18/10/25 Monthly Public Birdwalk

Welc0me to 13 folk on the Kenfig walk on Saturday morning, good to see new faces and old friends.

We were pleased to see or hear 44 species between us, on a long walk – for me anyway!- of at least 5 1/2 miles! A visit to the hide gave us great views of c300 Canada Geese and Greylag arriving and a Sparrowhawk upsetting all the Gulls. We then visited Colin And Wayne ringing birds – they were packing up because it had become too breezy, but were happy to report that they’d ringed their 2000th bird- before crossing the dunes to the windy coast. Dave Carrington found a Brambling with a flock of Siskin, too far for most to spot. At Sker Point c300 Golden Plover were displaying for us , a Wheatear was seen by most folk.

Many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading, and other folk for sharing knowledge and scopes.

Full LIst.

300+ Canada Goose , Greylag Goose , Mute Swan , Gadwall , Wigeon , Mallard , Tufted Duck , Woodpigeon , Collared Dove , Coot , Great Crested Grebe, Oystercatcher , 300+ Golden Plover , Ringed Plover , Turnstone , Sanderling, Black-headed Gull , Common Gull , Herring Gull , Lesser Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Sparrowhawk , Kestrel , Magpie
Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit , Skylark, Cettis Warbler , Chiffchaff , Wren, Blackbird , Robin , Stonechat, Wheatear, Dunnock ,Pied Wagtail , Meadow Pipit , Brambling , Bullfinch , Linnet , Siskin .

Eight folk took a gamble on the weather this morning and were well rewarded!

We saw/ heard a total of 51 species. The highlights were – Osprey on the coast over the sea, Peregrine Falcon flying over, 7 Whimbrel at Sker Point, 8+ Wheatear, 10+ White Wagtail, a very smart Red Bunting and a pair of Kestrel perched near the barn at Sker House, and … a bright Yellow Wagtail by the pond at Sker.

Full List-

Canada Goose , Greylag Goose , Mute Swan, Gadwall , Wigeon, Mallard , Tufted Duck, Pheasant , Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon , Collared Dove, Coot, Little Grebe , Great Crested Grebe , Ringed Plover, 7 Whimbrel , Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Osprey, 2 Kestrel , Peregrine, Magpie, Rook , Carrion Crow , Blue Tit , Great Tit
Skylark , Sand Martin , Swallow , Cetti’s Warbler , Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff , Whitethroat , Wren , Starling, Song Thrush, Blackbird , Robin , Stonechat, Wheatear, House Sparrow , Dunnock , Yellow Wagtail , White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit , Linnet , Goldfinch , Reed Bunting

Many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading and navigating the route through the flooded slacks! Also everyone else for coming along and helping with ID

We had an excellent bird walk this morning, 22 folk came, including some new folk – welcome!- and saw or heard 57 species between us the most I’ve ever recorded for a Saturday Kenfig walk! We went to Sker to catch the falling tide, then to the pool. The highlights were – a Great White Egret, a Purple Sandpiper, and John spotted a Bittern flying towards us giving everyone great views.

Full List – Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan , Shoveler , Gadwall , Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard , Teal , Pochard , Tufted Duck Goldeneye , Goosander , Feral Pigeon , Woodpigeon, Collared Dove , Water Rail , Moorhen, Coot , Great Crested Grebe , Golden Plover , Ringed Plover, Curlew , Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper , Black-headed Gull , Common Gull , Herring Gull , Great Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Bittern , Great White Egret , Grey Heron , Sparrowhawk , Kingfisher , Kestrel , Jay,  Magpie, Jackdaw , Carrion Crow , Blue Tit , Great Tit , Long-tailed Tit , Wren , Starling , Song Thrush , Mistle Thrush , Blackbird , Robin , Stonechat , House Sparrow, Dunnock , Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Pied Wagtail

With thanks to John Western and John Wilson for leading, also to folks who helped with ID , and of course everyone else for coming along. Jean Haslam

A sparkling afternoon for birding here today -in spite of it being a bit busy and the tide just coming in. A lovely sunset too.

We found plenty of gulls- Herring and Black-Headed, at least 15 Turnstone, numerous Oystercatchers, a few Sanderling, 6 Curlew, Carrion Crow, 2 Dark -Bellied Brent Geese, and a Redshank,

Nine hardy folk joined us for the ‘Pies In The Hide’ monthly public walk on Saturday , and despite the wind , drizzle and poor visibility, we saw/heard 32 species between us, the highlight being an American Wigeon. It was only really visible through a ‘scope but everyone managed to have a view. Great to welcome a new member – and old friends of course. We enjoyed the festive occasion , taking shelter in the hide, with tinsel, mince pies and mulled hot fruit juice.

Full list. – Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blackbird,Wren, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Coot, Mute Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Mallard, Gadwall, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen calling in the reedbed, House Sparrow, Long-Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Chettis Warbler, Chiff Chaff, Lesser Black -Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Stonechat, Sparowhawk, Redwing – spotted flying over at the end of the walk.

Many thanks to Dave for leading, to folk who helped us with ID and scope views, and everyone for coming along.

15 folk came along on our Kenfig Public Walk on Saturday, welcome all, good to see old friends and some new folk. We went down to the hide where we left Martin , searching for a Bittern – he had no luck- it must have been hiding in the reeds, but he did see, in addition to our list, a Grey Heron, good views of Long Tailed Tits, and heard more than one Water Rail. Tramping through the reserve to the shore, we watched a flock of Golden Plover in the distance – no Eider duck, but did see Curlew, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, and Sanderling, 41 species see or heard between us.

Full List

Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan , Shoveler Gadwall , Wigeon, Mallard , Teal , Feral Pigeon , Woodpigeon , Water Rail , Coot , Oystercatcher . Golden Plover, Curlew , Turnstone , Sanderling , Black-headed Gull , Common Gull , Herring Gull , Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Kestrel , Magpie, Jackdaw , Carrion Crow, Blue Tit , Great Tit , Cetti’s Warbler , Long-tailed Tit , Chiffchaff , Goldcrest, Wren , Starling , Blackbird , Robin , Stonechat, Dunnock , Meadow Pipit , Bullfinch 

Many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading, everyone else for the ID help and coming along!

” Ten keen bird watchers, including several new faces, gathered at Kenfig NNR on Saturday 19th October 2024, which was a bright, beautiful and, eventually, very warm autumn morning.

Alan Rosney lead the group, with John Western acting as recorder of the species seen and/or heard.

It was decided to head for Sker Point, where high tide had been at 8am. At Sker, the group was treated to a flock of some 200 Golden Plovers, which were seen flying spectacularly over the sea before landing on the rocks at Sker beach.Also at Sker were good numbers of Oystercatchers, Turnstone and Curlew.

The intrepid participants then headed over the dunes and spent the last hour or so at the now somewhat forlorn – looking hide. The highlight here was a Kingfisher, which flew low over the water close to the hide and perched on a nearby post, much to the delight of those present.

It was a very enjoyable and productive bird walk in near perfect weather. 

The full list of 46 recorded species is as follows:-

Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Mallard, Great Crested Grebe, Woodpigeon, Water Rail, Coot, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Curlew, Redshank, Turnstone, Black – headed Gull, Lesser Black – Backed Gull, Great Black – Backed Gull, Cormorant,  Little Egret, Heron, Red Kite, Kingfisher, Kestrel, Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Cetti’s Warbler, Long- tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Starling, Song Thrush, Redwing, Blackbird, Robin, Stonechat, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Bullfinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting.”

6 of us braved the dire weather forecast to take part on the Walk for Women on Sunday morning, meeting at Forage Farm cafe and farmshop, near Cowbridge. We managed to find 22 species between us before torrential rain made it sensible to turn back before halfway. Hot drinks and snacks in the outside yurt were very welcome! The highlights were – a Hobby, a constant stream of migrating Swallows with a Yellow Wagtail amongst them, several Mistle Thrush and Raven.

Full List- Woodpigeon, Dunnock, Blackbird, Carrion Crow,

Woodpigeon, Dunnock, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Robin, Magpie, Buzzard, Swallow, Yellow Wagtail, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, Meadow Pipit, Rook, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Hobby, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jackdaw, Chiff Chaff, Raven Great Tit, Wren

Thanks for coming, hope you’ve dried out!

Strinda, Jenna and Jean

13 of us took a gamble on the weather this morning, and were rewarded with some excellent sightings! Great to meet old and new friends.

We went down to the sea at Sker Point, then across the dunes on many small paths to the hide . 47 species were found between us, the highlights being an OSPREY!! flying east along the coast, a Hobby chasing dragonflies over the pool, 50+ swallows throughout the morning-also flying east, a Whinchat and couple of Wheatear.

Many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading, and several other experts who helped us all .

Full List

Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Wigeon , Mallard , Teal , Woodpigeon , Collared Dove , Coot , Great Crested Grebe , Golden Plover , Curlew , Turnstone , Black-headed Gull , Herring Gull , Lesser Black-backed Gull , Osprey , Red Kite , Kingfisher Great Spotted Woodpecker , Kestrel , Hobby , Jay , Magpie , Jackdaw , Carrion Crow , Raven , Great Tit , Skylark, Swallow , House Martin , Cetti’s Warbler , Whitethroat, Wren, Starling , Song Thrush , Blackbird, Robin , Whinchat , Stonechat , Wheatear , Dunnock , Pied Wagtail , Rock Pipit , Bullfinch , Linnet , Goldfinch , Reed Bunting 

13 folk came on our Public walk on Saturday morning, thanks for coming along! Great to see old and new friends. It was damp and overcast, but we still were pleased to find 36 species between us. We were lucky that Colin and co were bird ringing and invited us to join them, everyone – including Dave C! ) learned something new from his fascinating talk, and were pleased to see Whitethroat, Tree Pipit and Garden Warbler in the hand. Other highlights were a Great White Egret at the north end of the pool, and a Common Sandpiper on the east shore. I particularly liked watching a Grey Heron swimming along!

Full List-

Canada Goose , Mute Swan , Gadwall , Wigeon , Mallard , Woodpigeon , Water Rail , Moorhen , Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Common Sandpiper , Black-headed Gull , Herring Gull , Lesser Black-backed Gull , Great White Egret , Grey Heron,
Great Spotted Woodpecker , Kestrel , Magpie, Jackdaw , Carrion Crow, Sand Martin , Swallow , House Martin ,
Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff , Blackcap , Garden Warbler, Whitethroat , Starling , Blackbird, Robin , Dunnock , Tree Pipit , Bullfinch , Linnet

Six people assembled at Kenfig NNR , including the leader for the day John Western, for the monthly GBC bird walk on Saturday 20th July.

Undoubtedly,  the dismal weather forecast had put potential participants off, together with the start of the peak holiday season , following schools breaking up the previous day.

Thankfully, the rain kept away until late morning by which time those taking part were heading for the car park and home.

This good fortune meant that the group headed for the bird hide, but not before completing a circular walk around the woodland adjacent to the hide. The path used for this walk had, until recently, been flooded and impassable. The flood water had since receded and all was well.

July has the reputation of being a quiet month from a birding point of view, and so it proved. Small birds, including the usual suspects such as Robin, Dunnock and Great Tit were conspicuous by their absence, both visually and vocally.

Nevertheless, the group soldiered on and eventually managed to report the grand total of 18 species.

A single Raven flew over, a Great Black Backed Gull was resting on the old boathouse, a calling Water Rail was heard and it was gratifying to see the Great Crested Grebe family in full view and good shape on the far side of the pool. 

It is hoped that the August walk will be more productive, but none the less it was an enjoyable experience. 

Full list of species recorded is as follows:- Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Swallow, Coot , Black – headed Gull, Herring Gull, Great black – backed Gull, Lesser black- backed Gull, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Greylag Goose, Great Crested Grebe and Water Rail.”

Many thanks to John Western for this report and for leading the walk.

Thirteen of us enjoyed our ‘Walk for Women’ here this morning. Great company, friends old and new, the weather was glorious, and we found 32 species between us, seen and heard. The highlights were – Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the same tree, a distant Common Sandpiper, low flying Swift over the lake 30+ Coot and at least 8 Little Grebe.

Full list-

Mute Swan, Grey Wagtail, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Mallard, Canada Geese, Black Headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Chiffchaff, Magpie, Tufted Duck, Blackcap, Common Buzzard, House Sparrow, Wren, Robin, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull,Blackbird, Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Coot, Common Sandpiper,Blue Tit, Little Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker.

Thanks for coming everyone!

Sunday 19th May 2024

This was our 4th Walks For Women, popular as ever, with 9 of us enjoying the warm sunshine. Great to meet old and new friends. We were pleased to see or hear 35 species between us, the highlights being Lesser Whitethroat , a Great Crested Grebe family with 2 well-grown young, Willow Warblers everywhere, 3 Reed Warblers singing with one seen amongst the reeds and goslings of Canada and Greylag Geese.

Full list-

Canada Goose , Greylag Goose, Mute Swan , Mallard, Woodpigeon , Coot , Great Crested Grebe , Herring Gull , Cormorant , Grey Heron , Buzzard , Kestrel , Magpie, Jackdaw , Carrion Crow, Blue Tit , Great Tit , Sand Martin, Swallow , Cetti’s Warbler , Long-tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff , Reed Warbler, Blackcap , Lesser Whitethroat , Whitethroat, Wren , Starling , Song Thrush , Blackbird, Robin, House Sparrow , Dunnock, Goldfinch

Thanks to everyone for coming along, and to Strinda Davies for leading

Saturday 18th May 2024

11 folk took part on our Monthly Public walk on Saturday, on an overcast but warm and still day.

We were lucky enough to hear, then see flying – a Cuckoo! There were also singing 2( we think) Lesser Whitethroat, 2 well- grown Great Crested Grebe young , 4 flying Lapwing, Greylag and Canada Geese with goslings and a couple of Swift – my first this year.

Full List – 44

Canada Goose , Greylag Goose, Mute Swan , Mallard, , Swift , Cuckoo, Woodpigeon , Collared Dove , Coot , Great Crested Grebe , Lapwing ,Herring Gull , Lesser Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Grey Heron , Sparrowhawk , Buzzard , Kestrel , Magpie, Jackdaw , Carrion Crow, Blue Tit , Great Tit , Skylark , Sand Martin, Swallow , Cetti’s Warbler , Long-tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff , Reed Warbler, Blackcap , Lesser Whitethroat , Whitethroat, Wren , Starling , Song Thrush , Blackbird, Robin, House Sparrow , Dunnock, Bullfinch , Linnet , Goldfinch

20/4/24 Monthly Public Walk

Apologies for late posting.

12 folk enjoyed the walk last Saturday, we found 41 species, the highlights being – Lesser Whitethroat, 4+ Whimbrel by the pool, a Great Crested Grebe with 2 young on it’s back cruising in front of the hide, a distant Peregrine Falcon and lots of birdsong from the bushes.

Full List

Canada Goose , Greylag Goose , Mute Swan , Gadwall , Mallard , Tufted Duck , Woodpigeon , Coot , Great Crested Grebe, Whimbrel , Great Black-backed Gull , Herring Gull , Lesser Black-backed Gull , Cormorant, Sparrow Hawk , Buzzard , Peregrine Falcon, Jay , Magpie , Jackdaw, Carrion Crow , Blue Tit , Great Tit , Skylark , Swallow , House Martin , Cetti’s Warbler, Willow Warbler , Chiffchaff , Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat , Whitethroat , Wren , Song Thrush , Blackbird Robin, House Sparrow , Dunnock , Chaffinch, Bullfinch , Linnet.

Thanks for coming and for the help everyone, and special thanks to Dave Carrington for leading

Nine folk came on the GBC Kenfig public walk on Saturday 16th March. Great to see everyone on a chilly , damp and overcast day, and we were able to find 47 species between us! The highlights were, a Scaup, Sand Martin – here at last! Pintail, a Skylark singing, a nest building Coot, a Great Crested Grebe also nesting in front of the hide, while some of the group hiked down to the coast to find Purple Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Turnstone and Golden Plover, some in breeding plumage.

Full list-

Canada Goose , Greylag Goose , Mute Swan , Shoveler , Gadwall , Wigeon , Mallard , Teal , Pochard, Tufted Duck , Scaup
Feral Pigeon , Woodpigeon , Collared Dove , Coot , Great Crested Grebe, Golden Plover , Ringed Plover, Curlew Turnstone , Purple Sandpiper, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Grey Heron
Magpie , Jackdaw , Carrion Crow , Raven , Blue Tit , Great Tit , Skylark , Sand Martin, Cetti’s Warbler , Chiffchaff , Wren
Starling , Blackbird , Robin , Stonechat , House Sparrow , Dunnock , Pied/White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch
Bullfinch

Many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading

3/3/24

There were 7 of us at Bryngarw Country Park on Sunday morning for our first Women’s Walk of the year. It was good to meet old and new friends in the lovely sunshine! Between us we saw or heard 28 species.

The highlights were – Mandarin Duck on the pond, a singing Pied Wagtail, several Siskin, Carrion Crow with nesting material, a Dipper flying up river, Mistlethrush, Jay, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker calling.

Full List-

Mandarin Duck , Mallard, Woodpigeon , Moorhen , Herring Gull , Grey Heron, Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker , Green Woodpecker, Jay , Magpie , Jackdaw , Carrion Crow , Blue Tit , Great Tit , Wren , Nuthatch , Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Blackbird , Robin, Dipper , Dunnock , Grey Wagtail , Pied/White Wagtail , Chaffinch , Goldfinch , Siskin 

Many thanks to everyone for coming along, and especially to Strinda for co -leading, and of course Julia, who, with her local knowledge as a volunteer, showed us special parts of the park and found us lots of birds!

We had an excellent public walk on Saturday morning. Welcome to some new folk. Despite the murky weather, ten of us found 50! species between us. Partly because there was an incoming tide, and that the rain held off, we decided that we were up for a trek down to Sker. We were rewarded by seeing Purple Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Curlew, Rock Pipit, and Golden Plover arriving. Back at the centre by noon, most of us were keen to carry on down to the pool where we found lots of waterfowl, (no Long-tailed Duck, or Bittern were seen) Goldeneye, 6 Great Crested Grebe, lots of Pochard, Teal, Tufted Duck, – I’ll post the full list later!

Many thanks to my co- leader, John Western, and the help other expert birders!

Jean Haslam,

20/1/24

Fourteen folk came on the first Kenfig walk of the year, it was cold , overcast and windy, some ice on the pool, so many waterfowl quite distant - we felt lucky to find 30 species between us! The highlights were – Fieldfare flitting about in a bush, a Sparrowhawk, a Water Rail heard, Woodpigeon in display flight, and a skein of more than 30 Canada Geese flying towards the pool , quite closely overhead as we walked down.

Canada Goose , Greylag Goose, Mute Swan , Shoveler , Gadwall , Mallard , Teal , Pochard , Goldeneye , Woodpigeon , Collared Dove , Water Rail , Moorhen , Coot , Black-headed Gull , Great Black-backed Gull , Magpie , Carrion Crow , Blue Tit  Great Tit , Chiffchaff , Blackbird , Fieldfare , Robin , House Sparrow , Dunnock , Chaffinch, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Wigeon

Thirteen folk came on our ‘Pies In The Hide’ Christmas Kenfig Public Walk on Saturday 16th December. On such an overcast , drizzly, misty day we were delighted to hear or see 36 species between us – many thanks to the experts for this! The highlights were- Winter Thrushes- Redwing, and Fieldfare, plus Mistle Thrush, Coal tit, Common Gull, Bullfinch , while we heard a very close Water Rail amongst the reeds.

Greylag Goose, Gadwall , Mallard , Pochard , Tufted Duck , Woodpigeon , Collared Dove , Water Rail , Moorhen , Coot
Great Crested Grebe , Common Gull , Herring Gull , Lesser Black-backed Gull, Cormorant , Great Spotted Woodpecker , Jay , Magpie , Carrion Crow , Coal Tit, Blue Tit , Great Tit , Cetti’s Warbler , Long-tailed Tit , Goldcrest , Starling , Mistle Thrush , Redwing , Blackbird , Fieldfare , Robin , House Sparrow , Dunnock , Chaffinch , Bullfinch , Goldfinch

Many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading.