The Common Ringed Plovers at Sker have been displaying constantly for the last couple of weeks with at least five pairs present, probably more. This bird took a moment out to pause on the rock before setting off on another chase and call session.

Many of the 180 or so remaining European Golden Plovers at Sker are starting to look absolutely stunning as they gain their full breeding dress. It won't be too much longer before they all depart until September when they begin to return.

On a gloomy morning, it was a joy to see and hear my first couple of Willow Warblers at Kenfig Pool this morning. There were also a couple of others seen there today in a different area. I also had a Barn Swallow - my third in the past three days.

This group of four Barnacle Geese arrived at Kenfig NNR during the cold spell over Christmas 2025 and are still present. They remain wary and recently have started taking short high flights, so I'm guessing it won't be long before we say farewell to these beautiful little geese.

The gorgeous weather has seen increased activity from the local Skylarks at Kenfig NNR with many singing over the southern areas of the reserve in particular with this shot taken there yesterday.

Another fabulous day of warm sunshine at Kenfig NNR to continue my surveys of European Stonechats. It seems we are heading for an excellent year with 18 pairs, 6 unpaired males and an unpaired female found so far with half of the recording area still to complete.

A glorious early spring morning at Kenfig NNR where an immature male Marsh Harrier was present, as were 67 Eurasian Teal, but the highlight for me was a flock of 26 Fieldfares that were feeding frantically in the Castle Meadow, so presumably newly arrived birds putting on fat.

My last few shots from Japan - White-tailed Eagle, Whooper Swans, Blakiston's Fish-owl and one of several Japanese Macaques that we saw to round off an amazing holiday to an amazing country.

A few more from Japan in Feb/March 2023 - Hooded Crane, Varied Tit, Green Pheasant and a Sable that fleetingly graced us with its presence.

A few more pics from Winter in Japan - Warbling White-eye, White-naped Crane, Oriental Turtle-dove and Black Scoter

There were eighty three Ruddy Turnstnes over the high tide at Sker this morning. These two birds are just showing the first signs of aquiring breeding dress with the edging on the scapulars showing why they get their name. The first white head feathers are also coming through.

Happy to get my first two Sand Martins of the year through Kenfig Pool this morning, but they didn't linger. Photo from Spring 2020.

Here are a few more from my Japan winter trip in Feb/March 2023. Japanese Murrulet, Black-faced Spoonbills, male Siberian Long-tailed Rosefinch and a a breeding plumaged Saunder's Gull.

After a very quiet month at Kenfig NNR, I joined the February Northern Wheatear club at Sker this morning with @deanbolt.bsky.social I only managed a brief glimpse upon finding it before it was flushed by a jogger, and I didn't see it again, so here is a photo from there in Spring 2024

A few shots from my trip to Japan in Feb/March 2023. Slaty-backed Gull, Dusky Thrush, a previously unposted Steller's Sea Eagle image and a pair of displaying Red-crowned Cranes. What a fantastic experience in every aspect!!

The sun came out at Kenfig Pool and it felt properly like spring, even more so when I saw a male Brimstone fluttering around on my way back to the car park. I didn't have the camera with me, so here is one from 2021...

A male Yellowhammer puffed up against a freezing dawn in a meadow at Chytra in Podlasie, Poland. Photo from January 2022.

Its not too often that you get close enough to raptors to get full frame shots before they fly, but this Eurasian Kestrel was quite happy to just sit and pose for me a few days ago at Kenfig Pool.

Just a reminder to all that I am not able to read chat messages on here or post with hashtags due to a broken key on my keyboard...

Rounding off the photos from an epic trip, here is the first and last bird I saw in South America - the ubiquitous Southern Lapwing.

Kenfig Pool finally got in on the Russian White-fronted Goose invasion this year with a single bird present. Typically, it was raining so I didn't take the camera, so here is a shot of the last one I found that wasn't a flyover there in winter 2020/21.

The final few photos from Ceibas, Argentina show a skulky Spot-flanked Gallinule, Cattle Tyrant, White-naped Xenopsaris and Ringed Teal. After a months travelling, our next stop was Buenos Aires for a night before flying home.

Here are a few more from around the amazing Ceibas area; a true wetland wilderness. The bizarre Southern Screamer, Argentina's national bird the unassuming Rufous Hornero, Monk Parakeet and Narrow-billed Woodcreeper.

Our final two days at Ceibas in Entre Rios province were a feast of new birds despite rain on our first day. The amazing Giant Wood Rail, Brown-chested Martin, Bran-coloured Flycatcher and the wonderfully named Firewood-gatherer were some of my favourites but I need another post to cover them all.

En route to our final stop in Argentina at Ceibas, we stopped at a small roadside reserve where we enjoyed some excellent new birds such as Freckle-breasted Thornbird, Guira Cuckoo, Savanna Hawk and White Monjita.

A close encounter with a Puma in a garden near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in June 2023, taken on iPhone SE 2nd edition. Lit by a spot lamp held by another group member - a totally wild and unexpected encounter with this apex predator.

The final port on our cruise was Buenos Aires with time for birding at the fabulous Costanera Sur reserve. Packed with birds here are just a few - juvenile Harris's Hawk, Limpkin, juvenile Rufescent Tiger-heron and a pair of Rosy-billed Pochards.

I had a nice walk to Kenfig Castle Meadow on a cold but sunny morning. The highlight being a flock of a dozen or so Eurasian Siskins that were feeding high in the canopy on alder catkins. I took an age to get a male in shot & in focus, but eventually a couple posed quite nicely.

Its been a quieter start to the year at Kenfig NNR than last year & numbers of many species are also down since the end of the cold snap. Just two Purple Sandpipers have been recorded at Sker though 29 Ringed Plovers there included some already in courtship mode.

Our day in Montevideo, Uruguay was the hottest of the whole trip reaching 45C by the afternoon. The strong sunlight made photography difficult, but here a Green-barred Woodpecker, Glittering-bellied Emerald, Great Pampa Finch and Black Skimmer.

RSPB reports six of its satellite-tagged Hen Harriers ‘disappeared’ on or close to grouse moors in England in 2025 & another was illegally poisoned – Raptor Persecution UK raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/20/r...

It just goes on, and on! Satellite-tagged Hen Harrier Edna "suspected illegally killed". Was she killed & dumped at a windfarm in Northumberland? raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/19/s...

Satellite-tagged Hen Harrier 'Pete' disappears in Cumbria raptorpersecutionuk.org/2026/01/19/s...

Our day on the Valdez Peninsula was hampered by a late arrival, but we did manage to see some nice birds such as Elegant Crested Tinamou and Carbonated Sierra-finch as well as a lifesize Patagotitan on the outskirts of Trelew.

We had a couple of days at sea after leaving the islands, heading back towards Argentina and the Valdez Peninsula. There were noticeably less seabirds in this area, but it was nice to see Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatrosses and a few Great Shearwaters.

A few more species from on or around the Falkland Islands :- White-tufted Grebes, Falkland Steamer Duck and Two-banded Plover. Our day there was a little rushed and we didn't have chance to catch up with some other species I would have liked to have seen.

Our first stop after Cape Horn were the Falkland Islands where we had a day enjoying the rookeries of King, Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins on what was a drizzly day.

We rounded Cape Horn on a calm day with the ship's captain saying he had never previously been as close to the shore as we were. Not many birds as we headed north towards the Valdez Peninsula. Soft-plumaged-petrel was new, but no photo, so one of many Sooty Shearwaters seen.

These are a few more species that we saw around Ushuaia, Argentina before we set sail for Cape Horn. The rather numerous Dolphin Gull, Chimango Caracara and White-rumped Sandpipers all of which were feeding on the dropping tide & Spectacled Duck on the lake in the Tierra del Fuego National Park

Despite a lot of berries and fruitfall at Kenfig Pool, there hasn't been large numbers of Fieldfares this winter, so I was pleased when this bird sat up in nice light. They really are stunning birds.

The next leg of our journey took us through the Straits of Magellan on to Ushuaia, Argentina, the most southerly city in the world. We spent a few hours in the Tierra del Fuego NP seeing the giant Magellanic Woodpecker, Patagonian Sierra-finch & Black-chested Buzzard-eagle among others.

No sign of the female Bufflehead at Kenfig Pool, but the four Tundra Bean Geese had a fly around from Sker and were briefly at the pool before heading back to Sker Farm, where the 4 Barnacle Geese were still present.

Finished an amazing year by smashing my personal patch year list record at Kenfig NNR by 13 species, ending on 182. Final species was also a County and Welsh tick - a female Bufflehead found today by MikeCram

One of the four Tundra Bean Geese that were at Sker this morning - not a species I was expecting to see when I went out this morning given how rare wild geese are anywhere in Glamorgan. Never close but a great find by @deanbolt.bsky.social

Continuing south, we began to encounter a new range of seabirds including Snowy Albatross, Slender-billed Prion & Southern Giant Petrels as well as amazing scenery such as the Amalia Glacier seen here at first light.

Merry Christmas to all friends, family and followers near and far. Your support, comments and likes are really appreciated and wish everyone a happy, healthy and wildlife filled 2026 😍

A couple of excursions on to dry land in Chile produced a nice variety of species though the weather was unpredictable. Greater Yellowlegs, Fire-eyed Diucon, Silvery Grebe and Crested Caracara.

As we sailed further south, the variety of seabirds began to increase with Northern Royal Albatrosses, Chilean Skuas, Masatierra Petrels and South American Terns often accompanying us as we headed towards Punta Arenas for a day of land based birding.

Heading south into the open ocean from San Antonio, we began saw a wide range of seabirds such as Black-browed Albatross, Antipodean Albatross & Stejneger's Petrels from our high viewing point, but also from a lower deck where we lost height, but were closer to the birds.

By the time we got to the Inca Tern colony en route, the sun had come out and it was pretty warm. It was fantastic to watch these gorgeous and much wanted birds at close range. We also saw the rather odd looking Rufous-tailed Plantcutter a little earlier.