Graham just phoned me to say he saw a juv. Black Tern over north lake (adjacent to Nantgarw Rd) at 10am. Bird still present when he departed at 10.20am.

2 juv Little Stints were on the sands with approx 50 each of Dunlin and Ringed plover. These could have wandered over from the Llanelli side as a couple have been around not too long ago.
A pristine juv. Marsh Harrier was over the salt marsh drifting off toward the point. Again, quite possibly a wanderer from up Llanrhidian. A couple of tree pipits and approx 20 each of skylark and meadow pipit were on the move.

Today: spotted flycatcher

Yesterday: goshawk (2), red kite, whinchat, grasshopper warbler.

The BTO’s Welsh Ringing Course was held at Oxwich (and WWT Llanelli) over the weekend.  More info available about the species caught here:  http://gowerbirdringinggroup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/the-welsh-ringing-course-11-14.html

2 more alba wagtails.. I’m amazed that so many are appearing on Gower at the moment

Penclawdd pill

135 redshank and the usual gulls

fenrod lake 30 mute swan 140+ herring gulls 80+ black headed gulls usuall mallards coots and a few common gulls.

Wernfrydd a mobile flock of about 300 starlings a few pied wagtails 2 wheatears lots of swallows about                                  Swansea vale a flock of 52 wood pigeons over                                                                                                                     Brunel tidal dock 32 redshank and 2 common sandpipers

A quite vocal willow tit was along the track from Grovesend to Gorseinon this afternoon which was great to see. My last local record was 2012 so, I’d assumed they might have disappeared locally. Goes to show how easy they are to miss unless calling.
Gower over the last few days… Few long distance migrants ( apart from hirundines) 2 yellow wag at Rhosili, 1 whinchat and 4 wheatear at Loughor bridge .

A Spotted Flycatcher in the trees immediately to the east of the Harbour Authority compound at 09:00 was a bit of a surprise, otherwise the bay seemed quiet.

Hi all,

It’s that time again. I’m putting the next GBC newsletter together and am in need of some photographs. Please get in touch if you’ve got anything suitable (ideally taken in East Glamorgan).

An hour’s vis mig watch at Dunraven this morning saw two Yellow Wagtails, eight Grey Wagtails, 230 Siskins and a steady stream of hirundines among the passage. A Whimbrel was roosting on the beach with a few Curlews and Oystercatchers at Temple Bay.

At Ogmore Estuary three Pintail flew up the river but declined to come down, two Shoveler were at Portobello, six Dunlin were on the estuary and a Sedge Warbler was in bracken at Portobello.

Pretty confident of just having seen a Goshawk over Penarth Head area just a moment ago. Gulls crying usually an indication of something unsettling them.  Yesterday c100 linnets in farmer’s field on Fort Road Lavernock and c50 Goldfinch nearer the point. Quite a few grey wagtails over as already mentioned.

A male sparrowhawk and 3 whinchats were the best sightings on a stroll to Sker Point and back. One whinchat was near Pink Bay pond and the other two were close to Sker farm pond.
Also, 7 wheatears, 2 white wagtails, c70 linnets, c50 goldfinches and 2 skylarks.

Despite the mini-heatwave, plenty of winter wildfowl around N Cardiff. Today at Roath Park Lake there were 13 teal, 3 shovellers and a wigeon. At the reservoirs, a sub-ad mediterranean gull and a clouded yellow were the highlights.

Swallows moving through at a rate of about 1000 an hour for two hours this morning, together with maybe 100 sand martins, a few Grey Wagtails and the first Skylark of the autumn. Still a few warblers around including a Lesser Whitethroat. A notable rarity for Lavernock was a Nuthatch (my second in the last few weeks) and a new bird for the area for me, a Ruff, went through quite quickly. The Ruff looks like a juvenile male to me, in the (not surprisingly) grainy photos that Andy Burns managed to get.

A bit more action this morning, although quality not quantity: Whinchat (1); Lesser Whitethroat (1); Redstart (1); Whitethroat (1); Chiffs and Blackcaps (GJJ).

A pair of Wigeon were on the West Lake at Cosmeston early this morning – the first I’ve seen here since early February. Earlier in the week a Little Egret was on the shoreline near Bendrick Rock with the tide well out.

Good bit of vis mig along the barrage and over the bay this morning 9-11am: Swallow 865, Siskin 54, Grey Wagtail 26 and Tree Pipit 4. I’m sure there were quite a few Sand and House Martin moving too but impossible to judge as there are still lots of the local breeders knocking around over the bay to confuse the issue. Most of the Swallows went through in less than an hour between 10-11.

120 sanderling, 100+ringed plover 20 dunlin, 1 bar tailed godwit, 400 oyster catcher est counts as a female sparrow hawk then a helicopter put everything up also seen were a stonechat, 2 linnets, a few skylarks, gulls were 4 common,30+herring, a few lesser b b gulls, and a juv great black backed gull a few carrion crows, and a cormorant

28 redshank a common sandpiper and a kingfisher in the tidal dock,by the reed bed dock a mixed flock of 8 long tailed tits,10 blue tits,and 2 chiff chaff .on the Crumlyn burrows side there were 42 curlew 40 oyster catcher, 5 bar tailed godwit one with quite a bit of red s\p still 62 black headed gulls, also seen 2 stonechats, 1 wheatear, 14 linnet, 2 little egrets, 1 heron, and a male sparrow hawk

Small numbers of migrants heading E along the Barrage into the wind: Siskin 100+, Meadow Pipit 35, Swallow 12, Chaffinch 2, Tree Pipit 1. Two Raven and a Peregrine also over the Barrage. Elsewhere there were at least 54 Pied Wagtails dotted around the Bay, 16 on Barrage, 10 around Norwegian Church/Britannia Park and 10 on the grass behind the Oystercatcher pub were largest groups, no sign of any Whites today. There were also about 170 House Martins feeding over the water.

Last night 5 white wagtails roosted in the marsh, along with 200 swallows and a few sand martins

Tree pipit 1 (3), 13 reed warbler, 5 sedge warbler, 20 blackcap, 6 willow warbler and visible overhead movement of siskin (west) on Sunday