December 1st began with the Yellow-browed Warbler, Great Bitterns and Short-eared Owls again at Kenfig Pool, along with a Merlin and three different Song Thrushes singing on an incredibly mild start to the month. Three Green Sandpipers, three Dunlin, three Kingfishers and two Little Egrets were at Ogmore Estuary. A female Merlin was at Kenfig Rivermouth on 2nd, along with two Red-throated Divers and the Yellow-browed Warbler and a Kingfisher were at the pool. A Dartford Warbler and 100+ Redwing were in Pant Norton. A very big storm overnight on 3rd saw sea watching at Porthcawl produce fifteen Leach’s Storm Petrels, three European Storm Petrels, a very late Manx Shearwater, sixteen Common Scoter, twelve, Northern Fulmars, 25 Black-legged Kittiwakes, a dark phase Arctic Skua, two Red-throated Divers, four Red-billed Chough and an adult Mediterranean Gull. Three Leach’s Storm Petrels were at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir and a Little Gull was at Ogmore Estuary. Another four Leach’s Petrels, a juvenile Long-tailed Skua and a Great Northern Diver were at Salthouse Point, North Gower. The Yellow-browed Warbler showed briefly at Kenfig Pool where there were at least five Chiffchaffs of three different races, two Little Gulls and a Northern Gannet. A first winter Iceland Gull was at Fendrod Lake, Swansea, a Great Bittern was at Cosmeston Lakes and a Merlin at Mynydd Eglwysilian. The 4th produced a wreck of Leach’s Storm Petrels all along the coast with an incredible 93 off Porthcawl, 27 off Kenfig Sands, nine off Port Eynon and three off Ogmore-by-Sea. Other seabird totals included two Little Gulls, thirty Razorbills and eighteen Common Guillemots at Port Eynon, a Great Skua, 95 Black-legged Kittiwakes and a Great Northern Diver at Porthcawl and three Razorbill and nine Black-legged Kittiwakes were also off Kenfig. Leach’s Storm Petrels continued to dominate the news on 5th with 56 off Porthcawl, a further 22 were off Kenfig Sands, another twelve off Mumbles, six off Newton Point, six at Loughor Bridge, two off Lavernock Point and one at Rhymney Estuary, Ogmore-by-Sea and Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir with another an amazing 40 miles inland at Tir Founder Fields, Aberdare. An adult and first winter Little Gull were at Ogmore Rivermouth, Great Skuas were at Lavernock Point and Porthcawl, eight European Storm Petrels were off Porthcawl, along with a Great Northern Diver, six Mediterranean Gulls were at Mumbles and a Great Bittern was at Kenfig Pool. Leach’s Storm Petrels continued to dominate on 6th with 30 at Loughor Bridge, 25 at Gileston, 32 at Porthcawl, ten at Kenfig Sands, five at Ogmore-by-Sea and singles at Kenfig Pool and Cardiff Bay. A Great Bittern as also at Kenfig Pool, a first winter Little Gull was again at Ogmore with another at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir, a Barn Swallow was a very late migrant at Cardiff Bay and two Black Redstarts and a Razorbill were at Gileston. The 7th was a very distressing and violently windy day as the wreck of Leach’s Storm Petrels continued unabated with many emaciated birds found on inland waters as the weather worsened. Totals included eighty plus over Kenfig Pool, 42 at Porthcawl, eleven at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir, nine at Loughor Bridge, eight at Lavernock Point, four at Ogmore-by-Sea, and singles at The Watermill Flood and Cardiff Bay. Inland birds included six in Bridgend, four in Maesteg, three in Ewenny, singles at Bryncethin, Briton Ferry and Trebanos [those who have been birding here will know this as the tip we visit for Red Kites] and a bird flying around a chip shop at North Cornelly near Kenfig. Many others were picked up dead. Other birds seen included a first winter Little Gull again at Ogmore Rivermouth, an Arctic Skua at Lavernock Point, a Great Skua, fifteen Northern Fulmars, eleven Black-legged Kittiwakes, a drake Red-breasted Merganser and a Red Knot at Porthcawl and two more Red Knot at Kenfig Pool.
With the wind finally abating on the 8th, the Leach’s Strom Petrel numbers were way down on previous days, though four were off Penarth, a single off Lavernock Point and two at Llanishen Reservoir, Cardiff. Four Great Skuas were off Lavernock Point, as were 250 Red Knot and an adult Little Gull and an Arctic Skua at Loughor Bridge, while two Great Northern Divers were off Kenfig Sands. A female Hen Harrier and Green Sandpiper were at Llanrhidian and 2000 Northern Pintail and 600 Dark-belled Brent Geese were on the Loughor Estuary. Two Common Sandpipers were at Rhymney Estuary and another was at Port Talbot and a Dartford Warbler was at Ogmore Estuary.
