After catching up with the Western Reef Heron in Pembrokeshire on Friday I went back to Sandy Haven today for another look. It showed really well early afternoon! Some interesting insects about too including a Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Lesser Emperor and 5 White-letter Hairstreaks! #birdingWales

Working in North Wales again this week. Very pleased the Western Reef Heron was re-found today. Showing well at RSPB Conwy late afternoon! #birdingWales

A little better in terms of diversity on the sea today compared to yesterday. In a couple of hours late morning: 12 Storm Petrel, Great Northern Diver, 4 Med Gulls, 12 Puffin and a Whimbrel past Skrinkle Haven #patchbirding #birdingWales

Rained off from seawatching early on and the heavy drizzle persisted for most of the morning here. A quick watch after it cleared (11:45-12:45) produced a nice push of Storm Petrels west, 25 in an hour but little else. #patchbirding #birdingWales

A single Storm Petrel past Skrinkle Haven this evening + Manxies moving over 5,000/hr #patchbirding #birdingWales

I've been working on Anglesey this week so made a trip over to South Stack this morning to see the female-type Woodchat Shrike found yesterday. Bird still present on the heath just south of the car park until 8.30am at least #birdingWales

Skrinkle Haven seawatch this am 06:45 -08:45. 6 Storm Petrel, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Great Northern Diver, 9 Sandwich Tern, 5 Puffin. Plus several groups of Swallows and House Martins coming in off the sea #birdingWales #patchbirding

Another morning seawatching. Good movement of birds including 2 Arctic Skuas (both d/p) - with one passing along the cliffs right overhead! Also 8 Great Northern Divers, 2 RT Divers and a Stormie. Waders moving offshore too: 29 Dunlin, 13 Sanderling and 2 Ringed Plover. #birdingWales #Patchbirding

Seawatching highlights over the last few days: 2 sum plumage Great Northern Divers + a few Med Gulls and Puffins (y'day) and a Storm Petrel (today). Whimbrel passing most days and 2 Barwits on Saturday. Hopefully a few more bits to come this week! #birdingWales #patchbirding

It was nice to catch up with the Dotterel near Martin's Haven this morning. Two (M & F) were present in their favoured ploughed field #birdingWales

Returned from holiday to find the first 2025 Bird Report from a Welsh county completed. 👏 Jon Green in #Pembrokeshire. Great to see it includes maps that draw on @birdtrack.bsky.social and #eBird records, produced by @btobirds.bsky.social. #BirdingWales pembsbirds.blogspot.com/p/the-annual...

Regular watching the local patch at Manorbier came good this morning when, as I walked down to my seawatch spot, a superb adult Glaucous Gull glided along the cliffs at eye level! In a bit of disbelief I watched it as it followed the coast west and eventually around Old castle Hd. Wow! #birdingWales

This month's Free Access Editorial Team Choice: Canada Warbler in Pembrokeshire! Magnolia Warbler at St Govan’s Head, Pembrokeshire, found by Toby Phelps was then added to with the discovery of Britain’s first Canada Warbler. Read more: 📸 Canada Warbler by Graham Jepson

Some nice birds locally and out around Pembs over the last week or so as spring slowly starts going. On the local patch, a Marsh Harrier east over Skrinkle and a Goshawk over Manorbier in the week. Yesterday 2 Velvet Scoter off Telpyn Pt and today a Black Redstart at Martin's Haven! #birdingWales

Hedgerows & Willow Tits ~ A thread Carmarthenshire holds more Willow Tits than any other county in Wales (Wotton, S. 2022). Looking at satellite maps of the county, it’s clear to see the potential for these birds, with areas of suitable wooded habitats, interconnected with unmanaged hedgerows.

It was nice to find a male Green-winged Teal at a flooded Castlemartin Corse y'day morning amongst a good selection of wildfowl. You can just about see what it is from my pic (left), so here's a better pic (right) of the bird currently wintering on the Nevern Estuary in North Pembs! #birdingWales

Yorkshires only Little Tern colony relies on paid wardens to protect them from predators and disturbance, the team have achieved amazing numbers of fledglings in recent years and it would be a great shame if it doesn’t run this year, much appreciated if you can help out with this funding gap 🙏

🧵 An urgent appeal to protect one of the UK’s most important Little Tern colonies at Beacon Ponds in 2026. Without funding for professional wardening, the project may not be able to run this season. ⬇️

2 Ad Russian White-fronted Geese still at Castlemartin Corse this morning (at the upper sections below the church). Also a Water Pipit on the flooded fields. #birdingWales

Was good to see the Tundra Bean Geese in the Towy Valley today, at least 15! Also 26 Russian White-fronts upriver of Dryslwyn Castle. Finished the day checking the scoter flocks in Carmarthen Bay. 2 ad drk Surf Scoters off Pendine (or more precisely of Ragwen Point) the highlight! #birdingWales

Nice day out across Pembs and Carms today - started with a flock of White-fronted Geese (11) over Dryslwyn Castle early am + 17 Whooper Swan. Purple Sandpipers, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers in Pembs and finished with a ringtail Hen Harrier and 3 Marsh Harriers at Ginst Point #birdingWales

Christmas can be an expensive time of year, so how about something for free? The @scottishbirding.bsky.social and Scottish Birds Records Committee are hosting a FREE online conference over the evenings of February 24th to the 26th. Three talks per night and some real belters among them.

1 of 7 Purple Sandpipers on Tenby lifeboat station at high tide this morning. #birdingWales

Ring Ouzel feasting on hawthorn berries by Manorbier beach this afternoon. At least 1 Firecrest around too. Also a Yellow-browed Warbler heard calling (unfortunately not seen) on Thursday and good movement of finches most mornings! Lots to look at at the moment! #birdingWales

A Black Tern flew west past Old Castle Hd, Manorbier at lunchtime today. Otherwise very little moving in misty conditions #birdingWales

2 Balearic Shearwaters west past St Govan's Head in an hr this evening #birdingWales

Enjoyable day seawatching at St Govan's Hd yesterday. Sabine's Gull 4 (2 Ad, 2 Juv) Cory's Shearwater 1 Balearic Shearwater 1 Sooty Shearwater 4 Grey Phalarope 2 Plus a big push of 'Commic' Terns (c700) early morning and a flock of 29 Pale-bellied Brent Geese west! #birdingWales

Manx shearwaters streaming past St Govan's Hd this evening. Estimated over 11,000/hr between 5.30-6.30pm. Awesome! 8 Puffin and 2 Sanderling past too. #birdingWales

This superb breeding plumage Grey Plover spent 4 days at Tenby south beach. No sign of it this evening so I assume it has continued on its northward migration #birdingWales

2 Bar-tailed Godwit and 4 Dunlin and on Tenby South Beach this evening. Other bits and bobs in recent days include several Whimbrel, a Tree Pipit (at Skrinkle on Fri) and a few singing Lesser Whitethroats and Garden Warblers #birdingWales

The Pembrokeshire Bird Report 2024 is now available to download below. Vital and huge work from Pembrokeshire Bird Group 🙌 Mae Adroddiad Adar Sir Benfro ar gael i’w lawrlwytho isod. Gwaith gwych ac allweddol gan Grŵp Adarydda Sir Benfro 🙌 Diolch 🙏 drive.google.com/file/d/1Q0VS...

Yesterday morning there was an impressive feeding raft of Manx Shearwaters off Presipe beach. Maybe about 300+! A little flurry of migrants in the bushes at Skrinkle including my first Grasshopper Warbler and Common Whitethroat of the year #birdingWales

The colour-ringed Wheatear I recorded at Manorbier on the 24th March was ringed on Lundy as a one-year old breeding male in May 2023. He was also seen in the same territory last year. Let's hope he's made it back there this year! #birdingWales

How many people contribute records to county and local bird reports in Wales? How much data do those county recorders manage and through which channels? How wide is the coverage? More detail in Alt Text. Number-wrangling while I'm writing the @birdsinwales.bsky.social 2024 report. #BirdingWales

My 4th Black Redstart of the spring, a female-type, on the road to RAF Manorbier this morning. Later seen on the coast path near Presipe. Also a female Wheatear and a few extra Chiffchaffs about. #BirdingWales

Wheatears! 7 this morning behind the RAF Manorbier range (2 females, 5 males). One of which was colour ringed! Any help tracking down the project would be gratefully appreciated. Lundy maybe? Also 2 Black Redstarts, a female-type and a new(?) adult male. #birdingWales

A few more common migrants appeared in the strong northerlies this morning, incl. a nice hirundine flock at Tenby Marsh with 2 House Martin, 6 Swallow and 11 Sand Martin. A Willow Warbler there too. Red-throated Diver off Tenby South Beach and the Hoopoe still at Kiln Park. #birdingWales

A smart but mobile male Black Redstart above Presipe beach, Manorbier the highlight today. Yesterday a couple of White Wagtails and a Firecrest. Still waiting for that first Wheatear though! #birdingWales

Special Issue of #BirdStudy is now published: The impacts of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on birds: part 1 10 papers (5 #OpenAccess) plus Editorial on the impacts of #birdflu #HPAI outbreak in Europe, Canada, Antarctica: www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/7... #ornithology #ukbirding #seabirds

Hoopoe still present at 07.45 this morning at Kiln Park, Tenby, near the railway bridge. #birdingWales

Not seen a Wheatear or Sand Martin yet! #birdingWales

Great day yesterday birding with @phelpstoby.bsky.social, Jalal and @becky-gibbs.bsky.social: managed to twitch the Black scoter down Holylake and we also got a great view of the little owl at Burton marshes 🦉

Nice to catch up with the drake Black Scoter off Hoylake late morning! Good views despite distance and haze. A couple of Long-tailed Ducks offshore too.

We are now live on Bluesky! Click the follow button to keep up to date with all the latest happenings at Easington Little Tern colony. Also, please feel free to share this post and spread the word. 🙏 🐦

Feisty little dudes. I'm almost used to calling them Curruca instead of Sylvia now. Scratchy songs, angry fire eyes, good colour schemes, but lose a point for being a bit too skulking = 8/10 #birdart #birds

2 Russian White-fronted Geese still on Burton Marsh with the Pinkie flock this morning but quite distant. 5 Barnacle Geese too. Elsewhere wet fields around Chester produced 32 Snipe, 225 Redwing and a nice Merlin zoomed through #ukbirding

A nice day out on Anglesey today, helping out with the annual Chough survey. Saw two birds on my section and managed to catch up with the Red-necked Grebe at Valley Wetlands RSPB later on. 57 Pochard and a few Goldeneye there too #birdingWales

1/ 🔊 The SMP Report, published in November 2024, provides an overview of the status of the UK’s breeding #seabirds since 1986. It further highlights declines as shown by the recent Seabirds Count, a census of Britain & Ireland’s seabirds. 🔗 www.bto.org/smp-publications Discover more in the thread ⬇️

The best opportunity to see seabirds & cetaceans off the Welsh coast. An 8-hour trip with almost guaranteed European Storm Petrel & Common Dolphin. Regular Wilson's Storm Petrel, Great & occasionally Cory's Shearwater. Both Minke & Fin Whale sighted in recent years. #ukbirding #birdingwales

Impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza on seabird populations in the North Sea are detectable in sea-watchers’ migration counts | www.tandfonline.com/... | Bird Study | #ornithology #seabirds 🪶