Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - March 1984
Ian Morgan

Introduction

This account is compiled by I.K.M. from the submitted notes/comments of Luke Gravett, Gary Harper, Clive Jones, I.K. Morgan, D.H.V. Roberts, and E.J. Smith and records by many observers as documented in the Dyfed and Welsh Bird Reports (mostly 1967 onwards), also from "A Handlist of Carmarthenshire Birds" (1954) by Ingram and Salmon and the recent "Birds of Estuaries, by A.J. Prater.

1. West Carmarthenshire Coast (Telpyn to Ragwen Point and Pendine)

Telpyn Point (SN1807) is graced with nesting Fulmars (with 71 birds noted in 1974), this species has been seen prospecting for nest sites as far east as the low Old Red Sandstone cliffs near St. Ishmaels. Telpyn Point is in excellent site for sea-watching with Manx Shearwaters sometimes offshore, occasionally Long-tailed. Ducks and Carmarthenshire’s first Great Shearwater in 1968.    Up to 22 Goldeneye have been noted from this point whilst dead Great Skuas have been washed up on nearby Marros beach. Parties of Choughs frequent the Telpyn-Ragwen Point area after post-breeding dispersal; and the 1970' s say: Night jars in the Marros area.

Ragwen Point (SN2207) is a s good a place as anywhere in Carmarthenshire to see Purple Sandpipers and Shags both being; extremely infrequent in the East of the county (though both are regular on Gower); Eider and a Glaucous Gull have also been noted at Ragwen. Up to 23 Red-throated Divers and good numbers of Scoter have been recorded offshore; many of the doves in this area are said to closely resemble the true Rock Dove.

Pendine Sands have flocks of up to 2000 Common Gulls, Dunlin (1000+) , Sanderlings, (250) , Knot (130) , Bar-tailed Godwit (75) and Grey Plover (30), Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Curlew, Whimbrel, Redshank, and Oystercatchers are all regular at this locality, sometimes pursued by a wandering Peregrine. Other raptors include Marsh and Hen harriers, whilst rarities seen at Pendine are 2 Black Guillemots, a passage Golden Oriole (Carmarthenshire’s 1st) and a White Stork that had been ringed in Germany.

2. The Witchett Pool (SN2708)

The Witchett Pool was brought to the attention of naturalists mostly by the writings of the late J.F. Thomas who for many years recorded the botany, entomology and birds of this locality. Unfortunately his valuable notebooks and diaries have apparently been destroyed (per Mr. John Rees). It was J.F. Thomas who recorded the maximum number (69+) of nests in the Black-headed Gull colony, they no longer nest there but Great-crested Grebes, Little Grebes, Mute Swans, Pochard (up to 10 pairs), Tufted. Duck and Mallard still do. Pochard’s and Tufted Ducks are very scarce nesters in Dyfed, both also nesting at Llyn Pencarreg and Talley and the Tufted perhaps at Old Castle Pond.

In winter the Witchett is equally outstanding with up to 90 Shoveler, 50 Scaup, 14 Gadwall, c. 230 Teal and 160 Coot wintering; Tufted Duck, Pochard, Mallard, Wigeon and Shelduck are often present. Bitterns are regularly seen in winter, sometimes "booming" in the reeds and Marsh harriers are quite frequent. A Great Grey Shrike was present in the autumn of 1982. Reed and Sedge Warblers breed in the reed beds and Reed Buntings are common, a few pairs of Stonechat and a couple of pairs of Whinchat nest. Shelduck breed in rabbit burrows and Ringed Plover along the beach area.    Otters have been recorded.

N.B. Access is STRICTLY limited to pre-arranged previously organised parties to this Ministry of Defence site.    There will be a Llanelli Naturalists meeting; on May 20th 1984.

3. Ginst Point (SN3207)

Ginst Point to the South-east of Laugharne is an excellent site, best when the high tide concentrates the birds which at other times are generally dispersed over the area. It was at Ginst Point that the fresh corpse of a Surf Scoter (the 1st Welsh record) was found in January 1971 ,    Rarities seen here include Great Northern Diver, Bittern, Garganey (two shot in '68), Long-tailed Duck, White-winged Black Tern and up to 22 Velvet Scoter, whilst Black-tailed Godwits, Jack Snipe, Pintail, Greenshank, Brent Geese, Grey Lags, White-fronted Geese, Little Stint and Bewick's Swans are some of the scarcer birds recorded. Peregrines and Hen Harriers have been seen and once a large mixed Linnet-Twite flock one January.

Further up the Tâf near Laugharne Castle rocky outcrops have had up to 6 Greenshank, and singles or pairs of Spotted Redshank. At the Castle itself look out for Black Redstarts. On the sea nearby Red-necked and Black-necked Grebes have been seen and as elsewhere on the coast, Common Sandpipers are regular on passage.

4. Craig Ddu (SN3210) - Wharley Point (SN3409) Llansteffan

Craig Ddu has nesting Herons in the wind blasted scrub, the herons often soaring above the cliffs with Buzzards and Ravens. Peregrines sometimes visit the area, perhaps to hunt, feeding Shelduck or Herring Gulls from the small colony at 'Wharley Point. The wooded cliffside has many Warblers and Rock Pipits on the more open, rocky areas.

5. Ferryside - Coed Farm (SN3813)

Good views of common waders may be obtained by the patient observer at Ferryside, here up to 1000 Ringed Plovers were recorded and the scarce Black-tailed Godwit is fairly regular with up to 160 seen. Rarer birds seen at or near the village include Spotted Crake, Little Auk, Arctic Skua, Long-tailed Duck and Whooper Swans. White Wagtails can be seen on spring and autumn passage at Ferryside - and at many other coastal sites.

Upstream on the Tywi at Coed Farm where the previous owner, Mr. Peter Bond, established a W.A.G.B.I. Wildfowl Reserve, 17 species of wild duck have been recorded and scarce wildfowl seen on, or near, specially-excavated pools at Coed include Goldeneye, Scaup, Shoveler, Gadwall, Grey Lags and up to 800 Wigeon. Six Goosanders have been noted on the Tywi here with Curlew Sandpipers feeding at its muddy margins on more than one occasion. Raptors seen are Peregrine, Hobby, Merlin, Hen Harrier, Goshawk and Great Grey Shrike, and a Glossy Ibis was shot here in 1910. The nearby "Allt-yr-Crychydd" ('Heron hillside') has a large heronry and Tree Sparrows nest on the farm. Rarities seen near Coed Farm include Green-winged Teal, Spoonbill and Black Tern.    Choughs have been noted several times near Ferryside.

The Gwendraeth Estuary (Localities 6, 7, 8 & 9)

Many sites in this estuary were covered by E.J. Smith's article in the previous newsletter and of course his book (now out of print).    Therefore this excellent estuary will not be fully covered here.

6. SALMON SCAR (SN3607)

Another good, site located to the West-south-west) of the Caravan Park. Waders include wintering and passage (up to 80) Greenshanks, Turnstones and Grey Plover usually all in good numbers; the Greenshank is scarce as a wintering bird in Britain. This is a geed locality for sea-watching with Eider (max. 57), Red-breasted Merganser (max. 51), and Grebes regular. The Grebes are usually Great-crested, but the scarce Black-necked and the rare Red-necked have also been seen, look out too for Divers, Terns, Skuas and Brent Geese at suitable tide and season. Rarities include a (nearby) Dowitcher, Little Ringed Plover (1st for Carmarthenshire), Purple Sandpiper, Velvet Scoter and a wintering Avocet. Common species such as Dunlin, Oystercatcher and Redshank are also present.

7. Cydweli Quay (SN3906)

Common species often noted; also Greenshank passage Whimbrel (up to 150), Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank (sometimes in immaculate black breeding plumage) and December 1972 saw an exceptional 100 Black-tailed Godwits here. Good views of the birds can be obtained by parking the car at the edge of the quay and using it as a hide; thus was seen a Marsh Harrier one autumn!

8. TYWYN POINT (SN3606)

Baird s Sandpiper and (twice) the Buff-breasted Sandpiper are two Trans-Atlantic vagrants that have been seen at this site.    There is a sizeable wader roost at the Point (be careful not to disturb them), here are often Cormorants too, - up to 235 on one late summers day! Great Northern Diver, Scaup, Sabine's Gull, are three rare birds seen here and "Commic" Terns are occasionally joined by Roseate and Little. A Black Tern lingered on the Gwendraeth in 1976 to November and Brent Geese and an Arctic Skua have both recorded.

In the late 1960's, Montague's harriers were suspected of nesting nearby. Lesser Whitethroats sometimes breed in the Sea Buckthorn thickets and a few pairs of Ringed Plover and Lapwing nest, whilst Black-headed Gulls (4 pairs in 1974) and Redshank breed on Cydweli Marsh. Surprisingly, only once have Oystercatchers nested. Look out for hen Harrier, Peregrine, Short-eared Owl and. Merlin in winter (9 species of raptor seen here). Now and again Jack Snipe are reluctantly flushed from marshy ground, and very occasionally Long-tailed duck and Scaup offshore.

9. Banc Y Lord - Cydweli Marsh (SN3904 etc.)

Best during winter cold spells or migration times with high tides covering the 'morfa' when rarities such as Little Egret, Spotted Crake, White-rumped Sandpiper, Gull-billed Tern and White-winged Black Tern have been seen. It is a good wader locality with regular Little Stints (max. 16) amongst the Dunlins in autumn. Up to 24 Ruff, 74 Spotted Redshank, 6 Jack Snipe, c. 10 Green Sanderling and an amazing 1082 Snipe have been seen, but these are exceptional numbers . Goshawks were sometimes seen soaring nearby in the early 1970's and Carmarthenshire 1st Rough-legged Buzzard was recorded at this locality; other raptors can be seen.    One August, 250 Yellow Wagtails were noted on passage.

A large Lapwing flock, often 1500+ especially when re-inforced by weather-driven birds during harsh winters, haunts the “Cydweli Marsh-Coed bach--Pembrey Airfield Triangle". This is one of the most important wintering grounds for Lapwings in the county, two other sizeable flocks being found in the Tywi Valley and the East Marsh, Laugharne.

In cold weather the duck numbers can be phenomenal e.g. 2000+ Wigeon (during 1981 -82) on Coed Bach marsh, together with unusual visitors like a Bean Goose, Grey Lag and Bittern. The area is of great importance for birds and worthy of protection. The Golden Plover have numbered 350-700 this winter (1983-1984).

For the beginner, close ups of Golden Plover, Lapwing, Snipe, Dunlin and Redshank may be seen from the car, used as a bide at the Old Airfield at Pembrey, where Bramblings, Black Redstarts, Tree Sparrows, Twites and other interesting passerines should be searched for. Great Grey Shrikes have been seen here.

10. Cefn Sidan

This superb, sandy beach is of at least national importance for its wintering Sanderling (max. to date 1611) , other common waders can be seen with the Sanderling.    Offshore in summer, Sandwich Terns (often feeding; noisy, fledged young; birds hatched elsewhere), Manx Shearwaters, Gannets (up to 490 seen) and 'Commic' Terns have been recorded, and also, but rarely, Grey Phalaropes and Petrels in autumn.

Carmarthen Bay is of international importance for the massive Common Scoter flock (c. 25, 000 estimated by one boat survey) there the duck moult safely from late summer onwards. Rarities seen at Cefn Sidan are Cream-coloured Courser, Black Terns and Mediterranean, Sabine’s and Glaucous gulls. Snow Buntings are occasionally on the strand line in winter and 30 pairs of Ringed Plover were estimated to be nesting here in summer 1975.

11. Pembre/Pembrey Harbour (SN4300)

Usually the more common species are seen here but a fair list of rarities have been recorded - Black-necked Grebe, Gadwall (2 shot) , Wilson’s Phalarope (of North American origin), Great Northern Diver and the - rarer in Carmarthenshire - Black-throated Diver. Skylarks, Linnets and perhaps Twite feed amongst the Saltmarsh vegetation attracting birds of prey such as the Hen Harrier.    The old pier is a good spot from which to search for Red-breasted Mergansers or waders at suitable tide. Snow Buntings have been recorded as have (but only once) a Corn Bunting and a male Cirl Bunting the latter for especially must have been a fine sight; both were good finds.

12. Burry Port Power Station (SN4500)

This site has the great advantage - particularly in winter - that one can bird-watch from the car. The area is a regular haunt of Turnstone with a maximum of 1030 seen on autumn passage (one had been colour-ringed in North-east Greenland that summer).    In autumn especially after gales up to 43 Black Terns, 5 Grey Phalaropes, 4 Sabine’s Gulls, 9 Little Gulls, Petrels (believed both Storm and Leach's) and Skuas have been recorded. Smew and Scaup are two rare ducks noted, Goldeneye and Eider are more frequent.    Check far offshore for divers and grebes - like Tywyn Point, the grebes are mostly Great-crested but Black-necked and Red--necked have occurred, a Red-necked Grebe was present in the Cefn Padrig-Burry Port-Pembrey area in February 1974 - and an undoubted bird of this species was at Burry Port last September (1983). Another unusual date was a Red-throated Diver here in mid-June 1975.

A Shore Lark and a Water Pipit have been recorded whilst Rock Pipits and Ringed Plover both used to nest near the Power Station. The Rock Pipit has ceased to nest but two or three pairs of Ringed Plover breed just to the east, one recent year saw a nest only a metre away from the main car track. Black Redstarts are regular in the Power Station-sidings area in winter and a Black Guillemot seen here in October 1973 was Carmarthenshire’s first, as was an Ortolan Bunting (November 1974).

13. Near Pwll (SN4600, SN4601, SN4700)

Wet fields and ponds at this locality have produced a crop of rarities such as Little Stint (a December bird), Wood Sandpiper (Carmarthenshire’s 1st), Pectoral Sandpiper, and a Killdeer. The Killdeer attracted many birdwatchers from all over Britain when it appeared. Common Sandpipers occur commonly on passage feeding by drainage ditches and the 'Ashpits Pond', they. are rare in winter and perhaps breeding?

Green Sandpipers are less common but still quite frequent and Jack Snipe sometimes occur with Common Snipe. Lapwings (several pairs) nest. Water Rails search the ditches in winter and they have bred in thick sedgy areas.

Other interesting species include Little Gull, Storm Petrel, Roseate Tern and Little Auk offshore at Cefn Padrig/Pwll Beach, with Osprey, Kingfishers, Bittern and a probable Melodious Warbler near the 'Ashpits Pond'.    Nightingale and Wryneck have beers recorded towards Pwll, and the 'Ffordd-y-Wagen' is as good a locality as any for wintering Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. Barn and Short-eared Owls sometimes hunt the open areas (leaving the woods to the Tawny Owls), passing herons, Teal, Mallard, Goldeneye, Moorhens and Coot on the 'Ashpits Pond'. A pair of Ravens from a nest site on the Graig often fly overhead as do Sparrowhawks, Buzzards and Kestrels.

14. Llanelli Beach/North Dock

A good area for common waders (see article on Llanelli in this Newsletter) and some maximum numbers recorded of waders/wildfowl at this site are as follows:- Bar-tailed Godwit 2000, Dunlin, 3200, Knot 400, Sanderling 250, Pintail 693, Brent Goose 7. Arctic Skua, Roseate Tern and Glaucous Gull comprise the rarities; Snow Buntings should be searched for in winter'.

15. Machynys - Llwynhendy Coast (Good bird watching points at SS5097, SS520983 & SS545978)

This large area often has large numbers of common waders such as Dunlin (3000), Oystercatcher (7000), Redshank (600) and Knot (4000), but they are often far offshore so a telescope is vital.    The Lapwing flock of c. 300 feeds on the upper saltmarsh often accompanied by noisy Starlings, Black-headed Gulls and a few grazing Shelduck. Rarer shorebirds noted include Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Osprey, Slavonian Grebe and more often Goldeneye, Eider, Red-breasted Mergansers and Terns. Whimbrel are frequently quite numerous on passage whilst Peregrine, Hen Harrier, Merlin, Short-eared Owl, Barn Owl and Little Owl are the predators that have been seen.

Lesser Whitethroats and Yellow Wagtails - rare as nesting birds in Carmarthenshire - have their strongholds in this area, with 6 plus pairs of the former and c. 5 pairs of the latter in 1983. The marshy areas have a high density of Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers with Reed Warblers also at Trostre where a few Bearded Tits and Twite have been recorded in winter. Many farms in this area have 'No shooting/conservation area' status and this encourages nesting. Mallards and roosting Curlews.

At the pond and marshy area at Glynea (opposite Thyssens Bynea at SS5599) Water Rails have bred as have Yellow Wagtails and Common Sandpipers. Kingfishers can be seen.

16. BURRY ESTUARY (General)

This extremely important estuary is of international importance for both the numbers of birds recorded (28,580 in mid-winter) and for the numbers of certain species with the numbers of Knot, Oystercatcher and Pintail being themselves of international importance.    Many of the Oystercatchers are Icelandic birds.

Some figures gleaned from the B.T.O. 'Birds of Estuaries Enquiry' are given below, the figures in brackets are the estimated percentages of the British population: 

• Wigeon 2230 (1.1%)
• Pintail 650 (3.2%)
• Shoveler 90 (1.8%)
• Oystercatcher 14,210 (7.1%)
• Ringed Plover 150 (1.2%)
• Grey Plover 250 (2.5%)
• Knot 6710 (2.2%)
• Sanderling 120 (1.2%)
• Dunlin 7400 (1.3%)
• Curlew 1000 (1.0%)
• Black-tailed Godwit 275 (4.5%)
• Bar-tailed Godwit 670 (1.5%)
• Redshank 1190 (1.2%)
• Turnstone 300 (1.2%)

(The Gwendraeth is of national importance for Oystercatcher 7480 (3.7%) and Sanderling 250 (2.5%), whilst the combined estuaries of Carmarthen Bay hold c. 42,000 birds in winter.

17. Some Inland Sites for Waders in South-East Carmarthenshire

Woodcock are regular in winter at many sites including Cwm Pant (SN472019), around Upper Lliedi Reservoir (SN5104), Capel Hendre (SN5912) and Stradey Woods (SN4802), at the last site they probably breed.    Curlews nest near Gelli Fawr (SN4804), Cydweli Flats (SN4204) and Mynydd Llangyndeyrn (SN4813); whilst Golden Plover occur on passage at Mynydd Sylen (SN5108). At Cencoed-uchaf (SN4803) migrating Whimbrel and a few Jack Snipe (with many Common Snipe) have been noted. Upper Lliedi Reservoir in addition to wintering wildfowl has Green and Common Sandpipers.

18. Llangennech (SN5601)

Recent observations on the Llwchwr at this point- have yielded some good records namely Peregrine, Merlin, Greylag and Brent geese, Knot , Green Sandpiper, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls; older records such as Brambling (a flock of 200), Canada Geese and a Little Gull (at Loughor Bridge) are interesting.    This site will probably repay regular watching - any volunteers?

Corrigendum

The 1611 Sanderling on Cefn Sidan were passage birds, but 1000+ have been recorded in winter.

Whilst checking the proofs of the next (1976-81) 'Dyfed Bird Report', three inresting records relating to this article were noticed. They are:-

Purple Heron, Pendine, June 1977 (Carmarthenshire’s - 1st). This species is regarded as a likely future breeder in Britain and is quite regular at Oxwich, Gower.

Spoonbill, Witchett (October 1978) and Tywyn Point (June 1980)