28/4/23

A productive afternoon visit .Greenfinch-1f,Spotted Flycatcher-1,Whitethroat-1,Blackcap-1m,Reed Warblers-2.

Butterflies; Holly Blue-3,Comma-1,Speckled Wood-1,Brimstone-1,Small White-2,Orange tip-1,Small Tortoiseshell-1.

An uncharateristically showy Lesser Whitethroat was rattling away at Cosmeston this morning, in a block of scrub in the large field above Sully Brook, where it has been mostly in cover for the past few days. It gave a rare opportunity to get some half decent photos. Not something that’s a problem with its Common cousin.

Yesterday morning I led a GBC field trip to Goldcliff lagoons on the E. side of Newport. Fortunately it was a pleasant sunny day and we were pretty successful in logging 52 species. The first bird I saw as I entered the first hide was a Great White Egret, but it soon flew off, and the second bird I ‘trapped’ in my scope was a very smart breeding plumaged Spotted Redshank. For those not familiar, in this plumage it looks like a black Redshank. There were many Avocets, quite flighty at times, some apparently already sitting on nest scrapes. Amongst a few Ringed Plover we found a single Little Ringed Plover and a Dunlin. Other waders comprised Redshank, Oystercatcher, Lapwing and Black-tailed Godwit, and a Whimbrel on the sea wall rocks. On the wildfowl front the highlight was a smart drake Scaup which I spotted drifting by just offshore from the sea wall. Also there, was a Wheatear. All in all a good morning’s birding although hoped for migrants such as Whinchat and Yellow Wagtail were absent, but we did see all three hirundines.
Click here for the species list. If necessary this wiill be updated if I’m told I’ve missed something! 🙂

In the wet this morning, Swallows [about 10], and 2 each of Sand Martin and House Martin were feeding low over the lakes, and a Cetti’s sang in the E lake reds. There were 2 Reed Warblers singing there yesterday.

The April WeBS count. I’ve been doing WeBS there since the late 90’s and this was the fist time I’ve had virtually no waders, in particular Redshank. Bascially there was an angler stting on the shoreline right near where they normally roost, and couple of blokes on the shore with a dog which they were throwing sticks for it into the water. So, the dog flushed 2 Whimbrel and there was a single Oyc on Green Point itself. Upstream near the Lamby Way rbt there was a single Common Sandpiper. Wildfowl comprised just 22 Shelduck, 11 Teal and 4 Mallard and there were 6 roosting Cormorant.
At the heliport bay there were 2 more Common Sandpipers and a single Shelduck.

Two days ago at Cosmeston, a Treecreeper gave a rare opportunity to get some nice photos of it doing what it does best, creeping up a tree!, and also a couple of shots showing the camouflage and the cryptic upper part markings. A Song Thrush posed nicely near the dipping pond. Today a Grasshopper Warbler was found reeling in a hedge at the top of the field above Sully Brook, by Graham Smith. Sadly it had stopped and gone into hiding when I got there. There were 2 possibly 3 Common Whitethroats song flighting in that field and a Lesser Whitethroat was singing from cover, in the central area of vegetation. Also Cetti’s Warbler singing from down by the brook itself. This morning whilst leading a walk in the grounds of the Kymin in Penarth, we saw a pair of Sparrowhawks mating in a tall tree. Something I’ve never seen before.

At lunch time today there were hundreds of hirundines and Swifts over the bay. I was at the ice rink side without my scope and the birds were mostly in the middle and further away.

However a good percentage were Swifts.Later,over Lamby lake twenty or so Swallows and House Martins.

Cuckoo heard Thursday morning at 08.45

No song or sight of yesterday’s Common Whitethroat, but a Lesser was singing down by Sully Brook near the new bridge (possibly yersterday’s bird having moved location?). . Also there, was a singing Reed Warbler which refused to show. A few Swallows were passing through. There’s a nice show of Cowslips in the field above Sully Brook and a Holly Blue briefly settled on Celandine.

A brief walk around this morning via the Medieval dovecote field and the adjacent large field above Sully Brook gave me a couple of ‘year ticks’ in the form of a singing Common Whitethroat in scrub near the dovecote ruin itself, including two brief ‘butterfly’ song flights, and then farther on in scrub in the large ‘island’ of vegetation in the next large field, a singing Lesser Whitethroat. Neither bird was particularly showy due to the pretty cold stiff wind.

a Sparrowhawk has literally just whizzed past my ear as I got up from writing the previous post. 😃

admittedly not a bird sighting but might be of interest to some. Briefly had a hummingbird Hawkmoth hovering over my perennial wallflowers in the garden this afternoon. We’ve had them before but never this early, so it may have overwintered rather than come in from the continent.

in our back yard – Ogmore

Five Red kites circling at top of Gilfach Goch valley along with 2 Buzzards. One pair of ravens also circling at head of valley near wind farm. Plenty of Chiffchaffs calling as well.

Seen in Llantwit Major over housing estate where they are normally resident. Earliest I’ve ever seen one return.

Walking into town, noticed all the birds up over the castle then saw the cause of the panic a Goshawk. Also Sand Martins and a Goosander.

An influx of Willow Warblers over the last few days have largely replaced the Chiffchaffs around the lake.

started to build nest in front of Kenfig Hide

Even went into the next reedbed and had battle with pair of Coots, then after 1 &1/2 hour, pair swam out to centre of pond