Happy New Year

Here's wishing you all a fruitful birding year in 2019!

Happy New Year Lads

I had Walk up Bryn Du this afternoon and the best I could find was a flock of 50 Lesser Redpoll and 6 Common Crossbills and 2 woodcock and the Match stick lichen is looking brilliant at the moment..

Gloves off for the final day of the year

The final fling on Auld Years Day saw a stake out of the clear fell at Garwnant along the Cwm Cadlan road for the Great Grey Shrike reported a couple of days previously but not seen since. A quick look over the spillway produced a pied and a Grey Wagtail, but no Water Pipit (is it still around?) before arriving at the clear fell at just after 8:30 this morning. I walked round the edge of the clear fell area with little to show for my troubled so perched up in the top left corner, giving me clear views over most of the likely area.
 Another birder parked up not long before 10am, had a quick look and looked to be settling down for a long wait. I was just thinking of breaking open the coffee when I spied a new "white" blob appear at the edge of the clearing. A quick view in the scope confirmed it was the GGS. I looked for the other birder, but he was no where in sight, so I got the news out via the Whatsup group.
I managed to watch the Shrike for about 20-25 mins as it worked its way along the lower edge of the clearing, with the other birder re-appearing - he'd taken a walk up the road to the cattle grid.

With the Shrike firmly in the bag, it was off to a secret locality in RCT to look for the rare Willow Gloves Hypocreopsis lichenoides fungi, found by Mark Evans last winter. The drive from Garwnant over Cwn Cadlan saw more Fieldfare and Redwings than I had seen previously this winter - good to know they are around.

Making my way to Mark's secret spot (Thanks for the grid ref) I quickly found the Willow trees and it was quickly evident that they were infected with the Willow Glue Hymenochaete tabacina fungus, upon which Willow Gloves feeds.

 Despite several Willows being infected with Willow Glue, I couldn't locate the Willow Gloves, despite changing angles, looking this way and that into several Willows. After an hour of searching I decide to break for coffee and sandwich before restarting the search. Refreshed I quickly located what looked to be the remains of an old Willow Gloves fruiting body, then a second, a third.. eventually locating at least 6 of what appear to be the remains of old fruiting bodies.

 Eventually, a fresh fruiting body materialised in front of my eyes,

then a second

and then a third, all with a minute

They were much smaller than I was expecting, and I don't think any of these three are the fruiting bodies Mark had photographed earlier this month.

With the Gloves finally found I could then look for a second fungi that relies upon Willow Glue - Fringed Cup Encoelia fimbriata.  I had already suspected I'd seen this tiny fungi as I had noted in places a lot of pale lumps extruding from the twigs. A closer look with the hand lens showed these were Fringed Cups, some just emerging, some fully mature and others past their "best before" date.

A great way to end the year, and I finish with my bird year list on a paltry 219, but my Pan Species UK life list standing at 2603 species.



    

Purple Patch

Today my daughter Kathryn and me headed to Porthcawl and Sker point. We started out today has always at Salt Lake car park and there were good number of gulls, they were mostly Herring and Black Headed gulls and a single Lesser Black Backed Gull. I took a loaf and a half of bread with me for them and as hard as I searched I could not find any rung birds apart from a single Black Headed Gull with a alum ring and I don’t why they do it as you cannot read the ring. I forgot to pack my rocket net and Kathryn had the job of throwing the bread, I said will you keep a couple of slices for later and she said mmmmmmm. Next thing she said I only got one slice left and I thought bugger and yes Mike you do rub off on people. So next stop was a drive west to Victoria Avenue, armed with my single slice of bread I started throwing it out and like clockwork there were five Med Gulls with the Black Headed Gulls.  I picked up this one with a white ring straight away, I was lucky has he was the closest gull there. The bread soon went and with that another Med turned up with a ring, it looked white too but I no more bread left and it soon flew off. Well I thought  as I am here I will have a look for Purple Sandpipers, I saw movement on the rocks and the very first bird I checked was a Purple Sandpiper. I thought is this a fluke or what and as I scanned there were more and more, in fact there were nineteen in total also there were only four Turnstone.

Next stop was Rest Bay and a walk to Sker Point. It started really quiet with only a couple of dozen Common Gulls on the football pitch also four Oystercatchers. Has I got closer to Pink Bay I could see loads of Oystercatchers on the rocks, I started my count from there to Sker and this is what I had, 108 Oystercatchers, 49 Turnstones, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 200 Golden Plover, 16 Curlew, 1Ringed Plover, 1 Redshank, 1 Shag, 1 Great Crested Grebe flying up channel and a distant duck on the sea which I thought first was maybe an Eider but the more I looked at it I think it was a female Common Scoter.  I wished I had taken my scope. To finish we picked two bags of rubbish off the beach and we also saw a couple picking litter too, if only there were more people like this. We passed about 40 to 50 people walking and if they all did the five minute beach clean it would make hell of a difference. Last thing there seemed to be what looked like a dead blue jellyfish on the beach, you could make the stingers out. Also Ray or Skate egg cases everywhere also cuttlefish. It was great to spend a couple of hours with Kathryn and Munch.  Also on the way home we had a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly flying over the bridge at Briton ferry.

 I have put the ring up date in the comment part below.

Pentrebach gull

Interesting adult gull using roof tops of Pentrebach retail park at the moment, has certain attributes of caspian, as can be seen, but refusing to show wing tip pattern so unable to confirm. If you are passing can you check it out. Bird very distant in poor light then heavily cropped, difficult to approach.

Jack's Back

It has taken me almost a twelve months to see Jack Snipe and I was starting to think I lost my chance.  Today I did my Willow Tit survey in Hirwaun and I thought I would give Hirwaun ponds a go as it used to be a regular spot for them. Well I got there for first light and I could not get over how over grown it was, I found it hard work getting in to the site but once in I checked the place where I have had them in the past but I kept coming up blank. I give it a couple of plays on my Ipod for Willow Tit but I had no joy. I have had them in the past in the boggy bit which was fairly deep and I almost lost my wellies a couple of times. Well just has I was thinking it may have been a bad Idea I flushed a Woodcock, they always seem to catch you off your guard and it almost give me a heart attack. Just has I was leaving I thought I would give one more patch a last go and I don’t know if anybody else noticed this but when Jack Snipe take off you can hear their wings hitting the floor and you know its a jack before you see it, their silent. I was starting to think I was the only person not going to see one in 2018 but great to get a result. I did my  Willow Tit survey but no joy again. I was surprised to see 18 Fieldfare, I don’t know if it’s me but winter thrushes seem to be in short supply, I have only seen one Redwing over Christmas. Last thing there is a good crop of berries on the Industrial  Estate and it looks good for any Waxwings that might turn up.

I also found this slime mold when I was doing the survey, I am trying to find out which one it is, it looks a bit like Dogsick Slime mold.

Upper Boat

Nice to get out for an hour this morning although i now need new boots as mine leaked like a sieve,i would ask Mike and Phil for advice but their track record with footwear leaves a lot to be desired. Birding highlights -  Dipper(3) Heron(4) Goosander(3) 1m 2f,Little Grebe,Grey Wagtail,Mistle Thrush,L.t.tit(10-12), Buzzard and Kestrel. Apparently sales of Mr.Hogans christmas calendar are now in double figures although personally i think December's centrespread shows Fartu much.