I’ve made this a ‘sticky’ post for a while – hope y’all don’t mind.

Not a sighting I know, but bear with me. Well done to Graham Powell for being the first person to send his 2016 bird records to me – no prize sorry! So, it is an opportune moment for me to issue a plea to all East Glam birders out there to get your records for 2016 in please. Most contributors already use the preferred spreadsheet but if you need one let me know, or download it from the Records page of the web site {http://www.glamorganbirds.org.uk/records.html}. My details are on the main web site contacts page. I would like to get all records in by the end of Jan as it takes quite a long time to collate them all into a single spreadsheet. Thanks in anticipation. Any birds requiring descriptions shd be sent to our Recorder, Phil Bristow, ASAP. The lists of description species are also on the above linked page. [These need updating due to recent changes, which will do shortly.

First visit after return from Dorset. 100+ Tufties, 8 Pochard, 12 Redwing and 2 Mistle Thrush feeding in W paddock, 1 Common and 1 Jack Snipe flushed by the snipe paddock. O/W very crowded.

Delayed WeBS from Sun 18th [due to fog]. All the following at Green Point: 1000 Redshank,  100 Dunlin, 120 Lapwing, 1 Jack Snipe [in the small reed bed], 1 Little Egret, 4 Gadwall, an impressive 100 Shoveler, 60 Pintail, 173 Shelduck, 56 Mallard, 26 Teal, 31 Canada Geese, 1 Sprawk.

At the Heliport Bay, 20 Pintail, 37 Shelduck, 27 Oystercatcher, 19 Turnstone. There were c.200 Herring Gulls on Lamby Lake and a single Common Gull with the Black-headeds.

A pic of the Bittern at Forest Farm today, taken by Tony Fisher, to L of 2nd hide at about 1 p.m. Thanks Tony.

Apparently the L-t Duck from Cardiff Bay relocated to Cosmeston where it was seen this morning – just noticed the post on the Facebook South Wales Birding page. No doubt driven off by the speeding ribs I mentioned yesterday.

The Long-tailed Duck was very confiding this morning – pity I didn’t have my camera. This morn it was between the sails and the locks end. However the yellow high speed ribs were doing circuits full of screaming girls and insisted on doing high speed water-borne donuts as close as they could to the barrage shoreline and thus the bird, creating waves that were breaking over the wire meshing there. Obviously the LTD is a sea duck so waves wouldn’t bother it but they were coming within 20m of it and when we walked back from the Cardiff end I couldn’t find it. Not much else – couple of Rockits, a Mipit and a Pied Wag.

4 Gadwall on W lake. 2 Little Grebe on E lake plus 1 Ad Yellow-legged Gull. Otherwise the usual suspects.

In the heavy drizzle this morning – pretty sure I saw the Scaup on W lake that Wayne Strong apparently saw y’day – a very tatty 1st yr bird. Also 2 Gadwall and 4 Pochard plus the usual Tufties. The dark Buzzard that was harassed by a Magpie t’other day, was worming in W paddock. 2 Bullfinch in the band of trees between W lake back path and the adjacent long narrow meadow by Sully Brook.

Party of Long-t Tits along the central path, the one pictured playing peekaboo! Flat Holm gulls F:303 blue [imm LBBG] and F:168 blue {imm Herring Gull] also present. Still a few Redwing about but o/w pretty quiet.

Here’s a record shot of the Black Redstart reported by Jean and Rod yesterday at Sker. The pic was sent to GBC by a member of the public, Tony Fisher, who found it and consulted Jean & Rod who happened to be in the vicinity.

13 Teal, 3 Wigeon and 2 Pochard on W lake, and the usual spread of Tufties. Mistlle Thrush and Green ‘Pecker in W paddock and 4 Goldcrest noted up central path. The buzzard below was sitting on the W paddock hedgerow and had some aggro from a Magpie.

The Vale council have just announced plans for a possible cable wakeboarding facility on E lake at Cosmeston. I can’t think of anything less suitable for a relatively small lake that has a resident population of up to 60 Mute Swans. some of which nest, occasionally a similar number of Canada Geese, 100’s of Gulls and Coot,  and other wildfowl from autumn through to spring. Not to mention birds such and Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting which nest in the reed bed which no doubt would be disturbed by the wash that wakeboarding creates. If like me you’ve never heard of cable wakeboarding, it’s like normal wakeboarding behind a speedboat except that the participant is pulled along by an overhead cable suspended between two tall gantries.  Thus these structures would grace the shore of E lake somewhere, plus the permanent obstacles in the water such as ramps and other jumps which the users have to negotiate. Please write to the Vale Council planning dept objecting to this proposal. Click here for a link to an article on the Wales Online web site.

There were 11 Teal on W lake and 3 Wigeon [2m 1f] plus a total of 73 Tufties on both lakes, 1 Common Gull on the W lake posts and later the same or different bird at the Swan feeding area on E lake.

Cardiff Bay Barrage this morning. There were 3 Goosander by the sails [2m 1f] the female being the one from last yr with the damaged right wing [see photo]. Also the Long-tailed Duck was looking good in the bright sunlight.

Long-t Duck reported as still present today per Amy Schwartz on South Wales Birding FB page.

Only highlights this morning were a pair of Wigeon on W lake and a single fem Teal. Plenty of Redwing around and 20 or so Fieldfare, 3 Jays seen carrying acorns and a Buzzard was over Cogan Wood.

Probably the best night so far for starlings at Cosmeston – I would guess twice the number I saw the other evening. Therwere 2-3 Sparrowhawks in attendance! Pic is just off my phone and shows part of the flock. Show ended at around 4:25. Viewed from the bridge.

A Yellow-browed Warbler was seen briefly at Cosmeston late morning this morning. It was not vocal but a Chiffchaff was calling at the same time. It was in ivy looking from the beginning of the boardwalk that leads off the car park, looking towards E lake (per Alex Bevan). There were loads of Redwing and Fieldfare all over the park. A Bittern was seen over W lake reeds yesterday eve (per Graham Smith).

1 v smart ad male Black Redstart on roofs at Penarth Marina this a.m., and another bird v briefly [roofs of small square facing the marina basin]. 1 Grey Wag and 1 Turnstone by the R. Ely mouth there.

Old Ice Rink car park/Prospect Place – 2 Little Grebe, 2 GC Grebe, 120 Coot, 12 Tufted Duck.

The Lesser Scaup was reported at Cosmeston this morning, and it had also been logged at The Knap lake, Barry.