Did the complete 10 km circuit of Cardiff Bay this morning – now knackered! Not much bird-wise except aout 1500 Black-headed Gulls, but of interest there was a colour-ringed Redshank [with a second un-ringed bird] at the mouth of the R. Ely by Penarth Marina with the following credentials:

Upper left leg – orange above a metal ring

Lower left leg – yellow above white

Upper right leg – green above red

Red Kite high over the village this afternoon – first I’ve seen here.

I managed to grab a couple of snaps but, although they confirm ID, the quality at that distance is not good.

 

Red Kite 1 Goshawk 1 Buzzard 2 Willow Tit 1 Nuthatch 2 No Siskins seem or heard but, a small group of |Crossbills were heard flying over.

2-3 Tawny Owls engaged in territorial dispute in Clyne Woods at 6.30-6.45 p.m.

30 curlew, 20 Oycs, 1 redshank….

Fed up with the wind and rain? Come to KNNR tonight and pretend you’re on the E coast of China in the spring, watching migrants come through! My talk on birding in E China tonight at 7:45 p.m.

Hooray – I finally caught up with the 2 Marsh Tits in Cogan Wood, ironically when I was chatting to someone and not really looking. There were 30 Pochard on W lake of which just 2 were females. The Lsr Scaup was sheltering on E lake in the lee of the central path.

Good to see over 30 kittiwake back on what’s left of the nesting platforms on the old lifeboat station this morning

Five Grey Wagtail on the outflow at Llwyn On reservoir yesterday morning, and 17 Cormorant on the reservoir or in trees alongside. A couple of Grey Heron at the northern end.

A good look around the northern clearfell at Garwnant but no luck with the Great Grey Shrike seen there recently. Present were Crossbills, Kestrel, Siskin, Bullfinch pair, Green Woodpecker, Jay and, in the field north of the Visitor Centre exit road, a 60+ Chaffinch flock (possibly quite a few more, but hard to see the whole flock at the same time as they were mobile).

Lesser Scaup on the East lake at Cosmeston early this morning.

I’m compiling the spring edition of the GBC newsletter and need a couple of photos (preferably taken in East Glamorgan. If you’ve got something you’d like to submit, please get in touch.

2 Black Redstarts (1 male,1 fem/imm? brown but with faint grey wing flashes) still present in Penarth Marina/Plas Taliesin – the first seen since last Monday. The hybrid resembling Lsr Scaup has been under Grangetown fly-over (A4232) since yesterday.

The firecrest reported yesterday was there again today at around 3.40, with possibly two individuals present, just to the N of the limekilns.

Good count of 6 Great Northern Divers feeding off the Lighthouse scar today, also 1638 Oystecatchers, 33 Eiders, 701 D-b Brents, 2P-b’s, 3 R-b Mergs, 550 Herring Gulls, 80 Knot, 360 Dunlin, etc. We bumped into Ian Tew near the lodge who had just seen a Firecrest.

A Great Northern Diver was feeding out in the Bay. On the falling tide 56 Brent Geese (bernicla) flew in to feed and there were 47 Oystercatcher. A Curlew flew over calling and a pair of Kestrel, pair of Raven and a Sparrowhawk were hunting over the caravan park.

An unusual record of three Lesser Redpoll feeding in the carpark just before 9am, (probably the same birds seen by Ceri Jones).Even more unusual was the Redwing that sang briefly from one of the trees in the carpark. A Bittern was also seen by a birder from Manchester, who showed me a picture of it on the back of his camera.

 

Mediterranean Gull was on the East Lake this afternoon and 3 Lesser Redpoll in the East Paddock found by Ceri Jones. Lesser Scaup on the West Lake today.

 

A Little Egret was feeding in the West Cross area of Swansea Beach this afternoon:

 

 

Cosmeston – Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, 2 Green Woodpecker (in West Paddock, both seen from gate at SE corner), 1 GS Woodpecker calling from Cogan Wood, Fieldfare, Redwing and Mistle Thrush all in West Paddock. Lesser Scaup, Pochard, Gadwall and Shoveler on the West Lake. Treecreeper in the car park.

Sully (this morning soon after high tide) – 1 Mediterranean Gull on the playing fields (viewed from coast path just east of Clevedon Ave), 7 Grey Plover and 20 Turnstone on the beach (between Clevedon Ave and the derelict slipway).

Lavernock (fields along Fort Rd south of the disused railway bridge) – mixed flock of Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Starling and (mostly) Redwing, 1 Grey Wagtail (seems a bit out of place here, though there was 1 on Lavernock church roof last Autumn!), 3 Jays, 1 Buzzard, 1 Raven and a Pheasant.

Great Grey Shrike this morning viewed from the Lower Summerhouse Path bench on the way up the path to the Motte.

Good birds from the door less hide today. 17 Snipe present – a record for me here, 2 Water Rail, 1 Kingfisher, 4 Moorhen, 2 Mallard and at least 3 Reed Bunting. Also a Little Grebe on the canal. (GJJ)