A few snippets from the last few days: Roath Park Lake 2/10, 2 shoveller and 2 teal. 3/10, 1 shoveller and 1 teal.

Llanishen Res. 3/10: 1 shoveller, 4 wigeon, 1 teal, 26 tufties, 3 pochards, 1 mallard, c16 coots, 4 moorhans, 1 snipe, 4 meadow pipits, 8 linnets, 6 swallows,

Little of note late afternoon other than  3 kestrels together over the top of the mountain and away towards the Ridgeway.

Great to see a party of eight Chough on the Heritage Coast this afternoon. Sadly it was the first Saturday list for many months without a single Swallow seen, not even a late straggler today.

Sorry for non-sighting post. I posted the GBC October newsletter yesterday. (apologies for the errors that crept in. I was rushing to get it out before the Big Birding Day) The GBC winter programme begins on Tuesday at Kenfig (7.45 p.m.) Paul Bowden will be giving a talk on his visit to Nakhchivan Autonomous Region (I’ll be there, chiefly to find out where it is!) Next weekend it is the Big Birding Day at Kenfig – Sunday 12th October, starting at 10 a.m. (unless you’re going to watch the ringers at work – they start at 7.30 a.m.)

Much the same as yesterday but no sign of the Brent geese. A razorbill flew up channel and landed in the sea off the point on the rising tide.

Two Bearded Tit in the centre of the reserve yesterday afternoon (per James Vafidis).

In CBWR 3 Stonechat together in the small reedbed and a fox. Another male Stonechat in the large reedbed. Peregrine over. Clouded yellow. On the barrage 2 or 3 Wheatear on the grass bank with a Stonechat, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Linnet and Robin. 2 Clouded yellow, 2 Small tortoiseshell and the Med Gull John W pointed out to me.

Penarth > Norwegian Church via the barrage. 1 juv Wheatear and 1 2nd S Med Gull, N end of barrage; 6 Meadow Pipit son weeds by the new path; 1 Kingfisher just beyond Dr Who; 2 Clouded Yellows on the planted wild flower beds; Lesser Scaup cd be made out over by St David’s Hotel. A few House Martins still about.

Two pale bellied Brent geese that were briefly on Sker Point this morning before flying off down channel. Also present were 266 golden plover, 29 knot, 21 turnstone and a bar-tailed godwit. A picture too of a French colour-ringed Mediterranean gull on Rest Bay from 21 September.

A quick look around the birdless desert of Roath Park Lake today produced 2 wigeon which have joined the 2 shovellers and 4 teal. No sign of any little whimbrels.

Well, it might be something of a birdless desert out there locally just now, but here’s a reminder that Glamorgan can occasionally come up trumps: Little Whimbrel at Sker, September 1982 (filmed on Super 8 by Alan Shaw).

Roath Park Lake: 2 shovellers (photo), 4 teal.

Llanishen: 2 shovellers (different from the Roath birds), 4 teal, 1 snipe, 2 mallards, 5 moorhens, 3 GC grebes, 8 L grebes, 12 coots, 6 tufties, 1 pochard, 2 cormorants, 1 heron, 12 linnets, 1 meadow pipit, 1 chiffchaff.

Jays in evidence with 6 along the fringe of Cogan Wood and 2 from the edge of W paddock. Also 2 Green ‘Peckers. Cetti’s Warbler singing near the cafe.

Tawny Owls very vocal here recently.
Very calm and quiet last night, usual female type calls very close, then second call, unusual (to me) – very soft, prolonged, ‘shivering’ and repeated call, a bit reminiscent of drumming Snipe.

Lisvane: plenty of common stuff – 22 little grebes, 4 GC grebes, 57 tufties, 7 pochard, 50 coots, 30 Canadas, 3 cormorants, 7 mallards, 46 LBB gulls, 4 herring gulls, 1 BH gull. Water levels quite low today -2 grey wags on the mud in front of the car park.

Llanishen: Highlight was a water rail calling from the willow carr on the west edge of the main pool, a much earlier first date than last year. 5 common snipe, 4 shoveller, 1 teal, 3 GC grebes, 13 tufties, c10 coots, c10 little grebes, 1 pochard, 5 mallards, 3 moorhens, 3 BH gulls, sparrow hawk, green woodpecker, buzzard, jay, tawny owls very vocal at dusk.

light vis mig of Swallows and Mipits over the reserve and the coast path to the west this morning. In the fields to the west [Rowland’s Well fields], around 50 mipits were feeding, tog with 10 or so Pied Wags and 20 Linnet. Coffee by the Captain’s Wife pub and there were 32 Oycs at roost on Sully Island at high tide. 2 Chiffchaff by the Lavernock sea watch point and a Heron was at the small pond on the reserve.

PS Lol Middleton was pretty sure he saw a juv Turtle Dove on the road, together with a Wood Pigeon and a Collared Dove, however he was driving and it flew off. Worth keeping a lookout for tho’ if you are there.

17.40 to 18.10  this evening count of 375 Swallows passing overhead  heading S.E down the valley. Others of note 5 stonechat together.

Lesser Scaup was very obliging this morning and quite close in to the St David’s Hotel boardwalk, managed to get a few shots for the record. Also a quite obliging Cetti’s just off the CBWR boardwalk.