A look around the headland both sides of the lookout as far as Richards valley to the West & Seal Bay to the East found a Merlin , a sgl Swallow & a flock of about 20 Sand Martins feeding over some Cows above Seal Bay.Stonechat numbers seem to be good & a few Linnets are back on territory. A quick look out to Sea saw a few Gannets, Fulmar & a couple of Porpoise in the Tide Race.
The afternoon visit to St.Nicholas & Pwll Deri produced a Holly Blue at both sites & Chiffs singing everywhere. The Rookery at St.Nicholas very vocal.
Thursday 29 March 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
Rhos Wdig ( In the dark )
Met Walrus at the Moor at 7p.m. to test out our bat detectors & see what we could find there.Initially we were met with a few spots of rain which literally dampened our spirits but we'd give it a go anyway, Walrus deciding " It wasn't proper rain"!Straight away we had a large Bat patrolling along the road bank being heard best on 20Khz , on consulting the handy leaflet received with the machine Noctule seemed best bet.It was joined by another & they flew back & forth along the bank giving good views in the half light.Next up was a Common Pipistrelle , used to them had them the last few days over the garden.We then moved up to the far bridge having the occasional pass over when a bat appeared right in front of us as if coming to check us over & emitting a weird whistling sound to which Walrus reaction was " What the bloody hell was that ", we both registered it on 80Khz , i made a suggestion but would have to check up later. All the action from then on was by a bat(s) registering loudest around the 50Khz mark which were probably Long Eared & the rain got a bit heavier so we headed back for the cars.On consultation with someone who knows & listening to sounds on the web Greater Horseshoe seems likely for the whistler! Can't wait to get out again.
Thursday 22 March 2012
Fishguard Harbour.
Just had to check the inner breakwater on the way home from work yesterday as 2 Snow Buntings had been found earlier in the day. Located them fairly easily & a male Wheatear about three quarters of the way to the end.Quite tame birds given the amount of people & dogs. The almost resident Shelduck still by the Flagpoles & the Barwit on the rocks with the Oycs.
Monday 19 March 2012
Pips in the cold.
More in hope than anything else i did the dusk vigil in the garden & quite honestly not expecting much. Two connections made it worth doing .It was not a pleasant experience though given the temperature!
Sunday 18 March 2012
Swallows 18th March.
I'd have to check my records , but they could be my earliest ever.On the Pencaer peninsula near Harmony.
Friday 16 March 2012
Some more nice birds from Goa.
Brown Fish Owl , Greater Painted Snipe ,Asian Openbill Stork , White Browed Wagtail.
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Monday 12 March 2012
Pips
Lots of Pipistrelles over the garden at dusk yesterday , probably all 45's but i'm trying to string a Soprano!
Goa Guides - George
George wasn't really a guide as such & has no experience with birds but can take you out on excursions.He took us to Old Goa to visit the shrine of St.Francis Xavier where you can see the body of the saint displayed in a glass coffin, it sounds a bit grim but it's well worth the visit & the 20 minute guided tour was only 100 Rupees about £1.20 sterling.
Sunday 11 March 2012
Goa Guides - Raymond
You get the best from any birding trip abroad by using a local guide & even after 6 trips to Goa it's still a good idea for us to have a few trips out with Raymond ( In case he has any new rarities that only he knows about! ).Should you want to find him when you're there he works from the Taxi rank outside the Beira Mar in Baga & even if he's not about leave a message with the others & he'll catch up with you very quickly.
Or,
E-Mail : govekar.rama@gmail.com
Mobile: 00919922271840
As mentioned before in lots of trip reports , many Taxi drivers will claim to be birders & quite a few know the good sites but there are only a few will get you the more difficult birds.
Friday 9 March 2012
Goa - Some Beira Mar Birds
From the famous Beira Mar Hotel Bar & swimming pool area the birding can be top class.
Oriental Magpie Robin , White Breasted Waterhen & Red Whiskered Bulbuls.
Thursday 8 March 2012
Amazing who you bump into....
When you're 5 & a half thousand miles away. John & Marion Best at the Biera Mar pool.
Goa - Divar Island
If you happen to take a holiday in Goa & you like to do a bit of birdwatching Divar Island is a must! A visit late in the afternoon is best , specialities include Marsh,Monty's,Pallid & Pied Harrier , Black Shouldered Kite,Greater & Lesser Spotted Eagle,Yellow Wattled Lapwing this list goes on!
Wednesday 7 March 2012
More Batim.
Both Bronze Winged & Pheasant Tailed Jacana were present although the 2nd species were still in winter dress & not in full summer like the one pictured from 2007!
Goa - Batim Lake.
Next trip out with Raymond our guide ( more about him later)was to Batim Lake, Unfortunately no pics of the Spot Billed Duck (too distant) but a couple of not so good shots of some of the huge no's of Garganey , Pintail , Lesser Whistling Duck.A large flock of Purple Swamp hen can be seen on the far bank.
More Morjim.
Palla's Gull - The one everybody wants to see. Just 4 this year , have had over 100 previously!
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Some Goa Pics - Morjim Beach
There's been a bit of a technical problem with this years pics so i'm going to put a few pics from my archive in. First trip out of any visit is now traditionally Morjim Beach , Gulls , Waders & a long staying Bay Backed Shrike(Goan Rarity)seen about 2 metres from where i had it in 2010 & 2009!
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