An old friend returns to Cimla

Let me introduce you to "Budgie." We have named him this because of his bright yellow forehead and cap, which is normally black in adult male Siskins. This plumage mutation sets him apart from all the other Siskins that visit our garden and is the only colour mutation that I have noticed in Siskins. His distinctive appearance has allowed me to get to know him quite well.

He first turned up in the garden in October 2008 and was seen almost daily with other Siskins up until 19th April 2009. He didn't spend a great deal of time in the garden, often coming an hour before dusk to have a quick feed. Although we get small numbers of Siskins, including juvenile birds, throughout the summer months we never saw him among them at that time. Presumably he spent last summer somewhere else.

Budgie returned to the garden this winter on 17th November 2009 and has been seen on an almost daily basis since then, but he has been particularly prominent during the recent snowy days. Siskin numbers in the garden this winter have peaked at 34 so far (compared to 35 last winter) but it is likely that many more visit over the course of a day.

Budgie is distinctive in appearance and we are always extra pleased to see him in the garden and hope he will return for more winters to come. He's not as quarrelsome as some of the other siskins in the garden, but he is fit enough to hold is own and he is in not subordinate to the other normal-plumaged males.

Bittern at Crymlyn Bog

A Bittern was seen yesterday by Jamie Bevan of CCW while undertaking work to recreate areas of open water. Look forward to hearing more about what turns up at this site...

Snowbirds on the Burry

Grey Plovers and Dunlin
Once the snow arrived the viewing wasn't particulary good on the estuary today. No counts, but very good numbers of the usual species, including Little Egret, Brent Goose, Shelduck, Pintail, Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Curlew, Knot, Dunlin, etc. Little Grebe and Green Sandpiper at Wernffrwd were the only unexpected finds before the snow stopped play.

Sanderling G4RYRY

The Sanderling reported between the 5th and 31st December on Oxwich Beach (see post below) was ringed in Iceland at a headland beach site west of Reykjavik as shown above. It is likely this bird belongs to the East Atlantic flyway population and will have been on its way to breeding grounds in northern Greenland or Canada when it was ringed in Iceland. As it has been regular at Oxwich throughout Decemeber, it is likley to be a shorter-distance migrant, compared to many Sanderling that winter as far south as South Africa. Interestingly Reneerkens et al. (2009) [Wader Study Group Bull. 116(1): 2–20.] show that although Sanderling eat small beach invertebrates, the also scavange and show a bird easting flesh from washed-up Ensis subtruncata, a species related to Egg-shell Razor (Pharus legumen) that was photographed being eaten at Oxwich.

Oxwich Marsh update

As shown by the photo above, results of the ongoing work at Oxwich Marsh by CCW can now clearly be seen from the hill as you drive down onto the marsh: The main sections of the serpentine lake have been opened up even further and the 2.5ha 'new fen' area (shown in part by the ice above) now looks very attractive for birds - well it would if it wasn't frozen! While there is no access to this area at present it is anticipated that a viewing option for the public will be put in place this winter.

...work in progress - December 2009

Unseasonal visitor!

This Turtle Dove was first noted by Ken and Angela Wade in their Gorseinon garden on Jan 1st and after a four-hour wait it eventually reappeared at their feeding station on the 2nd. Quite a remarkable record of a bird that should be spending the winter in Africa! It appeared to be in good health and with the bountiful supply of food should have no problem surviving the harsh weather, so long as it remains wary and avoids the local cats. Ken reported that the bird was present again today and that it came down to feed on at least two occasions.

In addition to the dove we collectively recorded 23 species in Ken & Angela's garden yesterday including Redwing, Fieldfare, Nuthatch, 4 Greenfinches (now very scarce in Gorseinon) and 7 stunning Bullfinches at very close range. Sandra, Neil and myself are most grateful for our near neighbour's hospitality and conversation.

Interestingly our own garden is less than 100m away and we have not seen a Nuthatch, Greenfinch or Bullfinch all winter, however, we are hoping the dove may wander a little before it eventually moves on!

PS. Reading Birds in Wales (Lovegrove et al, 1994) I was interested to discover that this is not the first time Turtle Dove has overwintered in Wales; there was a bird at Pilton on the Gower peninsula from 13th to 20th February 1977.

New year stomp...

An early morning trek over the saltmarsh at Gwynfaen (Upper Loughor) produced a good selection of birds including 4 Little Egrets, 12 Greylag, 54 Teal, Merlin, 19 Snipe, 19 Black-tailed Godwit, 54 Curlew, Stock Dove, Water Pipit, Fieldfare & 5 Reed Bunting.