A day when the weather was sufficiently settled to encourage a Skylark to sing over Point St John and see us make AM and PM sweeps of our patch.
As a rising sun touched the horizon, Song Thrushes, Redwings and Fieldfares took flight in single number counts. 4 Fieldfare were a seasonal first for the site. Out on the headland we put up 5 Snipe. The maritime scrub here is a regular drop in zone for Snipe, and Skylarks are attracted to this area too, with flock numbers increasing steadily throughout this month. C100 today.
Porthselau valley attracted 5 Long-tailed Tits and a single Bullfinch, both are scarce patch species.
3 Red-legged Partridges noisily took flight as we bashed the fields and hedgerows. They had a successful breeding year with three coveys recorded during the summer months.
Bird of the week goes to Goldcrest. During twelve years of birding here at Pencarnan, we have never encountered so many in the month of October, with two or three in the valley most days, but as many as six in the withies behind Rhosson Chapel.
Finally, 6 raptors put in an appearance today: a single Sparrowhawk skewered its way down the valley, a Kestrel held station over the moor before sunrise, 3 Buzzards lifted off when thermal activity kicked in around midday, and of course, the f/juv Merlin patrolled the pipit fields (you know, our Peregrine look-alike!)
There was a lot of migrant activity today, as there has been all month. Ok, it's not like the East Coast of Britain but, with fingers crossed, let's hope that the strong run of easterlies, forecast for the beginning of the week, will keep things mobile.
JB and M.
