January
Sea watching at Amroth got the year off to good start with a cracking
*Red-necked Grebe*. The usual
Red-throated Divers, scoters and Great Crested Grebes. On the 4th Amroth gain the new record for Great Crested Grebes in Pembrokeshire,
60 individuals were out in the bay. On the 31st I took part in a Gull ID day led by Dave Astins. The highlights included a
Great Northern Diver at Gelliswick, a
Scandinavian (argentatus) Herring Gull at Milford Docks and 7
Mediterranean Gulls (5 adults and 3 1st winters) at Llys-y-fran.
February
A fairly quiet month with the highlights being 3
Pintail at Sprinkle Pill and a smart
Firecrest and a wintering
Chiffchaff at Rosemarket WTW.
March
A very productive month that started much the same as February ended with the
Firecrests at Rosemarket WTW. the second visit to the site gave some cracking views of 2 birds as they feed at the works. An evening visit to Angle Bay on the 7th was great with 2
Great Northern Divers and a smart
Slavonian Grebe out in the bay, and 14
Pale-bellied Brent Geese on the Kilpasion shore. A trip to Cardiff on the 14th allowed me to catch up with some of the birds around the city. First to Forest Farm where the superb
Little Bunting gave fantastic views, even down to a metre at times. The day ended with the drake
Lesser Scaup at Cosmeston Lakes. On the 22nd a trip to St Davids Head was rewarded with my first
Dartford Warbler and 1, possibly 2
Scandinavian Rock Pipits. In the Easter holidays we went to the Lake District. Not much of a birding trip but we still saw some good birds such as 2
Hawfinches at Sizergh Castle and a Marsh Harrier at RSPB Leighton Moss.
Little Bunting
Lesser Scaup
Scandinavian Rock Pipit
April
A couple of spring scarcities this month. On the 14th we went to Marloes to see the
Hoopoe. It showed really well in the evening. A debat on whether 2 birds were present was given evidence what appeared to be another bird flew in from the west. However, it is more likely that only a single bird was involved. 4 days later on the 18th we were at Whitesands where the stunning male
Woodchat Shrike was present. It showed well in the sun from the Cabin track behind Whitesands beach.
Hoopoe
Woodchat Shrike
May
On 2nd May I met up with Dave Astins for a morning around Dale and Marloes. A drake
Pochard at Marloes Mere was a great site record. Other highlights included a few summer plumage
Barwits at the Gann and 20
Whimbrel at Marloes Mere. Seawatching at Telpyn Point on the 6th, 8th, 9th was rewarded with several
Manxies (peack count of 28), a
Great Northern Diver and 3 smart
Arctic Skuas. 3
Tree Pipits at Marros Mountain on the 23rd ended the month well.
Bar-tailed Godwits
Tree Pipit
June
The bird of the year came on the 5th, when me and Dave went to Skokholm Island to see the superb
SWAINSON'S THRUSH. A great lifer and the first spring record for Britain. Skomer on the 11th gave me the opportunity to catch up with
Little Owl and
Short-eared Owl. The weekend of the 13th and 14th was spent in the Cotswolds Water Park to watch my dad do a Half Ironman. On the Sunday, birding around Pit 43, I found a
*Nightingale* singing its fantastic song. A few
Red-crested Pochards,
Common Terns and a
Lesser Whitethroat were the other highlights of the trip.
SWAINSON'S THRUSH
Nightingale
July
A very quite month with local birding, singing
Tree Pipits, a few
Lesser Redpolls and
Yellowhammers were the only highlights of the month.
August
Our summer holiday was spent in Hourtin Plage this year, a great place to catch up with some European specialities.
Black Redstarts were the bird of the trip, they were everywhere! But the other highlights included
Short-toed Eagles, Honey Buzzards, Black-winged Stilts and Purple Herons. On the 17th an afternoon provided a useful Pembs tick in the form of two
Ruff. Ginst Point on the 22nd had some more waders. c110
Ringed Plover, 100+
Dunlin and a lone
Knot. Another visit to Ginst on the 27th was reward by a smart
Little Ringed Plover on the small stream near the car park. 3 days later a lovely adult
Little Stint with a few Dunlin was again at Ginst Point.
Black Redstart
Hoopoe
Little Ringed Plover
Little Stint
September
On the 6th Alex took me around his farm near Ginst Point, the highlight of the trip was a smart ringtail
Hen Harrier quartering a field in the far cormer of his land. Other birds of note were an immature
Whinchat and a smart male
Wheatear. Between the 11th and 14th I stayed at the Skokholm Bird Observatory with Dave Astins who was leading a migration course there. The highlights of the trip was an immature/female
Redstart in Martins Haven, 15
White Wagtails on North Plain, a
Firecrest and a
Greenland Wheatear.
Firecrest
Goldcrest
Spotted Flycatcher
Whinchat
October
On the 3rd Dave Astins, Paul Grennard, Gary Harper and myself went to Dale to work the area. Things remained quite with a few
Med. Gulls at the Gann and a couple of Goldcrests around Dale Village and Dale Fort. The Dale Airfield was more productive. 2
Whinchats were in scrub near the SW corner and an interesting wader gave us the run around. We heard it call twice, a clear 'clew-ee', and had a quick glimpse at it flew north. but couldn't nail what was likely an AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER. A look at St David's Head on the evening of the 10th was rewarded with a
Jack Snipe that made me jump when I flushed it, and a smart 1st winter
Pied Flycatcher in the withies in Porthmelgan valley, quite a late date.
November
Fairly quite apart from a few good birds. on the 7th a look from my bedroom window was rewarded with a fantastic
*Hawfinch*! It flew in from the south east landed in a tree for 5 minutes then continued flying west. a great garden tick and a rare bird in Pembrokeshire! A look at Ginst Point on the 21st was very productive with the highlights being not 1 but
2 *Short-eared Owls*. They gave some great views as they hunted over a field near the car park. other trips were to Amroth and Telpyn to check the scoter flocks. Good numbers in the bay, large group of 4000 is obvious but distant. Other birds were 4
Red-breasted Mergansers and a few
Red-throated Divers.
December
The month started great with a visit to the Gann before school on the 10th where I found a smart adult winter *
Little Gull*...never knew how small they were. Plus a few
Goldeneye on the lagoon. A great morning at Ginst Point on the 23nd with a list of over 40 species. Highlights were large number of ducks including 22
Pintail (10+ drakes), nice views of a
Short-eared Owl, 3
Redpoll in the car Park and a massive flock of 2000+
Golden Plover. On the same day I had some super views of a
Purple Sandpiper near the Lifeboat Station in Tenby.
A look around Dale on the 27th was rewarded with great views of the *
Grey Phalarope* at St Brides, found by Dave the day before. Met up with Brain Southern but had a unsuccessful look around the Dale Airfield. 18
Med. Gulls were on the shore at low tide at the Gann and the day ended with a stunning
Firecrest at Monk Haven WTW, my forth of the year! A day out in the south of the county on the 29th gave me a chance to see the immature male
Scaup on Pembroke Millpond, along with a fantastic female
Marsh Harrier and a Merlin on the Castlemartin Course and 3
Great Northern Divers in the same scope view in Angle Bay. An evening gull roost at Llys-y-fran on the 31st ended the year fantastically when I found an adult
Ring-billed Gull (a returning bird) and an adult
Yellow-legged Gull in the roost!
Little Gull
Purple Sandpiper
Turnstone
Grey Phalarope
Total
Overall: 172
Including 1 BB Rarity:
SWAINSON'S THRUSH
and 4 WRP Rarities:
Little Bunting, Lesser Scaup, Woodchat Shrike, Ring-billed Gull
Top 5 birds of the year
SWAINSON'S THRUSH
Little Bunting
Ring-billed Gull
Lesser Scaup
Woodchat Shrike
Good self finds in 2015
Ring-Billed Gull, Little Gull, Firecrest (x3), Yellow-legged Gull, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Hen Harrier, Little Stint.
