Last night I spent a couple of hours back at Burry Port walking a section of the millennium coastal path. The tide was very much on its way in, rising noticeably as I stood and watched. These are often the best conditions for spotting birds on the Burry Inlet as any waders are pushed closer to shore and onto the sand banks near the ends of the various breakwaters. This time however there weren’t any waders to be found but I was very pleased to see that the Sandwich Terns have returned. There were eleven birds resting on the sand amongst a mixed flock of gulls until one particularly large wave put them all up into the air. After heading upstream they returned a few minutes later and began to fish in the area where I had originally spotted them. Although I didn’t see any successful catches it was great to be able to watch Terns fishing again. Apart from Gannets it is hard to imagine another bird that feeds in quite such a dramatic style.
Along the path there were plenty of Swallows, including the first that I have seen actually sitting on telegraph wires so far this year. There were also numerous Linnets and a superb Cormorant in breeding plumage feeding in the harbour itself. The highlight though has to be a couple of Skylarks who were having a sing-off a couple of meters apart high up in the air.
My favourite pictures of the day go to a Crow which was sat on a lamppost just as I was driving out of the car park.
For such a common bird I have precious few photographs of this species and this one proved to be a real gem. It went through a process of thorough cleaning before putting on a territorial calling display. The lighting was absolutely perfect and allowed me to capture the birds eye quite well. This is something that is remarkably hard on a bird that is so completely black.
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