Thursday 8 October 2015

Thursday 8th October 2015

With a change of plan this morning I was able to run a ringing session at Pembrey Burrows LNR.

I arrived early, around 06:15hrs, an hour before sunrise and set just two nets, a 18m and a 12m, as it was my first visit.

A steady stream of birds including Blackbird (2), Blue Tit (8), Great Tit (2), Robin (3), Dunnock (2) Meadow Pipit (4); I was quite happy with 23 birds especially when the forecast "high pressure" rained all over me for twenty minutes.


Dawn over the dunes

Meadow Pipit

Wednesday 7 October 2015

Wednesday 7th October 2015

Better weather forecast today and feeling cooler than yesterday by a few degrees.

Wednesday is becoming my volunteering day with the volunteers at Pembrey burrows LNR, and so we met at around 10:15am for a bit of fencing and gate installation.

How many people does it take to drill a hole in a post


Out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird fly onto a fence post, that's a CUCKOO I thought, its 7th of October I then thought! but sure enough a bedraggled juvenile cuckoo was being mobbed by Skylarks and Meadow Pipits.

Juvenile Cuckoo

No mistaking it...........................

In 2014 the last reported Cuckoo  in Carmarthenshire was on June 18th....
 
 
There were one or two butterflies around including Meadow Brown, Red Admiral and a rather tatty Painted Lady                                                                                          
 



Painted Lady

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Tuesday 6th October 2015

With my new ringing site at Pembrey Burrows Local Nature Reserve, approved by Natural Resources Wales, (NRW) and Carmarthenshire County Council (thanks to Dr Simeon Jones conservation officer); I made a good recce of the site this morning.

Essentially a sand dune/reed-bed/saltmarsh system with decent areas of scrub, the site holds a lot of promise but will be very weather/wind dependant.

Entrance sign
Willow and reed bed area

View looking towards the North across the dunes and reed bed




There was a good variety of birds around this morning, the sky being dominated by Skylarks, with at least six singing birds, Meadow Pipits were very evident highlights though would be Whinchat ♂, Sparrowhawk ♀, Raven and Goldcrest.

Very distant Whinchat


There were a few plants still in flower including Wild Pansy, Viola tricolour, Burnet Rose, Rosa pimpinellifolia Red Campion, Silene dioica and White Campion, Silene latifolia with a few Sea Thrift flowers, Armeria maritime; just hanging on in the slacks.


Red Campion

Wild Pansy

White campion


The ringing potential can be seen in the photographs below with good areas of scrub, including Sea Buckthorn and Gorse

This linear feature actually has a decent depth of scrub on the left the puddles in the track attract birds to drink and bathe

This perfectly placed hide/watch-point will make a great base during ringing/monitoring sessions

I am really looking forward to exploring this site further.

Monday 5 October 2015

Monday 5th October 2015

A dramatic change in the weather today as the rain tapped on the bedroom window!, and the wind was blowing from the South West.

A day to venture to WWT Llanelli, I haven't been able to visit due to other commitments for a few weeks, and I've missed a Cattle Egret.

This morning was autumnal with the wind blowing and rain falling as I walked to the British Steel hide, the sight was again great with 100's of birds on the scrapes.

Knot (several hundreds), Black-tailed Godwits, Greenshank (24), Redshank, Dunlin (several hundreds), CURLEW SANDPIPER (2), Little Egret, Curlew, Teal, Gadwall, Pochard, Wigeon, Mallard, LBB Gull, Herring Gull, BH Gull, Swallow (1) Sparrowhawk and then GREAT WHITE EGRET (1), too far away to photograph though.

Little Egret, Redshank and Black-tailed Godwit


Out on the estuary Great Crested Grebe (c12), and thousands of Oystercatchers.

I don't usually pay attention to Magpies but there was quite a smart one (I know I'm being kind) near the hide.



Magpie, Pica pica, the colours of this "black and white" bird are so varied

Sunday 4 October 2015

Saturday 3rd October 2015

I spent the weekend back in Swindon, and on Saturday joined my old group the North Wiltshire Ringing Group for a full on ringing session at Hens Wood in the Savernake Forest nr Marlborough.
The usual team were joined by Malcolm from South Africa and Charlotte from Canada.

Autumn colour is really starting to show through with the reds and golds in the leaves of the trees and shrubs.





 
A typically early start being on site for 06:15hrs with around 800ft of net put up around the wood at feeding stations and a few carefully selected sites.

As expected the morning filled with Coal Tits, Great Tits, with a few Blue Tits as well as the more interesting Marsh tits, the highlight of the tit family though was to catch two WILLOW TITS, a new bird hatched this year and a retrap of a bird hatched and ringed in 2014.

With Willow Tits on the brink of local extinction and suffering across most of their range in the UK it was heartening to see that there is still breeding in the area.


Marsh Tit (left) Willow Tit (right)


Willow Tit
However for me the absolute highlight was to walk to a net and see, trapped, for the first time a stunning male FIRECREST....., then to ring it was the icing on the cake, the Firecrest is the joint smallest British bird with its congener the Goldcrest, this little chap weighed a mere 5.4grams. This scarce breeder and passage migrant is a real jewel!


Male Firecrest  Regulus ignicapilla


simply a jewel of the forest


Tuesday 29 September 2015

Tuesday 29th September

Another glorious day a spot of ringing yielded Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Collared Dove.

I ventured to Kidwelly Quay after  high tide and found Greenshank (31), Redshank (120+), Curlew Sandpiper (2), Dunlin, plus the usual supporting cast.

Redshank


I then drove down to Pembrey Burrows local nature reserve,  my first time to visit, looks like a potential ringing site.

Plenty of Evening Primrose, Oenothera glazioviana, in flower, the Sea Buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides, was heavy with berries potentially good news for Redwings and Fieldfares.


Evening Primrose

Evening Primrose

Sea Buckthorn, loaded with berries


Monday 28 September 2015

Monday 28th September 2015 LESBOS TRIP SUMMARY PART 2

Just a few more photos, its not all about birds!


Small Skimmer, Orthetrum taeniolatum

Swallowtail,  Papilio machaon gorganus

Red-veined darter, Sympetrum fonscolombii ♀

Red-veined Darter ♀ "head on"
Balkan Terrapin Mauremys rivulata

Common Blue pair, Polyommatus Icarus

 



The State of Nature in Carmarthenshire

Hi Pawb, Now there's a headline to get into. State of Nature reports are produced by Natural Resources Wales, NRW, and Welsh Government,...