We made one of our annual spring walks along the coast from Pen Anglas to Strumble Head this morning in lovely warm sunny April weather. A cuckoo, somewhere up in the general area of Garnwnda, was heard briefly from the coast path.
Hirundines on the move this morning included at least 200+ swallows, 50+ house martins and smaller numbers of sand martins. There were small flocks of 20-30 swallows at a time, but a couple of the flocks were mixed, involving all three species. Most of the observed movement was in a westerly direction, along the the coast between Carregwastad Point and Strumble Head, presumably involving birds heading for Ireland?
Whitethroats were heard and/or seen in most suitable patches of coastal scrub. The highlight though was a swift (quite an early one for us) that came in off the sea near Pwlluog at about mid-day. It also appeared to be heading in a westerly direction.