As usual, falling temperatures and clearing skies prompted a small movement, just 860 flew wsw in half an hour over Leckwith.

Extensive flooding on Flemingston Moor after recent heavy rain. On a visit yesterday morning birds on the moor included 41 Lapwing, 8 Greylag Geese, 6 Grey Heron, 248+ Canada Geese, 30+ Mallard and 8 Mute Swan.

Can anyone please identify this duck.

A liitle after the event as I was not able to attend and have been away wth no WiFi internet. Alan Rosney lead the trip with limited numbers due to restrictions rightly imposed by the Obs staff. Sounds like it was very successful with 92 species seen in the 3 days. The total list includes birds seen in a visit to Steart Marshes in Somerset, I guessing on the way home. The full list can be seen by clicking here. Scanning though it, highlights in order from the list have to be Red-throated Diver, Balearic Shearwater, Glossy Ibis, Commomn Scoter, Marsh and Hen Harriers, Little Stint, Jack Snipe, Caspian Gull, Short-eared Owl, Woodlark, and Common Rosefinch. The list is helpful in that it indicates where each species was seen. Thanks for Alan for compiling it.

Garden

Just had 5 red kites over the garden. Daily bird but more often as a single or pair. Haven’t seen 5 together in this location for some time. Accompanied by a buzzard and a sparrowhawk passed through for good measure. 15 minute raptor-fest.

Also had a pheasant in the garden for the first time in a couple of years (male).

Feeders are getting busier again – blue, great, coal tits. Long tailed tit party feeding in willows but not using feeders. Several nuthatch and a great spotted woodpecker.

House sparrows and chaffinches ground feeding with robins, blackbirds and dunnocks.

Both grey wagtail and pied wagtail present.

More jays appearing now. Pair raven over daily, carrion crows, jackdaws, magpies.

Woodpigeons also building in numbers and collared dove pair resident.

Mistle thrushes reappearing, particularly late afternoon/early evening, song thrush.

A group of 4 choughs on the Common today, 24/10/21. I have seen them only once before here, several years ago after a storm. They appeared to feed for a while, but then moved on south.

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Spent the morning over high tide walking from RGW to the farm and back . Best of the bunch was a Short Eared Owl – flew to the saltmarsh just passed the marker stones . Also 1 Wheatear , small movement of Meadow Pipits, 3 Skylarks and at least 500 Starlings plus a couple of singing Cettis.

Good numbers of ducks , at least 300 Shelduck but probably a lot more along the whole walk . Wigeon , Pintail , Teal and Shoveler also present .

Waders seen were Oyks , Curlew , Redshank , Snipe (2) and Lapwing (84) .

Also of interest , 1 each of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and 3 Little Egret . 48 species in total.

During heavy rain this morning I saw a couple of Redwing burst out of a tree by the dragonfly pond, circle a few times and then dive into cover in the edge of Cogan Wood.

Pretty quiet at the moment. W lake has 30-40 Tufted Ducks and there were cl00 Canada Geese on E lake. GC Grebes are now more or less in drab winter garb, and the Little Grebes are going that way too. The latter are usually pretty distant out in the lakes but I managed a few shots of an obliging one right by the main bridge this morning, which caught a fish. No sign of any Redwings yet although I have been looing for them – there are plenty of berries. By the dipping pond area a Grey Wagtail flew over calling a couople of times and looked as tho’ it dropped down to W lake. I’ve stuck in a pic of a juv gull that looked a bit odd – prob just a juv LBBG but I have sought opinions on social media.

A Red Kite flew low and slow over Pwll y waun, Newton at 13.10 this afternoon, heading East and accompanied by a couple of Carrion Crows.

Morning: Merlin just whizzed over E lake (12.30). 200 Woodpigeon flew W. C.40 Tufties, 6 Mistle Thr by dragonfly pond, several Swallow over E lake.

Decided to walk across the barrage & back for a change. Grey Wag, 1 Pied Wags, 2 Rock Pipits were about it. On return some B-h Gulls and a whole lot of feral Pigeons suddenly took off in panic. A Merlin shot over from the Cardiff direction and headed off over Penarth head.

Barn Owl flew across the road and Tawny Owl heard in direction of Llanmaes. A total of 18 Redwing calls heard.

Pair of Stonechats, single Kestrel, single juvenile Wheatear and, back at Boverton, Chiffchaff singing away still.

Migrant Hawker male Cosmeston 12th October.

Spent a few hours this morning at Aberthaw – 64 species seen in total . Highlight was a male Black Redstart at the power station near the purple tanks on the west of Breaksea Point . Also of interest were at least 8 Med Gulls at the rivermouth along with a Kingfisher fishing there . 2 Wheatear , 6 Swallow and 8 Chiffchaffs present . 22 Wigeon at the rivermouth also . 1 each of Peregrine , Kestrel , Sparrowhawk and Buzzard .

Waders present were , 1 each of Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Ringed Plover and Snipe , 2 Lapwing , 20 Oyks , 15 Turnstone and 13 Curlew . Also notable were 2 Stock Dove , 3 Raven , 1 Cetti’s singing at the lagoon , 40+ Alba Wagtails , 2 Grey , 100+ Linnet , 3 Little Egret and plenty of Rock and Meadow Pipits , Skylarks and Stonechats .

There were at least ten Chiffchaffs, Goldcrest 1 Green Woodpecker 1 Swallow 3 on the lakes Tufted Duck 30 . At the Dragonfly Ponds a bird seen briefly diving in to the reeds we thought was a Reed Warbler Other: Common Darter 8 Southern Hawker 3 Migrant Hawker 10 Red Admiral 2 Large White 1

Tawny Owl calling in the night and good to hear a Chiffchaff singing this morning – latest I’ve ever heard one.

East Paddock had a flock of around 200 Goldfinch this morning, feeding on the ground near the gate and then feeding in Alders along the ditch. In W paddock I had a couple of fly-over calling Skylarks. Back at the cafe, sitting out the back with a coffee, a Cetti’s Warbler was calling on and off for about 10 minutes and I eventually had a great view but only briefly and too quick for a photo. It flew from a bush by the main boardwalk right past me and into the reeds.

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Nice GBC trip down Cwm Nash this morning and up on to the west clifftop fields. Quite close and warmer than expected so yours truly got a bit overheated with too many layers!. 9 of us collectively saw 39 species. The wooded section of the Cwm was very quiet and only revealed a Goldcrest on the way back up. In the open valley at the bottom there were a few Chiffchaffs feeding, and several Blackcaps, Blackbirds, Song Thrush, 3 Bullfinches, Goldfinch and a pair of Stonechat and a few other common species. At the shore there were 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Rock Pipits and a Grey Wagtail and a bunch of Herring Gulls, a Black-headed and an adult Great Black-back. A nice find was a busy colony of Ivy Mining Bees by the path leading up the west side away from the stream. Most of us tackled the steep climb up to the west clifftop where we had a couple of Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Buzzard and a lucky few had a couple of Chough. Nothing rare but a nice morning out. John Wilson. Thanks to Alan Rosney for keeping the list., which is here.