Just a heads up that the first GBC indoor meet of 2015 is Tues week Tues 6th Oct. I’ll be giving a presentation on a trip a few of us did to Sri Lanka in March 2014. It’s a cracker! Lots of endemics!

Four redwings flew over my garden early this morning.

The last few days has seen what may be the last reed warblers and willow warbler of the year, an influx of reed buntings and some meadow pipit passage

More info here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/oxwich-march-23-26-september-2015.html

A vis mig watch this morning from 07:15 to 09:15 saw around 4000 birds coasting past east, most notably 163 Crossbills. Further totals were 1450 Swallows, 420 House Martins, 18 Skylarks, 90 Meadow Pipits, 46 Pied Wagtails, 2 Grey Wagtails, 370 Chaffinches, 430 Goldfinches, 420 Linnets, 470 Siskins and 3 Redpolls.

Visible migration today at Broughton between 0830 and 1100, dripping with birds. First bird of the day was a very purposeful Great White Egret heading straight through and down towards Hillend / Llangennith burrows – first Gower one I’ve ever seen outside the marshes of the Burry Inlet. A Grey Heron, Little Egret, 500 Oystercatcher and 23 Ringed Plover were on the beach, but the busiest areas were the fields of Broughton Farm and extensive gardens and scrub around Delvid Farm / Burrows:- Common Sandpiper south overhead calling, 70 Meadow Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, single calling Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 8 Skylark, 2 Blackcap, 6+ Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrest, 6+ Song Thrush, 17 Coal Tit (4 different groups moving through), 1 Nuthatch, 1 Redpoll, 3 Siskin, 1 Greenfich, 9 Goldfinch and a Reed Bunting. Also there were a few dozen Silver-Y moths and several migrant Hawker dragonflies around the vicinity. Strangely quiet by 1100h, with a nice moderate SE wind in lovely sunny clear conditions moving stuff on. We finished the day there at 1500h with a pair of hunting Peregrine Falcons.

Two kingfishers flew out of the stream next to Wilko’s Colchester Ave and flew south east towards the coast. Two grey wagtails followed and there was a nice mixed flock of Great, Coal, Blue and Long Tailed tits with three or four Chiffchaffs.

I saw another kingfisher about 10.00Pm but that was after the rugby.

Jan Scheeres

Bit of easterly vis mig this morning between 08:00-11:30: Swallow 420, Goldfinch 310, Linnet 115, Meadow Pipit 75, Pied/White Wagtail 40 (over), Pied Wagtail 36 (on ground), Grey Wagtail 10, Skylark 2, Redpoll 2, Yellow Wagtail 1 (on ground briefly).

The Watermill. Goshawk – 1 had a go at a buzzard, a few hundred hirundines (mainly swallows) over river.

Portobello Island. Canada geese – 400, Little Egret – 2, Peregrine – 1.

Ogmore Beach. Med. Gull – 1 adult.

Continuous passage of Swallows and House Martins and a few Sand Martins amongst them. Also plenty of Mipits, and a few Skylark. Flock of c.40 Linnet. Lol Middleton had been there b4 me and had several Blackcap, a juv Whitethroat and a few Chiffchaff, a flyover Siskin, and a few Alba wagtails. A Grey Wag was on the road by the church and a Peregrine was sitting in the trees overhanging the beach towards Penarth. Oh, and a Sprawk flew through over the first field. I was not there long enough to count the vis mig.

Spotted Flycatcher still present along with c. 20 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap and 4 Pied Wagtails, also 3 Mistle Thrush west overhead.

100+swallows feeding over the saltmarsh and dunes a few house Martin amongst them, a female wheatear, 12 greenfinch,2 goldfinch, 4 linnet, a little egret,45 oyster catcher,10 curlew,2 dunlin,2 stonechats 1 juv, single pied wagtails meadow pipit and sparrow hawk

Two Spotted Flycatchers this morning, it’s turning into a good autumn for them, that’s at least 5 now compared to none last year. One was in the trees by the Harbour Authority compound and there was another – much more obliging individual – in the trees in Britannia Park (the grass and trees by the Waterguard pub). There were also 5 Coal Tits and 8 Chiffchaffs in the trees.

Earlier there had been quite a few alba wagtails over the Barrage with 28 on the grass by the play area at one point – all those appeared to be Pieds. Vis mig included 25 alba wagtails, 120 Meadow Pipit, 16 Siskin, 2 Redpoll, 3 Chaffinch, 3 Coal Tit.

Barrage bird on the left Britannia Park on the right – fortunately plenty of plumage differences to tell them apart.

The Britannia Park bird was particularly obliging.

Link to Youtube video: https://youtu.be/59-gDpivsQk

Cetti’s Warbler calling from near the railway tracks @ Tirfounder Fields this morning 23:09:15. Could be a young male establishing new territory, expanding from the Cardiff Bay group, or a migrant “taking a break”. Last spotted here before 2011. Update: heard calling by another local bird watcher Sat 26th AM & myself 8:30AM Mon 28th, & 8AM Tue 29th, 2nd Oct 8:30AM near original sighting.

Lsr Whitethroat by the boardwalk, 2 Wheatears on the grass nearby, 2 ad.Med Gulls on Channel  View slipway.

A mixed flock containing 2 chiff chaff 1 blackcap 8 long t tits 2 great tits 4 blue tits also there 6 jays 1 buzzard robin wood pigeon and swallows over the railway track towards the beach there were 6 stonechats 1 reed bunting 3 kestrel and a few meadow pipits

Passage of siskins noted for the first few hours of the morning.  Tree pipit in flight over marsh and whinchat with stonechats in bracken and willowherb.

Ringing session returned 69 birds.  More info here: http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/oxwich-marsh-19-september-2015.html

Quite a bit of raptor activity this afternoon during a stroll along Marsh Road, birds seen circling over the marsh included 6+ Buzzards, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Red Kite, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Kestrel. Also noted were a nice pair of sun-dogs, an inverted sun-bow [Circumzenith Arc sounds a bit fancier and apparently is the correct name], a vet and a geography teacher.

One Whinchat at 17:00 this evening flycatching from the tops of the buddleja and even the tops of the poplars at one point.

Earlier at least 3 Wheatear still on the barrage and a small number of birds moving east but really difficult to pick up in the haze, best being a couple of Redpoll and a Tree Pipit.

The Wheatears were fairly obliging this morning.

20 participants. Lovely walk down to Sker point. Blackcaps and Whitethroats were showing well. A Great Spotted Woodpecker f/o. At Sker there were 5 or 6 Knot, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Curlew, 12 Golden Plover, 12 Sanderling, plus plenty of Oystercatchers and Turnstones. Offshore a drake Common Scoter was seen. On Sker House Barn the Little Owl showed briefly. The species tally was 52 with three butterfly sp. and an Emperor dragonfly.