A glaucous gull came in off the sea at Rest Bay this morning. One Mediterranean gull also flew past.

2 purple sandpipers dozing on the usual rocks this morning.

A late visit produced the usual suspects but no yellow legged gull. 3 fallow deer were a surprise.

 

Goldeneye 5, goosander 3, snipe 1, sparrowhawk 2 and a pintail of note this morning before the bulk of the Bank Holiday walkers arrived.

At high tide this morning there were dunlin 4, sanderling 17, grey plover 5, ringed plover 26, turnstone 5, and redshank 2.

Razorbill 1, guillemot 6 unidentifiable auks 9, red throated diver d/c, great crested grebe 1 and a single porpoise.

I did not post these earlier because I did not think that they were good enough for Adrienne to identify from them.

The flock of 8 chough on Locks Common on 9th November contained 3 separate ringed birds. (Seen and photographed by Mike Pugh) The Anglesey chough 9U, together with 2 local birds that are/were regular in the Ogmore/Southerndown area but they are 12 years old and the rings are falling off. I copy below details from Adrienne Stratford’s Email

The two colour-ringed birds in the group of four in the top photo, and also in slightly different shot of same group that you attached to yesterday’s email, are both familiar to me (although I’ve never seen them myself). These are a pair of siblings ringed by Bob Haycock near Pennard on the Gower in 2004 (originally ringed: Rt: Red/BTO Lt: Lime/Brown + Rt: Red/BTO Lt: Lime/Brown), then became resident breeding adults in the Ogmore/Southerndown area. Both were still around there until spring 2015, but with only one of them recorded in spring 2016. Both had lost their red rings some years ago – the plastic rings are not as durable as we’d like, but they’re usually reliable for 5 or more years by which time birds have generally stopped travelling far and have settled down as nesting adults – where we’re able to keep track of their gradual loss of rings… It’s clear that one of these birds (the one in the back of the photo) has also lost the lime ring since it was last recorded and is now Rt: BTO only Lt: White only. One the other bird (Rt: BTO only Lt: Lime/Brown – back right in both photos), the lime ring appears to have become unglued and un-spiralled, and has now has slipped down and is below the brown (clearer on the previously-attached photo) – this lime ring will almost certainly not stay on much longer. Not surprising really as they’re both now 12 year-olds. The first of these siblings (ex Lime/White) was also recorded at Lock’s Common back in March 2007, just before turning up at Western Supermare with some other Gower birds, where it had also been recorded alone the previous year.

The flock of 8 were present again today as per Mike

A female goldeneye was my first of the winter. Other birds were Gadwall 2, turnstone 5, goosander 3, little grebe 9 and a red kite drifted over Pant Norton. There were a couple of fieldfare feeding on berries at the Watermill.

I did a cetacean survey from Locks Common this morning in flat calm conditions. 2 porpoise present for 3/4 hour. 2 great crested grebe, 2 RT divers u/c, 3 diver sp d/c, 13 common scoter d/c, 10 guillemot d/c, 30+ auk sp on surface of water about 1.5 miles out. An egret went d/c which I suspect to be GWE but too far out to be confident. 4 chough were feeding on the common.

A lot of goldcrests at the lower end of Pant Norton where it joins Pant Marie Flanders this afternoon. The count must have been well into double figures. They were with a mixture of tits. 7 redwing flew over.

A quick look this morning before the worst of the rain. 1 greenshank and at least 6 common sandpiper.

Thanks Dean!

I had 20 minutes sheltering under the trees at Portobello House late morning.
10 black-tailed godwits, 3 common sandpiper and a juvenile greenshank.

A brief visit in heavy drizzle produced a little ringed plover and a common sandpiper this afternoon.

There was a common sandpiper and a little egret at the Watermill this afternoon.

A reeling grasshopper warbler and an adult sedge warbler with a juvenile were the highlights this morning, together with a patrolling fox.

My first visit to the site. Got there at 20.30 and got the feel of the place. 21.45 strolled off along forestry track (ST 031943) 2 nightjars overhead at 22.00 followed by 2 churring. A tawny on the way back to the car was a bonus. Thanks Ceri.

I did a cetacean survey from Locks Common this morning. 5 common scoter d/c and 1 immature gannet u/c of note and 1 porpoise.