Teifi estuary - seawatch

Birds passing west across the estuary in a couple of watches this morning included the following highlights. In the pre 08:30 watch - 3 Arctic Skuas, 18 Common Scoter, 144 Gannet, 19 Shag and 1 sum plum Red-throated Diver
In the 11:30 - 13:00 watch - 1 Pomarine and 2 Great Skuas, 6 Dunlin, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 7 Arctic Terns, 3 Sandwich Terns amongst plenty of unidentified terns and auks.
The highlight being 1 Leach's Petrel at 11:47.
(Rich D and Wendy J)

Barn Owl at Llansantffraed

This evening we've enjoyed splendid views of a Barn Owl hunting and perching on fence posts in the field behind our house.

Mwnt seawatch and Ynyslas today

Arfon Williams, Chris Jones, Gary Reynolds and I met at Mwnt this morning with the prospect of some good seawatching. Some heavy showers throughout the later half of the session may have cost us a few birds but it was quite successful nonetheless.

6:45-12:00

1 Long-tailed Skua (juv)
9 Arctic Skua
14 Great Skua
153 Kittiwake
135 Sandwich Tern
13 commic Tern
2 Arctic Tern
1 Common Tern
153 Manx Shearwater
7 Fulmar
52 Common Scoter
166 Auk sp.
6 Leach's Petrel
6 Golden Plover
1 Curlew
1 Whimbrel
4 Sanderling
23 Dunlin
1 Turnstone


This afternoon I had a look round the dyfi. For the first couple of hours I walked my usual route around the site finding very little. Highlights were 4 Greenshank, a Wigeon, 6 Teal and a White Wag. I then went to the brickhouse to see if anything was moving, nothing much over the sea (apart from 3 Goosander heading north). There were however, flocks of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls moving south along the beach. From 4pm-6pm I counted 404 LBBGs, 7 GBBGs and 8 Herrings. Very interesting movement from my point of view.


After this I went to look at the Ynyslas wader roost. The highlight here being a juv. Curlew Sandpiper. Also present were 21 Knot, 350 Dunlin, 80 Ringed Plover, 1 Turnstone, 4 Med Gulls and a Common Tern.

Petrels at Borth

A message from Russell who has had Leach's and Storm Petrel at Borth earlier today.  Also a Grey Phalarope at Ynys-hir from the  Ynys Feurig hide.

Ynyslas

On yesterday's afternoon tide at Ynyslas near the tern posts there were 54 Ringed Plovers, around 60 Dunlin, a Golden Plover and a Common Tern.
A skua off Aberystwyth was almost certainly Arctic.

Chris Bird

A Leach's from my room

A Leach's Petrel made its way south past Borth this evening with a couple of Manx Shearwaters. There were also around 25 Common Scoters and a couple of Auk sp. sat on the sea. Nice to be able to seawatch from my room!

Great Northern Diver

A Great Northern Diver was the highlight of a seawatch at Aberystwyth in this morning's gale. A trickle of Gannets also passed, ten in total.

October field trip

Karen Gregory will lead the next field trip on Sunday 21st October at Llanddewi Brefi.

Details are now on the Field Trips page

Elaine Izett

Odds and ends

Poor visibility in the wind and rain at Aberystwyth this morning; a Sandwich Tern, two Curlews and five Common Scoter were all I could find offshore.
Later the highlight of a walk round the Vicarage lake at Llanilar was a Kingfisher.

Colour ringed Med Gull

Chris counted 38 Med Gulls on College rocks yesterday evening with others still flying in when he left.
One of them bore a yellow ring 2XEO.