Flocking to Pembrey -Cefn Sidan Sunday 14th October 2018

There has been a bird survey carried out across the whole of the UK, called the Wetlands and Estuaries Bird Survey or WeBS commencing in its earliest form some 70 years ago,
the area of beach at Cefn Sidan to Tywyn Point has been counted for the past 30 years.

The counts are synchronised across the UK with this years start date being October the 14th for the monthly counts, designed to coincide with a morning high tide. Given the vastness of Cefn Sidan the count is done from a vehicle and the beach split into two sections, so it was that I started todays count.

This time of year sees large numbers of birds, waders,(or shorebirds) wildfowl and gulls arriving on Cefn Sidan and the nearby marshes of Kidwelly and Pembrey to spend the winter, Cefn Sidan plays host to nationally important numbers of some species such as Sanderling, a bird which breeds in the high Arctic and winters in milder climes.

Sanderling

The mud and sands that make up the beach are rich in marine worms, and  molluscs, while the strandline provides shelter for invertebrates which the birds can find by working their way through the seaweed.
One of the creatures present is Hydrobia, a favourite of Shelduck is a small snail about 4mm tall also known as the Laver Spire Shell.

                                  "The laver spire shell is often found in huge numbers, 
                                           sometimes up to 300,000 per square metre"
.
Each species of wading bird has a bill designed to feed at a particular depth, this way they don't compete with each other for the food available.

The stormy weather on Friday and Saturday will have influenced the birds counted today amongst which there were Common Scoter (on the sea), and of course Oystercatchers

Knot, present in thousands during winter

Ringed Plover

Knot

There was a female Grey Seal on the edge of the Gwendraeth enjoying the sun.

The best counts were.
Common Scoter 7510+, Oystercatcher 6942+, Sanderling 381, Curlew 161, Dunlin 30, Ringed Plover 38, Turnstone 2, Red-throated Diver 1, Great-crested Grebe 1


Look out for the next bird watching event, look on the Pembrey Country Park website and on this  blog; in the meantime a good place to watch waders from is Old Pembrey harbour near the Shoreline caravan park, especially on rising tide.