Marloes & vicinity: more Cattle Egrets etc

 From Peter Smithies: a flock of 10 Cattle Egrets around a week ago in one of the Philbeach Farm fields (9 here in his photo).

Also around a week ago, NCI Coastwatch noted a/the White-tailed Eagle around the Deer Park for several days before it was reported on Ramsey.

This weekend: female Marsh Harrier at West Hook, Water Rail in Martin’s Haven valley

West Angle Bay Saturday 10 Oct

Very Pleasant couple of hours birding with friends contributing to the Big October day organised by eBird, coinciding with World Migratory bird day....

A welcoming committee of about 25 House Sparrows greeted us at the car park. Then lovely views of a nice selection of waders including Oycs, Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwits, Redshanks and Greenshank, Turnstones, Dunlin and Knot. Good to see a party of 7 Pale bellied Brent Geese (no young amongst them though). 

Excitement when a female/imm Merlin dashed across the bay putting up some of the waders!

At least three Great Crested Grebes were out in the bay plus a 'bunch' * of 38 Wigeon along the bank......at least 12 Little Egrets, pair of Mute Swans, a juv Heron, plus Grey wag and 5 Rock Pipits on the pebbly shoreline.  

Thirty species in altogether..

Apparently a collective noun for a group of Wigeon!

Llys-y-fran

Water levels still very low, probably the lowest I've seen it so 2 juvenile Common scoter was a bit unexpected. About 3,500 LBB roosted many out on the far bank. 100 BH gulls and 50 herring gulls. 7 GC grebe, 5 little grebe. 

 

Cattle Egrets

Highlight of a late afternoon walk at the Gann today was 6 Cattle Egrets, started with 1 on the saltmarsh, then another 4 on the lagoon, then eventually 6 roosting in the trees next to the road below Crabhall. Also a single Grey Plover. (Dave & Lisa)

Strumble, Flagpoles, and Iron Bidge.

Very quiet for cetaceans at Strumble today but a reasonably close pass by a Great Skua was a bonus. At the flagpoles in Goodwick a Curlew feeding on Shore Crab, then at Iron Bridge Newport, a Heron, Green shank and Little Grebe rounded off my morning.

 

Dale airfield

Half dozen individual jays passing across the road between Haverfordwest and Dale. Felt birdy on the sheltered track up, a firecrest popping in and out of the ivy was one of the first birds to appear, 3 chiffchaff and a blackcap tuk, tuk, tuking. Clouded yellows and red admirals as well. Juvenile Marsh harrier cruising around the airfield before drifting towards Marloes. Dozen golden plover, 10 snipe, 4 lapwing and single ringed plover. 2 young wheatear, among the skylarks, pipits and linnets around the runways. Quite a few birds in the bracken and scrub overlooking Marloes Sands, a few goldcrest, dunnocks, robins, great tits and best of all another Dartford warbler. 200 starling gyrating but couldn't see what was alarming them.

Scoter off Nolton Haven 6/10

From Richard Harris: Just a quick report of a raft of circa 40 common scoter seen off Nolton Haven this evening slowly paddling northwards towards Newgale. A record photo on my iPhone was unfortunately not worth the effort. The sunset however was:   

Past Week at Goodwick Flagpoles

As well as the usual suspects the mixed weather the past week brought in Sandwich and Common Terns, Curlew, a single Wigeon, Bar Tail Godwits (2) and today two Teal.

                             Meanwhile at Strumble a handsome Wheatear put in an appearance.

 

A bit of Strumble Sea Bird History!

I came across one of the Strumble diaries i thought i had lost, yesterday. There are two pages sea bird fans might find interesting.The first is from the fifth of September 1997

I dont remember much about this one, there had been others! The second is about a week later on the 12th of September

These entries were made in my field diary written on my knee in the bunker/lookout, just after the sightings, when my hands had almost stopped shaking! Beneath the sketch, i wrote Graham Rees's words, uttered when he found it: "Are you on this shearwater? You should be, its close" And reasonably close it was, fluttering/feeding over a weedy pot bouy. So close i could make out its little grey/blue feet protruding beyond its tail. In this fluttery mode it resembled a big storm petrel. Apart from Graham, there were three others there, Rod Hadfield, Stewart Devonald and myself. Sadly I am the only one left. Rod could not get on it, so somehow i extracated myself from my chair without moving the scope,a mirror lens at X90, and Rod got his view. Greater love hath no Strumbler than to hand over the view of a little shearwater to a friend! Unfortunately it flew off before i could get back on it and i did not see it in level flight which was really what i wanted to see. The scope is still used by Chris Grayell I stopped using it on a daily basis as i was developing double vision!

Tawny Owl

From Steve Smith: While I was returning to Stepaside this evening a Tawny Owl flew across the road near St Petrox church at 9.30pm  

Norwegian ringed Common Ringed Plover

On 19h & 20th September I recorded a 1st-year Common Ringed Plover at the Gann with colour-rings: a plain red ring on the left tibia, and a yellow flag marked 30J on the right tibia (with a metal ring on the left tarsus).  The bird was ringed at Makkevika (Norway, Møre og Romsdal, Giske) some 1371km away!  It had taken no more than 24 days to reach us from Norway.

Winter thrushes

Good morning, Steve the visiting Manchester birder back in your fabulous county again

Seen my first Redwings of the season this morning near Redberth . Two small flocks of 7 and 4 birds. Plus 1 single Swallow over. Which reminds me that sadly I cannot visit Caldy island as its now closed for the season so no last minute watching the normally 100,s of Swallows feeding and resting on the island before their long migration South.

Preseli golden plovers

 A small flock dashing about the mountain pass this morning, my first of the autumn. 

Pied flycatcher, St Brides

George had a Pied flycatcher at St Brides earlier.

Strumble Herons and Egrets, Geat White followed by three Cattle Egrets Tuesday/Wednesday

Anna Webberley and our Sea Trust Porpoise Photo ID team were at Strumble on Tuesday and were delighted to see; firstly two grey herons came in off the sea closely followed by a Great White Egret. Ken Barnett and one of our Sea Trust Wales volunteers, Harry, were also at Strumble on Wednesday. They noticed three large white birds circling high up above them, seemingly getting a lift on a thermal. After attaining the required height, they then drifted off to the east; one of which Ken managed to get a couple of shots of (see below). Having consulted with Adrian Rogers, the bird/birds were identified as Cattle Egrets!

Stackpole

Went for a bit of a potter on the headland today. 

Noticeable number of Meadow pipits on the walk around especially on warren area. A few small groups of Swallow passing over headland. There were 8 Chough loosely as a group in one area. They were choosing to be in sections where there was some footpath erosion where they could get beaks into the softer sandy ground, maybe that’s where the insects and grubs currently are! A Kestrel was hunting behind box beach. Highlight had to be a very lucky sighting of a Peregrine as it had a momentary lull before continuing to bomb at high speed across the headland. Sat at side of lakes for a moment or two on way back to car and a Grey Wagtail landed just in front of me, unsure which of us was more surprised!  

Grey Wagtail 

Rook feeding out on headland

Peregrine

Chough utilising the footpath erosion 

Yellow-browed Warbler

 A YBW was at Ty Rhyg this morning. Apart from that there were small numbers of the usual species including crossbills, willow tits, redpolls and chiffchaffs. No redwing or fieldfares yet.

Something a little different From Ken Barnet!

For Kens full report and pics, see:https://whaleswales.blogspot.com/ I was on the seafront at Goodwick yesterday looking for waders to photograph when I noticed a crow skulking around the boulders on the shoreline. There has been a great number of bait fish in the bay the past few days and it looks like some of them got caught by the dropping tide. This clever corvidCarrion Crow had cottoned on to this and decided to have itself a fishy feast. What was amusing was the way it was going about it. It was picking up three or four at a time, (Puffin like), then bringing them to a particular rock and covering them with seaweed so other passing gulls, etc, could not see them. It did this several times until it had built up enough for a decent meal and only then decided to eat them. Very clever tactics and just shows how intelligent these critters are. Nature is wonderful isn't it.

White-tailed eagle, Ramsey

A white-tailed eagle has been on Ramsey since Tuesday still there yesterday.

Yellow-browed warbler, wryneck and pied flycatchers, St Davids area Wednesday

George and Fiona reported a wryneck at Porthselau, south of Whitesands, and yellow wagtail in cattle field nearby. YBW and couple of pied flycatcher at Rhosson.