2-Choughs above the beach car park,14h30

Boy it’s quiet back in Glamorgan after the trip to Shetland and Fair Isle! Not a lot at Cossie today – even common ones – other than a GCG with babies on her back. Pic at

http://andyburnsphotography.zenfolio.com/portfolio/h80d910b#h246373e4

The next photo shows how big the ‘babies’ were once mum threw them off. A Merlin put in a very brief apperance but that was it.

Andy

Just an adult Gannet off Blue Pool / Little Broughton of note yesterday morning. Resorted to butterfly watching instead and noted several Common Blue, several Small Heath and a Green-veined White. Several Whitethroats were out in force hoovering up local caterpillars!

Just a quick reminder that there is a GBC trip to Llanwonno this Wednesday (11th June), hoping to see Nightjars. Meet outside the Brynfynnon Arms (ST033956) at 8.30 p.m.  Torch and insect repellent recommended.

A walk around Slade and Oxwich  had lesser white throat  just west of the sands, family party of  Stonechat ( 2 juvs)  just east of the sands, male Kestrel.

A Tawny owl had his rest his  rest interrupted by the local blackbirds giving him both barrels. Good, but brief views of him flying from perch to perch.

painted lady in my back garden

74 wood pigeons 16 Canada geese 24 starlings

Two Nightjars seen last night, about 1km apart from each other. Surprisingly, no churring.

Wheatear fledglings just east of Butterslade and at Red Chamber today.
Lesser whitethroat at Oxwich Point – in scrub by WW2 buildings.
First fledged whitethroat of the year for me in the same area.
Marsh tit fledglings in Ilston Valley yesterday am.
Harbour porpoise off Thurba.

The Great Crested Grebes have 4 young !!

45 wood pigeons on the wires over the saltmarsh this evening 

Of course it only takes a simple comment (last week) about the “norm” of no Kestrels or Cuckoos to guarantee both turning up today – bizarrely, there were 3 cuckoos singing late morning – it was like turning the clock back to the 1970`s ! A total of 49 species included Wheatear (agitated pair), at least 5 Redstart territories (including fledged young and a pair with food for young), 2 singing Tree Pipits, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Reed Bunting,Siskin and Redpoll. 3 Pied Wagtail sites and 2 each of Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were welcome and a Goldcrest singing from a patch of gorse (as well as 1 singing in our garden yesterday) suggest what we have previously suspected is a bumper year for the species.

Little Owl, 3 Stonechat pairs, 18 Oystercatcher and a Carrion Crow nest with young at eye-level just metres from the path were the highlights of a circular walk this morning from Rest Bay past Pink Bay, Sker Point,  Sker House and back to Rest Bay via Nottage. Well over 100 Starling in the fields near Sker House inluding many juveniles.

Newly fledged REDSTART fluttered across lane in front of me, while I was out riding my mountain bike.

Just got back to the mainland after 10 days in Shetland and Fair Isle. Managed a total of 89 species including the few posted already and the following highlights

Icterine warbler, sub alpine warbler, red necked phalarope, snow bunting, tree sparrows, golden plover, rosefinch, red-backed shrike, Kumlien’s gull and lots more.

The best of the photos are at

http://andyburnsphotography.zenfolio.com/shetlandport/h19f11753#h19f11753

and more at

http://andyburnsphotography.zenfolio.com/shetlandbirds/h323fcfef#h323fcfef

There are also some record shots in the adjacent directory. If anyone is thinking of going up there, this seems a good record of what to expect (bearing in mind that we missed the main migration period by 2-3 weeks – although the bonus was great weather). The Fair Isle Bird Observatory is a really special place and one not to miss.

Back to Cossie by the end of the week!!!

Andy

Lesser Whitethroat singing this morning. A lot of dragonflies at the pond including a pair of Emperors in cop and a number of Black-tailed Skimmers & Blue-tailed & Large Red Damselflies. Several Brimstones seen and a few what I took to be Common Blues.

A pair of Shelduck flew u/c at St Mary’s Well Bay. 

Nice range of species in the early morning sun -Best of being 3 singing Garden warblers, a singing male Redstart, a pair of Stone chat  and a little unusual for here ; a pair of Stock doves

A few more shots from Unst this week. An Arctic Skua and a couple of Bonxies.

http://andyburnsphotography.zenfolio.com/seabirds/hb0f2daf#hb0f2daf

We walked through one of the larger breeding colonies of Bonxies – around 500 pairs getting ready to nest, so very easy to get close. Also lots of pairs of Arctics both light and dark morph despite their rapid decline in numbers up in Shetland.

Andy

A GC Grebe on the Taff near the bridge by the cafe in Bute Park was out of the ordinary at least for that stretch this lunchtime and worth a mention.  Good numbers of swifts, house and sand martin too. 

While my better half went shopping in tesco I spent the time by the river afon the sand Martin colony was busy with adults and juvs on show also 6 pied wagtail 4 grey wagtail a dipper and a female goosander sleeping on the exposed rocks not concerned with the nearby traffic or people, better than shopping