We have been visiting many coastal areas during the last fortnight or so, checking on this season's chough breeding success. We haven't yet added up all the figures, but in south Pembs it seems to have been a mixed season, with probably lower overall average breeding success compared with last seasons excellent productivity. A cold dry April, followed by a wet and sometimes stormy May probably didn't help. Some late breeding sites being checked by Jane Hodges in mid and north Pembs have still to fledge young though, so hopefully the overall breeding outcome will be boosted a bit.
Choughs at Stackpole have had a better breeding season though, with three pairs nesting successfully for the first time ever that I recall.
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| It seems to have been a poorer breeding season for choughs this year in south Pembs. |
Puffin numbers on Stackpole Head have been quite good this summer - at least 14 noted in crevices there during annual seabird surveys of the Castlemartin coast in June A cuckoo (on its way south?) was on Stackpole Warren recently, doing its best to hide in a tree.
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| Playing hide and seek |
Numbers of non-breeding/failed breeding choughs have been quite high in June - e.g. flocks of c. 30 on the Castlemartin peninsula, 15-20 on the Angle peninsula and similar double figure flocks in north Pembs., e.g. around Strumble and at Cemaes Head where Alastair Proud recorded 42 last weekend. We saw a similar number there yesterday, including three family parties mixed in the flock.
Alastair was also fortunate to see a Hobby hunting near Foel Hendre. Perhaps there is one hanging around Moylgrove somewhere?
We have also been looking out for breeding Yellowhammers around Slebech-South dairy (north of the A40). We could only find evidence of three territories there - all on the north side of the A40, in an area where there used to be a thriving "colony" of them. We fond none on the south side of the A40 where they used to occur on the Slebech estate. The Gamekeeper we spoke to had seen one around in the spring but nothing since. We haven't found any Yellowhammers in the Martletwy area yet this summer; the small population here seems to have become extinct.
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| One of 3 male yellowhammers near South Dairy - the last of a once thriving breeding population? |