Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail on Sully playing fields this morning.

Kingfisher at tidal pool at Cadoxton rivermouth. Little Egret and Grey Heron nearby.

Kestrel hunting over the breakwater near Barry Dock entrance channel.

Early morning visit today over high tide:

Lagoon: Mute Swan pair with 6 well-grown cygnets, Grey Heron and juveniles of Little Grebe and Moorhen. Kestrel on the limeworks chimney and Green Woodpecker calling nearby;

Beach: 53 Ringed Plover, 4 Turnstone, 1 Wheatear, 10 Oystercatcher; Rock Pipits including at least one juvenile. Offshore 6 Manx Shearwater flew down channel;

Power station site: A second Wheatear, 1 juvenile Stonechat, several Linnet

An early morning visit to Cadoxton rivermouth and 3 Little Egret and a Grey Heron were at one of the tidal pools and a Common Sandpiper was resting by another pool.

Good views of 14 Ringed Plover, 4 Turnstone, 4 Curlew and a Whimbrel as the tide fell at Swanbridge.

At Cosmeston a Common Sandpiper was at the West Lake, and successful breeding around the lakes by Great Crested and Little Grebe, Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot and Moorhen.

Juvenile Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear and 47 Pied Wagtail on Sully playing fields early this morning. A single Curlew on Sully Island and a Grey Heron on Swanbridge beach also present.

This morning:

Sully Island – Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, 3 Curlew and 46 Oystercatcher

Barry Old Harbour – Whimbrel and 96 Black-headed gulls

Cadoxton rivermouth – Little Egret and Grey Heron

This morning after high tide:

Sully Bay – Redshank, 9 Turnstone (first sighting here since late spring), adult Mediterreanean Gull

Sully Island – Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, Grey Heron, 15 Oystercatcher, Great Black-backed Gull

Cadoxton rivermouth – 2 Whimbrel, Turnstone, 2 Oystercatcher, Little Egret, 2 Rock Pipit, a calling Raven and a flyover Cormorant heading into Barry Docks

Barry Old Harbour – Whimbrel and Sand Martin

Circular walk yesterday from Sully via Cog Moors and Pop Hill and a short stretch of the coast path produced 48 species in total. Two Blackcaps were singing near the water treatment works on Cog Moors and a Cetti’s Warbler was singing from scrub along a nearby water channel. Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and several Redwing were in trees along Green Lane, and two Green Woodpeckers were calling in the woods on Pop Hill. Greenfinch were singing at six locations on the walk, but there was just one singing Chaffinch, at The Oxhams on the south side of Dinas Powys.

Three Grey Heron and pairs of Teal, Buzzard and Linnet were on the moors. A Snipe flushed from Cadoxton River bank, and a Grey Wagtail was working its way upstream along the river.

Redshank don’t often stop in Sully Bay (just a few records annually) but two were resting at the water’s edge in calm conditions yesterday morning. Five Canada Geese flew east along the coast before heading inland towards Sully Moors or Cosmeston. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming in trees near Beechwood College and a Goldcrest was singing and Bullfinches feeding along Hayes Road.

Cetti’s Warblers seem well-established on Sully Moors. Three were singing there yesterday including, for the first time for me, one north of the Barry/Dinas Powys road. Other sightings on the moors included singles of Fieldfare and Redwing and two singing Skylarks.

A ‘high’ high tide (11.3m) this morning in calm sea conditions left a fairly narrow strip of beach along the coast and on Sully Island. Waders present were 17 Curlew, 3 Grey Plover, 24 Ringed Plover, 7 Dunlin, 26 Turnstone and 93 Oystercatcher, and there were also 16 Shelduck on Sully Island.

On Sully Moors/Cog Moors the highlight was a flock of 29 Lapwing, with 7 Shoveler, a Little Egret and over 200 Black-headed Gulls also present.

Circular walk yesterday from Sully to Cosmeston. A Black Redstart was on fencing at Jubilee Hall, Sully. Good views of Curlew on Sully playing fields, and of female Bullfinch, Green Woodpecker, Jay and Long-tailed Tits along St Mary’s Well Bay Road. Lots of birdsong in the calm conditions including Song Thrush, Skylark, Greenfinch and Chaffinch.

At Cosmeston the female Scaup was on the East Lake, a Water Rail and Cetti’s Warbler were heard at the East Lake reedbed, and Gadwall, Shoveler and Pochard were on the West Lake. Mistle Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare also present, and a pair of Raven flew over calling.

Six Grey Heron went unseen behind vegetation yesterday (Friday) morning on Cog Moors until flushed by a mystery intruder. Over 200 Black-headed Gulls present on the floods there along with 2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls. Two Chiffchaff were feeding along Sully Brook and at least four Teal were on a pool at the base of the former railway embankment.

Two Grey Plover and a few Turnstone and Oystercatcher were the only waders on view at the beach.

On Thursday morning 5 Brent Geese flew down channel past Sully Island.

With many of the wetter areas on Sully/Cog Moors frozen yesterday, a Green Sandpiper was on a bare section of riverbank on the Cadoxton River at ST 14894 69299. Further upstream a Kestrel was mobbed by corvids and soon flew off. Several Nuthatches were singing and calling in Park Wood and at Michaelston-le-Pit there were 17 Moorhen and 3 Little Grebe on the Salmon Leaps pools and a Grey Wagtail and Great Spotted Woodpecker nearby. Walking back towards Dinas Powys, Siskin called from riverside alders below Casehill Wood.

A walk along the coast to Cosmeston from Sully yesterday morning, starting about 2 hours after low tide, revealed 2 Grey Plover, 3 Dunlin and 15 Ringed Plover close to the water’s edge. An adult Mediterranean Gull showing first signs of its summer plumage black hood was on the playing fields with a small group of Black-headed Gulls. Good views of a perched Sparrowhawk and Jays along St Mary’s Well Bay Road, where a Green Woodpecker was calling.

On Cosmeston’s lakes Pochard, Shoveler and Gadwall added variety to the usual horde of Tufties, and on the way home along Lavernock Road a Raven flew over calling as it headed west.

28 Turnstone on the beach, 5 Oystercatcher and 5 Rock Pipit on grassy area between primary school and beach;

18 Curlew on the playing fields along with 3 Oystercatcher and 100+ Starling;

2 Grey Plover, 23 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin, 95 Oystercatcher and 4 Shelduck on Sully Island

A Green Sandpiper was at a shallow pool on Cog Moors between Sully and Dinas Powys today. Other species seen or heard on the moor included Mute Swan, Grey Heron and Cetti’s Warbler. In fields alongside the Cadoxton River there were Fieldfare, Redwing, Mistle Thrush and an overwintering male Blackcap. Along Green Lane there were three Jays, a Goldcrest and a small flock of Goldfinch. An egret spotted from Pop Hill was always distant and landed out of sight on Sully Moor.

On Sunday there were at least 600 Tufted Duck in total at Cosmeston (330+) and Cardiff Bay (270+). Other ducks in the Bay included:

• Ring-necked Duck resting on a trapped log just south of the flyover
• Female Goldeneye in the middle of the bay in very calm conditions
• Teal (Wetland reserve), Goosander (4 near Watermark building, 1 drake downstream from Pont-y-Werin footbridge on the Ely) as well as a few Pochard scattered about.

On the walk home it was approaching high tide as I passed Sully Island where there were 20 Curlew, 39 Ringed Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 14 Turnstone, 4 Shelduck, 92 Oystercatcher and a Grey Heron

37 species on yesterday’s walk to The Knap, Barry included:

• Mute Swan on the flat calm sea off Knap beach

• Adult Great Black-backed Gull on the shoreline below Knap Terrace

• 41 Tufted Duck on Knap lake (my second-highest count here in the last ten years)

• Adult Mediterranean Gull at Barry Docks

• 17 Redshank and a Raven at Barry Old Harbour

• Cetti’s Warbler singing at Cadoxton Ponds and a singing Goldcrest on Sully Moors Rd.

Highlights of a walk to Cosmeston on Thursday afternoon mostly in misty conditions were 22 Curlew on Sully playing fields (just as well they were there as Sully Island was invisible in the gloom), at least 29 Teal on Cosmeston’s partly frozen West lake and 31 Pochard, all but one on the East lake.

Local coastal sites this morning over high tide:

Cadoxton Rivermouth – Wheatear, Whimbrel, Ringed Plover, 2 Turnstone, 7 Oystercatcher, Rock Pipit

Barry Old Harbour – Wheatear, 2 adult Mediterranean Gull, 2 Whimbrel

Sully Island – 24 Ringed Plover, 2 Dunlin, 58 Oystercatcher, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 7 Turnstone, Grey Heron

On Flemingston Moor this afternoon: 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 113 Lapwing, 4 Greylag Geese and 278 Canada Geese.

70+ Wigeon on the sea a few metres east of the Thaw river mouth, and a few Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and Turnstone on the beach nearby in very windy conditions late afternoon.

 

Wednesday 11/9:

Barry Dock – 2 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Kestrel and a Raven

Sully Island, playing fields and beach – 1 Sparrowhawk, 46 Ringed Plover, 1 Green Woodpecker and a Great Black-backed Gull

Cosmeston – 4 adult Little Grebe, each with a juvenile in tow. 1 Kingfisher.