I had a few hours to spare after dropping Tobias at school and so had a quick wander around the marshes. Wandering along the Ancient Highway past Efford Lagoon there were now 42 Tufted Duck, my highest count yet, while 25 Swallow and three Sand Martin foraged overhead. I spent some time grilling a Common […]
Tag: Little Egret
Pennington Marsh – 6th August
It was a beautiful sunny morning for a change, August has been a very unsettled month to date with long spells of often heavy rain and low temperatures. I was up early and decided on a walk around Pennington Marshes for a few hours. Arriving at 06:30 I first walked along the Ancient Highway for […]
Plenty of migrants – Jubail
Whilst birdwatching the Jubail area at the end of March I saw a lot of good birds and plenty of migrants. Unfortunately the weather was very poor and photography was difficult so most species remained un-photographed. The weather this winter has been very wet and windy and the morning drive to Jubail was through a […]
Waders and Herons – Jubail
Whilst in the Jubail area recently we saw plenty of species of waders and many kinds of herons. There were hundreds of Grey Herons present as well as the largest number of Little Egrets I have seen at the site, well over 200 birds. A few Little Bitterns and Squacco Herons were also present along […]
Water birds around Jubail
Whilst birding Jubail recently I came across a nice selection of water birds some of which I have not seen so often this year. Terns are always common in Jubail and Caspian Tern has been seen in numbers up to 100 birds in some visits. It is a local breeding species and can often be […]
POLL: Should shooting clubs be allowed to shoot endangered birds?
Welsh populations of golden plover have declined by 80% in 30 years yet the British Association for Shooting and Conservation has them in its sights. Tide ebbs from Traeth Bach. The estuary gathers light, resolves into a pattern of interlocking curves, gleaming channels, draining sand. I walked this place daily years ago, far out by […]
August Migrant Shorebirds
I visited Daijyugarami, Saga prefecture, last Friday to see what birds had started migrating through. The highlights were a solitary juvenile Asian Dowitcher, a Long-billed Dowitcher in breeding plumage, a Red Knot also in breeding plumage, a Broad-billed Sandpiper, a Long-toed Stint, four Black-faced Spoonbill, one Saunders’s Gull, a few Black-tailed Godwit and plenty of […]
Thermals and more…
Migration: Black Kites are the first raptor to migrate and cross The Strait of Gibraltar. The skies will continue to be filled with them slowly moving down towards Tarifa and if the wind is too strong for them to cross to Morocco there will be a huge build up as more and more arrive in […]