A very windy high tide this morning on the beaches between
Freshwater West and Bluckspool (Castlemartin Range) produced 105 oystercatchers,
36 curlews, a couple of bar-tailed godwits, c. 40 ringed plovers, 20 dunlin and
a curlew sandpiper on Frainslake beach (this one being a first for the Castlemartin Range coastline
as far as we know).
The small waders were temporarily disturbed by a passing
merlin. A single wheatear was noted above Bluckspool but it was so exposed to
the strong easterly wind so there could have been others in the extensive and more
sheltered dune grassland areas.
A Cetti’s warbler singing in the windy willows on the edge of Frainslake Millpond was also, as far
was we know, a new bird for the Castlemartin Range. Perhaps this one had
ventured over there from nearby Castlemartin Corse?
Later, at Pembroke Millpond, it was nice to see that a new ringed
black-headed gull was there (not noticed by us the previous weekend). With a
bit of luck, we managed to read its ring number ST318.661 – Museum
Zoology Helsinki Finland address. Hopefully we’ll soon get details of where in Finland it was ringed.
A few folk were watching the lesser yellowlegs at its usual
location, along with 80+ black-tailed godwits between Castle Pond and Pembroke River.
The spotted redshank was also still there. It was avidly feeding at times in shallow
water, skimming its bill through the soft sediment in a side to side motion more
like that of an avocet. A greenshank was also still present.
