Icy gull

With the weather not as bad as forecast, I decided to head down to Aberavon to try for the 2cy Kulmein's Gull that had been hanging around for a couple of weeks. Phil wasn't available and was planning on going down for it tomorrow, so I set off alone.

Blue skies, but a stiff breeze greeted me as I pulled at at Aberavon sea front, I walkers over to the Afon river mouth. There were a number of Black-headed Gulls, some Common Gulls and Oystercatchers. An adult Med Gull flew past but there was no sign of any arctic white winger. I walked round to the old wharfs where a number of larger gulls were loafing, but again no arctic visitor.

It had been reported upstream thru the week, so I wandered up to the old bridge where a number of gulls could be seen either feeding in an outflow or loafing on the other bank. A quick scan didn't produce the Kumlein's, but a second scan saw it feeding in the outflow.

A rather poor 'record' photo, but enough to show the pale brown primary tips that differentiate this north American subspecies from the nominate Eurasian subspecies.

Going over old ground.

It's often said there is no point in going over old ground. Well I decided last Saturday to visit an old patch of mine from when I lived in Cardiff - Cors Crychydd reen and the Runmey Estuary.

Making my way there after finishing coaching, I almost straight away regretted the decision as the traffic was a nightmare - nose to tail at a very slow crawl. I'd never seen the road so chock. Turns out there was an accident on Rumney Hill, closing Newport Road, so all the traffic was heading down through Lamby Industrial Estate. I eventually made it to the esttate and parked up. Entering the reen, I again got the feeling that I shouldn't have bothered as there was little birdlife. A few Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe and Mute Swans on the reen and a small flock of Starling in the trees. I persevered and pulled out a female Kestrel and a Buzzard, but little else. At least Rumney Estuary should hold birds.

Reaching the top of the reen I made my way onto the sea wall to see ............ nothing but mud. I knew the tide would be out, but in the past the mud flats would have been covered in ducks, gulls and waders. Nothing showed expect a couple of distant Lesser Black-back's. Scanning with the scope did eventually find a few distant Shelduck and Pintail, with small groups of Black-headed Gulls flying along the waters edge.

Moving round the edge of Lamby tip produced a cock Pheasant and a Cetti's burst into song from the reeds. A largish flock of about 50 Linnet fed on the tide line, and a few distant gulls and Curlew were the sum total. The female Kestrel put in another appearance, over the tip.

Heading back to the reen I flushed the male Kestrel, whilst a male Sparrowhawk dashed through - probably wondering were all the small birds were!

I decided to try to see if I could coax a Chiffy or a Blackcap out of the scrub between the reen and the tip. This was proving to be just as dead as everywhere else. However, a 'crest called and I spyed some movement in the bramble. Bins up and whilst most of the bird remained hidden, I could see the golden "shawl" of a Firecrest. Pure gold. It quickly popped out to show its bright white supercil', as if to confirm I wasn't dreaming, before disappearing back into the depths of the Brambles, not to be re-seen.

This was my 4th Firecrest of the year. Last year I failed to see a single one, despite trying for a couple. There does appear to be a good number wintering in the area this winter.

So was it worth going over old ground? For a long time I seriously doubted it, but the Firecrest made it all worthwhile.

Storm Dennis presents...

A walk out yesterday (Saturday) morning before the heavy rain set in, produced a flock of 60+ Siskin feeding along Tram Road Side.

In the calm this morning I headed out to see what damage, etc, had been caused by Storm Dennis. The Quakers Yard pub had been flooded out and Mill Lane was blocked as a result of the flooding, so rather than head up to Parc Taf Bargoed, I decided to wander round Edwardsville Woods and try and catch up with the Chaffinch flock and see if I can pick up any of the Brambling that I had noted at the start of the year.

It didn't take that long to pick up the flock as they were feeding much closer to QY, and it didn't take that long before a female Brambling popped up onto a branch before flying further into the wood. A bit of searching and IO was rewarded with a brief view of a male Brambling before relocating the female.

I decided to leave the flock along and have a look at some of the mosses further along the road. I decided to have a good look at the mosses that cover the wall on the bridge over the Taff. Just after explaining to one of the local dog walkers what I was doing/looking at, I noticed something in the moss that looked more like an animal rather than plant debris. As I lent in for a closer view, it moved. Almost immediately I recognised it straight away and it was a mad dash to get the camera out to try to get half decent record photo's of this scarce insect.

About 5 mm in length, long legs, no noticible wings, but strange spike like appendideges were the wings should be. A piercing, type mouth parts. The Snow Flea, Boreus hyemalis, a member of the Scorpionfly family.

I've seen a lot of photo's of this species and had hoped to see one one day, but never really expected to come across one less than a mile from home.

A look on Aderyn shows 37 records for Wales, virtually all from mid or north Wales, with just a single record from the Abergavenny area. This makes this the first record for Glamorgan, and possibly the SEWBREC area (the Abergavenny record may have come from Powys, so outside SEWBREC area).  

If storm Dennis had forced a change of plan this morning, I wouldn't found this. Thanks Dennis.