A rare visit in to the field with my better half, we explored Porthcawl including the seafront and both inland pools. The highlight was a fine adult winter-plumaged Mediterranean Gull in the salt lake car park with 65 Black-headed, 1 Common Gull, 1 Meadow Pipit and 2 Pied Wagtails. There were 18 Sanderling scampering on the low-tideline at Coney beach. A short seawatch from the shelter in southerlies produced 5 Guillemot, 2 Kittiwake and 2 Curlew. There were about a dozen Oystercatcher scattered along the coast between the town and Lock’s Common. The Wilderness Pool held 5 Shoveler and a Tufted Duck along with the commoner waterfowl and the woodland was busy with feeding Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Treecreeper and Goldfinch. The smaller pool near Newton was quiet with about 45 Black-headed Gulls which were commuting to Manor farm and back.

Mike & Emma Cram

Very dull & dismal this a.m.. CBWR just produced 1 fem Goldeneye of interest, and a Cetti’s singing briefly. No sign of Lsr Scaup or RND, either here or by the road bridge in Hamadryad Park.

unbelievably quiet on a very misty stormy morning.. Couple of auks flying west.. Bh & herring gulls only.. Not one med gull seen.. No kittiwakes

.. No divers lurking in the mist.. Time for a

Costa I think.. And a big towel to dry the inside of my car!

Pochard are now up to 9. Many Redwing & Fieldfare flying around and 20 or so of the former in trees near the bird table. Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Chaffinch and Goldcrest in Cogan Wood by the feeding log, but no sign of the Marsh Tit there, seen recently by Paul Denning.

  Spotted yesterday morning in a neighbour’s garden feeding on apples.

Female brambling and female blackcap in trees behind our back garden fence.

There were 8 common scoter in Pink Bay at high tide this morning

Male Black Redstart currently on roof tops of Uppercliff Close / Penarth Head

Brambling, small flocks of fieldfare and a roost of c. 1,500 starlings on the marsh this morning.  Redpolls over and flocks of 30+ siskin around.

Starling roost is close to the hide.  The noise prior to the roost dispersing, and the sound when they do is a real experience

Don’t forget that there is an indoor meeting at Kenfig this evening. Paul Bowden will be giving a talk on birding in tropical Queensland. Hope to see you there.

Gadwall showing well from the boatdwalk.Also Goldeneye, Shoveler. Lsr Scaup  in Prospect Place and 2 Pochard by Dovercourt  House. 2 Black Redstart still in Penarth  Marina.200+ Redwing over early morning.

A Swallow, two drake Pintail, eight Wigeon and c. 40 Teal this morning.

Gadwall, Shoveler, Wigeon and Pochard at Cosmeston this morning. Cetti’s Warbler in both East and West lake reedbeds.

Not quite the numbers at Lavernock but counts over 4 hours from just before dawn this morning include:
1020 Wood Pigeon (NE rather than the more usual W), 850 Fieldfare, 340 Redwing, 570 Chaffinch, 500 Starling, 100 Goldfinch. Four Golden Plover and two Lapwing and one Brambling were a little out the ordinary and there was also one Swallow.

Dedicated vis-miggers were out early this morning but I haven’t seen any reports as yet. At Lavernock reserve there were many Fieldfare and Redwing going over and in the trees, and I met Graham Smith who had counted something like 1000 Chaffinch going over, together with Brambling. I heard a few Brambling calling and there were a number of Goldcrest about. In Rowlands Well fields there was a flock of 1500-2000 Linnet and the far hedgerow there had many Chaffinch dropping down to feed, and I did manage to see a few Brambling. Lol Middleton had a single Swallow at Lavernock Point, plus Peregrine, Kestrel, Sprawk and both winter thrushes, and a possible Wood Lark. As Lol & I left a Merlin shot through along the cliff line. There were put to 6 Goldcrest around the Church area. Graham Smith also had a pair of Goosander fly over the reserve, and a flock of Golden Plover.

At Cosmeston there were 4 Pochard on W lake and 2 Little Grebe were out in the open. Plenty of Redwing a Fieldfare there too, and I flushed a Jack Snipe as I walked past the ‘snipe paddock’.

A Water Pipit was on the lower estuary, but rarer in the context of the site was…….a Tufted Duck!

News from Dunraven of a Short-eared Owl, flew off mobbed by gulls (D Ripley).

Combined totals for the N Cardiff reservoirs over the weekend: 1M red-crested pochard (31st), 1 wigeon, 1 shoveller, 6 pochards, 57 tufties, 173 coots, 11 moorhen, 30 mallards, 55+ common snipe, 26 little grebes, 6 GC grebes, 2 mute swans, 76 Canadas, 2 chiffchaffs.

A nice surprise on Sully Island today (1st) was hearing 2 water rails calling from “the bog”. Also 1 chiffchaff.

Saturday – Overton Mere with Gower Ringing Group

10+ rock pipits on shoreline. At sea: 1 gannet, 16+ common scoter, 5 cormorant. Above: 1 kestrel, vis. mig. of 1800+ redwing, 200+ wood pigeon moving south east.

Sunday – Oxwich

Dunes: 1 mistle thrush, 13 siskin, 1 lesser redpoll, 2 stonechat. Feeding on wrack: 10 pied wagtail and 6 meadow pipits.

A male Brambling in BP and a Firecrest were the highlights of our walk. Record shot of Firecrest