Monday 31 August 2015

Strumble Head (31 Aug 15)

Time: 0600 - 1800
Weather: Sunny
Wind: N (F5-6)

BAROLO SHEARWATER - 1 (1625) *

Sooty Shearwater - 1
Balearic Shearwater - 3
Storm Petrel - 1
Arctic Skua - 7 (3D, 3P, 1J)
Pomarine Skua - 3 (2P with spoons, 1J)
Great Skua - 2
Mediterranean Gull - 2 (1st W)
Sabine's Gull - 1 (Ad Sum)
Little Gull - 1 (1st W)
Sandwich Tern - 83
Comic Tern - 3
Black Tern - 1
Common Scoter - 312 (61F, 251M)
Teal - 3
Grey Plover - 1
Grey Phalarope - 7
Turnstone - 3
Dunlin - 12
Sanderling - 4
Knot - 9
Grey Heron - 1

Sunfish - 1
Common Porpoise - showing all day and often seen tail slapping and riding the big rollers

* Barolo Shearwater seen for at least 1 1/2 minutes at 1625 at good range and in good light.  My second from Strumble Head (Almost 15 years to the day - previous record 1 Sep 2000).

First spotted at bearing of 1 o'clock  - flew in to tide race and West to bearing of 11:30, then due North for short distance then back East to bearing of 12o'clock, then due North for short distance and then a bearing of NW and away.

Cracking views.  First spotted as an "auk type" bird due not to the way it was flying but by the amount of white on the body/head.  (Auks had started to fly today - about 20 seen).

Very white body and sides of face.  Body shorter than Manx and maybe even bit more plump.  Very noticeably shorter wings and blunter tips compared to Manx.  Appeared to have slightly broader wings also. 

Flight different to the Manx around it at the time.  They were doing short flapping stints followed by shears in the strong wind.  The Barolo stuck with longer flapping stints with occasional short glides - never sheared.  Stayed low at all times.  Wings held in a low bow when not flapping.  Very small size very noticeable when it turned to go due North, short wings made keeping on it hard work.

Flying in and out of sunny and dark patches of water so upper wing changing from midtone brown to black accordingly.  When in the shade patches and at its closest a slightly paler rear edge to secondaries was visible but this was by no means easy to see.


Sunday 30 August 2015

Strumble Head (30 Aug 15)

Time: 0600 - 1800
Weather: Dry, cloudy.
Wind: SW (F2) - am, NE (F2) - pm

Balearic Shearwater - 4
Arctic Skua - 12 (5P, 6D, 1J)
Great Skua - 4
Mediterranean Gull - 3 (Ad W, 2* 1stW)
Sabine's Gull - 1 (Ad W)
Little Gull - 1 (1stW)
Sandwich Tern - 119
Comic Tern - 15
Black Tern - 2
Common Scoter - 98 (15F, 83M)
Whimbrel - 6
Black Tailed Godwit - 13
Dunlin - 79
Curlew Sandpiper - 1
Knot - 80
Sanderling - 5

Sunfish - 2
Common Porpoise - showing well all day.
Common Dolphin - one pod of 5 animals briefly.

Saturday 29 August 2015

Strumble Head (29 Aug 15)

Time: 0600 - 1800
Weather: Sunny
Wind: SW (F4)

Sooty Shearwater - 2
Balearic Shearwater - 12
Pomarine Skua - 2 (P with spoons)
Arctic Skua - 9 (5P, 3D, 1J)
Great Skua - 2
Sabine's Gull - 2 (Ad W)
Little Gull - 2 (Ad W, 1stW)
Mediterranean Gull - 2 (Ad W)
Comic Tern - 126
Sandwich Tern - 72
Roseate Tern - 1
Common Scoter - 14 (3F, 11M)
Whimbrel - 9
Curlew - 1
Turnstone - 9
Dunlin - 22
Sanderling - 3

Sunfish - 1
Common Porpoise - showing on and off all day.
Common Dolphin - one pod of 15 animals
Risso's Dolphin - 3 (Including one very large all white animal)

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Strumble Head 25th August.

From Rob Rackliffe, down from Kent.


06.30 - .8015


Balearic Shearwater - 2
Arctic Skua - 8
Bonxie - 3
Black Tern - 11


Many Thanks Rob.

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Strumble Head 24th August.

News from Chris Grayell, Simon Murray & Steve Berry.


Common Scoter - 11
Balearic Shearwater - 3
Arctic Skua - 17
Long tailed Skua - 1
Bonxie - 6
Black Tern - 17
Sandwich Tern - 5
Commic Tern - 72


Common Dolphin - 5
 

Sunday 23 August 2015

Strumble Head (23 Aug 15)

Time: 0600 - 1200
Weather: Rain
Wind: W (F4-5)

Sooty Shearwater - 1
Balearic Shearwater - 2
Storm Petrel - 3
Arctic Skua - 2 (1D, 1P)
Great Skua - 2
Little Gull - 1 (1st W)
Black Tern - 105
Little Tern - 4
Comic Tern - 430
Roseate Tern - 1
Sandwich Tern - 5
Common Scoter - 52 (14F, 38M)
Mallard - 1
Wigeon - 8
Teal - 25
Bar Tailed Godwit - 29
Black Tailed Godwit - 1
Whimbrel - 30
Knot - 16
Dunlin - 18
Sanderling - 2
Turnstone - 6
Puffin - 1
Wheatear - 1

Common Porpoise - showing off and on.
Common Dolphin - small pod of about 5 animals
Sunfish - 1

Saturday 22 August 2015

Strumble Head (22 Aug 15)

Time: 0600 - 1800
Weather: Rain
Wind: S (F3)

Sooty Shearwater - 1
Balearic Shearwater - 1
Pomarine Skua - 1 (1P with Spoons)
Arctic Skua - 2 (1P, 1D)
Great Skua - 5 (Including one that dropped on and killed after a prolonged fight - Herring Gull 1stW)
Sabine's Gull - 1 (Ad W)
Mediterranean Gull - 1 (1st W)
Black Tern - 1
Comic Tern - 85
Sandwich Tern - 1
Common Scoter - 39 (8F, 31M)
Teal - 1
Whimbrel - 1
Redshank - 1

Common Porpoise - showing exceptionally well all day - lots of animals
Common Dolphin - showing well from mid morning until 1800.  Over 55 animals in 3+ pods.
Risso's Dolphin - 5 animals including 3 almost white probable males.

Saturday 15 August 2015

Philosc' fall!

This morning my garden was crawling with phylloscopus warblers all of which looked to be adult Chiff Chaffs warm brown with darker brown upper parts with contrasting pale supercillum

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Moving House.

After 14 years living in the middle of Fishguard we are moving house imminently & have settled on a location slightly further out of town now. With this my mind has turned to the best or most unexpected birds had in or from the garden during that period which have taken the ' Garden List ' to a respectable 73 species or thereabouts.
Top 3 'Flyovers'
Great White Egret -  30/10/2013
Hen Harrier ( Male ) - 11/03/2010
Great Northern Diver - 08/11/2013 or Bittern 05/03/2012

Top 3 actually in the Garden & Photographed below - Wawings 12/12/2010, Yellow Browed Warbler 29/09/2012 & Common Gull 26/12/2010 with said garden in between.


Monday 10 August 2015

Peregrine puzzle...



For the last couple of days we nave seen a juvenile female peregrine trying to catch prey seemingly unsuccessfully. In my experience it would still be with parents and any other siblings  



Yesterday it was trying to catch gulls, Mainly herring gulls but they seemed to easily evade her attacks and flew around her in a mocking gang even making feints at each other, really taking the mickey.


There was no real attempt at stealth just head on attacks which were shrugged off  contemptuously by the gulls 


So why is it on its own, where are its parents from whom it should still be learning their skills? Unless it gets lucky or much smarter very quickly I fear for its future.


Sunday 9 August 2015

Shreep!

Whilst watching bottlenose dolphins off the outer breakwater this morning heard something go Shreep! as it flew over our heads. Did not see it but know what it was!

Friday 7 August 2015

Strumble Head 6th August.

Time: 05.30 - 12.00
Wind: NNW - W


Common Scoter - 18 ( All Males )
Great Crested Grebe - 1
Whimbrel - 2
Sandwich Tern - 2
'Commic Tern' - 8
Puffin - 1


Chris Grayell.

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Flagpoles 15.00 5th August.

Gull numbers starting to pick up, among them all four ages of Mediterranean.

Monday 3 August 2015

Met up with Ken and his bro' Michael at Strumble hoping to connect with some Porp's which we did but they were way out beyond the lighthouse and in some heavy seas so I did not get and pic's, justsome of a young heron flying in from ther north.


We headed back towards the outer breakwater . There were some gannets flying off Pen Anglas and I spotted a breaching porpoise but Ken was up towards the end of the breakwater so I went on to join him not really expecting much.  A black guillemot flew by  and landed ...



and then a trio of whimbrel flew in off the sea, which pleased birder Micheal. And then  our  cow and well grown calf  Bottles popped up out of the blue, which turned grey as a rain laden cloudy sky moved in from The south east After a while the dolphins moved off and we left. An hour later I returned to find the sun out again as a  juvenile peregrine shot by...





Its a pretty nice place for a naturalist!


Saturday 1 August 2015

Ods and bods around Fishguard Harbour this week!

above below,  ,pic's of a large skien  60+ of common scoter that passed by this  afternoon


Almost convinced myself this was a Honey!

Whimbrel flying in...

Tysties flying out of harbour to feed in sheltered lee of Breakwater  

Definately Buteo Buteo!


Bottle doing a head stand!