Strumble Head (31 Aug 16)

Time: 0600 - 1700
Weather: Rain at dawn then clear and sunny.
Wind: SSW (F5) (am to 0800) then W (F5-4)

Sooty Shearwater - 1
Balearic Shearwater - 4
Arctic Skua - 12 (6D, 4P, 2J)
Great Skua - 2
Sandwich Tern - 11
Comic Tern - 46
Roseate Tern - 2
Little Tern - 6
Black Tern - 2
Mediterranean Gull - 3 (1stW)
Little Gull - 6 (4 1stW, 2Ad)
Common Scoter - 47 (4F, 43M)
Teal - 6
Whimbrel - 1
Black Tailed Godwit - 1
Dunlin - 23
Ringed Plover - 1

Risso's Dolphin - c5 individuals that seemed to be fishing alone
Bottlenose Dolphin - c3
Common Dolphin - c30 (including a group at 1620 showing really close that included about 5 adults and 5 young, 3 of which were as small as I have ever seen - can't have been much bigger than 18 inches!)
Common Porpoise - Lots and showing well.

Strumble Head (30 Aug 16)

Time: 0600 - 1600
Weather: Sunny spells, drizzle.
Wind: SSW (F4)

Sooty Shearwater - 1
Balearic Shearwater - 2
Storm Petrel - 1
Arctic Skua - 12 (9D, 3P)
Great Skua - 3
Mediterranean Gull - 2 (1stW)
Little Gull - 1 (1stW)
Sandwich Tern - 5
Comic Tern - 9
Common Scoter - 179 (14F, 165M)
Teal - 3
Curlew - 1
Whimbrel - 1
Redshank - 1
Knot - 10

Risso's Dolphin - c10
Bottlenose Dolphin - c10
Common Dolphin - c100 (in many small groups right across the panorama)
Common Porpoise - Lots and showing well.

Strumble Head (29 Aug 16)

Time: 0600 - 1600
Weather: Sunny.
Wind: Calm (am), SW (F2) (pm)

Balearic Shearwater - 1
Arctic Skua - 5 (2P, 3D)
Great Skua - 2
Sandwich Tern - 24
Comic Tern - 28
Black Tern - 1
Little Tern - 1
Common Scoter - 168 (15F, 153M)
Teal - 2
Whimbrel - 3
Bar Tailed Godwit - 10
Dunlin - 27
Knot - 86
Sanderling - 2
Curlew Sandpiper - 2

Risso's Dolphin - 5 (different group to yesterday)
Common Dolphin - 3 different groups of 5, 15 and 25
Common Porpoise - showing on and off all day

Strumble Head (28 Aug 16)

Time: 0600 - 1800
Weather: Misty and poor vis until 1pm then clear.
Wind: Calm (early am), then S (F2-4) until 12noon then W (F4) until 2pm then N (F5-6)

Great Shearwater - 1 (@ 1455 tracking behind the ferry - seems to have been reported from the ferry as well according to the pager)

Sooty Shearwater - 1
Balearic Shearwater - 2
Great Skua - 2
Arctic Skua - 5 (3D, 2P)
Sandwich Tern - 35
Comic Tern - 11
Common Scoter - 132 (11F, 121M
Wigeon - 3
Shoveler - 1
Bar Tailed Godwit - 2
Dunlin - 6
Puffin - 2

Risso's Dolphin - 5 (one group including one large white bull male)
Common Dolphin - 20 (one pod feeding in tide race)
Common Porpoise - showing on and off all day

Barnacle Geese

A flock of around 40 Barnacle Geese flew over fairly high heading north at Llanychaer presumably birds from the feral flock at Cardigan.
Slightly later a Green Sandpiper drop in on the pond at Llanychaer

Strumble Head (27 Aug 16)

Time: 0600 - 1500
Weather: Sunny spells.
Wind: E (F4)

Arctic Skua - 2 (D)
Sandwich Tern - 10
Comic Tern - 3
Common Scoter - 35 (8F, 27M)
Whimbrel - 2
Redshank - 1
Dunlin - 2

Minke Whale - 1 (@ 0605 showing for over 3 mins at reasonable long range but flat calm at time)
Common Dolphin - 3 pods of circa 10, 6 and 3 individuals
Common Porpoise - lots and showing well

Pen Anglas

This morning fly by single Golden Plover and Whimbrel,also Grey Heron. Several Whitethroats seen,a Reed Bunting also a juv Dartford Warbler and 2 Chough.
At Llanychaer a Goshawk being chased by 2 Ravens.

Butterflies

Plenty of butterflies on the Buddleia in the garden the last few days including Red Admirals,

Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks , Painted Ladies and a single Silver Washed Fritillary.

A single Spotted Flycatcher along the river.

Goodwick 24th August.

A walk down to Goodwick was uneventful birdwise but lots of Common Darters & what I think was a Southern Hawker. At the Flagpoles a Little Egret.

Single sandwich..

Whilst watching Apache and Ringo our semi resident bottlenose Dolphins out on the breakwater yesterday (Monday) a single calling Sandwich Tern was fishing close by in the mouth of the harbour
(Fishguard)

Archive

Strumble Head 21st August 2016.

Time: 06.00 - 13.00
Weather : Some bright spells, rain after 12.00
Wind: WNW 6/8 then SSW decreasing

Common Scoter - 25 ( 23 Males )
Red Breasted Merganser - 1
Cory's Shearwater - 1 ( @ 06.20 )
Great Shearwater - 3 ( 06.40, 06.47, 7.20 )
Sooty Shearwater - 9
Balearic Shearwater - 1
Storm Petrel - 18 ( Possibly a few more )
Dunlin - 14
Knot - 1
Black Tailed Godwit - 2
Whimbrel - 3
Turnstone - 4
Arctic Skua - 25 ( 8 Pale, 17 Dark )
Bonxie - 24
Sandwich Tern - 36
Black Tern - 1
'Commic Tern' - 24

A few Porpoise showing.

A great morning, well attended from near & far. Pic by Paul Grennard.

                                            Great Shearwater ( Pic. Mark Hipkin )

Strumble Head 20th August 2016.

Time: 15.00 - 1900
Weather: Showery
Wind: SW 6 / SSW 6

Common Scoter - 2 ( Males )
Great Northern Diver - 1
Sooty Shearwater - 6
Storm Petrel - 5
Mediterranean Gull - 1 ( Juv )
Arctic Tern - 4
Commic Tern - 27
Puffin - 1

Manx Shearwaters passing very close in tens of thousands.
 

Strumble Head 19th August 2016.

Another short session on the off chance that the strong wind might have blown something in. In the two hours 16 Commic Terns was all I could muster but it did rain heavily for half of the time.
Manxies in huge numbers, timed counts gave an average of 5100 per hour on the close line of Manx with equal or more numbers travelling east further out.

Maesgwynne Valley 16th August.

Interesting movement again of hirundines, circa 300 mostly House Martins on roof & wires when we went out then on our return probably 200+ mostly Swallows in evidence.
Later on while sampling some of the Rhone Valleys finest in the garden, a magnificent sight of a group of 4 Herons over heading West, surely not long off roosting but where I wonder?

Breakwater bits

A flock of circa 18 Redshank resting up on the Cow and Calves rocks. Swallows, Pied wagtails and Linnets much in evidence. This Male Kestrel possibly hoping to catch one for supper!

Swallows and House Martins

As with Adrian's post lots of House Martins and Swallows coming in off the sea this morning at Pwllderi totalling many hundreds. Five Chough in field near youth hostel.Also several Grayling butterflies seen my first this year.

Hirundines

A large movement of Hirundines over the Valley today, at one point several hundred resting on the cottages & wires, with several landing in the large conifer.

Strumble Head 10th August ( Short Early Evening Shift ).

A short watch between 17.30 & 19.30 produced 2 Dark Phase Arctic Skuas & a single Male Common Scoter. Manx numbers were a bit laboured to start with but had picked up by the end.

Common Sandpiper

A single Common Sandpiper on the pond at Llanychaer this evening.

Strumble Head 8th August 16.

Time: 05.45 - 11.00
Weather: Bright, some cloud
Wind: WNW 5/6

Common Scoter - 15 ( 10 Males )
Fulmar - Coming through consistently, in excess of 100
Sooty Shearwater - 3
Balearic Shearwater - 2
Cory's Shearwater - 1 ( 07.05 )
Great Shearwater - 2 ( 07.15 & 08.35 )
Dunlin - 9
Whimbrel - 11
Arctic Skua - 2 ( Both Dark )
Bonxie - 2
Mediterranean Gull - 1 ( Juv )
Sandwich Tern - 1
Puffin - 3

Porpoise started showing late on in the watch.

AR & RHD

 

Flagpoles 15.00 7th Aug 16.

Nothing to report really until a loud Emergency Vehicle siren came past & helped by a young lad clambering along the rocks on the Fishguard side, in the ensuing panic 9 Whimbrel flew out & landed on the beach & it looks like the oystercatcher numbers are starting to increase slightly as is usual for early August. Black Headed Gulls numbering around 40 but no Meds.

Strumble Head 4th August 16.

Time: 05.30 - 14.00
Weather: Mostly Cloudy
Wind: W 5/6 - Then WSW 3/4

Common Scoter - 9 ( 6 Males )
Fulmar - Passing consistently all day, not counted but in excess of 300

Sooty Shearwater - 4

Storm Petrel - 5

Whimbrel - 1

Curlew - 1

Pomarine Skua - 1 ( Pale Winter Adult )

Bonxie - 4

Mediterranean Gull - 3 ( All Juvs )

Little Tern - 1

Sandwich Tern - 4

Common Dolphin - 3

Bottlenose Dolphin - 2 ( Widely suspected to be Apache & Ringo of Whales in Wales fame ! )

Porpoise - Showing well off & on

Ocean Sunfish - 1

Strumble Head 3rd August 16

Time: 05.15 - 12.15 / 14.00 - 16.00
Weather: Bright, Showery
Wind: SSW 5/6

Common Scoter - 12 ( 8 Males )

Dunlin - 3

Turnstone - 1

Grey Phalarope - 1

Arctic Skua - 1 ( Dark )

Mediterranean Gull - 8 ( 1 Ad, 2 2nd Sum, 5 Juvs )

Sandwich Tern - 4

Common Tern - 1

Thousands of Manxies in the 2nd period.

Chris Greyall 05.15 - 12.15

Myself 2nd watch 14.00 - 16.00

Fishguard Breakwater Oykers update...

The overly late nesting "Oykers" are still hanging in there and the egg remains, fascinating!