Yesterday (Saturday) at Pembroke Millponds and Bosherston Lakes

It seems to have been ages since we managed to get out to do some birding, other than surveys such as WeBS etc. So, yesterday we made a trip to Pembroke Millpond to look for colour-ringed gulls and then did a circuit around Stackpole/Bosherston Lakes to see what was around there.

At the Millpond we noted a returning Black-headed Gull red-ringed 2C19. It had been ringed (as an adult) at Little Snoring, North Norfolk, on 6^th June 2022.  It went back to Norfolk before we saw it again at the Millpond in December 2023, and again there on 1^st January 2025, so this is it 3^rd winter here.

2C19 obviously likes coming to the Millpond for its Winter holidays!

Another ringed gull was a 1CY Herring Gull blue C:059. This one was from much closer to home. It had been ringed as a chick on Caldey in the summer of 2025 by members of Pembrokeshire Ringing Group, a colour-ringing project initiated by Steve Sutcliffe - a project that will hopefully continue in memory of Steve, and generate many more re-sightings in the years to come.

C:059 resting with several other Herring Gulls

Please keep a look out for these distinctively marked gulls when you are out and about and report them on the sightings blog (and/or directly to the BTO via https://app.bto.org/euring/lang/pages/rings.jsp)!

It was generally fairly quiet for other waterfowl etc, but a female goosander resting on Castle Pond was a bit unusual. The most recent WeBS record, for example, from the Millpond system was two there in December 2005, and the only previous WeBs record from the Millponds was of a single in December 1975. Yesterday, we also noted around half a dozen on Bosherston Lakes Eastern Arm, where perhaps this one will end up too. 

The Castle Pond goosander 

We briefly saw a male blackcap near Castle Pond and kingfishers were seen at the Middle pond and at Bosherston, where the lakeside path is still flooded. A dozen or more Coot in the Eastern Arm was quite a reasonable number there these days. It’s been many years since 3-figure totals could often be recorded there during the winter months!