Four Arctic skuas flew together in close over Sker Point this morning. Otherwise very quiet for September. 50 golden plover, a wheatear and a lapwing on the rocks.

Picture of the bird over the saltmarsh/reedbed. It flew back to Kenfig Pool shortly after this shot. A bird in breeding condition with dark bill

My first ever little ringed plover for the site was on Sker Point this morning. Also 22 whimbrel, 2 bar-tailed godwit, grey plover, 4 dunlin, 8 ringed plover, 30 sanderling, 2 greylags and 8 wheatear.

There were three reeling grasshopper warblers this morning, two along the edge of the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club and one next to Sker House. A common sandpiper walking along the top of a dry stone wall was also unusual. Three whimbrel and a bar-tailed godwit were on the coast. There were plenty of wheatears about too.

Greenshank,  shelduck, 2 gadwall, 8 golden plover and 4 wheatear.

At high tide this morning there were 15 purple sandpipers on a shingle spit towards Pink Bay along with c250 sanderlings.

At high tide this morning there were 8 purple sandpipers, a dunlin, 48 oystercatchers, 36 turnstones, 3 curlew and about 25 common scoters flying down channel.

Footage from the hidden bird table from yesterday.

Here are links to some live webcams as mentioned and demonstrated on Thursday’s talk. The Ustream sites have adverts pop up and can be less reliable. Don’t forget to allow for time differences. Happy arm chair ticking!

http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/flaco-s-bird-cam

http://www.tomnliz.com/Livecam/Cam_3.html

http://www.wildsafarilive.com/

http://www.ustream.tv/petespond

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/allen-birdcam-2

Three birds today, an unringed pair and an individual with a green colour ring.

Another good morning for auks with constant activity of birds passing by or landing on the sea. Some were close in allowing relatively easy separation of razorbills from guillemots. It was hard to come up with meaningful counts as birds seemed to be moving up and down the channel. At least four razorbills went down channel and there were 20 or guillemots in the 20 minutes my dogs let me sit still. Also great crested grebe, gannet, Brent goose (dark-bellied) and common scoter.

At high tide this morning 28 guillemots in twos and threes down channel with some landing nice and close. A red-throated diver landed over the mussel beds and a common scoter flew down channel.

Birds on Kenfig’s hidden bird table this week.

Seven bar-tailed godwits were feeding on the fairway near the Pink Bay path and a shag was swimming off Pink Bay at lunch time.

Click this link to see footage from Kenfig’s new bird table web cam. Some nice pictures of common birds at the table. We were surprised by the arrival at 7:49 into the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BagiHCs9eKE

 

 

Two great northern divers flew down channel just after 9am. Otherwise very quiet at Sker.

There’s a little tern giving excellent close views at the south end of Kenfig Pool. Well worth a visit.

A sandwich tern flew up channel and a distant fulmar flew down channel this morning providing 4 much needed patchwork points. An immature shag was still present on the rocks. Earlier Dean Bolt counted 6 summer plumaged grey plovers, 15 whimbrels and several dunlins.

Whimbrel, immature shag and 3 wheatears this morning. Yesterday, sixty six golden plovers (most in breeding plumage), 3 dunlins (also in sp) and a white wagtail.

11 sand martins, a swallow and an early house martin at lunch time