25TH - 31ST AUGUST 2008

On the 25th, five Lesser Whitethroat and a Yellow Wagtail were at Lamby Lake. A Short-eared Owl was an early migrant at Mynydd Eglwysilian and thirty seven Mediterranean Gulls were at Blackpill on the 26th. On the 27th, three Bar-tailed Godwit were at Newton Point and seven Sanderling and 25 House Martin were at Kenfig NNR. On the 28th, seven Common Swift, a Lesser Whitethroat, three Common Redshank and two Sedge Warbler were at Kenfig Pool. Two Spotted Flycatcher were again at Llanilid. Aberavon Beach held 152 Ringed Plover, thirty Dunlin, 21 Sanderling and six Bar-tailed Godwit and sixty House Martin were at Cardiff Bay. The 29th produced a Whinchat at Kenfig Pool, along with seven Sedge Warbler, seventeen Common Chiffchaff, a Water Rail, twelve Common Swift and 75 Barn Swallow. A Merlin, five Northern Wheatear and three Common Snipe were at Mynydd Eglwysilian and fifty Sand Martin, eight Common Teal and a drake Gadwall were at Cosmeston Lakes. A Eurasian Hobby was over Bridgend and a Pied Flycatcher, a Tree Pipit, 600 Linnet and two Yellow Wagtail were at Monknash. Another 300 Linnet were at Tyn-y-Caeau Farm and there were 36 Reed Warblers and five Cetti’s Warblers at Oxwich Marsh. On the 30th, a Wryneck was an excellent find inland at Blaengarw. A Black-tailed Godwit flew over Kenfig Pool, where a drake Eurasian Wigeon and four Common Snipe were also present. A Spotted Flycatcher and Tree Pipit were at Pant Norton and an adult Mediterranean Gull was at Ogmore Estuary, along with another Black-tailed Godwit. On the 31st, three Spotted Flycatcher were at Blaen-y-cwm and three Dark-bellied Brent Goose were at Blackpill. Two more Spotted Flycatcher and a Lesser Whitethroat were at Mewslade. A Black-necked Grebe was at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir, a Black-tailed Godwit , two Eurasian Wigeon and nine Blackcap were at Kenfig Pool. An Osprey and 26 Little Egret were at Wernffrwd. A Whinchat, Tree Pipit and Dartford Warbler were at Llanilid. Another Whinchat, twenty Northern Wheatear, five Red Knot and two Lesser Whitethroat were at Aberthaw Marsh.

18TH - 24TH AUGUST 2008

The 18th saw two European Storm Petrels off Porthcawl Sea Front and the 19th saw a Black Tern again at Ogmore Estuary. The Black Tern was still present at Ogmore on the 20th, along with a Common Swift and five European Storm Petrels were at Rhymney Estuary. Two Spotted Flycatchers were at Llanilid on 21st, a Whinchat, twenty Willow Warbler and ten Common Whitethroat were at Ogmore Estuary and 100+ Common Swift were at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir. A busy day for migrants at Kenfig Pool on the 22nd with 23 Black-tailed Godwits, fourteen Common Redshank, a Whinchat, three Northern Wheatear, fifteen Common Whitethroat, five Tree Pipit, a Common Crossbill and a Common Kingfisher all present. A Lesser Whitethroat and Yellow Wagtail were at Lavernock Point. On the 23rd, thirteen Dunlin, two Common Sandpiper, a Tree Pipit, seven Grey Wagtail and a Little Egret were at Ogmore Estuary. On the 24th, a Peregrine was at Kenfig Pool, fifty Common Swift were at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir and a Red Kite was at Abernant.

ISLES OF SCILLY & CORNWALL 2008

Our ISLES OF SCILLY & CORNWALL tour from 15TH - 20TH AUGUST 2008 produced another exhilirating experience for seabird enthusiasts. There is simply no comparison of the views obtained of these enigmatic species and the enormously experienced crew and leaders play an important part in the success of the trip and are only too happy to impart their knowledge to all. Wilsons Storm Petrel is probably the most sort after species and one duly obliged - the first for over a fortnight in what has turned out to be a poor year for the species. An exceptional trip total of in excess of sixty Cory's Shearwaters was unprecedented after recording just one in the prevous two years, while eight Great Shearwaters was about average, but as always an exciting bird to see. Sixty seven Sooty Shearwaters included forty five seen off Pendeen Watch in Cornwall, while other total included 500 European Storm Petrel, 1500 Manx Shearwater, twelve Balearic Shearwaters, fifteen Great Skuas, twelve Arctic Skuas and we were particularly delighted to add our first two Pomarine Skuas, Grey Phalarope and full breeding plumaged adult Sabine's Gull to our overall list for this tour. In an unusually quiet year for land birds and migrants, we saw Marsh Harrier, Ruff, Mediterranean Gull, Peregrine and Black-tailed Godwits as highlights. We also saw Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Beautiful Demoiselle among a good list of Odonata and Lepidoptera. I'm afraid that we are already full for next years tour, but we are taking bookings for 13th - 18th 2010 [13th - 16th Scilly only] and we would advose immediate booking to avoid disappointment for what is one of our most popular tours.

11TH - 17TH AUGUST 2008

On the 11th, three Common Tern and 150 Common Swift were at Eglwys Nunydd Reservoir and a Black Tern and Little Ringed Plover were at Ogmore Estuary. The Black Tern and two Little Egret were at Ogmore Estuary again on the 12th and two Common Kingfisher were at Kenfig Pool. Poor weather on the 13th saw thirty Northern Fulmar, sixteen Manx Shearwater, two European Storm Petrel and a Common Tern off Porthcawl Seafront and a Little Gull was at Ogmore Rivermouth. An Arctic Skua was off Porthcawl on the 14th and on the 15th a Pied Flycatcher was in Barry, along with two Common Crossbill and two Red-billed Chough were at Ogmore-by-Sea. On the 17th, two Common Sandpipers were at Ogmore Estuary.

CORNWALL WINTER

This tour is full for 2009 and we are taking advance bookings for 2010, so please contact the office if you would like to register your interest.

MALLORCA

Our new tour to Mallorca in April next year is full and we already have five names down for 2010, so if you wish to join us then, please contact the office in the near future to avoid disappointment.

GOA

The dates for our new Goa tour have changed to 31st January - 15th February 2008 and there are still a couple of places left if you would like to book.

1ST - 10TH AUGUST 2008

The 1ST AUGUST produced an Osprey over Lisvane Reservoir, while Kenfig NNR had 65 Manx Shearwater, four Northern Gannet and a Little Egret. A Green Sandpiper was at Llanilid. Sea watching from Mumbles on 2nd produced twelve European Storm Petrel, 1027 Manx Shearwater, an Arctic Tern, four Common Tern, seven Sandwich Tern, 23 Northern Gannet and ten Northern Fulmar, while Port Eynon Beach had twenty Sandwich Terns. Two Little Egret were at Kenfig Pool, while an Osprey, 21 Black-tailed Godwit and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were at Llanrhidian Marsh. Three Common Redstart and a Green Sandpiper were at Llanilid. On the 3rd, 28 Great Crested Grebe,
31 Little Egret, 16 Dunlin, 2400 European Oystercatcher, 748 Eurasian Curlew, 9 Whimbrel, 465 Common Redshank, 17 Mediterranean Gull, 3240 Black-headed Gull and 633 Common Gull and three Spotted Flycatcher were at Llanrhidian and two Mediterranean Gulls were at Aberthaw Marsh. A busy morning at Kenfig Pool saw a juvenile Marsh Harrier, eleven Common Sandpiper, 39 Willow Warbler, four Lesser Whitethroat, twelve Sedge Warbler, a Common Crossbill, a flock of fourteen Common Raven and a Grey Wagtail present. Four Common Scoter and twenty Manx Shearwater were off Porthcawl. On the 4th, a Green Sandpiper and a European Golden Plover were at Kenfig Pool and the juvenile Marsh Harrier was at Kenfig river mouth. Torrential rain on the 5th produced four Green Sandpiper and a Northern Wheatear at Kenfig Pool and an Arctic Tern and an adult Mediterranean Gull were in Salt Lake Car park, Porthcawl. On the 6th the juvenile Marsh Harrier was again at Kenfig Pool, along with a Common Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Teal, Grasshopper Warbler and a Lesser Whitethroat. The 7th produced five Black-tailed Godwit, two Common Greenshank and seven Common Redshank at Kenfig Pool, where there were also thirty Common Swift. A Barn Owl was near Bridgend and another was at Maesteg. A Garden Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, a Common Cuckoo, a Lesser Whitethroat and five Common Tern were at Lavernock Point. The 8th produced a very good count of 121 Ringed Plover at Kenfig Sands, as well as seven Northern Wheatear, a Little Owl, a European Shag and seventeen Stonechat. A Whinchat, four Red-billed Chough and two Dartford Warblers were on South Gower. Three European Nightjar were still present at Llanwonno on the 9th and 104 Sandwich Terns and twenty Common Terns were at Port Eynon. A Little Gull was in Cardiff Bay, a Little Egret at Kenfig Pool and a Common Greenshank and a Green Sandpiper were at Llanilid. On the 10th, a Marsh Harrier and Barn Owl were at Rhymney Estuary and a Common Tern, 32 Manx Shearwater and a Little Egret were at Kenfig Sands and a Eurasian Hobby and a Common Cuckoo were at Llanilid.

21ST - 31ST JULY 2008

On the 21st, two Spotted Flycatchers were at Bryngarw Country Park, a Marsh Tit was at Wenvoe, near Cardiff and ten Common Sandpiper, thirty Common Redshank and a juvenile Northern Wheatear were at Briton Ferry Docks. On the 22nd, an adult Mediterranean Gull was at Southerndown, while the 23rd produced twenty Manx Shearwater and eight Common Scoter off Porthcawl and a Little Egret at Cosmeston Lakes. A Common Crossbill was at Llanilid, two Common Terns were in Cardiff Bay and six Whimbrel, two Black-tailed Godwit and an adult Mediterranean Gull were at Rhymney Estuary. On the 24th, a Whinchat, Green Sandpiper, Whimbrel, a female Greater Scaup and four Common Crossbill made for a very interesting morning at Kenfig Pool. A Northern Goshawk was at Norton Woods and a European Nightjar was at Llanwonno Forest. On the 25th, Mediterranean Gulls were present in Cardiff Bay and Porthcawl and a Little Egret was at Roath Park, Cardiff. The Greater Scaup was still present at Kenfig Pool and two Northern Shoveler dropped in during torrential rain. The Greater Scaup was again at Kenfig Pool on the 26th, along with a Tree Pipit, a Common Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, an adult Mediterranean Gull, an adult Common Gull and two Grasshopper Warbler , while the beach had fifty Sanderling and 24 Ringed Plover. A Little Egret was at Cosmeston Lakes. On the 27th, a Eurasian Hobby was seen following a flock of 70 House Martins near Caerphilly, where there was also a Spotted Flycatcher. Four Little Egrets were at Llanrhidian Marsh and two Common Sandpiper were at Kenfig Pool. On the 29th, a Mediterranean Gull was at Lamby Lake and a Green Sandpiper was again at Ogmore Estuary, while the 30th produced a female Marsh Harrier, a Little Egret, Common Snipe and at least three Lesser Whitethroat at Kenfig Pool. A Green Sandpiper was at The Watermill Flood. A Common Tern, 200 Common Swift and 50 House Martin were in Cardiff Bay on 31st, while sea watching off Mumbles produced eleven European Storm Petrel, 550 Manx Shearwater, a Common Tern, 37 Mediterranean Gulls and five Common Scoter.