Another first for Gwent halfway up a mountain

A 1st-winter male Rock Thrush,... in Gwent!

A phone call from TC, regarding the discovery of a possible/probable Rock Thrush by JM near the Blorenge, somewhat curtailed a visit to the National Museum Cardiff. Headed back Gwentwards and off up the darklands. On the way to Pwll-du Quarry the identification was confirmed by means of an emailed photo from JM. A nappy change worked against me but the nipper smuggling rucksack paid off in spades and the tiddler and I were soon looking down into the quarry. Luckily, the bird appeared more-or-less as soon as we arrived and remained on show (feeding on various invertebrates [including the earthworm pictured above] and scudding about the quarry) until we left. An incredible record and only a few miles from the site of the Marmora's!

Addendum: went back for sloppy seconds on the 25th by which point the bird had been, and was still being, fed regular handfuls of mealworms by talentless twatwaffles masquerading as photographers. The thrush now spent most of its time lethargically awaiting the next handout whilst hundreds of, identically yawn-inspiring, photographs were sputtered onto a dozen compact flash cards by an ageing phalanx of camophiles,... what a time to be alive!  

Let the tiddler run around squealing her head off just to piss off the lens bearers. To every action one must seek to find an opposed and equal (and entertaining) reaction.

Tricky

1st-winter female Bluethroat at a private site in deepest Gwent.

Unfortunately, a private site, single track country lanes with very limited/no parking and potential landowner issues meant no general dissemination of the news. The bird was present for two days but, although a handful of observers were granted access to the site, it was only seen by the finder and, after a five hour vigil, by two other observers. The site was a pretty nondescript patch of scrub in the corner of a nondescript field in pretty nondescript farmland; predicting the whereabouts of decent passerines in Gwent is a mug's game. Only the second record for the county following one on 1st October 1999 at the NWR.

Exotic sheldgeese

Top quality wildfowl at Goldcliff. Somebody somewhere must be gutted these two jumped the fence. Or are they 'wild', i.e. have they flown along the M4 from the burgeoning feral population? Disclaimer: they've been on the county year list for some time, no questions asked. 

PS. You don't see the word 'sheldgeese' used enough nowadays do you.

The last week on the patches

A reasonable mix of stuff on the local patch over the last week or so.  The two Temminck's get top billing but also Curlew Sand, two Med Gulls, Hobby, 30+ Turnstone, a few White Wags, handful of Groppers, Spotshank, Greenshank, Whimbrel and Barwit passage picking up, Blackwits, a few Grey Plover, up to c.600 Dunlin, Greenland Wheatears and the odd Snipe still around.

And on the local local patch, Hobby, a couple of Common Sands and breeding Reed Bunting.

 Chunky Wheatears passing through Goldcliff, presumably on the way to Greenland.

 Wheatear with grockle admirers.  Everyone loves a Wheatear.  

Second calendar-year Tropicbird Gull.  If we assume the gull is about 60 cm bill to tail, then the 'tail' of anthropogenic detritus is about 6 m long!  As with every gull trailing crap, this one put the fear of Christ up everything as it flew over the lagoons.

Nice little find

Red-rumped Swallow, Boat Lane/Redhouse Barns area. Picked it up as I drove toward Goldcliff Pools. The little cutey performed right overhead, sat on wires, etc., before leaving with most of the mixed hirundine flock once the weather cleared. Unlike Gwent's first (more on which here and here), this bird was present for just an hour and a half and only seen by a handful of observers. A proper, if fleeting, bit of excitement. Short snippet of video can be seen here.

All the rage

Isn't it nice that Common Gulls are getting their moment in the sun.

The sea gives and the sea takes away,... but mainly gives

A couple of hours on the point, with the tail end of Doris and this afternoon's rising tide, produced a couple of Gannet and handful of Kittiwake (with another 15-20 probable Kittidots on the far side). Not the hoped for aukfest but better than useless.

Yesterday's incoming tide also produced. The female Scaup, reported on and off at Peterstone recently, flew in to the mouth of the gout for a wash and brush up in the rain. Well worth a slither about in the mud and horse shit. 

Distant ducks,... mostly

Popped to Peterstone Gout for high tide and the reported Scaup. Saw an f. distant dot that was probably the Scaup, convinced myself for a while before the birding conscience kicked in. The fact it didn't even cross the threshold for a Gwent year-tick should give you an idea of just how shit a view it was. Did have a Common Scoter drift slowly down-channel on the falling tide though (also distantly, perhaps v. distant as opposed to f. distant) so,... swings and roundabouts.

Found a dozen of these guys on the way home. Fly-catching from roadside trees, not a berry in sight. 

Flying elephants

A Jackdaw outside Tescos giving a withering look to someone who mistook the 'mother and baby parking' for the 'fugly and lazy parking'.  Jackdaws,... famously judgemental.  And, boy, do they hold a grudge.  Memories like elephants,... tiny, evil, flying elephants.

Withering before the blast

A finger-numbing morning in an easterly on the eastern levels.  Checked out the Lapwing flock on Caldicot Moor, nearly 600 birds but not a single Golden Plover (or anything more interesting) among them; did bump into a couple of Red-legged Partridge though.  Decided on more wader fun in the form of a Jack Snipe foray.  A quick potter on the saltmarsh between Collister Pill and West Pill produced three Jack Snipe and 30 Snipe.  The dense cord-grass along this stretch doesn't make for crippling views on the deck but got decent enough looks of all three of the stripey ickle sweeties in flight.