There is a pink-footed goose at Parc slip northern Wetlands viewable from the hide. It spends a lot of time in the grass to the right of the first hide but occasionally comes out onto the water.

It was a fine clear morning with light southerlies, though a touch chilly, as I took a walk from Rest Bay out to Sker. A pair of Shelduck flew up channel and a pair of Common Scoter and 14 Black-headed Gull flew down-channel. There were 135 Golden Plover still in the Pink Bay area some many acquiring their summer plumage.

On rocks just south of Sker there were 14 Oystercatcher, 400 Sanderling, 9 Purple Sandpiper, 9 Turnstone and a Curlew. Three Swallow flew north and there was a male Wheatear just west of the farm. The Sker area was busy with a good selection of many displaying / nesting species – Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Goldfinch and Linnet.

During a morning walk – 2 Blackcaps singing and a fem in Cogan Wood, 4-5 Chiffchaff singing, 40 Sand Martin over W lake, quite high up, Ad and Imm Grey Heron by W lake posts, and my first Willow Warbler in trees by the main boardwalk.

A very productive walk along the river produced several Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs,a singing Blackcap.1-Kingfisher.m+f-Goosanders and the star bird a trilling Wood Warbler.13h00-14h15

Willow Warblers singing in Caerau and Michaleston-le-Pit. Blackcaps and Chiffs widespread along Ely River Trail as well as Michaelston-le-Pit through to Leckwith.
Male Stonechat Caerau.

18 singing chiffchaff and 3 blackcap on the ride between Pentrebach and Forest Farm along Trevithick and Taff Trails.

At high tide this morning there were 15 purple sandpipers on a shingle spit towards Pink Bay along with c250 sanderlings.

20 or so Sand Martins around the old dock by Dr Who experience building, including several visiting nest holes.

 Taken with my phone so not so sharp. Mike

Brent Goose 1st winter dark bellied photo to follow (hopefully). Also House Martin 1 Sand Martin 10 Sparrowhawk 1 Buzzard 2.

 

Perhaps up to 7 Willow Warblers present today. Also 2 Sand Martin, 5 Chiffchaff and 1 Goosander.

Hi all. It is perhaps timely to just remind all observers to refrain from posting news about rare species for our area which are displaying possible breeding behaviour in suitable habitat, or are indeed breeding. There is a notice about this on the RHS further down this page. Many thanks, John Wilson – Sec to the rarities committee.

PS I’ve made this a ‘sticky’ post for a little while.

Male Wheatear showing well on the stone wall around the small lagoon in the north-west of Hamadryad Park.

Just 1 Tufty this morning. Blackcap singing by top end of Cogan Wood. Several Song Thrush in song. Also Common Spotted Orchid leaves now bursting out of the ground although they could be Early Purple.

Single swallow over Upper Boat 9.30 this morning.

At around 14:25 today i watched what I’m certain was a great skua kill a slightly larger gull species at Langland Bay. The two birds were fighting at the water surface with the skua on top – i didn’t really see anything other than the wings of the bird below when it managed to flap them…it appeared to be an immature gull, possibly herring going on the mix of pale grey and brown feathers, it also appeared to be slightly larger than the skua.

The skua basically pushed and held the gull repeatedly under water while pecking at its head and neck. This went on for about fifteen minutes before the gull slowly stopped struggling, presumably dead….at this point the birds were virtually washed ashore…the skua then seemed to tow the gull carcass out through the surf some thirty metres maybe where it started to peck at the corpse in calmer water. It was clearly too large to lift and carry in flight. I had to leave at this point.

Skua was heavily built, dark brown all over except for very clear white/pale “triangular arcs” across the primaries – when swimming it was “chunky” with no obvious tail projections.

Fascinating stuff!

A walk on the 28th March produced the following

Ystalyfera: House Martin(2),Dipper(2),Grey Wagtail(1), Chiffchaff(4),Blackcap(2)

Pontardawe : Sand Martin(9) Dipper(2 pairs), GreyHeron(1), Blackcap(2)

Pontardawe to Clydach: Chiffchaff(5),Dipper(2 pairs),Canada Goose(2),Buzzard(2),Blackcap(2),Goosander(2),Rook(at least 5 nests in Coed Gwilym Park),Treecreeper(1).Blue Tit,Great Tit,Coal Tit,Long Tailed Tit and Goldcrest very vocal and active with signs of nest building,Blackbird(8),Song Thrush(4),Mistle Thrush(2),Bullfinch(1 pair)

Apologies for non bird news post but I am trying to get in touch with Martin re access to this blog. Email has failed. Martin I have left a message in a comment on the Heol-y-Cyw post on your blog.

Thanks to Amy Schwartz & Peter Howlett, I managed to get some images of this imm Iceland Gull at Cosmeston on 27/03/2017.

17 Sandwich Terns were the highlight of a very soggy and gloomy tide watch this evening, other counts included 1 Slavonian Grebe, 81 Shelduck, 5 Gadwall, 14 Wigeon, 18 Shoveler, 10 Teal, 12 R-b Merganser, 56 Redshank, 7 Barwit, 61 Curlew, 2 Golden Plover, 16 Grey Plover, 2 Dunlin,