Another year ending Sunday 30th December 2018

Well so far it's not a lot like winter, Christmas has gone and the New Year beckons, what it will bring.... no one can foretell, but whatever it is lets hope for the best.

2018 has been a mixed year with lots of high points, getting paid to do what I love, and the low points of family tragedy.

Having spent less time on the local nature reserves doesn't mean they have been neglected, far from it's just that each visit has been better quality, and with more maintenance being done by contractors those visits have been spent recording and monitoring.


Some early observations have not been good, NO Strandline Beetles recorded in 2018, much lower numbers of Common Lizard and Slow Worm, and NO Grass Snakes. On the flip side butterfly numbers were higher than 2017, although I'm still waiting for the detail from the surveys carried out. No doubt the weather during late winter and early spring affected the reptiles and of course that heatwave influenced the butterflies, what will summer 2019 be like though?

The bird list stands at a respectable 116 species/subspecies, a full list below, if you have records for birds I've missed off please let me know to update the totals, eg Green Sandpiper is missing this year.

Pembrey Burrows & Saltings LNR/SSSI, Birds recorded January -December 2018.

Includes birds seen off Cefn Sidan from Old Pembrey Harbour to  CE54,

 out to either MLW or the county boundary           

                                                                                                               

1.       Shelduck

2.       Mute Swan

3.       Greylag Goose

4.       Brent Goose                                                                                        

5.       Mallard                                                                                                                                 

6.       Wigeon 

7.       Garganey                                                                                                                                                              

8.       Eurasian Teal

9.       Pintail    

10.    Shoveler

11.    Gadwall                                                                                                                 

12.    Common Scoter

13.    Eider      

14.    Great Northern Diver

15.    Red Throated Diver

16.    Little Grebe 09/04

17.    Manx Shearwater 28/04                                                                                  

18.    Common Pheasant                                                                                            

19.    Great Crested Grebe                                                                                         

20.    Northern Gannet                                                

21.    Great Cormorant                                                

22.    Little Egret

23.    Great White Egret                                                                                              

24.    Grey Heron                                                                                                                                                          

25.    Red Kite

26.    Marsh Harrier

27.    Hen Harrier                                                          

28.    Common Buzzard                                               

29.    Eurasian Sparrowhawk                                     

30.    Common Kestrel                                                                                                

31.    Merlin   

32.    Peregrine                                                             

33.    Moorhen                                                              

34.    Water Rail

35.    Lapwing                                                                                                                                

36.    Eurasian Oystercatcher                                     

37.    Common Ringed Plover                                    

38.    European Golden Plover  

39.    Grey Plover                                                                                          

40.    Knot      

41.    Turnstone                                                            

42.    Sanderling                                            

43.    Dunlin                                                                                   

44.    Common Redshank                                            

45.    Greenshank         

46.    Common Sandpiper                                           

47.    Black-tailed Godwit                                                                                                                                           

48.    Bar-Tailed Godwit

49.    Whimbrel                                             

50.    Eurasian Curlew 

51.    Woodcock                                                                                                            

52.    Common Snipe                                                   

53.    Jack Snipe                                                                                                                                                            

54.    Black-headed Gull                                              

55.    Mediterranean Gull

56.    Kittiwake                                              

57.    Common Gull

58.    Yellow-legged Gull                                                             

59.    European Herring Gull                                                                                                                                     

60.    Great Black-backed Gull                                                   

61.    Lesser Black-backed Gull  

62.    Little Tern

63.    Sandwich Tern    

64.    Arctic Tern

65.    Black Tern             27/08

66.    Guillemot

67.    Grey Phalarope

68.    Swift      

69.    Kingfisher                                                                             

70.    Wood Pigeon                                                      

71.    Collared Dove     

72.    Barn Owl

73.    Short-eared Owl 

74.    Sand Martin

75.    House Martin

76.    Swallow                                                                                                

77.    Common Skylark                                                 

78.    Meadow Pipit                                                                                                                     

79.    Rock Pipit                                                             

80.    Pied/White Wagtail                                                                                                           

81.    Dunnock                                                                                               

82.    Robin     

83.    Wheatear                                                                                                                             

84.    Common Stonechat                                                                                                                           

85.    Song Thrush                                                                                                         

86.    Mistle Thrush                                                      

87.    Redwing                                                                                                               

88.    Fieldfare                                               

89.    Common Blackbird

90.    Blackcap

91.    Whitethroat                                                                                                        

92.    Cetti's Warbler

93.    Reed Warbler

94.    Sedge Warbler

95.    Grasshopper Warbler

96.    Chiffchaff

97.    Yellow Browed Warbler

98.    Willow Warbler                                                                                                                                                  

99.    Goldcrest                                                                                                                              

100.Wren                                                                                                                                     

101.Great Tit                                                                                                                               

102.Blue Tit                                                                                                                                 

103.Long-tailed Tit     

104.Jay                                                                                                                          

105.Common Magpie                                                                                                                

106.Western Jackdaw

107.Rook                                      

108.Carrion Crow                                                       

109.Common Raven                                                  

110.Common Starling                                                

111.European Greenfinch                                                                                                        

112.Common Chaffinch                                                                                                             

113.Bullfinch                                                                                                                

114.Common Linnet                                                                                                                  

115.European Goldfinch                                                                                                           

116.  Common Reed Bunting 

       

Thanks for following the blog, here's to 2019.                                                                                              

Bird Ringing the old way, Friday 21st December 2018

The weather has not be too useful for bird ringing of late, far to windy to use nets, so today I resorted to and old and tested technique, "walk in"  or "potter" traps.

Before mist nets were popular, birds were caught by many other methods, often adapted from the methods used by hunters. The walk in trap does what it says in it's name, the bird walks into a baited trap, trips a very simple closing mechanism, and gets harmlessly trapped inside.

I set five such traps today in the feeding area baited with seed and Peanuts, which the Jays adore collecting and storing, today they were their downfall and in quick order  three Jays and a Blackbird, were caught, processed and sent on their way. I did have to chase away a Grey Squirrel several times, most people know my feelings on those busy tailed tree rats!

The feeding area has been very busy, mostly with tits but also at least three different G S Woodpeckers, up to seven Jays, (so still more to catch) and a mobile flock of over 100 Chaffinches.

Today being the winter solstice, the start of the astronomical winter and the shortest day will mark a slow turning point in the natural world, but one thing for sure winter is not done with us yet.....

Bird ringing Pembrey Country Park, Tuesday 4th December 2018

At last a morning with no rain and very little breeze, in fact a grass frost greeted me at the Park this morning for a much delayed second ringing session.

The birds have been using the feeders in good numbers having had to refill them several times in last few days.

A modest catch of 40 birds dominated by Great and Blue tits.

Great Tit, just look at those colours!

Numbers were:, Great tit 12, Blue Tit 9, Dunnock 6, Chaffinch 5, Coal Tit 2, Robin 2, Blackbird 2, Redwing 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1.

Wing measurements provide useful biometric information

Robin, several around the ringing table today

We released two Chaffinches without ringing them as they had signs of the Papilloma virus, as discussed in previous blogs.

Todays Great Spotted Woodpecker was a male, identified by the scarlet nape, look quick though!

Thanks to Louise for the photos and Oliver for the video.

Northern visitors, Pembrey Country Park Tuesday 20th November 2018

After a successful ringing session last week, I've been keeping the feeders topped up, the food is certainly disappearing fast, and spending about an hour, when I can spare it, just watching which birds are coming to the feeders.

Today was particularly busy with lots of Blue, Great and Coal Tits visiting plus a nice flock of about 45 Chaffinches, the flock was feeding on the ground around the split grain being joined by a Jay, Magpie and Carrion Crow.

A couple of Mistle Thrushes, Song Thrushes and a small flock of Redwings were on the grassy areas.

Redwings are winter visitors from Scandinavia, with occasional individuals arriving from Iceland, (these tend to be larger and more strongly coloured compared to the Scandinavian birds), and can be present in good numbers from November through to Spring.

Redwing

Whilst watching the Chaffinches feeding I picked out another finch, very similar to the Chaffinch but this one is another winter visitor to the UK it was a Brambling, in fact there were two of them in the flock but they were quite elusive, diving into cover at the approach of the Jay and Magpie. This northern finch is not particularly common in Carmarthenshire but is easily overlooked. There are good numbers of birds around the park at the moment so if you do visit and find something interesting please feel free to drop into the visitor centre (now down by the beach access for the winter) and leave a message for me.

Brambling

I haven't kept a proper bird list for the Country Park n 2018, however the bird list for the nature reserve is now at 115 species for 2018, I'll publish it in the blog soon just in case any followers of the blog have records to submit.

Pembrey Country Park Bird Ringing Friday 16th November 2018

Phew! well after watching the weather forecast all week this morning the weather was spot on for my first session at Pembrey Country Park.
It's always interesting and challenging the first time a new site is ringed, how many nets? how will the wind direction affect the nets and therefore the catch? what will we catch? are there enough rings?
all these questions were answered today.

I was joined by "A" grade permit holders, Heather and Cedwyn from the Gower Ringing Group and by Veronica who provides the "scribing" service (Veronica does the writing!)

I was on site for 06:15 and set the first couple of nets in the dark ready to catch any redwings leaving their night time roost, when the rest of the team arrived we put up another net near the feeders.
It proved a decent first session with 44 birds of 12 species caught and ringed.

Mistle Thrush, there is a good population of these stunning thrushes in the park

Blue Tits dominated the catch as is usual when ringing near bird feeders with 19 ringed, the rest of the catch was made up of:
Great Tit 9, Chaffinch 3, Blackcap 1, Blackbird 2,Coal Tit 2,Dunnock 2,Redwing 2,          G. S.Woodpecker 1, Jay 1, Mistle Thrush 1, and Robin1.

Feisty jay

Robin

The Blackcap was the most interesting as it should be on its way to, if not already in, Africa for the winter, however more and more Blackcaps are over wintering in the UK so this one may make the Park its winter home.

Hopefully time and weather will allow a regular timetable of ringing at Pembrey Country Park with many more birds ringed, this will provide the base line information for monitoring the range of species and their population in the Park.

Male Chaffinch (library photo)

Chaffinch wing-ageing the bird

We also saw two different Sparrowhawks, and judging by the hole in Heathers net one may have visited the catching area.

Winter is a good time to visit Pembrey with its different habitats of pine forest, mixed deciduous woods, open grassland and of course the beach and dunes.

Ready to go Tuesday 6th November 2018

I've thought about a bird feeding/ringing station in Pembrey Country Park for a while, with permission given a few weeks ago, I went along today and set up four feeders.

I have already had the ringing rides cleared by Steve in the Outdoor Recreation Team, the feeders have been positioned in order to try and trap a selection of the birds using the feeders, which allow me to assess the species using the area during the winter and help determine the population survival rates over a period of years.

Ringing rides through the Pines

It is likely that most of the birds will be from the Tit family but I'm hopeful that other species such as Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch will use the free food supply.

Nuthatch

The feeders contain, Niger- good for Goldfinches which are present in the park in good numbers, Sunflower Hearts- good for a wide range of birds but hopefully Siskin and Redpoll will find them; and a couple with a general mix of seeds and fruit.

Three of the feeders are mounted on steel poles, one on a tree

I've avoided Peanuts as they are too expensive, (I'm funding this project myself), and will only encourage the ever present Grey Squirrels.

Once the birds have been using the feeders regularly I will start the ringing programme and hopefully holding a ringing demonstration for the general public; bird ringing is very weather dependent, so any demonstrations will be at short notice.