the empty channels. Front Street: 4 shelduck, 4 Mute swans, c75 BH gulls scattered across the mudflats suddenly got up and dropped in a tight group on the sea as a Peregrine came over at eyelevel.

Water Pipit

From your description Mike it sounds like the same bird i found there last month.

I'm glad you saw it.

Water Pipit

A really nice Water Pipit was showing well on Newgale Campsite late morning along with 7 or 8 Rock Pipits. A nice 'clean' looking bird, interestingly the white outer tail feathers could just be seen from above and from the side even in the closed tail.

Crossbills - Blackpool Mill

8 Crossbills included 3 stunning males in roadside larches near the mill entrance. Around 5 Marsh Tits in the general area. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Snow Buntings Sunday

A report just in from Clive and Caroline Hickman of 4 Snow Buntings on the shingle bank at Newgale on Sunday 1 December,

The Gann

From David Ord - 27 pale bellied brent geese counted at low tide today.

Ramsey Sound

A large number of gulls gathered just off the Bitches this afternoon, all sitting on the water waiting for the flood to start. Not an uncommon sight at this time of year but it made sifting through them and counting them easier as they were sitting still! Totals were: Black-headed gull 320, Med gull 2 (both ad w), little gull 1 (ad w), common gull 2, herring gull 20, LBB gull 10 and 40 kittiwake

Daugleddau

Tide three quarters up: Canada Goose 140, Shelduck 60, Mallard 12, Teal 120, Wigeon 100, Great Crested Grebe 1, Little Grebe 2, Little Egret 2, Heron 2, Cormorant 2, Golden Plover 600, Lapwing 1000, Curlew 12, Redshank 2, Greenshank 1, Dunlin 200, Black-tailed Godwit 3.

Little Haven etc

From David Ord - Thanks to Brian for reporting on the scoters and divers today, it prompted me to go over to Littlehaven this afternoon. Success - my first ever Great Northern Diver plus 3 red throated and the scoters. Moving north - a peregrine on the cliff top at Haroldstone chins and a water rail that ran across the road just north of Nolton Haven.

Llys-y-fran Reservoir - Ringer Dinger

First visit this winter to check the gull roost.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, given it's regularity over several winters, we soon picked up the/an adult Ring-billed Gull amongst the large flock of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.  A really good number of Black-headed Gulls, perhaps approaching 1,000 birds, with at least 3 Mediterranean Gull amongst them (2 adults and a 1CY), and around 20 Common Gull.  A flock of 170 Canada Geese contained a single Greylag, and 6 Goosander (3 males, 3 females), 5 Great-crested Grebe, 1 Little Grebe and 60 Lapwing flying over completed a nice start to winter birding here (Dave A & Paul G).

Willow Tits

Two Willow Tits at the Bird Hide, Llysyfran this morning.

Ramsey - Black redstart

A female type black redstart around the farm. Also of note 2 fieldfare, 2 redwing, 6 song thrush, 2 lapwing, 1 snipe, 1 merlin and 2 little owl.

Broad Haven to Druidston

100+ scoter drifting northwards, 6 (possibly more) Great Northerns and 4 Red-throated divers. Whilst scanning the flock of scoters looking south from Druidston the Slavonian grebe appeared in the scope, distant but good views in calmish conditions, but unable to refind it on the way back. Flock of 100+ linnet in beet field and 30 lapwings flying around.

Green Woodpecker sightings wanted

From Justin Gillings - Would it be possible to put a post up on the blog asking for sightings
of Green Woodpeckers please?  I know they are almost extinct now in
Pembrokeshire, so a real push for sightings would be superb.  I am
starting a research project into why the Green Woodpecker is
disappearing from west Wales in particular, so working out where these
birds are in the county will be a big help to start off with. Any records to Justin at 

justingillings99@gmail.com

N.B. There have only been single records of Green Woodpecker in each of the last two

 Bird Reports - 2011/12 - so any records would also be welcome on the blog and,

 of course, to the County Recorders.(Rich C.)