Welcome to Ceredigion Birds. This site has been created to be used and enjoyed by resident birders as well as those visiting Ceredigion. We welcome contributions in the form of sightings and/or photographs from anywhere in the county. The site is not yet the finished article more pages will be added in the near future.
Monday, 9 November 2009
MORE FROM CHRIS BIRD
6 Brent Geese on the Dyfi, upstream of Ynyslas and a Purple Sandpiper on the rocks below Upper Borth. A small number of Purps are to be found there in the winter, probably in addition to the Aberystwyth birds, unless they are from Aber and having away-days.
Sorry Matt, here's the ref for the point south of the limekilns which is north of Llansantffraed (O.S map spelling!)SN514682. If you haven't yet invested get the 1:25,000 maps for the whole county. On the bog(cors caron) today 5 ads + 2 young whoopers flying south and calling from Cruglas ponds on the west side of the bog. Care! There were also Mutes. 2 peregrines and 11 stock doves on north-east side.
This morning there were four Whooper Swans, all adults this time, on the little lake behind the church, near Llyn Frongoch. I was delighted that my first Brambling of the winter in Ceredigion was in my garden.
Another request for precise location details of the 3 Snow Buntings at Llansantffraed. I have never been there, or know where the lime kilns are! My wife’s bogey bird is Snow Buntings, so getting them would be great! Gives us more chance before we go to Norfolk and try and miss them there as well!!
14 of us attended The Ceredigion Birding Group field trip this morning. Red Liford took us along the same stretch of the Aberaeron coast-line as Hywel Roderick did on our first outing on Saturday November 11th 2006. I'm afraid I didn't make a record of all the species seen but from memory I recall - Turnstones, Ringed Plover, Guillemot, Cormorant, Shag, Common Scoter, Common Gull, and Med Gull. After lunch we moved on to Cross Inn Forest and our numbers increased to 16. I think most of us were keen to see the Great Grey Shrike which has been seen there recently but it wasn't to be. However we did see Bullfinch, Long-tailed Tit, (a Willow Tit was heard but not seen) Goldcrest and Stonechat. We also flushed 10 or 11 Snipe that had sat tight in spite of the hounds that were dashing all over the place in pursuit of foxes.
Chris Bird reports that there were two female Black Redstarts at Llanarth, on the new bungalows opposite the entrance to the garden centre, near the start of the road to New Quay. At New Quay, Chris saw a second winter Mediterranean Gull and a flock of 7 Chough on the cliff above the shell-fish plant.
Late afternoon on top of the rlwy cutting N of the Flur hide looking NW at a ringtail harrier jousting with a crow when a spine-shivering whirr of wings swept over me:250+ starlings on their way into the sunset. Wouldn't have been that much more exciting if Packham himself had been there to hold my cocoa! On the way back 5 water rails in the ditches, 2 snipe calling as they flew in and a constant accompaniment of seeps as I disturbed roosting redwing. Back at the ranch Mrs Tawny was noisy but no sign of low flying woodcock yet. No sign of dinner either.
Very wild and showery conditions. Three snow buntings on the shoreline between Llansantffraid and Cilgerran Lime Kilns, presumably those that Liz Snell saw on Thursday. 60 curlews and 50 + oystercatchers (including a leuchistic one). Large flocks of gulls (greater and lesser black backed, herring and black headed) on the field but didn’t get close enough to see if there were any Meds.
Found some Blewits for my tea which made the morning even more pleasurable!
There was a large flock of 50 Redpoll near Llanio this morning as well as single Reed Bunting and Woodcock. On Saturday morning there was a single Marsh Tit on a feeder in Tregroes.
