Bird report Thursday 11th January 2017

PEMBREY BURROWS & SALTINGS LNR + PEMBREY COAST SSSI BIRD REPORT 2017


A full version paper copy is available, let me know if you want one

Species accounts

Mute Swan,                   Alarch Dof

An occasional fly over visitor

Whooper Swan            Alarch Y Gogledd

Winter visitor to Carmarthenshire with birds wandering along the coast

Canada Goose,           Gwydd Canada

An occasional fly over visitor

White-fronted Goose              Gwydd Dalcen-Wen

A rare visitor, two were observed flying along the foreshore heading west on 17th March

Greylag Goose                            Gwydd Wyllt

Resident along the coast, occasional fly over visitors

Brent Goose                                Gwydd Ddu

A winter visitor, occurring in comparatively small numbers , 11 on 3rd February

Shelduck                          Hwyaden Yr Eithin

Resident at Pembrey Burrows LNR for most of the year, a single,  failed breeding attempt was noted in 2017

Wigeon                              Chwiwell

A wintering flock numbering in low double digits

Gadwall                             Hwyaden Lwyd

At least two pairs present through spring and summer no evidence of successful breeding

Teal                                     Corhwy Aden

A regular winter visitor to the saltings, with up to 200 being recorded in some years

Mallard                              Hwyaden Wyllt

Pairs present in spring and summer low numbers winter

Pintail                                 Hwyaden Lostfain

A regular visitor to the Burry Inlet, but only single numbers seen in the recording area.

Garganey                         Hwyaden Addfain

A rare visitor, a single spring record on 13th April from the pond in grazing field 2 (GF2)

Shoveler                           Hwyaden Lydanbig

A scarce visitor with only small groups recorded in spring

Eider                                  Hwyaden Fwythblu

Occasionally seen off Cefn Sidan in winter and spring

Long-tailed Duck       Hwyaden Gynffon Hir

Rare visitor, 2017 was a good year with the long staying birds from 2016 still present off Old Pembrey Harbour

Common Scoter         Mor-Hwyaden Ddu

Present offshore in most months

Velvet Scoter               Mor-Hwyaden Y Gogledd

A very rare visitor with an individual recorded off Cefn Sidan on 28th February

Red-Breasted Merganser    Hwyaden Frongoch

A winter visitor, seen off Old Pembrey Harbour and on a high tide in the "Swan Drain", the inlet to the marsh at Old Pembrey Harbour

Pheasant                           Ffesant

Recorded in all months in the reed bed, at least one pair bred raising at least two young to fledging (both males)

Red-throated Diver  Trochydd Gyddfgoch

Seen during sea watches from CE53 (AD)

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
11	-	11+	2	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-

Great Northern Diver             Trochydd Mawr

An occasional winter visitor seen offshore, (often close in) from Old Pembrey Harbour and Cefn Sidan

Fulmar                                                 Aderyn-Drycin Graig

Occasionally blown into the inlet off Old Pembrey harbour and offshore, an individual was recorded on 10th May

Manx Shearwater                       Aderyn-Drycin Manaw

Present off shore, sometimes in good numbers spring through to autumn

Gannet                                              Hugan

Regularly seen during rough weather off Old Pembrey Harbour ,present offshore from spring through to autumn

Cormorant                                       Mulfran

A common bird along the coast, often seen feeding in large numbers of a falling tide, then up to 127 individuals roosting on Cefn Sidan at CE51, P= present not counted

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
127	P	60	P	P	P	P	P	50	25	37	27

Little Egret                                    Creyr Bach

Seen daily along the "Swan Drain"  or flying over the salt marsh

Great White Egret                   Creyr Mawr Gwyn

A rare visitor to the reserve, with a single record on 8th October

Grey Heron                                   Crychydd

Seen daily on the salt marsh

Spoonbill                                         Llwybig

A rare visitor, two present on 8th October were probably the same long staying birds seen at WWT Llanelli

Great Crested Grebe             Gwyach Fawr Gopog

Recorded offshore in most months with a max of six on 17th February

Red Kite                                          Barcud

A local breeder and regular visitor, recorded in most months

Marsh Harrier                               Bod y Gwerni

An occasional visitor, perhaps wandering over from Llanrhidan marsh on the Gower

Hen Harrier                                   Bod Tinwen

An occasional winter visitor A male seen on 10th January, with two ringtails present 15th December for one day

Sparrowhawk                                Gwalch Glas

A local breeder, regularly seen hunting the dunes, two hunting together on 9th December was an unusual sight

Buzzard                                             Boda

A local breeder seen most days

Water Rail                                       Rhegen Y Dwr

Resident breeder, with several territories in and around the reed bed, recorded in all months with max of four in February and five on 18th November flushed from the marsh

Moorhen                                           Iar Ddwr

Resident breeder

Coot                                                   Cwtiar

A very rare visitor, with one individual momentarily caught accidentally in a pond dipping net on 11th June !

Oystercatcher                              Pioden Y Mor

Year round resident with a max of c4250 recorded in February at roost at Old Pembrey harbour, P=present no count

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
c3000	4250	300	P	c3000	P	P	c2000	P	3500	P	1750

Grey Plover                                    Cwtiad llwyd

A passage wader in low numbers recorded in most months

Golden Plover                               Cwtiad Aur

Occasional records of small flocks. c50+ during autumn and winter

Ringed Plover                                Cwtiad Torchog

Present all year, ana passage bird, breeding attempted with three nests found, outcomes unknown, counts from Old Pembrey Harbour

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
P	P	P	P	11	10	7	111	61	44	P	30

Lapwing                                            Cornicyll

A disappointedly scarce visitor, a male on territory in the spring raised hopes of breeding, but came to nothing.

Whimbrel                                           Coegylfinir

A regular spring and autumn migrant, with individuals occasionally overwintering, first noted on 30th March. 12 present on 2th April

Curlew                                               Gylfinir

Present all year in very low numbers

Black-tailed Godwit                                Rhostog Gynffonddu

A visitor to the area around Old Pembrey Harbour, with 32 on 30th December

Bar-tailed Godwit                     Rhostog Gynffonfrith

A passage visitor mainly in the spring, P= present no count

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
-	-	146	116	35	-	-	P	6	-	-	1

Turnstone                                       Cwtiad Y Traeth

Passage visitor at Old Pembrey Harbour and along Cefn Sidan

Knot                                                    Pibydd Yr Aber

Present in low numbers throughout the year with spectacular flocks in winter, c3000 present on Cefn Sidan 16th December

Ruff                                                     Pibydd Totrchog

A scarce visitor the only record was one on Cefn Sidan on 27th September

Sanderling                                       Pibydd Y Tywod

Cefn Sidan is nationally important for its wintering flocks of this smart wader, with autumn and winter counts c1000

Dunlin                                                                Pibydd y Mawn

Present in most months but a classic winter visitor along Cefn Sidan

Common Sandpiper                 Pibydd Y Dorlan

A regular passage migrant, first record in 2017 was on 3rd May, two present 27th June

Green Sandpiper                       Pibydd Gwyrdd

Passage migrant one present on 24th July was the only record

Greenshank                                    Pibydd Coeswerdd

Present in single figures, in the "Swan Drain", four on 19th November             

Wood Sandpiper                       Pibydd Y Graean

A rare visitor with a single record on 13th May

Redshank                                         Pibydd Coesgoch

Present throughout the year in low numbers, at least two pairs attempted to breed, chicks were hatched from at least one nest outcome unknown

Jack Snipe                                     Gaich Fach

A winter visitor to the salt marsh in very low numbers 4 present on 1st December

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
1	4	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	4

Snipe                                                 Giach

Regular autumn winter visitor to the marshy areas of the reserve with 32 present on 1st December and at least 40 flushed from the "Swan Drain" on 28th December: P= present not counted

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
4	54	47	5	-	-	-	-	P	P	P	40

Arctic Skua                                  Sigwen Y Gogledd

Seen offshore during passage, first recorded, two on 19th September, then two on 23rd September

Great Skua                                    Sigwen Fawr

Seen offshore, especially after rough weather only one record 12th August

Puffin                                                  Pal

Very rarely seen offshore, only record 12th September

Razorbill                                            Llurs

Occasionally seen offshore, usually present in late autumn

Guillemot                                          Gwylog

Occasionally seen offshore first record 11th May

Sandwich Tern                            Morwennol Bigddu

Regular passage migrant especially in autumn, first record though was 18th March, 150+ present at Old Pembrey harbour on 12th August,300 on 29th then 250 present on 7th September

Common Tern                              Morwennol Gyffredin

Seen on spring and autumn passage in low numbers, four present at the Old Pembrey Harbour roost on 7th September

Arctic Tern                                   Morwennol y Gogledd

Scarce passage, one an immature individual recorded, 7th & 9th September

Kittiwake                                         Gwylan Goesddu

Usually after storms, one record 10th May, then 100+ offshore 23rd September

Black-headed Gull                    Gwylan Benddu

Present in good numbers year round

Mediterranean Gull                   Gwylan Mor Y Canoldir

Noticeable in mid-summer when present in good numbers  with 62 on 26th June, 131 on 12th July, and 152, including 4 juveniles on 22nd July.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
-	2	-	1	-	62	152	100	17	-	-	-

Common Gull                                Gwylan Y Gweunydd

Present in good numbers during the winter period, 512 present at the western end of Cefn Sidan on 16th December

Lesser Black-backed Gull    Gwylan Gefnddu Leiaf

Present in varying numbers throughout the year

Herring Gull                                   Gwylan Y Penwaig

Present in varying numbers throughout the year

Yellow Legged Gull                   Gwylan Goesfelen

A scarce visitor one record of an adult on 19th February

Great Black-backed Gull     Gwylan Gefnddu Fwyaf

Recorded in all  months on Cefn Sidan, with + 30 present on 16th December

Stock Dove                                  Colomen Wyllt

An occasional visitor to the sand dunes/scrub

Woodpigeon                                  Ysguthan

Resident breeder

Collared Dove                             Turtur Dorchog

Resident breeder

Barn Owl                                        Tylluan Wen

A local breeder, one pair raised three young to fledging, hunts over the Pembrey Burrows LNR

Short-eared Owl                        Tylluan Glustiog

A scarce winter visitor and spring migrant, with one on 25th May, then singles in late November with a  max four present during December.

Swift                                                  Gwennol Ddu

Passage summer visitor, last date was four on 17th September

Kingfisher                                        Glas Y Dorlan

A regular autumn winter visitor to Old Pembrey Harbour

Great Spotted Woodpecker             Cnocell Fraith Fwyaf

An unlikely  visitor to the dunes on 17th September

Kestrel                                               Cudyll Coch

Local breeder, generally absent through late spring to summer then present daily

Merlin                                                 Cudyll Bach

An increasingly regular autumn winter visitor with an adult male and female present on 10th December monthly counts

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec
1	1	1	1	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	2

Peregrine                                          Hebog Tramor

Local breeder, birds are present throughout the year although most obvious during autumn and winter

Magpie                                              Pioden

A resident breeder, present in all months , with maximum count of 15 at roost on 29th December

Jackdaw                                           Jac-y-Do

Local breeder, large flocks form at dusk during late autumn and winter, birds roost in Pembrey Forest, max counts c500

Carrion Crow                               Bran Dyddin

Resident breeder

Raven                                                 Cigfran

Local breeder, seen daily throughout the year

Goldcrest                                        Dryw Eurben

Local breeder, a common passage migrant in autumn

Blue Tit                                           Titw Tomos Las

Resident breeder

Great Tit                                        Titw Mawr

Resident breeder

Skylark                                              Ehedydd

Resident breeder and passage migrant, breeds throughout the Pembrey LNR visible passage occurs during autumn, max flock count of 60+ on 3rd December

Sand Martin                                  Gwennol Y Glennydd

Local summer breeder, first recorded 27th March

Swallow                                             Gwennol

Local summer breeder first recorded 31st March, late summer/autumn roosts in the reed bed can exceed c3000 individuals

House Martin                               Gwennol Y Bondo

Local summer breeder in low numbers, first recorded on 16th April

Cetti's Warbler                            Telor Cetti

At least two individuals occupied territory in the reed bed this year, breeding was not proven

Long-tailed Tit                            TitwGynffon Hir

Resident breeder

Chiffchaff                                       Siff-Saff

Local summer breeder, a few over winter around the reed and willow scrub, first migrant record? 31st March

Willow Warbler                             Telor Yr Helyg

Local summer breeder, first record 1st April

Blackcap                                         Telor Penddu

Local summer breeder two, a male and female type recorded on 19th November

Whitethroat                                    Llwydfron

Local summer breeder, first recorded 13th April

Grasshopper Warbler              Troellwr Bach

Local summer breeder with at least two pairs nesting successfully, first recorded 11th April

Sedge Warbler                             Telor Yr Hesg                                                                                                     

Local summer breeder, first recorded on 16th April, a bird bearing a French "Paris"  ringing scheme ring was caught and released on 21st April

Reed Warbler                                Telor Y Cyrs

Local summer breeder in low numbers, the reed bed   at Pembrey LNR is too dry to support many pairs of this reed bed specialist, first recorded on 21st April

Wren                                                   Dryw

Resident breeder

Starling                                             Drudwy

Local breeder, large flock of juvenile birds descended onto to the dunes after fledging with flocks around 500 birds, however no winter roost formed this year

Blackbird                                         Mwyalchen

Resident breeder

Fieldfare                                           Socan Eira

A scarce winter visitor, the first record was on 10th December, with 50 on 21st December

Song Thrush                 Bronfraith

Resident breeder and winter migrant

Redwing                                            Coch Dan Aden

Winter visitor in low numbers with max of c300 at dawn on 27th October

Mistle Thrush                               Brych Y Coed

Local breeder, often found in winter mixing with other thrush species

Robin                                                  Robin Goch

Resident breeder and winter migrant

Black Redstart                            Tingoch ddu

A single record on 8th April

Stonechat                                       Clochdar Y Cerrig

Resident breeder with nine recorded pairs, most raising two broods

Wheatear                                         Tinwen Y garn

Passage migrant, first recorded  9th March, with  four on 21st March 20  present on 22nd April,  and an individual of the Greenland race present on 6th May, last recorded on 17th October at Old Pembrey Harbour

Dunnock                                          Llwyd y Berth

Resident breeder

Pied Wagtail                                  Sigl-Di-Gwt Fraith

Resident breeder,  present in flocks in autumn with 23 feeding on the strandline on 23rd October

Meadow Pipit                               Corhedydd y Waun

Resident breeder and passage migrant, a flock of c89 present on 26th September

Rock Pipit                                       Corhedydd Y Graig

Resident breeder

Chaffinch                                        Ji-Binc

Resident breeder

Bullfinch                                           Coch Y Berllan

Resident breeder

Greenfinch                                      Llinos Werdd

Local breeder

Linnet                                                 Llinos

Resident breeder and passage migrant, large flocks in autumn feed on the salt marsh

Redpoll                                              Llinos Bengoch Leiaf

Status unsure, two caught during a ringing session on 27th October were a new record for the reserve

Goldfinch                                        Teiliwr Llundain

Resident breeder and passage migrant/winter visitor. Large numbers present autumn through winter, a flock of 100+ on 26th September

Reed Bunting                               Bras y Cyrs

Resident breeder and passage migrant

Entrances part 2 Wednesday 10th January 2018

Wednesday is volunteers day as you must all know by now, so accompanied by my stalwart colleagues Brian and Veronica, Dan from Keep Wales Tidy and the boss we tackled finishing off the "new" entrance to the Morfa Berwig reserve, oh hang on I forgot the boss went off for an onsite meeting with Isabel our biodiversity officer and Hillary from Natural Resources Wales (NRW) , I'm sure it was important!, (It was, its what partnership working is all about)

Anyway the entrance looks great, and I've come up with a little project, to monitor the colonisation of the bare ground over the coming months and manage the verge sympathetically, again partnership working so we'll wait and see.....

just waiting for the LNR sign to be made and installed

There's a lot of mud around so we undertook sweeping and shovelling the surfaced path, (tarmac) and improving the vehicle turning area in the centre of the reserve...keep off the mud.....

A party of 50, yes 50 ramblers, rambled through the reserve as we sat having lunch, great to see the reserve being visited even if it was just a "shortcut"

Hillary, a biodiversity officer from NRW, pointed out a well known Otter sprainting point, with fresh spraint,which led me to point out the route it takes across the track, an opportunity for the trail camera?

Otter spraint

The actual spraint found was a little older than this photograph shows, being dryer and greyer in colour, and easily overlooked.

Looking out for tracks and signs is really interesting and rewarding as it allows you to "see" more of the creatures which are elusive or nocturnal, a good book if its in print is Collins guide to Animal Tracks and Signs.

Fences and entrances, Tuesday 9th January 2018

It's all go at two of the LNR's this week, with a replacement fence being installed at Pembrey Burrows LNR, and a second go at creating the right type of entrance at Morfa Berwig LNR.

At Pembrey, the post and rail is being constructed from Chestnut, a robust long lasting timber, replacing the rather serviceable but now unsightly, and in need of repair, post and wire fence. The new fence will help showcase this wonderful reserve to the general public.

It served a purpose

The old post and wire fence

The new fence under construction

At Morfa Berwig radical changes have been made to the roundabout entrance with a complete re-landscape, necessary to ensure the entrance is as secure, whilst pleasing on the eye, as possible there are approx' 9 tonnes of concrete blocks, and 30-35 tonnes of soil and rubble used in the construction of the entrance!!!

out with the old "new"

I was in awe of the driver, he is amazingly skilled with the machine,

moving 2tonne blocks to within  c3cm of their end location (I measured it)

Almost there......

A few hours work with the Wednesday gang will see the entrance complete! Watch out for the photo in the next blog.

It looks very bare at the moment but give nature a few months and we may be surprised to discover what plants were lying dormant under the dumped spoil and brambles.

Bee Orchids, along with Southern Marsh Orchids grow along the verges of the A484, so it would not surprise me at all if we see Bee Orchids appear on the disturbed areas, maybe not this year but in a few years!   I feel a project coming on here, monitoring the verge!

What does it all mean, Monday 8th January 2018

I quite often refer to SSSI's, LNR's etc and a few people have asked what do these mean, so I've collected together the terms most associated with the reserves in Carmarthenshire, especially Pembrey Burrows LNR, which has all of the designations attached to it.

A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSI's are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I"

Local nature reserve (LNR) is a designation for nature reserves in Great Britain. The designation has its origin in the recommendations of the Wild Life Conservation Special Committee which established the framework for nature conservation in the United Kingdom and suggested a national suite of protected areas comprising national nature reserves, conservation areas (which incorporated suggestions for Sites of Special Scientific Interest), national parks, geological monuments, local nature reserves and local educational nature reserves. LNR's are designated by the local authority who must have a vested interest in the site chosen, either by owning the site or having entered into a partnership with the landowner, 

A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora. They are to protect the 220 habitats and approximately 1000 species listed in annex I and II of the directive which are considered to be of European interest following criteria given in the directive. They must be chosen from the Sites of Community Importance by the State Members and designated SAC by an act assuring the conservation measures of the natural habitat.

A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds. Together with Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), the SPAs form a network of protected sites across the EU, called Natura 2000. Each SPA has an EU code – such as our own Burry Inlet SPA which is code UK9015011

^{So there you have it, all pretty straight forward!, well of course it isn't and a lot depends on partnership working, engaging and managing expectations, there is very little money for "on the ground" conservation these days which is why management has to be prioritised accordingly, not only to ensure the best use of resources but also to protect the natural and cultural assets without creating more liability to be managed.}

^{Carmarthenshire has a number of strongly supported, organisations such as the Carmarthenshire Nature Partnership and Carmarthen Meadows Group, who work to share best practises, plus the LNR and Biodiversity team's, who are professional conservationists and land managers with the best interests of the counties natural places at heart.}

Morfa Berwig Tits Friday 5th January 2018

With the planned nest box project at Morfa Berwig it would be useful to ring as many of the adults using the reserve before the breeding season, this may help build a picture of pairs and breeding success. 

There are a lot of tits visiting the feeders which I have set up in a quiet part of the reserve, ideal for ringing.

Here are a few videos of the busy feeders.

Willow Tit calling

Mixed tits

Ducks Waders and the Bird Report Thursday 4th January 2018

We are lucky along the Llanelli coast to have a decent amount of wader suitable habitat, the world renowned Burry Inlet, an SPA for a range of water-birds, The Wetland and Wildfowl Trust centre at Penclacwydd, North Dock, and the Lliedi saltmarsh Llanelli Beach, Cefn Padrig, Old Pembrey harbour and of course Cefn Sidan, although the conservation protection designation is Pembrey Coast, undoubtedly many other areas such as Machynys have lost some of their attraction due to development, so much of the area has some form of designation, in fact if you plot all of the Pembrey Burrows & Saltings designations onto an ordnance survey map it's impossible to read the thing, ask if you want to try it!

This brings me to the point of the blog, it's noticeable from records of 2017 that numbers of some duck species are down, with Pintail and Wigeon being very noticeable, not only are birders telling me this but I speak to quite a lot of wildfowlers, (no matter your personal view these people are not all bad) who are noticing fewer duck numbers; I think the data provided to the Carmarthenshire bird report will prove useful in tracking this perception. What is the view out there?

Pintail

Ok that was a bit gloomy lets talk waders, in 2017 21 species of wading birds were recorded at Pembrey LNR, not bad if I tried harder we may have added a couple more, of course the beach helped. Here are a selection of photos, courtesy of Colin Dalton, Thanks Colin.

We have produced the first ever PEMBREY BURROWS & SALTINGS LNR BIRD REPORT, for 2017, I will publish on the blog? and it will be available as a hard copy if anyone wants one. It's not a fancy one but I'm often asked for a list of the birds we see so it seemed like a good idea.

Storm Eleanor,Wednesday 3rd January

Wednesday = volunteer day,(that's to say I get backup today to do more than one man jobs) and so it was no storm was going to stop us getting stuck in to some fencing repairs, it's a bit like painting the Forth Bridge just when you think you've done its time to start again.

It was certainly gusty at times but nothing to really affect us working, however the effect on the dunes is very evident, we have lost a fair bit of dune frontage at the eastern end of the reserve, what is eroding is being blown back over the top and drowning the cattle fence.

The blighters could step over this as it is

Repairs made (it's not pretty even by our standards) but for how long....

Now try it.. or rather don't ...

The cattle, a mixture of heifers and bullocks, mostly Hereford types but some mixed parentage; are looking well and are certainly tough enough for the coastal conditions, they showed great interest in the vehicles as we drove through the field today, something we rarely bother to do, the bullock which is un-polled looked pretty determined to stop me in my tracks, you know like the David Attenborough films of Rhinos eyeing up the trucks.......(he's not in this photo)

A look for Owls didn't pay off today perhaps a combination of huge tides and the strong winds has moved them to dryer parts of the reserve.

Colder, dryer weather forecast could be great for Owls and Harriers, so come and visit and please report your sightings.