Saturday 22nd August 2015 (2)

When the sun decided to come this afternoon I thought I'd take a look at the Bumble Bees in the garden.

I was pleased to identify six species of Bumblebee plus a Hairy Footed Flower bee.

The photos are a of the very few that stayed still long enough to snap.

Garden Bumblebee (happy to be corrected)

White-tailed bumblebee

Common carder bee

There was also a couple of "garden" Orb spiders in the garden

"garden" Orb spider

Saturday 22nd August 2015

Despite the rain I ventured out this morning, first to the Water Park, where the highlights were a Garganey, a Kingfisher, 10 Gadwall and about 150 Sand Martins.

Sand Martins and a Swallow having a brush up in the rain

Then I drove to Kidwelly Quay where I had, 307 Redshank and 24 Greenshank, and got very wet!!!

Redshank

a distant Whimbrel

Next and last stop was Pembrey Harbour with high tide due for 11:25, here there were     658 Oystercatchers, 3 Gannet, 1 Peregrine, 85 Ringed Plover, 10 Greenfinch feeding on the high tide line, and about 11 Linnets; made for an interesting couple of hours.

Adult Linnet (front) with juvenile behind

Thursday 20th August 2015

With high tide of 6.9m due around 10am, I visited WWT Llanelli.

Totals included 35 Greenshank: 8 Dunlin: 31 Little Egret: 15 Lapwing: 1 Whimbrel: 1 Ruff (a juvenile).

Juvenile Ruff in front of two Redshank

Wednesday 19th August 2015

YESTERDAY evening I joined a bat survey at Carmarthen on the River Towy, it was mild and quite windless.

Using "bat detectors" or more correctly I used a Heterodyne, and the Bat Conservation Trust guy used a very fancy Frequency division detector and Time expansion recorder.

We detected three species of bat, Noctule, Soprano Pipistrelle, and Common Pipistrelle; effectively one of the largest highest flying bats and the joint two smallest bats.

Obviously no photographs....

A really enjoyable couple of hours

Tuesday 18th August 2015

Another ringing session at Oxwich Marsh this morning, although due to other commitments I had to leave at 08:30am, however in the short time there was a nice selection of birds caught including Stonechat, Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Siskin and Kingfisher.

Only a few dodgy photos today.

Whinchat

Tree Pipit

Siskin in moult

Monday 17th August 2015

Today was CES 11, in other words, the eleventh of twelve ringing sessions using nets that have been in the exact same location for every session since a constant effort site was started at WWT Llanelli

Only 23 birds processed today but it was good to be able to look in detail at the moult stage of some of the birds.

This Chiffchaff sat and looked at us after being newly ringed and released.

Chiffchaff

There were a few dragonflies and damsel flies  around including this female A type Blue Tailed Damsel notice the purple stripes on the thorax.

Female Blue tailed damsel, Ischnura elegans "A" type

Saturday 15th August 2015

With my friend Nick visiting from Gloucestershire we had a packed day, firstly visiting WWT Llanelli, in the morning where we picked up a selection of waders including Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing, Greenshank, Redshank and Ruff

a cropped image of a Juvenile Ruff with Black - tailed Godwits

After a cup of tea and a freshly baked raspberry and white chocolate muffin in the café we tried for dragonflies and maybe butterflies in the millennium wetlands section of WWT.

Greater Spearwort, one of the buttercup family

We had a little success with Black Tailed Skimmer, Common Blue, Common Darter and a probable Southern Hawker,(it wouldn't settle to be certain).

male Common Darter, Sympetrum striolata

The afternoon was siesta time before setting off for Pembrey Harbour, again, with a later and higher tide.

Oystercatchers stole the show with over 600 present, with a following cast of 42 Sanderling, 67 Sandwich Tern, one Little Tern, 12 Knot and a Gannet fishing just 200m off shore.

cropped photo of Gannet

one of the many small flocks flying in at high tide to join the main flock

Oystercatchers, feel free to count them (Nick reckons over 600)

Gannet very cropped shot