Autumn Lady's-tresses at Mumbles

Today we counted 353 flowering spikes of Autumn Lady's-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) in the tightly mown sward of the grassy banks behind Bracelet Bay, Mumbles (SS627872). I'm not sure if the mowing regime is relaxed to allow these plants to flower, but hopefully they'll have sufficient time to set seed before the mowing is resumed. 

Another interesting plant we noted was this clover, which keys out as Hungarian Clover (Trifolium pannonicum) [but possibly just a white form of Red Clover T. pratense], although the illustrations in Stace aren't quite correct, so we're seeking more expert advice (click here for more images of this plant).

Seawatching from Bracelet Bay car park.

Storms Petrels around Mumbles Head

Storm Petrel watched from Bracelet Bay carpark

The summer storm which brought all that wind and rain going into the weekend also brought a number of seabirds into the Bristol Channel area. Great Skua, Arctic Skua and Pomarime Skua were seen in small numbers along the Glamorgan coastline on Friday and Saturday. The Storm Petrel, a bird frequently caught up in storms at this time of year, were found in good numbers along the coastline and I was able to watch some at close range on Friday afternoon from Bracelet Bay carpark. The bird in the photo above came right into the bay and I was able to get some video of it as it passed by.

Storm Petrel Video

Surf Scoter in Bracelet Bay

For a scoter, the Surfy showed quite well this morning before the rain set in. The attached video clip shows the distinctive jump-dive with half open wings (it's the bird on the right, first in real time, then half speed. Note that Common Scoter keeps its wings closed). The birds were at about 400m in poor light hence the quality! Hopefully it will stick around and someone will get a better capture...

More Med Gulls in Bracelet Bay...

Despite the stormy conditions good numbers of Med Gulls can still be seen feeding in the race off the lighthouse when the tide is falling.


Front-to-back: 2nd winter, adult winter and 1st winter.

White 3K80 was ringed as a pullus on 02-Jun-06 at Zwijndrecht (Ineos complex), Antwerpen, BELGIUM and has been seen in our area in each subsequent year. A minimum of 42 Mediterranean Gulls have been frequenting Bracelet Bay recently including a few birds whose rings I have not managed to read.

Med Gull [White 35J7] back in Bracelet Bay

Details received of White 35J7, seen back in Bracelet Bay on 19th Ocotber, show it to be another well-travelled individual, having spent last winter in s-w Portugal. Most of the birds we see generally move between the Benelux countries and southern coasts of the British Isles and northern France.

Serbian Mediterranean Gull

I have just received details of the colour-ringed Mediterranean Gull 'Red YHE8' that was present in Bracelet Bay on the 13th October. Apparently this is the first Serbian bird to be seen in Wales. Also present that day were 'White 34H2' and 'White 38J0', both Belgian birds; White 34H2 (ringed as a chick in 2002) is quite well travelled having been seen in France and Germany as well as visiting a number of sites in South Wales. White 38J0 appears to simply commute between Belgium and Swansea.

Med Gull [White C378] returns again!

Just received details of a couple of colour-ringed Mediterranean Gulls seen recently in the Bay. White 3C78 (originally bearing White 46E), was ringed as a chick near Antwerpen, BELGIUM on 4th June 2002 and was seen in Bracelet Bay in its first winter by Harold Grenfell on 03 February 2003. Since then it has returned most winters and has been seen by a number of local observers. It appears not to be a very widely travelled bird when compared with some, other ports of call only being Pas-de-Calais & Somme in FRANCE and Oost-Vlaanderen in BELGIUM, where it possibly breeds. In 2009 Harold saw it again on 8th March, it was then seen in Pas-de-Calais in July before returning to Bracelet Bay where I saw it on 25th September.

White 35E2 was ringed a chick at Oost-Vlaanderen, BELGIUM on 21st May 2005, it was seen again in the colony in May 2008, and appeared in Bray harbour and Dublin IRELAND in Jan-Feb 2009 before I saw it at Blackpill on 21st September.

If you see a colour-ringed bird please report it to the scheme organisers found via the very useful c-r birding website at http://www.cr-birding.be/

Iceland Gull in Bracelet Bay

At least three Iceland Gulls were seen in the area this winter, this first-winter bird, seen here with some of the Mediterranean Gulls in Bracelet Bay, hung around until at least the 14th March.