Roath Park Lake: 6 teal, 3 shovellers, 7 little grebes, 2 common gulls.

Lisvane at dusk: 1 common snipe, 94 tufties, 20 pochard, 8 mallard, 47 coots, 15 Canadas, etc.

Blackcap 2 females Black Redstart 1 male Turnstone 8 Redshank 3  Kingfisher 1 Great B/B Gull 1 Common Gull 1

Little Grebe 1 Great Crested Grebe 1

2 Woodcock this morning.

2 Redshank on the rocky bay shoreline, only 1 Turnstone, and 1 Grey Wag. Only 1 Common Gull with all the Black-headed on the internal jetty. 1 GBB Gull on the yacht club jetties and 1 by the outer harbour. Saw one rooftop Black Redstart on the way back to the car.

Yesterday morning, a probable Jack Snipe in the reeds in Hamadryad  ‘pond’.

Another fruitless search for the Red-necked Grebe, but good to be out in the glorious weather all the same and to meet a few other birders doing the same. The only additions to my counts made a couple of days ago were a Merlin and 2 Goldeneye at Wernffrwd, with another off Dalton’s Point along with 2 Greenshank, 302 Black-tailed Godwit and a remarkable 54 Gadwall (the most I can recall seeing on the estuary, though higher counts are regular on the ponds at WWT). It’s looking more like my PWC list will end on 145, with Hobby back on the 15th September being my last addition. Or maybe there is still time for a Barn Owl, Fieldfare, Jack Snipe, Bittern, Black Redstart, Brambling or Firecrest?

Well done for Ceri seeing the Bittern at Cossie this morning. Here is a fleeting glance of it (poor record shot) for the short time it was visible.
http://andyburnsphotography.zenfolio.com/p108650779/h2b846e70#h2b846e70

Let’s hope it comes out a bit more.

Bittern at West Lake reedbed at Cosmeston this morning near left hand end of posts. Viewed from the bridge.

Walked both sides between Radyr and Cardiff Centre. Basically – usual suspects, but on a  gloriously bright day, enjoyable.

Highlights were 5 Goosander (1 male south of Blackweir, 2M, 2F North of Western Avenue, and 1 redhead in the Melingriffith outlet). Also at least 125 redwing around Pontcanna riding stables,  2 dippers (1 S of Blackweir, 1 N of Llandaff Weir), grey wagtails, herons. I was told about a kingfisher which I had just missed, just S of Western Ave bridge.

Seemed to be fewer LTT than usual at this time of year on this stretch, but I’ll need to analyse records – I counted every bird of every species today!

Of note, 6 Turnstone, 3 Redshank, 1 Little Grebe and Grey Wagtail within a 200 yd stretch along John Batchelor Way this morning.  This afternoon, 1 F Black Redstart hunting flies on St Augustines Church and around Belle Vue Park.

In addition to the growing numbers of Pochard and Tufted Duck noted below, today: 2m & 2f Teal, m & f Gadwall and 3m & 3f Widgeon. Marsh Tit at the feeding bench at the beginning of Cogan Wood ie East Lake end.

Early afternoon today at least 3 Crossbills (1 male, 2 female) viewed from the track which runs uphill from the Llantrisant Forest car park, which is at ST024847. This track has the clearfell to the right and beech trees to the left.  The Crossbills were high up in trees at the edge of the clearfell and within 200m of the car park (sometimes much closer).

13 brambling flying in a flock around the tree tops of cwm kenfig beech woods also 8 vocal crossbill flying around the conifers over looking the beech wood. A few redwing and fieldfare at waen y gilfach also small numbers of mipits and stonechats, a couple of buzzard and a single kestrel on the power cables between the pylons.

stonechat

32 species including good views of Kingfisher, Water Rail, Snipe and Reed Bunting from the hides.

230 Tufted Duck [nearly all W lake], 27 Pochard [all W lake], 2 Little Grebe, 1 Heron, and just single Redwing and Fieldfare by dragonfly pond, plus millions of people!

Lisvane Res: Highlight was a close encounter with a weasel (ok not actually a bird), and 1 chiffchaff. Out on the water were 14 pochard, 82 tufties, 9 little grebes, 3 GC grebes, 34 Canadas, 1 common gull, etc.

Roath Park Lake: 3 shovellers.

A search for the Red-necked Grebe at Wernffrwd on this morning’s HT proved fruitless, but the birding was pretty good nonetheless, birds noted (along with Owain) including 2 Slavonian and a few GC Grebes, 398 D-b Brent, 311 Shelduck, 732 Pintail, 1 Goldeneye, 7 R-b Merganser, 2 GW Egret, Red Kite, Peregrine, 1500+ Dunlin, 700 Knot & 4 Rock Pipit. At Penclawdd counts included 86 Shelduck, 230 Pintail, 280 Dunlin, 1302 Knot, 154 Black-wit, 1 Bar-wit. At dusk 11 Yellowhammer in Cwmdulais was the highest count there for some time, plus 3 Red Kites and a Tawny Owl put in brief appearances.

Sightings from the 24th included a Pomarine Skua in Rhossili Bay along with 2 R-t Diver, 227 C Scoter, 1 Fulmar, 1 Gannet, 13 Kittiwake, a few Guillemots and a Harbour Porpoise. Oxwich Bay the same day had 178+ C Scoter & 31 Kittiwake.

The Water Pipit still present on the lower estuary today.

In Penarth Marina, 5 Black Redstart still present (2 ad.m and 3 fem/imm) including 1 fem who seems to favour the area around the junction of Marconi Avenue/Llwyn Passat/Penarth Portway; on Xmas Day it was in Chandlers Way. This morning the Lsr Scaup was in CBWR.

Hope everyone has had a good Christmas. At Lisvane today was a common snipe foraging along the southern shore (my first record of snipe this side of the fence!). Also a good count of 26 pochards, 48 tufties, 37 coots, 4 mallards, 11 cormorants, 5 GC grebes (1 somehow in full summer plumage!), 8 little grebes, etc. Nearby, 1 chiffchaff looking chilly in the rain.