Tuesday 8 September 2015

Down the coast

Bob and I met at Aberystwyth this morning for a leisurely outing along the coast. Here were 39 Ringed Plover, seven Turnstones and a Dunlin. (Chris had 46 Ringed Plovers, 17 Turnstones and two Dunlin yesterday; at least I think that's what he told me).
29 Med Gulls on College rocks, five each of Sandwich Tern and Common Scoter and a Fulmar offshore.
Next stop was Llanon. A short distance along the coast path a number of large raptors began to circle overhead and we stopped to look at the variation in Buzzard plumage. Eventually totalling 21 birds, Buzzards were in a small majority over Red Kites and a single Peregrine stood out.
Out to sea, a distant feeding raft of Manx Shearwaters and Gannets, and on the beach near the car park, 45 Med Gulls and five Sandwich Terns.
A brief stop at Llanrhystud produced nothing new.
After treating ourselves to chips at Penparcau, we drove to Spencer's Sheds to eat them, and there we enjoyed the best birding of the morning.
In the time it takes to eat a portion of chips, we had two Choughs in a nearby field, two Ravens and a Kestrel over Pendinas, a Whitethroat near the sheds, four Goldfinches over and a steady passage of Swallows and alba Wagtails, both of which we had noticed further south.

Harry Pepper