24TH - 30TH SEPTEMBER 2007

A very windy day on 24th, but unfortunately offshore in direction, produced four Arctic Terns at Ogmore Estuary and four Curlew Sandpipers at Blackpill among a flock of 37 Dunlin and 118 Ringed Plovers. A Dark-bellied Brent Goose and 32 Mediterranean Gulls were also present there. On the 25th, at least two Curlew Sandpipers were still present at Blackpill and a Garden Warbler, Whinchat, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail, twenty Common Chiffchaff and 400 Barn Swallows were at Lavernock Point. The first two Redwings of the autumn flew south over Abertridwr near Caerphilly. On the 26th, visible migration finally got under way with 200 Meadow Pipits, two Yellow Wagtails, fifty Sky Larks, 35 Chaffinch, 27 Eurasian Siskin, three Lesser Redpoll, five Mistle Thrush and two Peregrines at Nash Point. Another 200 Meadow Pipits were at Dunraven along with a Northern Goshawk, a Peregrine and a Yellow Wagtail. A Spotted Flycatcher, 200 Goldfinch and a Northern Wheatear were at Tyn-y-Caeau Farm. Two Whinchat, a Northern Wheatear, fifty Barn Swallow and a Dartford Warbler were at Ogmore Down and a Tree Sparrow was at The Monktons, amongst a flock of sixty House Sparrows. Twenty Common Crossbill and four Coal Tit were in Maesteg and twenty Common Chiffchaff and another Coal Tit were at Blaen-y-cwm. The 27th produced a Curlew Sandpiper at Kenfig Pool, which was later refound at Ogmore Estuary. A Honey Buzzard was at the Kenfig Rivermouth, where there were also six Common Snipe and the pool held eleven Eurasian Wigeon, five Northern Shoveler, four Gadwall and a female Northern Pintail. Back at Ogmore, two Mediterranean Gulls and a Bar-tailed Godwit were present. A Jack Snipe, Common Greenshank, 33 Northern Pintail, 87 Eurasian Wigeon, 200 Barn Swallow and 200 Common Shelduck were at Rhymney Great Wharf. On the 28th, the highlight was a Little Stint at Kenfig Sands, where there were also four Grey Plover, fifty Red Knot, four Bar-tailed Godwit, 300 European Oystercatcher, nine Dunlin, sixteen Ringed Plover, three Common Scoter, 100 European Golden Plover and three Northern Wheatear. Kenfig Pool produced six Eurasian Siskin, three Northern Lapwing, eight Northern Shoveler, 22 Common Teal, 250 House Martin, 200 Barn Swallow, a Sedge Warbler and a Common Snipe. At least 1000 Barn Swallows were at Summerhouse Point, along with a Sedge Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, 30 Common Chiffchaff and a Garden Warbler. An Osprey flew over the River Neath and three Arctic Terns were at Lisvane Reservoir, Cardiff. A Ring Ouzel at Mewslade on 29th was the highlight of the day, but visible migration was also in evidence with 15000 Barn Swallows at Aberthaw Marsh, along with a further 1200 at Port Talbot Docks. Also at Aberthaw were 500 Meadow Pipits, 250 Eurasian Siskin and 150 Sky Larks. A Merlin was at Rhossilli and ten Bar-tailed Godwits and 500 European Oystercatchers were at Kenfig Sands. A Common Redstart was at Blaen-y-Cwm. On the 30th, common species were involved in visible migration at Kenfig Pool, with 38 Eurasian Siskin, 350 Barn Swallows, five Lesser Redpoll, five Grey Wagtail, 245 Meadow Pipit, 29 Pied Wagtail, seven Sky Lark, one Sand Martin and seventeen Chaffinch. Also present were an adult Mediterranean Gull, nine Northern Shoveler, 14 Common Chiffchaff and a Common Kingfisher. Twelve Ring Ouzel, 100 Redwing and a female Hen Harrier were at Dare Valley Country Park, while a Eurasian Hobby and a Common Redstart were at Nash Point. Three Arctic Terns were again at Lisvane Reservoir and a Fieldfare was at Cardiff Bay.

NORFOLK 23RD - 29TH SEPTEMBER 2007

Our Norfolk Bush Bash will be remembered for the sheer quality of the birds on offer this year. Seabirds featured hiugly with 4 Sabine's Gulls, Grey Phalarope, Pomarine, Arctic and Great Skuas, Manx Shearwaters, 100+ Little Gulls, 2000+ Northern Gannets and a few Red-throated Divers and Commo Scoters aongst the usual array of auks. Pink-footed Geese were already back in their thousands and we also had a Lesser Snow Goose amongst them -fantastic! Not to be outdone, passerines featured Wryneck, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Great Grey Shrike, a Greenish Warbler briefly, Common Redstart, Brambling, Snow Buntings, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers and amajor fall of Goldcrests and Common Chiffchaffs, Great Bittern and Short-eared Owl were among the overhead igrants, while the pick of the shorebirds were Long-biiled Dowitcher and Buff-breasted Sandpiper, but we also saw plenty of Curlew Sandpiper, Pied Avocet, Ruff and Little Stint. Yellow-legged Gull, Bearded Tit, Marsh Harriers and Garganey rounded off a spelndid weeks birding. Join us again in September 2009 for more exciting autumn birding.

17TH - 23RD SEPTEMBER 2007

On the 17th, two Lesser Redpoll, four Reed Warblers and a Sedge Warbler were at Kenfig Pool. A glorious day on the 18th produced ten Siskin, a male Merlin, a Common Whitethroat and Reed Warbler were at Kenfig Pool. A Little Egret and 25 Yellow Wagtails were at Rhymney Great Wharf. With strong winds on the 19th sea watching was the only option and at Nash Point both Great and Arctic Skuas were recorded along with a breeding plumaged Great Northern Diver. Kenfig Sands produced forty Common Scoter, two Common Guillemot, four Manx Shearwaters and five Black-legged Kittiwakes. Seventy Sandwich Tern, six Common and an Arctic Tern were at Loughor Estuary. More gales on 20th meant sea watching was again the order of the day and the results were excellent. Port Eynon produced five Arctic, a Great and a Pomarine Skua, a Balearic Shearwater, 36 Northern Gannet, 51 Black-legged Kittiwakes, three Manx Shearwater and small numbers of Common Guillemot Sandwich Tern and Razorbill. A juvenile Sabine’s Gull was off Kenfig Sands among with four Arctic Terns and an Arctic Skua and a further three Arctic Terns were at Porthcawl. An adult Mediterranean Gull was at Kenfig Pool, while eight Bar-tailed Godwit, 165 Northern Pintail, 62 Sandwich Terns and a Common Tern were at Dalton’s Point, North Gower. The 21st produced two Sooty Shearwaters close in at Port Eynon, along with two Great and two Arctic Skuas, two European Storm Petrels, Red-throated Diver and an Arctic Tern. Another Arctic Skua, four Bar-tailed Godwits and seven Red Knot were at Kenfig Sands and two Bar-tailed Godwits and an Arctic Tern were at Ogmore Estuary. A Leach’s Petrel was the highlight at Porthcawl, where three Mediterranean Gulls, twelve Arctic Terns and eight Manx Shearwaters were also present. On a good day for raptors, a Honey Buzzard and a Eurasian Hobby went south over Swansea, a Hen Harrier was at Llanilid and a Peregrine was at Kenfig Pool. Overnight rain on 22nd finally produced a fall of warblers at Kenfig Pool with single Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler present along with 31 Common Chiffchaff, 25 Blackcap and also an Arctic Tern was over the pool. At Loughor Bridge, there were 123 Sandwich, one Black, three Arctic and two Common Terns and the adult Yellow-legged Gull. The Arctic Tern remained at Kenfig Pool on 23rd, where there was also a female Northern Pintail. A Ring Ouzel was near Caerphilly and sixty Red Knot and 24 European Golden Plover were at Sker.

POLAND MAY 2007 HIGHLIGHTS

AFTER an absence of two years, we returned to Poland from 15th – 24th May 2007 and whilst there were undoubtedly one or two teething problems with a slightly over ambitious itinerary, the group did exceptionally well to record 169 species. The main problem came in the Tatra Mountains, where the walks had been designed to suit individual birders rather than a group, but despite this and the presence of many school parties, we still managed to see a good selection of birds. Back on more familiar territory in the north, the tour really began to gather momentum and we were fortunate enough to see almost all of the speciality species including Wallcreeper, Ural and Pygmy Owls, Spotted Nutcracker, Aquatic, River, Marsh, Icterine and Barred Warblers, Great Snipe, Collared and Red-breasted Flycatchers, Caspian Gull, Lesser Spotted and White-tailed Eagles, Scarlet Rosefinch, Hazel Grouse, European Roller, Citrine Wagtail, several species of woodpecker, all three marsh terns and a whole host of herons and shorebirds. For future tours, we have removed the Tatras from the itinerary and will instead be offering an eight day tour from 17th – 24th May 2008 covering the Biebrza Marshes, Bialowieza Forest and Narew Valley.

10TH - 16TH SEPTEMBER 2007

A stiff westerly on the 10th brought a Great Skua to Sker Point, along with eight Black-legged Kittiwakes, two adult Mediterranean Gulls, 21 Red Knot, three Northern Gannets and nine Common Scoter. On the 11th, two Lesser Whitethroats, nine Common Whitethroats, three Sedge Warblers, a Willow Warbler, seventeen Blackcaps, a Tree Pipit and a Lesser Redpoll were at Kenfig Pool. Two Green Sandpipers were at Ogmore Estuary. A Whinchat , four Mediterranean Gulls, eight Yellowhammers and three Northern wheatears were at Gileston and at Lavernock Point there were 750 Barn Swallows, eight Tree Pipits, two Yellow Wagtails and nine Common Chiffchaff. Neil was fortunate enough to find Wales first Audouin’s Gull at Sker Point on the 12th; a second winter bird that flew off towards Swansea, but much to everyone's disappointment, it has not yet been relocated. Also present there were 27 Red Knot and 62 Meadow Pipits of note. Two Spotted Flycatchers were in a Swansea garden on and another was in Bute Park, Cardiff, where there were also two Peregrines. A further 23 Red Knot were at Rhymney Great Wharf, along with three Black-tailed and two Bar-tailed Godwits, a Common Greenshank, nineteen Dunlin, two Reed Warblers and two Yellow Wagtails. A Ring-necked Parakeet was at Lavernock Point. The 13th produced 750 Linnets at Tyn-y-Caeau Farm, along with five Tree Pipits. Four Whinchat were at Llanilid, while overhead passage at Gileston included 400 Barn Swallow, 290 Meadow Pipits, thirty Sky Larks and a Yellow Wagtail. On the 14th, the adult Yellow-legged Gull was again at Kenfig Pool, along with a Sedge Warbler and an adult Mediterranean Gull, 24 Red Knot and two Common Scoter were at Kenfig Sands. Five Northern Gannet, a Grey Plover and Yellow Wagtail were at Lavernock Point. The 15th brought 25 Common Chiffchaff, five Tree Pipit and a Lesser Whitethroat were at Lavernock Point, a Spotted Flycatcher, Lesser Redpoll and European Siskin were at Pant Norton. Two Green Sandpipers, two Common Snipe and a Tree Pipit were at Kenfig Pool. Another three Green Sandpipers were at Pendoylan. On the 16th, a Merlin and Mediterranean Gull were at Dunraven, along with six Red-billed Chough. A Eurasian Hobby, Merlin, two Northern Pintail and four Yellow Wagtails were at Kenfig Pool and fifty Common Crossbills were at Llanwonno Forest. Two Common Redstarts and two Tree Pipits were at Llanilid, seven Common Buzzards were at Lavernock Point, as well as 500 Barn Swallow and a Peregrine. Two Manx Shearwaters were at Sker, along with five Northern Gannets and six Common Scoter and Red Knot numbers have risen to 36. A Curlew Sandpiper and two Common Greenshank were at Port Talbot Docks.

1ST - 9TH SEPTEMBER 2007

A fall of warblers at Kenfig Pool on 1st SEPTEMBER kicked off the month with great optimism with totals of 25 Common Chiffchaffs, three Sedge, two Reed, a single Willow and Garden Warbler, six Common Whitethroats and twelve Blackcaps recorded. Four Grey Wagtails and a Tree Pipit went over east and a Dunlin was on the east pool shore. The two Ospreys were still at Wernffrwd and a Garden Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher were in Bute Park, Cardiff. Two Common Redstarts were at Llanilid and another Was at Island Farm, Bridgend. On the 2nd, a Great White Egret and the Ospreys were at Wernffrwd, a Common Tern was in Cardiff Bay and two Common Kingfishers were at Cosmeston Lakes. A good selection of birds at Kenfig Pool included an adult Yellow-legged Gull and five Northern Shoveler at the pool, 23 Common Scoter and fifteen Sanderling at the sands and two Sedge and a Reed Warbler in the bushes. Three Common Redstarts, four Whinchat, a Dartford Warbler, a Little Ringed Plover, Common Greenshank and Green Sandpiper were at Llanilid. The 3rd was a rather quiet day with just three Sedge Warblers, a Garden Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat of note at Kenfig Pool. A juvenile Northern Goshawk was at Pant Norton, along with a Lesser Whitethroat, five Yellowhammers, thirteen Common Whitethroats and a European Golden Plover. On the 4th, a Little Egret flew north over Kenfig Pool and five Common Redshank dropped in briefly. The Lesser Whitethroat remained and four Reed Warblers were new in. Three Little Egrets, a Common Greenshank and an excellent count of 41 Yellow Wagtails were at Rhymney Great Wharf. Four Black-tailed and a Bar-tailed Godwit were at Kenfig Pool on 5th, where other migrants included a Whinchat, three Common Redshank, two Tree Pipits, three Common Whitethroat and excellent early autumn counts of 34 European Robins, 22 Common Blackbirds and nine Reed Buntings. Six Tree Pipits and a Yellow wagtail were at Lavernock Point and 25 Dunlin, a Red Knot, two Black-tailed Godwits and 130 Common Redshank were at Rhymney Great Wharf. A Eurasian Hobby was near Caerphilly, a Common Redstart was at Pant Norton and a Spotted Flycatcher was at Hendre Lake. On the 6th, a Grasshopper Warbler was at Kenfig Pool, along with the first Eurasian Siskin of the autumn and six Song Thrush. The male Common Redstart was again at Pant Norton. Three Eurasian Siskin were at Kenfig Pool on 7th and the first pair of Eurasian Wigeon arrived on the pool. Other migrants present included 200 Barn Swallows, two Common Sandpiper, a Lesser Whitethroat, five Grey Wagtails, a Tree Pipit and four Reed Warblers. Three Yellow Wagtails, three Northern Wheatear and a Garden Warbler were at Blaen-y-Cwm. Another hot day on the 8th produced two Northern Pintail and a late Willow Warbler at Kenfig Pool, while six Reed Warblers were at the river mouth and fourteen Dunlin, 43 Ringed Plover, 23 Sanderling, a Bar-tailed Godwit, three Sandwich and a Common Tern were at Kenfig Sands. Two Yellow Wagtails were at Ogmore Estuary and a Wryneck and Grasshopper Warbler were at Lavernock Point in the early evening. Two Red Kites were in Maesteg on 9th, while a very quiet day at Kenfig produced just a single Tree Pipit of note. Two Red Knot, a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Common Greenshank and two Mediterranean Gulls were at Gileston and an adult Mediterranean Gull was at Ogmore Estuary.

NORTH EAST ENGLAND

Due to unprecedented demand, we have now added a third week from 2nd - 8th June 2008. All other details remain the same as the brochure, though please note that the number of single rooms available on this tour are extremely limited.