Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - March 1984
Ian Morgan
Again this winter, two Black Redstarts have been around Burry Port Power Station, being first noted at this locality from about 6 November onwards. In addition to being wintering birds, Black Redstarts occur on autumn passage (as noted in November 1982 with birds at Tywyn Point, St, Ishmaels and Laugharne) but the pair seen on ruined buildings near Banc-y-Lord on 13 November could belong to either category. Apparently ringing recoveries of Black Redstarts on passage in the British Isles show that they nest in East Europe and winter in the Mediterranean region.
Bramblings, mostly as small groups, have been noted from early November, usually at Machynys and Pembrey Airfield but c. 70 were seen in early December near the "Ashpits Pond" by D.M. Powell. Redwings and Fieldfares have been in rather low numbers - for the winter was mostly mild - and except for a few early visits to the berry laden scrub at Tywyn Point, Fieldfares kept mostly at first to the rougher, more upland areas e.g. 70 on rough ground near Rehoboth, 17 December. Cold weather in late January resulted in a movement to the milder coast when 410 were seen at R.A.F. Pembrey.
There seems to have been an upsurge in the fortunes of the Little Owl with birds reported at Machynys, Burry Port Power Station, Tywyn Point and an inland bird at Llanfynydd, but the Short-eared Owls have been absent from Tywyn Point this winter, so it was pleasing to hear of a pair seen by Dylan Jones near Trostre in mid-February. The kind weather has meant that not quite so many Water Rails were in the area (but at Furnace Pond, "Ashpits Pond" and near Tywyn Point) though in November R.S.P.B. member Geoff Evans was surprised to see one sitting on top of his privet hedge in Pembrey!
Hen harriers have been seen at several sites, the Witchett Pool, Cydweli Marsh, Tywyn Point, Pembrey Saltmarsh and Machynys. The bird at Machynys, a female, was seen on 12, 13 November and 1 January, a January male once at Pembrey and birds have been seen on numerous occasions in the Tywyn Point area on 27th November no less than FOUR were seen simultaneously flying over "Morfa Cydweli".
Some years ago Gary Harper noted that a Harrier at this site bore wing-tags indicating that they were Orkney-bred birds (they are extensively tagged in the Orkneys for study purposes). Only one ringing recovery is known of the few Welsh ¬bred Hen Harriers, a Powys bird ringed as nestling in 1980 and recovered in North Spain on 20 October of the same year.
Another raptor, the peregrine, has been noted at Llangennech (over the estuary) and two were over Ammanford on 12 November, but as compensation for less-¬than-normal number of records this winter, an adult female put on a truly magnificent display at Pembrey Airfield on 5 February. Here the massed, high-flying Lapwing, Golden Plover and Starling flocks betrayed her presence for they dared not approach when the Peregrine was around. This falcon was observed at close range, so close that the - moustachial stripes, the - heavy build and slate-blue back were clearly made out. It flew in tight undulations rising for about 30m before diving, sharply and then rising again, to try to flush the few cowering Dunlin and Starlings left on the ground; but wisely they did not rise too high but safely hugged its surface when escaping. Later, the falcon flew off towards Tywyn Point.
Only a female Merlin has been seen this winter, several times from early December in the Pembrey Airfield-Banc-y-Lord area and presumably a different female was sighted at Llangennech on 4 January. Like the above-mentioned Peregrine, the Pembrey Merlin gave close views (on 21 January) when she flew briefly parallel to the moving car after a terrified starling. The Merlin has undergone a serious decline as a breeder in Wales, though still holding on in North Carmarthenshire in the past it nested on the sand dune systems of the South Wales coast, Pembrey-Tywyn Burrows included, where they were still nesting as recently as the late 1960' s (or even the mid 1970's).
Still with raptors, Buzzards started soaring, displaying and disputing territorial boundaries in earnest on 12-13 February (exactly the same date as 1983); this behaviour is a response to the increasing day-length rather than the weather for 13 February 1983 was a very cold and dull day whilst this year it was quite warm and sunny. A pair of Ravens at a nest site near Pwll had two Buzzard pairs' territories meeting nearby and they had a busy time mobbing the Buzzards from their (already in use) nest area on 13 February! A minimum of 12 Buzzard pairs nest in the Llanelli-Pembrey area.
In the last newsletter it was incorrectly stated that the U.S.S.R. Whitefronts had arrived from 20 October, these birds were in fact a few (c. 5) of the Greenland sub-species; the Russian birds did not arrive until mid-November. Numbers have been down in recent years (with only 268 counted on 15 January) for in the early 1970's over a thousand birds was not unusual, with 2500 on one occasion, at Dryslwyn. The Whitefronts often fly southwards over Llanelli at night to roost in the Burry Inlet or Carmarthen Bay (one member reports seeing them land South of Machynys once this winter), returning North to Dryslwyn the following morning when their loud cackling skeins make an impressive sight. There has been a report of a fear being shot on Llanrhidian Marsh, Gower. Before the planting of Pembrey Forest and the destruction of the "Swan Pool", the Pembrey area was the home of many Whitefronts and a few Greylags, which some older wildfowlers from Cydweli clearly remember.
Five Grey Lags at Dryslwyn on 31 December; first spotted by Geoff G. Evans and F.J. Smith were noticeably pale birds and they bore yellow numbered bands around their necks. A few days later. Richard Davies was able to read the numbers and a 'phone call to the Wildfowl Trust at Slimbridge revealed that the birds had been a marked in East Germany and were therefore of the rare East European race, Anser anser rubrirostris. Seven more typical, 'Western Race' Grey Lags were near Llangennech on 15th November and 9 at 'Morfa-bach' (Coed-bach Marsh) on 19 February.
During the W.W.N.T. Wildfowl Count on 15 January at Dryslwyn, the County Bird Recorder D.H.V. Roberts gave a brief lecture on the demise of the Pembrey White-fronts and the growth of the flock at Dryslwyn where numbers are apparently consistently 1/10th of those wintering at Slimbridge; interchange of birds between the two sites is presumed. Also at Dryslwyn, in late December, were 14 Bewick’s and 12 Mute Swans; a few Whooper’s have also been reported.
Staying with Geese, John Connolly recorded two Brent Geese off Salmon Scar (30 December) and six pale-bellied Brents were beside the Llwchwr near Llangennech on 4 January; some 240 (mostly dark-bellied) have been in the Whiteford area this winter. A Kittiwake and a Red-breasted Merganser were unusual inland records on 27 January at Dryslwyn and a female Goosander has been frequenting Old Castle Pond, Llanelli from 1 December to at least early February, others have been on the Tywi and other major rivers; this species is actively colonizing Carmarthenshire as a breeder.
On 15 November Clive Jones had an excellent day when in addition to the Llangennech Grey Lags, he noted a male Scaup and 14 Siskin’s on Upper Lliedi Reservoir 1270 Knot, 6 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Little Owl at Machynys; on 1 December he saw an injured Black-tailed Godwit at Pembrey harbour. Flooded areas near Ffrwd Fen have proven worthwhile with up to 212 Teal, 58 Mallard, 12 Shoveler, many Snipe and a few Wigeon and Pochard. Five Red-breasted Mergansers have been seen off Pembrey and 6 have been noted at Tywyn Point (19 November).
Only one Snow Bunting was reported, at Machynys on 13 November, but there have been at least four sightings of Blackcaps - Penyfai Lane (11 November), Pembrey (13 November), Stradey (12 December) and Furnace Pond (4 January). The only Chiffchaff reported this winter was one at 'Ffordd-y-Wagen', Pwll on 29 January. Wintering Siskin’s have been much in evidence with birds at Cwm Trebeddod (Furnace), Cwm Lliedi, Felinfoel, Cwmllynfell, Dryslwyn and Brechfa. Redpolls have been scarce at the coast this year, but a bird at Tywyn Point on 20 November "showed character¬istics of one of the European sub-species (EJS & GH), but the observers cannot be conclusive. Here on the same date there was an impressive 120 Blue Tits feeding in Sea buckthorn scrub and on Juncus seeds.
A casualty of the September storms was a Storm Petrel found near Pembrey that had been ringed on an island off' County Cork, Eire and a Little Auk recovered in the Lower Gwendraeth area. Some additional figures regarding rarities seen from Strumble head during the autumn storms are "3 Great Shearwaters, 397 Sooty Shearwaters, 70 Storm Petrels and hundreds of petrels" (British Birds).
The Green Sandpiper is mostly a passage migrant in South-east Carmarthenshire, but they are frequently recorded in winter and there are records from Coed-bach Marsh, Morfa Cydweli (Marsh), Banc-y-Lord and Llangennech this winter. Mike Williams has also seen them at Upper Lliedi Reservoir together with an over-wintering Common Sandpiper.
The importance of the Coed-bach-Morfa Cydweli area for wintering Lapwing was re-inforced on 5 February when an estimated 3500+ Lapwing (and 700 Golden Plover on 8 January) were present. Eiders have been a feature of the Gwendraeth this winter with birds seen on several occasions and 23 were noted on 28 December off Tywyn Point. A large non-breeding flock to which these birds presumably belong; has been known in the Burry Inlet since at least the 1880's, and on the Gwendraeth Eider can be seen at high tide diving for mussels and crustaceans above Salmon Scar and the drowned village of 'Halkin' or 'Hawton' on whose foundations the Salmon Scar mussel beds are based. (This village is shown on Saxton's map of Carmarthenshire (1576) and local tradition has it that the village was overwhelmed in a great storm of 1606 when much low-lying land in Carmarthen Bay was lost. The village was also known by the Welsh name of 'Aber-Tywi' and excavations at the site have revealed remains of Roe Deer, Shetland Pony, Horse, 0x and Sheep).
A first-winter Little Gull was observed at Tywyn Point on 26 December, this species is rarely recorded in winter, most records referring to the autumn passage. Two days earlier 65 Great Black-backed Gulls were roosting at this locality, but still exactly a hundred less than the maximum recorded here. Great-crested Grebes were quite regular in January off Tywyn Point, perhaps birds from the breeding site at the Witchett Pool across the 'Three Estuaries'; five birds of this species were at Cefn Padrig in early January.
At Ginst Point on 22 January, Luke Gravett had 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Pintail, a Jack Snipe and a single White-fronted Goose. January 13 and late February saw a male Marsh Harrier at Pembrey and near Burry Port respectively, a male has been hunting many times this winter at or near the Witchett Pool, Laugharne. In fact, Marsh Harriers have been increasingly seen at several suitable sites in South Wales in recent years and breeding will probably occur soon if a pair establish themselves at one or more of these sites in question. This increase is probably a reflection of the Marsh Harriers success in the Netherlands, where the vast reed beds, especially those around the Ijsselmeer hold many pairs and where the number of young ringed (partially reflecting the number reared) had quadrupled to 404 in 1975-1979. Birds noted outside the breeding season in South-east England have likewise increased and the number of sites occupied during summer in Britain has gone up from the species' nadir in 1971 (one nest) to 23 nests in 1982, with singles present at other localities. This winter, at the Witchett, a Bittern (also seen near Ferryside), up to 20 Gadwall, 5 Scaup and a host of commoner duck have been seen.
On 3 January a solitary Partridge was seen feeding (not in a pear tree!), at the now-empty Penclacwydd Farm, Machynys by K.E. Nurton. This species is common on Gower, but rare in Camarthenshire a pair were behind Pwll in c. 1974, otherwise I have no other recent records.
Interesting January-February records from Gower include a Spotted Crake at Llanrhidian, a Velvet Scoter at Worms Head and a Sabine's Gull at Oxwich; back in Carmarthenshire, a Firecrest was in the hawthorn scrub on Dryslwyn Castle's steep slopes in early January. Stonechats inland are rather scarce so Richard Edward's mid.-January pair on Mynydd Sylen makes a pleasing addition to those known already at Mynydd-y-Garreg, and Mynydd Llangyndeyrn.
Several sightings were made recently of Barn Owls - Capel Hendre, Rehoboth, near the North Dock and an urban bird frequenting the church at Paddock Street, Llanelli. Llangennech has produced 2 Glaucous Gulls, a first-winter Iceland Gull and 2 Kingfishers (which have also been seen at Banc-y-Lord and Furnace Pond (2). Farther west at the 'Ashpits Pond', a wintering Common Sandpiper and a Jack Snipe and 6 Eider offshore were seen in December-January. The Gwendraeth held an impressive 2300 Black-headed, 1800 herring, 200 Common Gulls and 4 Greenshank on 5 January, and three days later 23 Pintail were off Llanelli Beach. Good numbers of Woodcock are regularly seen near Capel Hendre and 20+ Ravens have been reported from Mynydd Isaf and Ammanford Rubbish Dump where many wintering Lesser Black-backed Gulls have been seen. On 25 February, at or near Dinefwr, Dilwyn Roberts saw a. Lesser-spotted Woodpecker and 27 Shoveler.
It was in late November that a party of about 8 Crossbills were first spotted by Norman Evans near the Country Park end of Pembrey Forest, since that date they have been watched by many local birdwatchers and in mid-February 5 Crossbills were seen at another site towards the North-west end of the Forest; they are also in Penllergaer Forest West Glamorgan. These birds, normally inhabitants of the great Taiga spruce-pine belt of North Europe, 'erupt' periodically to colonize new territory outside their normal range and supplementing; the existing scattered colonies in South Britain, and late 1983 saw a great movement westwards through Belgium, Netherlands and North France. The Crossbill of Scotland is now considered a different species to the European birds on account of its thicker bill (and is incidentally the only species found in Great Britain but nowhere else, i.e. 'endemic' to Scotland's pine forests). It is hoped that the Pembrey Crossbills will breed and some birds are already paired up and have been seen 'courtship feeding'. They are early nesters, often nesting; in February-March for their food - conifer seeds are abundant at that time of year. To date, a maximum of 22 Crossbills have been counted in the Forest.
Many of you would have heard by now of the shocking fate of one of the rare European Cranes near Cydweli. The pair had given intense enjoyment to those birdwatchers who had journeyed to see them from 4 January onwards as they fed in pasture land near Llanddewi-Brefi, sometimes showing their huge wing, span as they flew from field to field (with the added bonus of almost omnipresent airborne Red Kites). Clive Weekes and Gavin Hall were the only local birdwatchers to see them both alive (26th January), soon after the unfortunate adult was found dead, thereby depriving many of us the chance to see this rare and graceful bird. - Just in time to be included in this newsletter has come the gladdening news that the other Crane was seen, on 26th February at Pembrey Saltings by Adrian Hughes
We must all be more vigilant in looking out for (and reporting to the police), any suspicious shooters in our area.
Many thanks, once more, to all those who have contributed records
