Walking in E paddock I noticed 2 flocks of Woodpigeon flying west, each one comprising about 250 birds. There were 2 Green Woodpeckers seen in flight, one of which landed then uttered a very loud cacophony of yaffling as a male Sparrowhawk flew in and landed in a nearby tree for a short while. It [the Sprawk] flew off and as it flew another male appeared and flew in the same direction!
Author: John Wilson
Birder and traveller
October 2021
Kenfig: A Hoopoe which was discovered in September at Sker made a brief reappearance there (1st), with seven Cattle Egrets and 161 Jays noted flying through on the same day at the Pool. Two Whooper Swans dropped in, but were soon chased off by the resident Mutes (25th). A Woodlark was seen in flight only (15th). Further sightings in the area included Bittern, Great White Egret, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Jack Snipe, Short-eared Owl and a late Garden Warbler (16th).
Other Sites: A Ring-necked Duck remained at Cardiff Bay, but also briefly visited Cosmeston. A Spoonbill was observed over the Thaw Valley, headed for Aberthaw (9th), with five later the same morning flying north-west over the latter site (9th). A juvenile Gyr Falcon of unknown origin at Cardiff Bay was an intriguing record (30th). The first Water Pipit of the autumn turned up at Ogmore Estuary (31st). Visible migration watches at Lavernock reaped two Woodlarks (10th), while on the 26th, Hawfinch, 20 Bramblings and 11, 500 Redwings moved through. Ospreys graced Nash Point (1st), Dunraven (8th) and Ogmore Estuary (17th – 23nd). A Hen Harrier flew east at Ogmore Estuary (25th), while Marsh Harriers were recorded at Merthyr Mawr Warren, Flemingston Moor and Kenfig. Merlins were logged at a minimum of seven locations. A Hobby was seen flying out to sea at Southerndown. Three Green Sandpipers were at Llanilid. An Arctic Skua passed Lavernock. Black Redstarts were at Aberthaw and Cardiff Bay Barrage, both regular sites for the species. A Firecrest was at Norton, Ogmore. A remarkable 300 Jays coasted west at Dunraven (6th). Up to four Choughs were at Irongate Point and Lock’s Common in Porthcawl, most likely visitors from the Vale of Glamorgan population.
Summary by Paul Roberts
GBC Portland Obs weekend
A liitle after the event as I was not able to attend and have been away wth no WiFi internet. Alan Rosney lead the trip with limited numbers due to restrictions rightly imposed by the Obs staff. Sounds like it was very successful with 92 species seen in the 3 days. The total list includes birds seen in a visit to Steart Marshes in Somerset, I guessing on the way home. The full list can be seen by clicking here. Scanning though it, highlights in order from the list have to be Red-throated Diver, Balearic Shearwater, Glossy Ibis, Commomn Scoter, Marsh and Hen Harriers, Little Stint, Jack Snipe, Caspian Gull, Short-eared Owl, Woodlark, and Common Rosefinch. The list is helpful in that it indicates where each species was seen. Thanks for Alan for compiling it.
Cosmeston
During heavy rain this morning I saw a couple of Redwing burst out of a tree by the dragonfly pond, circle a few times and then dive into cover in the edge of Cogan Wood.
Cosmeston
Pretty quiet at the moment. W lake has 30-40 Tufted Ducks and there were cl00 Canada Geese on E lake. GC Grebes are now more or less in drab winter garb, and the Little Grebes are going that way too. The latter are usually pretty distant out in the lakes but I managed a few shots of an obliging one right by the main bridge this morning, which caught a fish. No sign of any Redwings yet although I have been looing for them – there are plenty of berries. By the dipping pond area a Grey Wagtail flew over calling a couople of times and looked as tho’ it dropped down to W lake. I’ve stuck in a pic of a juv gull that looked a bit odd – prob just a juv LBBG but I have sought opinions on social media.
Cosmeston
Morning: Merlin just whizzed over E lake (12.30). 200 Woodpigeon flew W. C.40 Tufties, 6 Mistle Thr by dragonfly pond, several Swallow over E lake.
Cardiff Bay Barrage
Decided to walk across the barrage & back for a change. Grey Wag, 1 Pied Wags, 2 Rock Pipits were about it. On return some B-h Gulls and a whole lot of feral Pigeons suddenly took off in panic. A Merlin shot over from the Cardiff direction and headed off over Penarth head.
Cosmeston
East Paddock had a flock of around 200 Goldfinch this morning, feeding on the ground near the gate and then feeding in Alders along the ditch. In W paddock I had a couple of fly-over calling Skylarks. Back at the cafe, sitting out the back with a coffee, a Cetti’s Warbler was calling on and off for about 10 minutes and I eventually had a great view but only briefly and too quick for a photo. It flew from a bush by the main boardwalk right past me and into the reeds.
Cwm Nash
Nice GBC trip down Cwm Nash this morning and up on to the west clifftop fields. Quite close and warmer than expected so yours truly got a bit overheated with too many layers!. 9 of us collectively saw 39 species. The wooded section of the Cwm was very quiet and only revealed a Goldcrest on the way back up. In the open valley at the bottom there were a few Chiffchaffs feeding, and several Blackcaps, Blackbirds, Song Thrush, 3 Bullfinches, Goldfinch and a pair of Stonechat and a few other common species. At the shore there were 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Rock Pipits and a Grey Wagtail and a bunch of Herring Gulls, a Black-headed and an adult Great Black-back. A nice find was a busy colony of Ivy Mining Bees by the path leading up the west side away from the stream. Most of us tackled the steep climb up to the west clifftop where we had a couple of Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Buzzard and a lucky few had a couple of Chough. Nothing rare but a nice morning out. John Wilson. Thanks to Alan Rosney for keeping the list., which is here.
Cosmeston last 2 days
Yesterday morning in the rain there were small numbers of all three hirundines feeding low over W lake [House & Sand Martins and Swallow]. There were a couple of flocks of c.30 Goldfinch, 1 in E paddock and 1 in W paddock. There were a surprising 10 Moorhens around the duck feeding area – Moo0rhens are not usually that visible in the park.
This morning, Sand Martins were still feeding over W lake and there was a light passage of Swallows. Just beyond the snipe enclosure in W paddock there was a pair of Stonechats.
September 2021
Highlights: A Hoopoe which frequented Sker (15th – 23rd) not surprisingly proved a popular draw. A female Ring-necked Duck at Cardiff Bay (from 26th) was considered likely to be a returning bird present in the Bay, Cosmeston Lakes and Lisvane Reservoir in the last winter period. A Dotterel flew over calling at Mynydd y Glyn, Porth (14th). A Wryneck was a good patch find at Perthcelyn, Mountain Ash (5th). A juvenile Caspian Gull was seen on the Associated British Ports building, Cardiff Bay (3rd). A Manx Shearwater high east over Abercwmboi (11th) was a noteworthy inland record.Other Sites: Five Brent Geese flew down channel past Ogmore-by-Sea. A Great White Egret turned up at Kenfig rivermouth. An Osprey was tracked flying from Lavernock to Cardiif Bay (4th), while a series of sightings later in the month from Sker, Ogmore Estuary, Dunraven Bay and Aberthaw probably all related to a single individual. A wing-tagged Marsh Harrier at Dunraven was traced to a nest near Loddon, Norfolk, from earlier this year, while further occurrences of this species came from Lavernock and Kenfig. Merlins were at Aberhaw and Sker, while Hobbies were logged at Kenfig, Dunraven and Lavernock. Waders of note included Curlew Sandpiper at Newton and Ruff at Cadoxton rivermouth, with Greenshanks at Ogmore Estuary and Kenfig. A Great Skua was off Sker. The only Arctic Tern sighting came from Cardiff Bay. A Ring Ouzel was heard in coastal scrub at Ogmore rivermouth. Pied Flycatchers stopped off at Dunraven and Llanilid. Movements of Jays were reported from various localities, including a flock of 40+ at Southerndown.
Summary by Paul Roberts
Two events next week
Tues 5th at 7:30 p.m. GBC committee member and local BTO rep Wayne Morris is giving a Zoom presentation on the ongoing Willing for Willow Tits project. Most members have been advised via the email news group but if you’re not on that, contact John Wilson for the login details – johndw1948 at gmail dot com.
On Thursday 7th Oct we have a local field trip to Cwm Nash hoping to see some migrants, and maybe even Chough if we’re lucky. If we have time we’ll maybe move east slightly to Nash Point where there may be a small parking charge if it’s still manned. Cwm Nash itself slopes down to the sea and there’s a concrete stile to negotiate, and if we venture at the seaward end of Cwm Nash up to the clifftop fields to the west, there will be a steep slope to negotiate – the fields are always worth a look. Meet in the car parking field at the end of the lane past the Plough & Harrow pub at Monknash [see maps below] at 9 a.m. or thereabouts. As always please let me know if you plan to come and please read the terms & conditions on the Website page https://glamorganbirds.org.uk/gbc-events/. As usual there is a voluntary green offset contribution to our climate emergency fund of £1 per head. If it’s wet, walking boots are recommended.
PS click each map to get a bigger one, then you shd be able to click and ‘Save as’, or take a screen shot.
Aberthaw, East & West
We had a successful but tiring trip to W and E Aberthaw today with just 7 participants. Highlight at the western end as we walked along the coast path by The Leys, was a Merlin which shot through westwards along the edge of the fields. On the return we had a large female Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel hunting and there were 2 Buzzards by a distsant field. There were large flocks of Goldfinch and Linnet. During the day we got into double figures of Stonechat [c.12 I reckon] and at the E end of the power station an amazing 13 Jays flew up off the ground. A small group of Wigeon were offshore. Waders comprised Curlew, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Turnstone and 2 fly-by Dunlin. A single Teal flushed from the lagoon. Pathside scrub held a juv Whitethroat. At both E and W locations, flocks of [,mostly] Herring Gulls also had accompanying Med Gulls, all ad winter birds. Thanks to Alan Rosney for being ‘keeper of the list’. Full list can be seen here.
Nature Plan for Vale of Glamorgan
A 10 year local nature plan is being devised for the Vale of Glamorgan, and of course included in the plan is birds. Below is the text of a a request for interest that has come to GBC, with details of what is involves and who to contact.
Can you help out the birds of the Vale of Glamorgan?
The Vale of Glamorgan Nature Partnership, with the support of the local authority, is preparing a ten year nature plan. As part of that work it needs to set out the species of birds that will be prioritised for the period. Getting this right is important, as the wide range of bodies involved in the Partnership, which includes Glamorgan Bird Club, will commit to taking conservation actions to support the species identified in the Plan.
We are looking for individuals with an interest and some knowledge of the birds in the Vale to help us agree on the priority list. We will be holding two, or maybe three, hour-long virtual meetings in October with the first one on October 5th at 4pm and the second in the final week. The meetings would be about an hour long, and would be provided with SEWBREC records to help come to a view. We will also be able to give some ideas about the kind of actions that could be taken to support the species identified.
Please let us know if you can help out – even if you can’t make the meetings your views or ideas would be welcome. Please contact local member David Pritchard (smudgepatch@gmail.com or @birdfossil on twitter) to express an interest or to feed in your thoughts.
Cosmeston
Couple of pix of a Jay at Cosmeston yesterday. There have been 3 or 4 flying back & forth collecting acorns. Today in the morning drizzle, 2 Redstarts and a Common Whitethroat were in the snipe enclosure [beyond the dragonfly pond on the right], and in the trees around the bird table there were 2 Treecreepers, a Nuthatch and 6 Chaffinch. Several Chiffchaffs were along the edge of W paddock.
Cosmeston
2 Redstart & 1 Comm Whitethroat in snipe paddock Cosmeston, GS Pecker nr dragonfly pond, 2 Treecreeper, 1 Nuthatch & 6 Chaffinch nr the bird table.
Upcoming field trip
Next Sunday, 26th Sep, there’s a field trip to Aberthaw, W of Barry & Rhoose. We’ll have a wander round the area known as The Leys, west of the power station, then walk around the walkway that fronts the buildings, to East Aberthaw, to explore the area around the pool there. If anyone is interested we could visit Rhoose afterwards to have a wander round the pools there. We start at West Aberthaw/Gileston as the parking for E Aberthaw is very limited, unless you use the carpark of the Blue Anchor pub but that is a very popular venue at the moment. Below is a map showing the access to W Aberthaw beach car park. Basically, travelling W on the B4265 you turn left at the St Athan crossroads, signposted Gileston, making sure you do a right at the minor T junction. Take care when entering the parking area – it is pretty bumpy [rocky] and pot-holed. I suggest meeting there at 9:30 a.m. Please email me to book a place – johndw1948 at gmail dot com.
Full details of current terms & conditions re field trips are on the Field trips events page here, including ref to our voluntary £1 per head green offset donation per our Climate Emergency Policy.
KNNR/Sker – GBC monthly walk
Successful monthly walk at KNNR this morning with 16 participants and Dave Carrington leading. We walked straight out to Sker Farm and watched ‘Strinda’s’ Hoopoe for a while, then walked to Sker Pt, watched a bit from there and then walked back through the dunes via the ‘yellow’ path. A total of 40 species were logged. Highlights – the Hoopoe obviously, several Wheatear, a Marsh Harrier that flew E past Sker Farm, a fly over male Yellow Wagtail, 2 AdW Med Gulls and what was probably a Common Tern in a group of gulls offshore at Sker Pt, Stonechats, Skylarks, a light passage of Swallows….. John Wilson. Full list here:https://drive.google.com/…/1a4w4786y7L4tpZwBWbV…/view…
Sker Farm
Managed to find a ‘window’ to drive down to KNNR and walk out to Sker Farm to see the Hoopoe found by GBC trustee Strinda Davies. It performed pretty well in the field it is currently calling home, finding plenty of what looked like black caterpillars to feed on. At one point it was irritated by the sudden arrival of a Wheatear and raised its crest and spread its wings.
Sker
Yesterday afternoon’s Hoopoe, found by Strinda Davies, apparently still present at Sker House this morning, reported on the local Whatsapp group.
Glamorgan Bird Club 
You must be logged in to post a comment.