The adult Kumlien’s Gull was relocated this morning near Ogmore rivermouth, at about 10:45. The bird was initially sitting several hundred metres down the beach towards Newton direction, before flying off over the rivermouth and not subsequently relocated. 

I managed a truly terrible digiscoped shot, which at least can act as a record. The grey in the wing tips appeared more prominent in the field than is suggested in the photo.

 

 

A Water Pipit – now acquiring breeding plumage – was on the lower estuary, but rarer for the site was…….a Coot!

An adult Kumlien’s Gull was in a mixed flock at the rivermouth at 10:30, before flying inland up the river. It wasn’t subsequently relocated, but obviously could still be around.

I returned shortly after and digiscoped what appears to be a Yellow-legged Gull. The mantle appears a little on the dark side, but it otherwise looks good for that species – size, structure, open wing tip pattern, nice chrome-yellow legs etc.

 

Singles of Kumlien’s, Iceland and Glaucous Gull (all aged 2cy) were at Burry Holms this morning. Sad to see numerous dead seabirds washed up along the beach there, the majority Razorbills and Guillemots, but also Kittiwakes and Common Gulls. The NT wardens were out collecting the corpses and had gathered over 200 in about three miles.

A Great White Egret was at Llanrhidian Marsh.

(All the above with ND).

 

Two Little Gulls (1st w, 2nd w) at the rivermouth on the dropping tide this morning.

An adult Little Gull was just downstream of the house at 13:00.

A pair of Choughs at Ogmore-by-Sea today neatly brings my Foot It (bird species seen in January walking from home and back) score to 100, the target I had set myself at the beginning of the month. That’s probably going to be that for the challenge this year.

I decided to limit my walks to a four mile radius from home:

This I kept to with the exception of a foray to Newton Point/Porthcawl, brought on as a result of desperation when things seemed to be drying up (it worked – seven additions were made).

The majority of my effort was not surprisingly made in the Ogmore/Merthyr Mawr/Southerndown area, although Parc Slip also played its part. This map shows where the productive effort was put in:

I would say that compared to 2013 – when I first had a go at this and recorded 103 species – birds were generally harder to come by, probably largely as a result of this year’s unrelenting wet and mild conditions, unlike in 2013 when a cold snowy spell mixed things up. However, I’m pleased to have reached my target and appreciate how lucky I am to live in such a relatively bird rich location.

Some noteworthy birds seen in both years: Little Egret, Red Kite, Goshawk, Peregrine, Water Rail, Purple Sandpiper, Mediterranean Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Kingfisher, Water Pipit, Chiffchaff and Chough.

Birds seen in 2014, but not 2013: Brent Goose, Pochard, Great Crested Grebe, Shag, Bittern, Grey Plover, Barn Owl and Cetti’s Warbler.

Birds seen in 2013, but not 2014: Wigeon, Pintail, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Jack Snipe, Green Sandpiper, Bonaparte’s Gull, Little Owl, Black Redstart, Blackcap and Brambling.

On the minus side it was especially frustrating to not see any Lapwing or Golden Plover, both of which can be present in their hundreds with a bit of a cold blast. Gulls were a tad disappointing overall – no Bonaparte’s like last year, none of the hoped for white-wingers, no Little Gull or Kittiwake despite all the gales, although a pristine adult Yellow-legged Gull was some compensation. I searched in vain for Little Owls at three known sites – two were apparently abandoned and the other had been taken over by Barn Owls.

I would certainly recommend a go at a walking list in January. It’s a great way to gain a greater appreciation of your local area and its birds, while any pounds lost in weight or saved in fuel can’t be a bad thing! Will I be doing it again in 2015? Hmm, let me get back to you on that…..

 

A smart adult Yellow-legged Gull was present this afternoon, taking my footit total to 99.

I have had some information back from the project that GPS tagged the Brent Goose, still present of the lower estuary. They were able to download data from the bird’s logger when it stopped off in spring 2013 at the Frisian Island of Schiermonnikoog, where it was originally tagged. In the 2012 breeding season it was on the fantastically named October Revolution Island, the largest island of the Severnaya Zemlya group in the Russian Arctic. It spent last winter in Bassin d’Arcachon (Bordeaux) and at a site in northern Brittany. Quite why it has turned up at Ogmore Estuary on its own in the middle of winter is anyone’s guess.

Managed to properly read the rings on the Dark-bellied Brent Goose today, once the gloom had eventually lifted a little (red ‘F’ left leg, black ‘4’ right leg). The bird was ringed at Schiermonnikoog – an Island off the Dutch coast – on 10/05/12. It is carrying a GPS logger which can be downloaded using a radio antenna from a distance of a few hundred metres. This is the first of the GPS birds to have been recorded in Wales.

Two Brent Geese present this afternoon at Ogmore – the Dark-bellied still on its lonesome on the lower estuary and a Pale-bellied with the Canada Goose flock. No chance of checking the rings on the Dark-bellied in the horrendous weather conditions, but I have heard it is one of seven birds equipped with a logger by a Dutch scheme. 

A close encounter this evening with a Barn Owl on the moor, plus a pair of Tawny Owls nearby, brings my Foot It running total to 83. A few other recent goodies on foot have included Water Pipit, Goshawk, Red Kite, Cetti’s Warbler and Kingfisher. 

 

I noticed four Little Egrets between the castle and Watermill while driving past today. However, for January I will be mostly seeing birds on foot only, as I have entered the Foot It Challenge 2014. The idea is to see as many bird species as possible on foot from your home and back, in January only. With some trepidation I have set myself a target of 100. Looks like I might get webbed feet by the end of it.

Details here: http://birdingbyfoot.blogspot.co.uk

Anyone else foolhardy enough to accept the challenge?

Two Shags off The Deeps was the highlight of a Christmas walk in the Ogmore area.

Also of interest at Ogmore Estuary was a Canada Goose bearing a red ring ‘AAKT’. I have already received a reply and the bird was ringed at Bowness-on-Windermere on 2/7/13 by the RSPCA Ringing Group as part of a study on post-moult dispersal of Canada Geese from Lake Windermere, Cumbria. 

Distance 326km Duration 168 days

Two Water Pipits this morning – one almost as far upstream as the river confluence; the other ranging around the lower estuary.

Also: adult Kittiwake at Portobello, 10 Little Grebes, 86 Teal, 12 Goldeneye, 5 Goosanders, 1 Little Egret and just 1 Purple Sandpiper.

 

A Barn Owl was hunting over rough ground just off Heol Hopcyn John at around 10pm.

A ringtail Hen Harrier was at the commons south east of Heol-y-Cyw this afternoon.