Ford Wood

There was a mixed flock of 12 Siskins and 7 Redpolls in Ford Wood today also at least 10 Long-tailed tits and the same number of Goldcrests as well as other tit species. There was 2 Redwings feeding in the same area

Tom Wells

WHOOPER SWANS at TRISANT

This morning there were 2 on Llyn Rhosrhydd and 2 and a Goldeneye on Llyn Frongoch.

Barn Owls

Following on from your sightings, we saw a Barn Owl fly over the A44 last Wednesday. We have seen them a few times here and up in Ystumtuen as well.

Matt and Charly Potter

Kingfisher

A late record from Friday (27th): a Kingfisher flying up the Afon Dulas at Olwen farm entrance bridge, just outside Lampeter (on the Tregaron road near LAS). Unexpected here - presumably the high level of the main river Teifi is pushing them up the tributaries.

Owls at Ponterwyd

At about 4.30 this afternoon, as I was driving through Ponterwyd towards Aberystwyth in fading light I noticed a fairly large bird on a road-side cable. I slowed and was was delighted and surprised to see a Tawny Owl. No more than 2 minutes later a Barn Owl drifted across the road in front of me.
Like we used to say about buses, you wait ages for one to come along and then.........

28th Nov - Llyn Blaenmelindwr

Four whooper Swans, three mallard, five Tufted duck (2 M, 3F) and a male Goldeneye at 8:00 am.

downed kite

Spent the morning in the hills above Swyddffynnon looking for a reported injured kite: not a feather. But 30+ snipe from one field, 12 from another. Otherwise a small flock of redwing on the wing, and a few fieldfare feasting on hawthorn berries plus a load of crows and 5 kites in the air as there were a couple of new lambs. The ewes looked strange, well, cute because they were unfamiliar:Dorsets. Bet they wish they were on well drained chalk.
As it turned out the kite had been picked up by a concerned farmer and delivered to CCW and is now safely on its way to the specialist bird rescue centre at Much Wenlock; pity really as I had hoped to deliver it myself and acquire a couple of delicious pork pies!
The best bit about all this is the concern shown for the kite by the farmers and builders I met, and they don't even know that the European population is crashing! Never let anyone think that the battle is won. We may have a sky full of them but there are dangers a plenty.

Aberystwyth Waders

At 4.00 this afternoon there were 7 Purple Sandpipers roosting on the wall oppisite the war memorial. On the other side of the point on South Beach were 17 Turnstones, 16 Oystercatchers and 9 Ringed Plovers also in the area was a Pied Wagtail and a Rock Pipit

Tom Wells

The bleak uplands

It's not often you go out birdwatching for 4 hours and see more rainbows than Carrion Crows but that's how it was this morning in the hills high above Llanddewi Brefi(450m asl). To be honest it wasn't all gloom. A flock of 12 Bullfinches frequented a bare,ravaged forestry plantation along with a number of Redpoll and Reed Bunting. In the plantation blocs over the road were a pair of Stonechats and a couple of Woodcock flushed from a ditch next to a forestry track.

Ever wish your politicians would do more for wildlife?

Ever wish your politicians would do more for wildlife?
Hi everyone,

As you probably know, 2010 will be the International Year of Biodiversity, a time to celebrate the variety of life on Earth. The plant and animal species that make up our wildlife and their habitats are important for so many reasons, whether it be social, cultural or economic. A healthy natural environment enriches our lives and makes vital contributions that we often give little thought to. In addition to the many practical reasons for conserving biodiversity, there is also a very strong ethical case for not destroying other forms of life that share the planet with us.

In 2001, EU Heads of State set a target to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010, and at this time, the Welsh Government set out its own aim to meet this target. As we approach 2010 it is now widely acknowledged that this ambitious commitment will not be met and we are still losing biodiversity at an alarming rate.

As the International Year of Biodiversity draws closer, it would be a tragedy to let it pass without questioning why we have been unable to meet these targets and stop this tragic loss.

How you can help

RSPB Cymru is calling on the National Assembly for Wales to hold an inquiry looking at the reasons why the 2010 target will be missed and to make recommendations to the Welsh Assembly Government on how Wales can meet its future targets, including the Wales Environment Strategy target to have brought about recovery by 2026.

By following the link below and adding your name to the petition, you can help us make the Assembly Government face the fact that we are still losing our wildlife and urge them to ensure we meet the target to have recovery of biodiversity underway by 2026
http://www.assemblywales.org/gethome/e-petitions/epetition-list-of-signatories.htm?pet_id=426&prncl_ptnr=RSPB%20Cymru&clsd_dt=10/01/2010

Sightings from Tom Wells

Sightings from a couple of days ago. About 15 Fieldfare flew over Aberystywth at 2am on tuesday morning, around 12 hours later there were 2 Shags in the harbour.

Tom Wells

Juvenile Cormorant on the Rheidol

I simply had to take a snap of this youngster he was resting up and drying out his wings opposite the house this morning on the other side of the river, some 50 yds away.He was there for at least 10 minutes and was extremely vigilant with lots of head turning, almost as though he was trying to determine where he was and where he should go to next.I have only seen one other resting cormorant here,although they fly past .You could see the yellow of the base of the beak clearly and he was not the almost black colour of an adult.He was an olive green and his front was speckled grey,his colour enhanced by the morning sunshine! The Sony Cybershot did the best it could from such a distance ,roll on Christmas!

Lis Collison

curlew and goosander

91 curlew on the field by the Llanrhysted beach car park; most I've seen together this year.
2 pairs of goosander on the Teifi at Pont Einon, Tregaron.
20+ snipe at Ty Gwyn pools; very jumpy but who could blame them!

Little Gull - Aberaeron

Whilst talking to Arfon early this afternoon, he was watching a 1w Little Gull fly past the sea front with Kittiwakes.

Ceredigion Bird Report 2008

I took your advice and went off to buy the book, ,just as well as there were only a few copies left in the book shop in town.

I am enjoying it so much ,so is my significant other and I wanted to thank you all for what is an enyoyable read and a valuable resource for beginers like me.The standard of photography is exceptional and an inspiration .I am so inspired , I am hoping that Father Christmas will see fit to give me a decent camera this year.Much research is being carried out.There's such a lot to consider.!

If anyone has any helpful comments / advice I'm sure we would both appreciate it!

Anyway once again many thanks to all that contributed.

Lis Collison

Great birds in Taiwan

Alright, I know it's not Ceredigion but thought you might enjoy a change. While this was a work trip sponsored by the National Science Council of Taiwan in connection with the work that we do at IBERS on the giant energy grass Miscanthus, I did get a chance to see a few birds and identify the birding hot spots. Birds included Malaysian Night Heron and Black -collared starlings (above) in the impressive Chang Kai Shek Memorial Park in Taipei, varied tits and black-crowned night herons at the Endemic Species Research Institute, firecrests and crested mynahs coming down from a cold and wet night at 3190m, and 92 wintering Black-faced spoonbills (too far for my camera so I have photographed a poster), caspian terns, cattle, little and great white egrets, kentish plover, Eurasian curlews at the lagoons outside Tainan in the bottom of the island. They are very proud of their black-faced spoonbills, around half of the total world population around 2000 wintering in Taiwan, and one of the five if I remember rightly species of spoonbills.

Bought a book entitled Birdwatchers Guide to the Taipei region and have literature and DVDs on the lagoons of Tainan, the black-faced spoonbills, ferns and so on which could be used as the basis of a birding holiday with great food and culture thrown in. Flight available for around £500.

LEUCISTIC COMMON GULL

Chris Bird was delighted to see the leucistic Common Gull back on College Rocks at Aberystwyth this afternoon. It has been an annual winter visitor since its first appearance in November 2000.
Earlier, Bob and I saw an unseasonal Gannet, very close in at Llanrhystud.

Ynyslas - Leri

A brief visit to Ynyslas this afternoon, between the showers, was of interest - apart from the sports car that had gone right down to the low tidemark and got stuck in the mud, there was a wealth of Wigeon on the shore and water. There must have been at least 200, together with Pintail, Mallard, Teal and 15 Shelduck feeding on the saltings along-side the track. Waders present included Curlew, Redshank, 15 Golden Plover, 13 Sanderling and a lone Dunlin.

med gull

On Friday and lunchtime Sunday there was a second winter med gull with commons and black-headeds in the flooded field at Llanrhysted. Interesting that the flocks of meds have consistently been seen Llanon end.
On Fri also 67 goldies and 43 curlew plus over 35 turnstones and a lone grey plover.
The leucistic oystercatcher had been joined by a strange looking rock pipit.

FLOCK OF MED. GULLS

Late afternoon today, on the coastal field immediately south of Llanon, Chris Bird noted 24 Mediterranean Gulls, the largest number in Ceredigion for many weeks. Interestingly, only 3 were adult birds.
I could only find 7 Purple Sandpipers at Aberystwyth this morning. This afternoon I came across the albino Oystercatcher at Aberaeron.

DYFI ESTUARY SIGHTINGS

With supposedly a day's break from the dreadful weather, Bob and I began our day at the Clettwr. A Dipper was by the footbridge and then we got soaked in an ice-cold squally shower. We dried off in the Clettwr cafe and started out again, this time walking upstream from the mouth of the Leri in fairly bright sunshine. Highlights were 6 dark-bellied Brent Geese, 96 Pintail, 28 Knot, 4 Grey Plover, a Peregine and Water Rail. A quick visit to the point at Ynyslas produced 3 Sanderling and flocks of Golden Plover circling overhead.
(Kev, great shot of the Skua at Ynyslas.)

Visitor from the Emerald Isle

Visitor from the Emrald Isle
Interesting news about the Hen Harrier from Ireland seen in Pembrokeshire. I've been wondering too Liz how long it will take before one of the re-introduced Welsh kites to Ireland will return to their homeland here in Wales. Do you think they feel that 'hiraeth' which affects the Welsh when they visit far flung places?! This afternoon above my home near Machynlleth I saw 23 kites this happens each winter when we get these high winds and then they generally roost in trees opposite my home which allows me the opportunity to read the details of the wing tags through my scope I pass the details of these tagged birds to Tony Cross of the Welsh Kite Trust. Today I had 6 tagged kites and interestingly there were 3 birds which were related. Year 2007 'W' and 'Z' were there with their mother 'A'. She is a 2002 bird originating from Llangurig or Llanidloes cant remember which. I have christened her 'Anwen' for obvious reasons. She has a nest not to far away from my home. Over the last 3 years 2 of her chicks have gone to Ireland. She is an excellent breeding female and regularly rears two chicks. She is a prize bird for whom I have great affection and I was pleased to see that she is still with us and looking well. Her nest is in a most odd location its in a fallen ash tree which has lodged against an oak tree. This presents a major challenge to Tony Cross when he climbs the tree to ring/tag the chicks or to remove them for the Irish project. This year he was assisted by a chap from Ireland who was a 'tree surgeon' by trade and he shimmed up that tree like a monkey! They took a chick out of that nest which went to Ireland. I always feel rather sad to lose my chicks this way but I know the importance and significance of the Irish release project. It is at least 200 years since kites nested in Ireland. The way I look at it is that its a kind of insurance policy, should our native stock be wiped out or seriously depleted for one reason or another then its possible that Wales could be resupplied from the Irish stock. It was rather amusing or quite touching this year as a couple of my landowners whom I know very well refused to allow 'their' birds to go anywhere out of Wales or in one case to be even ringed or tagged by Tony Cross! I respect and admire them for adopting this view. Not so many years ago the red kite was relentlessly persecuted by the farming community. On one farm belonging to a very well known Welsh family there was a serious debate about whether one of 'their' birds should go to Ireland or not the lady of the house said 'no' but the head of the household said 'yes' and I guess his word was final! So that was the result one of the two chicks was taken to its new home in the Emerald Isle.
// posted by Elfyn Pugh

New Atlas of Pembrokeshire birds

Our neighbours in Pembs have been busy ahead of the national Atlas and have just published their book costing £10. Bound to be a great buy if you visit there. See their blog.
Also on their blog is the story of a wing-tagged harrier that turned up on Skomer then Marloes Mere which flew in from County Clare! Wondering if our kites might come back?!

Request for information re stranded or deceased Cetaceans

I have just been informed of a record of a harbour porpoise stranding on the Ceredigion Bird Blog.

I would be extremely grateful if you could add strandings.com to the Links on your site. We record all stranded cetaceans (dolphin, whales & porpoises), seals, marine turtles and basking sharks, whatever their condition, to monitor levels of mortality. Suitable fresh carcasses will be collected and undergo a full post-mortem examination within the government funded project.

I have recently found the National Reporting line for Wales (01348 875000) was not working so somebody may have already tried and failed to report this carcass.

Alternatively, digital pictures to confirm species can be sent to me via info@strandings.demon.co.uk

Many thanks in advance.

Rod Penrose.

Skua

John has beaten me to it,so I will just add that I don't know who was most miserable, skua or moi !

I got soaked THREE times today on the point looking for the Snow Bunting...and failed-we went in to Aber to shop and guess what? The sun came out. I nipped to see the Redstart-a speck on college roof- back to Ynyslas after dinner...RAIN again.

it's ok for you Janet living right there and enjoying the bunting for 30mins!

Watch out, there's an ARCTIC SKUA about!

This afternoon Kev Joynes saw a pale-phase Arctic Skua at Ynyslas.
It could well be the same bird seen last Friday by Helen Herbert when it was briefly on South Beach at Aberystwyth before it flew off northwards.
On Sunday Bob and I had remarkable views of one at Borth. We were at the southern end when the skua flew low over the beach, from behind us, and settled just beyond the start of the wooden groynes. After a while it was chased off by Herring Gulls and instead of flying off out to sea or along the beach, we watched it heading north,low over the roof-tops and chimneys along Borth High Street. Quite possibly the best and most unusual views of an Arctic Skua that either of us had ever enjoyed.

ABER'S PURPLE SANDPIPERS

Early this morning, Harry Pepper noted that their numbers have now increased to 12.

porpoise again

This pic was supposed to be in my last blog. Teeth confirm porpoise, double click for gory detail.
I'm really envious of all the snow bunt pics. I must move on from corpses!

Porpoise

Sounds like the same animal Liz, will photograph it next time, was looking for snow buntings at the time, silly me! The 3 were flying around the area at the time, but extremely flighty. Just one distant shot.

Firecrests at Cross Inn Forest

15 Nov

Cross Inn Forest 14.15 – 15.50

Two Firecrests - possibly the same birds seen by Andrew James a couple of weeks ago?

Apart from 3 Stonechats, nothing much else about.

On the way back to Aberaeron, 120 Lapwing flying SW between Cross Inn & Pennant, presumably heading off from Ty Gwyn pools.

Ian Harrison

Cetacean teeth

For anyone interested photo shows the difference between porpoise and dolphin teeth. Dolphins have pointed cone-shaped teeth while porpoise teeth are flat and spade shaped.

Ynyslas snow bunting - revisited

The male snow bunting was feeding unperturbed by passing human and canine traffic this afternoon at Ynyslas Point, no sign of the female though.

porpoise

Tel, you saw the corpse on the 11th and my photo was taken south of the lime kilns on the 5th. possibly same but more devoured by the 11th as it was beyond recent high tide marks?
Rain and more rain so have been watching willow tits on feeder and blueys searching for spiders under the eaves.

Purple Sandpipers at Aberystwyth

There were 7 Purple Sandpipers on the wall at castle point today at 16:30, high up closer the pavement than the sea! i have attached a couple of photos taken in the fading light. there were also 10 ringed plover and 8 turnstone in the area. in the harbour was a redshank, 3 cormorants and at least 8 Mute Swans. Didnt manage to see the dipper though and there was no sign of the black redstart on old college although it may have roosted by the time i was there.....

Tom Wells

Porpoise/Dolphin/Ladybird

Thank you Elfyn for your comments, also my mistake on the Dolphin, it was of course, a porpoise and not the one pictured by Liz. This had the skull almost clean and a large cavity showing.

New species for county !

Some friends who came over for lunch today informed me that they had encountered an Ostrich "on the loose" near their home in Llangeitho recently. After another glass of wine I undertook a few enquiries in the interest of ornithological science. It was clear that the flightless bird they saw on the road was indeed too large and too fast for a penguin and so Ostrich-like bird it clearly must have been. I understand it has since been recaptured and returned to the smallholding from whence it came.

Dipper

We were lucky enough to get a very good view of a Dipper on and around a spit of gravel just below Trefechan Bridge at 13:50 today. We then walked to the end of the wooden jetty (no Purple Sandpipers, but lots of Rock Pipits around, and four Oystercatchers on the south end of South Beach) and back round Castle Point to the pier (more Oystercatchers and at least 8 Turnstones on Castle Rocks). As we returned across Trefechan Bridge we saw the Dipper again, this time by the bank just above the bridge.

Helen Ougham and Sid Thomas

Great Northern Diver

Back to Ynyslas this afternoon to sea-watch from the veiwing platform. There were some small rafts of Common Scoter on the sea, plus 5 or 6 Red-throated Divers and 1 Great Northern Diver flying quite close to the shore, heading south at 3.10 pm.

stranding

This is the animal referred to in the blogs. I thought it was a porpoise as only just over a metre long. Fins and tail eaten off. Teeth are visible for the experts out there!

PURPLE SANDPIPERS

Harry Pepper reports that there were 9 Purple Sandpipers at the high tide roost at Aberystwyth this morning, on the prom wall near the Old College, on which was a Black Redstart.

Whooper Swans

Today on Llyn Oerfa we saw 9 Whooper Swan consisting of 6 adults and 3 juveniles.

Matt and Charly Potter

Ynyslas & Borth

John Davis and I met at Ynyslas this morning, we also bumped into Janet Baxter and all three of us had very good views of the male Snow Bunting still hanging around there. Later John and I moved on to the southern end of Borth prom where we were delighted to see an Arctic Skua. It showed very well, at one point landing on the shore just to the north of us. It was eventually seen off by gulls and headed north. There were a few Common Scoter on the sea, also 1 Red-throated Diver and brief glimses of a Porpoise.

Teifi

7 Chough were feeding at the far end of the path beyond the caravans at Patch. Two were ringed with colours rings on the right leg and A1 and A2 on their left legs. On the end of the spit , 29 Ringed Plover and 15 Dunlin roosting.
A Light bellied Brent and the regular Bar- headed goose were with the Canada Geese.

Ladybird ID & stranded cetaceans

Great shots of the snow buntings. I think the beetle is a variation of a two spot ladybird
(Adalia bipunctata).
I've read a couple of blogs lately making reference to dead strandings of a porpoise and a dolphin. If you come across these and you wish to report them then please contact Rod Penrose of the Marine Environmental Monitoring project on 01348 875000. Information required for a dead stranding are a clear description of the location, species if known, overall lenght and condition of the animal, for example: fresh; slightly decomposed; moderately decomposed; advanced decomposition. In the event of a live stranding contact the RSPCA 'as soon as possible' on 0300 1234 999. For more information on this subject go to

http://www.strandings.com/

November 11th

At precisely this time i was lying on the sands at ynyslas at 11am in perfect peace and harmony with this amazing area. Not a soul in sight, no dogs, calm, mild, bright and two fantastic snow buntings. The male started calling and suddenly a female arrived, instantly they began to quarrel. I lay and watched them for 30 mins without disturbance, bliss! Living on the east coast i totally agree with Bobs comments on twitchers, most of these rarities are just chased around. On the same day 3 snow bunts at llanrhysted past the lime kilns. a decomposing dolphin, and about 80 curlew. 3 purps on the castle point wall and black redstart on the college roof. Finally can anyone identify this ladybird?

Visiting Birder's Sightings

We are visiting the area from the Midlands (revisiting the area for my wife who spent a lot of time here when she was studying at Lampeter). Thought you would appreciate details of sightings we had today before the rain set in.

On the rocks near the pier in Aberystwyth this morning we saw 5 Turnstone, a Curlew and an Oystercatcher.

Couldn't locate the Black Redstart which was a shame as it is a bit of a bogey bird for me.

On the Road to Borth, 2 Red Kites. At Ynys-las Dunes, a male and female Stoenechat.

3 Purple Sandpipers on the concrete jetty at the harbour in Aberystwyth this afternoon along with about 5 Rock Pipits, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Shags and a female Goosander on the river. Then the rain set in. Hopefully it will clear up tomorrow so we can try and find 2 other bogey birds of ours - Chough and Red Breasted Mergansers (which we did not manage to see at Ynys-hir). So, if you are able to give us any tips as to where we could find these species we would be really grateful.


Roland

Late Swallow in Aberystwyth

At 2.40pm whilst waiting for our bus today (13th Nov) at Aberystwyth bus station, we were surprised to see a Swallow! It was actively trying to feed along the edge of the buildings. Its definitely the latest date I've seen Swallow in the UK, would be interested to know how this compares with late Swallow records in Ceredigion.

Ian Lycett and Rachel Davies.

Snow Buntings at Ynyslas

At about 3:00 this afternoon I caught up with the Snow Buntings at Ynyslas - two of them showing well despite the pouring rain. They were very active (for Snow Buntings) around the area roped off for Ringed Plovers not to breed in.

TRISANT SIGHTINGS

More Whooper Swans this afternoon; 9 incl 3 juvs on the little lake immediately south of the church.
On nearby Llyn Frongoch there was a Goldeneye and a drake Pochard, the latter being a really scarce bird in Ceredigion.

SKUA at ABER

Always nice to hear from visiting birdwatchers, especially those from Aberystwyth making return visits.Terry H. is one and so is Helen Herbert who was fortunate enough this morning to see a Skua which was briefly on South Beach before it flew north. Helen reckons it was an Arctic Skua.

Sorry,more Blackbirds

I've spent a little time trying to find anything to suggest that more male Blackbirds migrate here than females but nothing I've read seemed to suggest this. Apparently a lot of Scottish and northern English birds migrate too with more females leaving than males. So maybe the 'Majorca hypothesis' reflects some truth.Perhaps our local female birds do leave for the winter.I've no idea. I also find that about 90% of my local Blackbirds in winter are male.
Glad to see some records from Tregroes.I have to drive down the Cerdin valley once a week for work and it's a nice way to finish a round. Higher up the valley,nearer to Bwlch y Groes, is a good spot for Marsh Tit.The road squeezes between Pont y Bargoed and Lestys and I've seen Marsh Tits on their garden feeders a few times, indeed just a week or two ago I did.

Blackbirds

Hi Ian- If they are wise they are having a 'hen party' in Majorca in view of this **** weather!

Blackbirds

Doing a timed tetrad around Tregroes north of Llandysul (SN44C) I was also surprised at the number of Blackbirds, 40 in all and 90% male as reported by Ian Morris. Where are the hens?

Sightings included a Kingfisher and 8 Redpoll.

Philip Ellis

Absolutely no twitchers within miles

A brief,blustery walk along the high road between Llanddewi Brefi and Llanfair this morning yielded a Peregrine, a Kestrel, a pair of Stonechats and a couple of Snipe. The only thing twitching a little was a bedraggled 3-legged sheep.

Idiots.................

John Davis, Harry Pepper and I slipped across the border into England under cover of darkness
yesterday to "twitch" the Brown Shrike in Surrey. We had a very successful day and saw not only the shrike but Rose-ringed Parakeet, Green Woodpecker and Water Pipit as well. The purpose of this posting though is not to brag but to relate a rather sad and annoying aspect of "twitches".
Despite the obvious congregation of birders gathered by the river-side to view the bird at a reasonable distance from it's favoured territory, (we three from Wales were not the only ones who had come to see it) the bird, and our enjoyment of it was constantly disturbed by 3 idiots who were tramping around on the other side of the river in it's territory. They had binoculars and cameras and had obviously come specifically to get close to and photograph the bird without any regard for other birders or, more importantly, the bird's well being. They were too far away to shout at so we had to make do with cursing and muttering to ourselves.
I do hope their photographs are rubbish, and they become bored with birds and take up some other hobby and go to it and annoy someone else and their hair falls out.
Ahhh, I feel better now.

Cwm Brefi,Llanddewi Brefi

Could people please stop posting such interesting sightings on this blog,I'm finding it very distracting!
A walk above Llanddewi this morning produced another Woodcock but also 2 Kestrels hovering very close to one another(less than 10m),which seemed a bit strange to me. "Formation hovering," a new Olympic sport maybe?
There seem to be quite a lot of Blackbirds hereabouts at present.I've noticed these last three winters when out surveying that the vast majority of those wintering appear to be male birds. Do more males migrate here in winter than females?

Ynyslas snow bunting etc

This morning 1 snow bunting still at the Point, flock of 68 curlew flew over and several hundred lapwing were circling over the Leri fields.

Starlings, Teifi....news

Starlings;-
Sat & Sun, c20,000 flying to roost in Ceredigion over the Marsh, with c5000 roosting in the Marsh, in reeds near to the river.

Bittern;-
No sign of the Bittern on Sunday or Monday
Seen very well (kingfisher hide) on Saturday.

Firecrest;-
Still present calling on Monday, try around Kingfisher Hide / Badger Trail.

Pied Wagtails;-
The usual winter roost developing, 34 ringed on Monday.

(Teifi RG)

Roosting Starlings

Driving through Talgarreg late pm there were two large flocks of Starlings that passed over me,heading east. I was out of the van when the second went over and was able to get a quick look as they shot overhead. I guess there might have been 5000 in total but obviously very difficult to tell.

Missing Ceredigion

Re Birding Group Field Trip Report for Sunday, Bob referred to the first meeting led by Hywel. I took a photo of the group which is somewhere on my PC.

I am currently in Oklahoma, with a group of us from IBERS discussing energy crops. Colleagues reckon I devoured a 16oz t bone steak like a veloraptor. The security guards that pick us up in the morning have a sidearm. I look out from my room and see a lake with Canada Geese! But I have also seen red-winged blackbird (a favorite), great-tailed grackles, dark-eyed juncos, blue jay, eastern bluebird, male cardinal, killdeer, gt blue heron, American kestrel, eastern peewee, gt white egret and a stuffed roadrunner. No scissor-tailed flycatchers as yet. Back down to Texas end of the week and then some of us are joining others in Taiwan.
Posted by John Valentine at 16:45

Purple Sands - Aber Harbour

Three Purple Sandpipers on the rocks alongside the wooden jetty at lunchtime today

Sightings at Ynyslas

Today (Monday 9th): 1 Snow bunting on beach at NW end Ynyslas dunes; Woodcock, water rail & barn owl SW Cors Fochno.

Other recent records include:

Flock of 14 Mistle thrush NW Cors Fochno (28th Oct);

Jack snipe: N. side Cors Fochno, (30th Oct)

Rock pipit, 4 Little Egret; 75 Curlew Ynyslas/Leri (3rd Nov).

Mike Bailey

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.

whoopers and grid refs

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.

BRAMBLING and more WHOOPER SWANS at TRISANT

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.

Request for a map reference............

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!!

Matt Potter

Birding Group Field Trip Report

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.

Aberystwyth Black Redstarts

3 Black Redstarts showing well today, at the back of the Old College,
on King Street, in Aberystwyth. Got close enough to take some nice
(ish) photographs.

Rachel Davies and Ian Lycett
(Photos by Rachel Davies)

BLACK REDSTARTS AT LLANARTH

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.

'Autumnwatch' moment on the bog

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.

Llansantffraed

Llansantffraid

Saturday 7^th November

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!

Roger Merry

Llanio et al.

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.

Cross Inn woods

No sign of the Harrier or Shrike but I flushed 2 Woodcocks and a Snipe this morning as I was off the beaten track in the woods. There was also a Kestrel.

Ynyslas Leri Saltings

Around high tide this morning along the Leri, some 75 Wigeon, 26 Mallard, 2 Shelduck, and one lonesome Pale Bellied Brent. A fair number of Redshank were flighting back and fore as the tide rose and then fell back some landing and then squabbling over their patch. Other waders included two Common Snipe a dozen or so Curlew and overhead two flocks of Golden Plover of approximately 60 and 100 individuals . A large number of Starlings were foraging on the shore.

SNOW BUNTINGS

Thanks Liz and well done for finding them. The three Snow Buntings were still at Llansantffraed this morning, possibly a female and two males. Nearby an adult Mediterranean Gull. Two Dippers, close together, were beside the stream just before it reaches the beach.

Cross Inn Woods

No sign of the shrike but superb views of a male Hen Harrier over the bog/pools at 10am this morning. Its presence was setting off a number of snipe. It looked as if it might stay around as it was regularly returning to a bush to pose for me! I have lived here for 12 years but have only seen them in the woods area in the last 3 years. Now it seems to be a regular visitor. The last I saw was on 1 January this year when I had the joy of a shrike and a harrier in the same binocular sights. Plenty of bullfinches, long tailed tits and reed buntings.

Starling roost, Ynyslas

A small sample of the starlings at the Ynyslas roost this evening. No signs of the local peregrine yet.

Leucistic Bird sightings

This morning in one of the fields near the lime-kilns at Llansantffraed I saw a starling with a white-rump among a flock of about 30 other starlings. Then this afternoon near our garden I noticed a male blackbird with white wing patches. Presumably these are both leucistic birds? (having never see anything like this before, I am wondering if seeing two on one day is some sort of an omen, or if I should just get my eyes tested!)

Aline Denton

PHOTOS

I accidentally double clicked on the photos and they enlarged!
(Am I the only one not to realise this?)

PEREGRINE AT THE PIER STARLING ROOST

It is not unusual to get a glimpse or two of a Peregrine attracted by the gathering Starlings above their roost site at Aberystwyth's pier.
This evening though, a falcon just hung in the air below the flock of Starlings, while they put on a dazzling dislpay above it.

HARRY'S PROM SIGHTINGS

When it comes to seeing birds from Aber. prom, Harry Pepper does extremely well. This morning, before going to work, he watched one of the Black Redstarts on the castle, 4 Purple Sandpipers on the prom wall with a Kingfisher perched nearby, 6 Ringed Plovers, 7 Turnstones and a Redshank on the rocks and 12 Common Scoters, 3 Shelducks and a pale-bellied Brent Goose on the sea!

Black Redstarts on the Old College Building

I also saw two Black Redstarts at the Old College this afternoon. Good views of the pair 'playing' together this afternoon at approximately 2.30 PM.

David Bratt.

Black Redstarts

A visiting birder, Mark Cutts reports seeing 2 immature or female Black Redstarts on the old college building in Aberystwyth at about noon today. He also saw 5 Ringed Plovers and 2 Turnstones on College Rocks.

Little Egret

Coming back from a lunchtime walk I’ve just seen a little egret walking round the old county council harbour (just off the Rheidol below Trevechan Bridge).

John Woodruff

Ynyslas

At Ynyslas, Aberleri this morning there were Skylarks, 7 or 8 of them, feeding with Linnets and Starlings in the salt grass. (Still very large numbers of Starlings moving around.) There were also large numbers of Wigeon with Shellduck, Mallard and Pintail on the estuary. I counted a dozen or so Redshank, lots of Curlew but there were no other waders that I could see. Moving on to the turn car park I saw 3 groups of Common Scoter - 6 to 8 birds in each group - on the sea.
A visiting birder told me he had seen a male Hen Harrier a couple of times over the past week close to the car park and over the bog.

SNOW BUNTINGS

3 snow bunts on the shore/field edge 250m south of the lime kilns nr llansantffraed.
Flighty in the near storm conditions but exactly where the Polkeys saw one couple of years ago.
29 turnstones, 2 redshank, 12+ curlew, oystercatchers and couple hundred gulls but not close enough to check out for meds.
I also acquired a fresh curlew skull and bill from a probable peregrine kill.

whoopers on cors caron

4 ads +2 young on the big boardwalk pond Wed 4th. Must be the same ones John saw just to the north on Tues. No sign of them on a very flooded bog today Thurs.

Ynys-hir

I've just returned from Ynys-hir having managed to avoid the heavy showers forecast by the next to useless weathermen/women on radio 4. My granny gave much more accurate predictions, depending on how her bunions felt.
I couldn't get to the Breakwater Hide, the path was under quite a lot of water. Instead I spent some time looking at the flooded field behind it where there were hundreds of Teal and masses of Starlings. I also saw Curlew, (I counted 125 in one group, but there were more) Lapwings, Wigeon, 4 Little Egrets and 1 Snipe. I stopped on the mound by "Poggles Bench" to look at a couple of Greylag Geese and 18 Barnacle Geese on the saltings. Whilst I was watching them another 180 Barnacles flew over heading up the estuary. There were 4 Shoveler on the pond viewable from the cross roads. From the Saltings Hide I saw 3 very handsome male Pintails and more Wigeon, Curlew, Barnacle Geese and one more Greylag.

Pendam woodlands

A walk of the forestry tracks in the woodland around Pendam/Blaenmelindwr in search of Grey Shrike proved fruitless this afternoon. The only birds seen were a Blue Tit, two Bullfinches and a distant Crow. On Llyn Blaenmelindwr a pair of a probable GoldenEye ( light very poor in a heavy shower) whilst on Syfydrin a lone Mallard.

Recent sightings from Lis Collison

The garden became alive with birds on Monday morning ,perhaps the wind and rain sent them in for shelter.Amongst the pair of blue and great tits were at least 5 blackbirds,two of which had a real go ,presumably over territory,it wasn't quite a fight to the death but it was close and vicious.If that wasn't enough the following day ,yesterday ,I just caught a glimse through the kitchen window several yards away into the shelter of the lane a female sparrow hawk on the ground attempting to eat her lunch,and what was on the menu, a young blackbird of course.There is such a thing as justice afterall.There is a sequel to this tale ,I followed the hawk up the lane and it eventually flew up and through the trees, following close on her tail was our large resident buzzard,he wasn't amused!

Oh yes the pair of collar ringed doves are back looking very smart in their new plumage.

We were in Normandy again last month and the resident black redstart gave us such pleasure t watching it land on the windowcill.I am so pleased that they are arriving here too.

Lis Collison

Purple Sandpipers

Bird Guides has a report of 8 Purple Sandpipers in Aberystwyth at 2.50 today. Described as being "on the promenade by the old college."

Lost in Llangeitho

But I found my way home eventually.Is it just me or do footpath signs only direct you in to fields but never out of them again.
Despite the showery weather some interesting things on my first tetrad visit of the winter for the BTO. As well as a Hare sheltering under a hedge, there were 2 Marsh Tits,a Woodcock and on the tiniest of streams, a Dipper .

Red Kites

Seven red kites above 9.00 am Trewindsor Farm, Llangoedmor, Friday, 30th October. Largest number previously seen in the area is two.

Dr David Lloyd Owen

black redstarts

There is an influx of B R's in Pembs and S.E.Ireland according to the Pembrokeshire blog.

GREEN WOODPECKER

Kath Stevens is fortunate in having a Green Woodpecker in the vicinity of her home, between Llanrhystud and Llangwyryfon. Like many people,she did not realise just how scarce these birds are in Ceredigion.(I have seen just one!)

YET MORE BLACK REDSTART NEWS

Brian Wiley tells me that yesterday there was a male and female Black Redstart in his Comins Coch garden. (Some of us have to be content with brief and fairly distant views of the one on the Old College!)

Black Redstart

John and I had a look around Aberystwyth, late morning and the early part of this afternoon. We didn't see anything notable on the sea or shore at South Beach, or on College Rocks. But on the College Building we were able to see the Black Redstart seen by Chris Bird earlier. The light was poor so the bird looked quite drab, not sure if it was a female or immature.
Nothing much at Tan-y-Bwlch either, except 60 or 70 Starlings close to the scrub on the beach. We weren't able to see if they were behaving like those described by Kev Joynes but they were very tightly grouped together. When they flew off we went to where they had been and could see evidence that they had been probing the sand in an area about the size of a table-top.

Although we didn't see it, we imagined the arrival of an Ivory Gull to feast on the carcase of a Porpoise located a few meters away from the Starling hot-spot!

Odd behaviour

A few weeks back I watched a group of Starlings on the golf course @Borth scrabbling in a heap , often 3 birds deep ! Each seemed to be trying to get to the bottom as if there was some reward there...only thing I could think of was ants, but I have never known birds that desperate to get at ants.

Any ideas out there?

WHOOPER SWANS

I was lucky enough to be outside the house this morning when, at 8.10, 6 Whooper Swans flew over, calling and heading south. A quick scout round and they were to be found on the little lake, south east of Llyn Frongoch, just beyond the little church. 4 adults and 2 juvs.
So, Trisant maintains its position as one of Ceredigion's Whooper Swan hot-spots!

Sightings from Gareth Herbert

I have just returned from an unusually long stay in my home town of Aberystwyth (I visit often) and walked my local patch at least once a day, sometimes more often if time allowed. Here are the more interesting birds that I saw during my 9 day visit. 23rd Oct 9 a.m. Castle Point: 2 distant Gannets. The small patch of rocks left of the breakwater held 1 drake Mallard, 10 Ringed Plovers and 1 Redshank. Just beyond the furthest rock I briefly glimpsed an auk which I believe was a Razorbill. Later in the day there was a female Wigeon on the Rheidol by the football ground. 25th Oct. There was 1 female Wigeon still on the Rheidol. 1 Red Kite flew above the river by the police station. 26th Oct. 9 a.m. There were at least 11 Rock Pipits on South Beach near Castle Point. 27th Oct. There were 2 Goosanders (2 male, 1 female) by Aber town football ground. A Kingfisher flew upriver. 28th Oct. There was 1 Sparrowhawk over the football ground. 30th Oct. Castle Point at 9 a.m.: 15 Ringed Plovers & 5 Turnstones. A probable Red Throated Diver just off the furthermost rocks at Castle Point which gradually made its way further out to sea (by diving) until no longer visible. (This was a 1st for me and although I only had compact bins with me at the time I was able to eliminate Cormorant, Shag and Great Crested Grebe). 31st Oct. Castle Point at 9 a.m: 16 Ringed Plovers, 12 Turnstones and 1 Purple Sandpiper (is this the 1st this Autumn?). Late afternoon there were 2 male Goosanders and 4 female Goosanders just upriver from the police station along with 1 Moorhen and 1 Grey Wagtail.

MORE BLACK REDSTART NEWS

Last Friday, Chris Bird saw a female Black Redstart on the Old College, Aberystwyth and another on houses along Felin y Mor road, above the south side of the harbour.
Also, a Little Egret in the harbour, just below Trefechan bridge; an unusal sighting there.

Nanteos Lake

According to Chris Bird, Shoveller numbers have increased to 3 drakes and 2 females.

BLACK REDSTARTS

I have been away for a few days a hence these late reports:
Last Friday a male Black Redstart spent the day in Brian Wiley's gaden at Comins Coch.
Brian Kington, a regular visitor from the Midlands, watched a female Black Redstart on the railway line as he waited for a train at Borth station, towards the end of last week.
(Yesterday I enjoyed the sight of numerous migrating Red Kites and Common Buzzards flying west over my daughter's house in France near Lake Geneva.Probably aiming for the Rhone valley and on to southern France and beyond.)

GOLDENEYES

2 on Llyn Frongoch at Trisant this morning.

PURPLE SANDPIPERS

Harry Pepper saw 5 roosting on the prom wall at Aberystwyth this morning.

Nant-y-Moch Windfarm

A chance to have your say on the proposed Nant-Y-Moch Windfarm. This scheme will have a considerable impact on the bird life of the uplands of this region of Ceredigion - from the destruction of habitat for such birds as the Merlin to the closure of the NantyArian Kite Feeding Station if, as is most likely. the access to the site is from the A44.

CAMBRIAN NEWS ON-LINE POLL ON NANT-Y-MOCH WINDFARM

Visit: http://www.cambrian-news.co.uk/
The poll is in a yellow box a little way down the right-hand side of the page.

At the time of writing, there have been 3200 respondents, with votes in favour of the windfarm exceeding those against by a small margin

(This note has come courtesy of The Cambrian Mountain Society)

Purple Sandpiper........

This is the 1st time for me to submit sightings although I read the blog every night. Had no internet access during my visit to Aber hence the late submission. Looks as though the Purple Sandpiper has come back a day earlier than last year. Helen Herbert

brambling

Sat afternoon at Cross Inn: no shrike but lots of siskins and a brambling.