Thursday 18 August 2022

The Gann and Marloes, Wednesday

It was good to meet Brian at Marloes and his mention of a Wood Sandpiper at the Gann, which is probably the bird I had seen briefly on the beach earlier and had failed to ID -  a long yellow-legged middling wader, which flew off directly away from me and into the sun towards Dale airfield. Also at the mere was a probable Pochard (Toby's bird?) on the northern irrigation pond, but only discernible by the head silhouette and liveliness compare to the 20 plus moulting Mallards on the bank. More obvious was a Yellow Wagtail that landed right behind the back legs of a Welsh Black cow before flying off towards the sheep.

Earlier at the Gann the insistent calling behind me of another wagtail eventually made me turn around to see another Yellow Wagtail and not one of the Pieds that had been working the strandline earlier:


Also at the Gann on the beach on a falling tide were singles of Knot and Sanderling amongst the 68+ Ringed Plover and 30+ Dunlin as well as two Whimbrel. Little Egret N6 was with a friend near the car park with 12 others on Musselwick side. It was ringed on the nest at Penrhyn Castle, Bangor on 5th June 2011 by Mid-Wales Ringing Group - no information yet on previous sightings. A Great Black-backed Gull with red ring W230 was with nearly 50 others on the beach gull roost. The code sounds familiar and I suspect this is a Skokholm bird that has been here before.