I arrived at Ynyslas turn at high tide, greeted by nothing. After scanning
the empty sea I walked north along the beach, seeing 3 Oystercatcher, 2
Turnstone, 2 Sanderling and 2 Ringed Plover. At the point there were some
40 Oystercatcher, and the usual array of gulls and Cormorants, though in
smaller numbers, roosting on the shoreline. There was a flock of 17
un-identified Godwits flying about near the mouth of the estuary which
eventually disappeared and a lone Reed Bunting and a Meadow Pipit in the
dunes.
Onwards to the Leri, where after an hour I'd seen only a Little Grebe and
2 Curlew on the saltings. In the fields around the Leri there were more
Curlew, and a single Lapwing but little else. A little disappointed I
headed back to the turn car park on the road, seeing 2 Fieldfare and
single Redwing.
Arriving a good 35 minutes early for the bus back in to Aberystwyth, I
went back out to the car park and saw 3 Pied Wagtails on the golf course,
and out to sea between 40 and 50 Common Scoter, in a long thin 'raft'
moving south.
Arriving in town, almost in time for the Starling roost, I grabbed a drink
and went to look for the Black Redstart and Purple Sandpipers
unsuccessfully. As the Starling numbers began to build a nice male Kestrel
made a brief appearance, disappearing behind the Old College.
Then things started to get interesting as a Buzzard soared in to view from
Pier Street, quickly flying out of sight behind the Pier. After moving to
the other side of the pier to relocate it, and scanning for 5 minutes or
so, I gave up and presumed I'd missed it flying back in land. However, on
closer inspection it turned out the Buzzard was amongst the Starlings
beneath the pier, and remained there for about an hour, making short
flights between perches, and making the occasional flight out over the sea
following the birds it was sending up. I didn't see it pause to devour
anything, and it appeared entirely unsuccessful, but I had to leave
eventually as it became to dark to follow it any longer. Has anybody ever
observed any thing like this there before?
David Bratt