Strumble Head 14th Jan.

Time: 10.30 - 12.30
Weather:Overcast, some bright spells
Wind:NNW 5/6

Common Scoter - 12 ( 2f )
Red Throated Diver - 2
Great Northern Diver - 1

More Gannets today, large number of Fulmars ( 50+ ) still lots of auks.

Double figures of Porpoises seen today despite the heavy sea.

Fishguard Harbour & OBW 13th Jan.

Couldn't find any Purple Sandpipers but a few birds to be seen. At least 3 Great Northern Divers in Harbour, the same number of Tysties with one already in breeding plumage. The Black Redstart on the Outer Breakwater was a pleasant suprise. 

Strumble Head 7th Jan.

Time: 10.45 - 13.15
Weather: Cloudy to start brightened up.
Wind: SSW 2/3

Shelduck - 5
Wigeon - 1 ( m )
Pintail - 1 ( Female East )
Common Scoter - 6 ( 2 f )
Red throated Diver - 5
Great Northern Diver - 2 ( Both flew East )
Med. Gull - 1 ( Ad )

Huge numbers of Auks ( 75% gillies ) on water, as they drifted east into the bay on the rising tide they started moving back west in large numbers. I estimate 3000+ passed back west past lookout in time i was there.

Very few Porpoise seen, 6 at most.
 

Local Area Bird List 2012

Interesting to see the much publicised " Foot It " experiment in 2013, i inadvertantly did much the same thing in 2012 except mine was a " Not drive very far list ".

Basically my area started at  Fishguard Fort, south as far as Scleddau ( taking a small detour up the Gwaun Valley ) then along the Mathry Rd turning off to Abermawr. Back around the coast then to Fishguard.

I ended the year with a round 150 species, a few glaring absentees but a couple i didn't expect to get.

Here's a breakdown of the number of species i had first at each site or area:

Gwaun Valley - 5
Lower Town Fishguard - 3
My Garden ( In Fgd ) - 23
Goodwick Moor - 11
Fishguard Harbour - 36
Pen Anglas - 5
Strumble Head - 50
Jordanston - 11
St. Nicholas - 4
Abermawr - 2

The biggest suprise was not the Yellow Browed Warbler in the garden or even the Bonapartes Gull at Strumble, in the 12 months i didn't manage to catch up with a knot. A scarcity at Fishguard Harbour but only 33 were recorded past Strumble Head this year & i missed all of them.

See what 2013 brings.
 

Flagpoles 14.30 6th Jan.

All the usual suspects as far as the gulls & waders go, there did seem to be a larger number of Cormorants though out distantly in the bay.

Yellow Browed Warbler

A few mile out of Fishguard by the road down to Cwm yr Eglwys this morning at around 10.00am a Yellow Browed Warbler was present in the hedgerow working its way up the road,the bird was total by it's self.

Tresinwen (01 Jan 13)

A few pics from the sunny 1st.