This morning we made a pilgrimage to Fishguard to see the Humpback. It was also nice to bump into Ciff Benson, John Green (second time in less than 7 days) Steve Berry and Lyndon Lomax while we were there. It took a while to get to the whale and it wasn’t too close to our view of the breakwater. Whale watchers at the fort will have a better/closer view. However, we are rewarded with some impressive (if somewhat distant) views of it that break through in fairly reasonable light.
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| Some record photos – the views from the Fort are closer |
The birds of the area (which we must report here and not mammals!) are at least included two great northern divers, red-throated divers, some razorbills in the transition from winter to breeding plumage and seven great crested grebes
resting in port and a wake up with the whale.
Tonight we checked the Carew/Cresswell confluence near Black Mixen and the outlet to the Daugleddau channel for possible gulls. None roosted here but several hundred (c.500 Herring, c.550-600 Black-headed, 5 Common and 2 Great black-backed) (mostly heading down-channel) were feeding in nearby fields where the slurry is spread on the grass. Some gulls bathe in the river, perhaps to wash the horrible sticky stuff off their feet, before moving downstream. Some of the large gulls rose from the land towards the shore but the most BH Gulls head to the Haven, probably the Llanstadwell-Pennar Gut zone. However, interestingly, around 100-120 appeared to turn upstream at Lawrenny towards Daugleddau. Perhaps they are on their way to a nest which may occur on occasions upstream. This roost will be checked by a few of us on Wednesday night (weather permitting!).
color-ringed oystercatcher left leg orange/metal; is tonight showing its right leg with an orange 58 (now blackened). It resides at Lawrenny Quay with 54 others (about half the number that were there a few days ago). This includes a metal-ringed bird without a colored ring. It is not possible to read the numbers unfortunately. Several hundred corvids (a mixture of jackdaws and carrion crows) also gathered in the estuary woods before we left the area.
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| 58 is visible on one side of the ring but black covers the numbers on the other side |
