22ND - 31ST JANUARY

The 22nd produced a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Forest Farm Cardiff, as well as Fieldfares, Redwings and Siskin there. The Great Northern Diver was again at Barry Docks on 23rd and 100 Northern Pintail and an adult Mediterranean Gull were at Rhymney Estuary, Cardiff. Six Dark-bellied Brent Geese flew down channel at Sker Point, where a Bar-tailed Godwit was among the 275 Oystercatchers present. Three Green Sandpipers were at Hendre Lake, Cardiff, while cold weather movements at Loughor Bridge included 24 Ringed Plover, 37 Grey Plover, eight Red Knot, 151 Dunlin and 77 Northern Lapwing. At Eglwys Nunydd reservoir 108 Great Crested Grebes was noteworthy and a Water Pipit was again at Llwyn On Reservoir near Merthyr Tydfil. The 24th produced two Chiffchaffs and five Blackcaps at Candleston, while two Short-eared Owls and a ringtail Hen Harrier were at Llanrhidian Marsh at dusk. Also on the North Gower Coast at high tide were three Slavonian Grebes, 1340 Northern Pintail, 3000 Dunlin, 686 Brent Geese, 250 Shelduck, 166 Grey Plover, 108 Wigeon, thirteen Red-breasted Mergansers, 32 Teal, 267 Shoveler, 52 Eider, a Merlin, four Peregrines, 700 Knot, 37 Bar-tailed Godwit, 292 Curlew, 133 Redshank, one Green Sandpiper and a “low” count of 4000 Oystercatchers, a Water Pipit, nineteen Little Egrets and a Kingfisher! A pair of Dartford Warblers was back on territory in the local area and another male was seen at another site nearby. Another cold day on the 25th produced five Red-throated Divers, 66 Northern Shoveler 42 Eurasian Wigeon, 82 Common Teal, 90 Northern Pintail, three Common Scoter, seventeen Grey Plover and 1000 Dunlin at Rhymney Estuary, while further west, four Tree Sparrows, fifteen Yellowhammers, 70 Sky Larks and ten Reed Buntings were at Tyn-y-Caeau Farm. A Peregrine was at Candleston where 150 Fieldfares, forty Redwings and two Blackcaps were also present. The Drake Red Crested Pochard was again at Picton Pond, along with a Common Snipe, three adult Mediterranean Gulls and three Black-legged Kittiwakes were at Porthcawl and a female Dartford Warbler was at the same location as yesterday. A Merlin was at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir on 26th and another two were at Llanrhidian Marsh, where five Hen Harriers, a Green Sandpiper and a Eurasian Spoonbill were also present. At Whiteford NNR, eight Slavonian Grebes, 52 Common Eider, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, a Peregrine, 675 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a single Pale-bellied bird, two drake Common Scoter and a fly past Great Northern Diver were seen, along with huge numbers of Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Curlew, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Red Knot and Dunlin. Four Treecreepers and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers were also present in the conifer plantation and another Green Sandpiper was at Landimore Pill. A Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper were at Penclawdd Pill, a Merlin was at Sker and three Green Sandpipers were again at Hendre Lake. The 27th produced three Red-billed Choughs, three European Shag, a Dark-bellied Brent Goose, four Common Scoter and six Purple Sandpipers at Ogmore-by-Sea, 22 Common Goldeneye, a drake Gadwall and a drake Goosander on the estuary, whilst a Dipper was in Bridgend Town Centre. Candleston Bridge produced a Kingfisher and a further three Goosander, as well as a Mink, while an undisclosed site in West Glamorgan had a pair of Northern Goshawks, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, fifteen Siskin and fifteen Common Buzzards on a lovely afternoon. Two drake Greater Scaup were again at Cosmeston Lakes, two Little Egrets were at The Watermill Flood and three Red-throated Divers and seventeen Mediterranean Gulls were at Mumbles. Two Jack Snipe were at Kenfig Pool 0n 28th, along with a Grey Wagtail and eleven Common Goldeneye of note. A Water Pipit was again at Llwyn On Reservoir and a pair of Northern Goshawks was over Maesteg. A Woodcock was in Aberdare on 29th, an excellent count of 291 Northern Lapwings were at The Watermill Flood, a male Hen Harrier was seen in the morning at Llanrhidian Marsh, where a Green Sandpiper was still present. An amazing count of nine Dartford Warblers was seen at a site near Bridgend. Spring was in the air on a very mild 30th with many resident birds in song or courtship behaviour at Kenfig. In addition, a nice mixed flock of 80 Redwings, three Mistle Thrushes and thirteen Fieldfares were around the Castle Meadow and two European Jays and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were in the Alder wood. A Jack Snipe and Woodcock were at Gorseinon, displaying Northern Goshawks and Peregrines were seen in several locations, an Iceland Gull was at Blackpill and a Firecrest was in Cardiff. On the 31st small numbers of Common Crossbills were reported singing from various upland forestry locations and two drake Greater Scaup were again at Cosmeston Lakes.

FAIR ISLE UPDATE

Our Fair Isle tour this year is now full. Please book early for 2008 - dates will be announced soon on this website.

NORTH NORFOLK TOUR 13TH - 18TH JANUARY BIRD WATCHING MAGAZINE

OUR NORTH NORFOLK tour for BIRD WATCHING magazine from 13th – 18th January 2007 produced an absolute feast of birds with 129 species recorded in total. Day One saw highlights of Black-eared Kite, Lesser Yellowlegs, nine Barn Owls, twelve Snow Buntings, four Shore Larks, a drake Smew, five Whooper Swans, a ringtail Hen Harrier, male Merlin, twenty Twite and thousands of Pink-footed Geese, as well as vast flocks of Sanderling, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot and Pintail on The Wash. All this in superb, cold, sunny and crisp conditions. Day Two produced an amazing flock of thirty Hawfinches, a Firecrest, Grey Partridges, thousands of Pink-footed Geese, smaller numbers of White-fronted Geese, Common Scoter, Eider and Red-breasted Merganser, Snow Buntings, more Barn Owls, Marsh Tits and a couple of Red-throated Divers. Amazingly, we also found the Black-eared Kite moving east along the coast being mobbed by Marsh Harriers. Day Three was pretty wet but we persevered and got some excellent bird with the highlights being Taiga and Tundra Bean Geese, 29 Common Cranes, 22 Mediterranean Gulls, forty Marsh Harriers, two Hen Harriers, fifteen Red-throated Divers, 70+ Snipe, fifteen Ruff and two Chinese Water Deer. Day Four produced the Black-eared Kite and the Lesser Yellowlegs at Thornham as well as excellent views of the Twite. Sea watching at Holme and Titchwell saw excellent numbers of Little Gulls, Great Crested Grebes, Kittiwakes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-throated Divers, Guillemots and Razorbills and two splendid Pomarine Skuas close inshore as well as Harbour Porpoise and Common Seals. A drake Ruddy Duck was also at Holme, a Water Rail, Chiffchaff and Avocet at Titchwell and truly vast flocks of Pink-footed Geese were again coming in to roost at Holkham. A superb few days!

ORIOLE ADVENTURES SOUTH WALES 25TH - 28TH JANUARY TOUR

Our four day excursion in South Wales with Oriole Adventures was another tremendous success.. Our group met at noon on DAY ONE at the Atlantic Hotel, Porthcawl and we took a walk along Victoria Avenue where three adult Mediterranean Gulls gave good views on the rocks. Five Turnstones and a Shag were also noted. In the harbour, three Kittiwakes gave some nice views. At Candleston Bridge, a Grey Wagtail was by the River Ewenny and we also saw Nuthatch and Treecreeper here. Moving on to a farmland bird feeding site, Tyn-y-Caeau Farm, wild bird cover crops proved fruitful for obtaining good views of a range of species. 70 Skylark was an excellent total, while 15+ Yellowhammer and 10+ Reed Bunting wee also present. Good views of four Tree Sparrows were a highlight and we also recorded Stonechat, Kestrel and three Common Buzzards. Pausing by Picton Pond, a superb drake Red Crested Pochard was seen, as well as Teal, Wigeon, Common Snipe and Stock Dove. At a nearby site, we had excellent views of a female Dartford Warbler at close quarters, as well as Sparrowhawk and a pair of displaying Ravens. Finally, our last port of call was Candleston Warren where a visit to buckthorn scrub by the dunes yielded 150+ Fieldfare and 40+ Redwing, two female Blackcap, four Mistle Thrush, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk. DAY TWO produced two Merlins at Llanrhidian Marsh, where five Hen Harriers, a Green Sandpiper and a Eurasian Spoonbill were also present. At Whiteford NNR, eight Slavonian Grebes, 52 Common Eider, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, a Peregrine, 675 Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a single Pale-bellied bird, two drake Common Scoter and a fly past Great Northern Diver were seen, along with huge numbers of Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Curlew, Northern Pintail, Common Teal, Red Knot and Dunlin. Four Treecreepers and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers were also present in the conifer plantation and another Green Sandpiper was at Landimore Pill. A Greenshank and a Common Sandpiper were at Penclawdd Pill. DAY THREE saw the sun return and some more excellent birding, the highlights of which were three Red-billed Choughs, three European Shag, a Dark-bellied Brent Goose, four Common Scoter and six Purple Sandpipers at Ogmore-by-Sea, 22 Common Goldeneye, a drake Gadwall and a drake Goosander on the estuary, whilst a Dipper was in Bridgend Town Centre. Candleston Bridge produced a Kingfisher and a further three Goosander, as well as a Mink, while an undisclosed site in West Glamorgan had a pair of Northern Goshawks, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, fifteen Siskin and fifteen Common Buzzards on a lovely afternoon. DAY FOUR was cold and breezy as we scanned the beach at Blackpill. Good numbers of Oystercatchers, Curlews, Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Sanderling were present and a few Great Crested Grebes were offshore, but with the tide low, there were few gulls, so we moved back t Kenfig Pool. Two Jack Snipes were the highlight of our walk and we also managed tow Common Snipe for comparison. Eleven Goldeneye were on the pool, along with small numbers of Tufted Ducks, Pochard and Shoveler which were all new for the tour and we finished with a Grey Wagtail flying over the reserve centre just as it started to rain – perfect timing at the end of a very successful few days in good company.

15TH - 21ST JANUARY

On the 15th 1200 Dunlin, 140 Grey Plovers, four Slavonian Grebes, 260 Wigeon, 45 Eider, fifteen Red-breasted Merganser and a female Merlin were at Whitford NNR. Twelve Purple Sandpipers and four Little Egrets were at Ogmore-by-Sea, the Great Northern Diver was again in Barry Docks, Mediterranean Gull was at Cosmeston Lakes, a Green Sandpiper was at Pennard, Gower and a Woodcock was at Mynydd Margam. A very wet day on the 16th saw just four Red-billed Chough at Ogmore estuary and the drake Red Crested Pochard in St Brides Major. A Ruddy Duck was at Kenfig Pool on 17th and a Common Sandpiper was at The Watermill Flood. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and two Woodcocks were in the Swansea Valley. The Ruddy Duck was again at Kenfig Pool on a stormy 18th and an adult Ring-billed Gull was new in at Swansea Docks. On the 19th, the Ruddy Duck and a Jack Snipe were again at Kenfig Pool and a first winter Iceland Gull and two Little Gulls were in Swansea Bay. Two Chiffchaffs were in Cardiff on 20th on the first cold day of the year! The Ruddy Duck was again at Kenfig Pool and a female Northern Goshawk was at Sker Farm. The Great Northern Diver was again at Barry Docks and four Red-billed Choughs were at Ogmore-by-Sea. Three Green Sandpipers and five Little Egrets were at The Watermill Flood. Cold and sunny again on 21st and three Goosander were on Kenfig Pool, along with the Ruddy Duck and Jack Snipe. Five Pink-footed Geese were at Penclawdd, North Gower, along with a Hen Harrier, Merlin and 238 Lapwings.

8TH - 14TH JANUARY

Another very wet day on the 8th produced five Goldeneye on Kenfig Pool, a Little Egret again at Sker and twelve Sanderling at Newton Point, Porthcawl. A very wet and windy day again on the 9th saw 78 Great Crested Grebes, 258 Pochard and four Goosander at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir, a Peregrine a Kenfig Pool, three Mediterranean Gulls on Swansea University roof and a Firecrest in a Swansea garden. A Red-throated Diver and ten Fulmars went past Porthcawl. The 10th produced a Jack Snipe at Kenfig Pool, where there were also two drake Goosanders, a female Merlin and a Peregrine, while five Common Scoters were offshore. A Water Pipit and four Red-billed Chough were at Ogmore Estuary, a Great Northern Diver was again at Barry Docks and two Mediterranean Gulls were in Porthcawl. A truly awful day with violent westerly gales meant that birding was difficult on 11th, but the Jack Snipe, two Goosander, six Common Snipe and an adult Mediterranean Gull were at Kenfig Pool and two Greater Scaup were again at Cosmeston Lakes. On the 12th, two Woodcock and a Willow Tit were at Millwood on Gower, a Bittern showed briefly at Kenfig Pool and the two Goosander were still present. Four Little Gulls were at Swansea Docks and the drake Red Crested Pochard was back again at Ogmore Estuary. More poor weather on 13th saw the Great Northern Diver at Barry Docks and a Black Redstart again at Llancadle. The 14th produced two male Hen Harriers and a Merlin at Llanrhidian, three Grey Plovers were at Kenfig Sands, the Black Redstart and Great Northern Divers were both still present at Llancadle and Barry Docks, while 200 Common Scoter and 400 Dunlin were off Aberavon, Swansea Bay.

1ST - 7TH JANUARY 2007

The 1st January 2007 was wet and windy but produced four Red-billed Chough at Sker, along with a Peregrine and a female Merlin. A Common Chiffchaff was at the pool and wildfowl counts included 21 Eurasian Wigeon, 27 Northern Shoveler, a Kingfisher and 76 Common Pochard. Elsewhere, six Purple Sandpipers, fourteen Common Goldeneye and the drake Red Crested Pochard were at Ogmore Estuary. More windy weather on 2nd brought adult Little Gulls to Porthcawl and Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir and ten Black-legged Kittiwakes to Kenfig Sands. A drake Goosander was at Kenfig Pool and a Little Egret was at Sker. On the 3rd the drake Greater Scaup was again at Cosmeston Lake and the Red Crested Pochard was back in St Brides Major. Seven Slavonian Grebes were at Whitford Point, along with three Red Breasted Merganser, two Jack Snipe and good numbers of Common Eider, Dark-bellied Brent Geese, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Grey Plover, Common Snipe and European Oystercatcher. A male Hen Harrier was at Salthouse Point, a Razorbill was at Dunraven, two Green Sandpipers and a Little Egret were at Hendre Lake and a female Northern Pintail and a Kingfisher were at Kenfig Pool. A Great Skua was close offshore at Porthcawl. A very windy day on 4th saw two adult Little Gulls at Kenfig; one offshore and one at the pool. Also present offshore were three Common Scoter and a single Black-legged Kittiwake. The 5th brought a Siberian Chiffchaff, a Jack Snipe and forty Redwings to Kenfig Pool and 23 Goldeneye, five Little Egrets, four Red-billed Chough and fifteen Purple Sandpipers were at Ogmore Estuary. A Black Redstart was in a Llancadle, Vale of Glamorgan garden, two Scaup were at Cosmeston Lakes and three Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a Little Egret were at Sker. Up to 350 Pied Wagtails were seen going to the established roost in the centre of Cardiff. On the 6th torrential rain hampered birding, but an adult Little Gull was off Locks Common, Porthcawl, while at Kenfig Pool, Shoveler numbers were up to 51 and Goldeneye three and a Barnacle Goose flew over south east. A very wet day again on the 7th produced three adult Yellow-legged Gulls at Cosmeston Lake, a Little Gull at Mumbles and a Great Northern Diver at Barry Docks. Two Goosanders were at Kenfig Pool and fifteen Mediterranean Gulls were at Bracelet Bay, Swansea. A Green Sandpiper was at The Watermill and sea watching at Porthcawl produced two Razorbill and a Red-throated Diver of note.