Five days and three new species nicely sums up the latest developments on patch. The first came on Monday evening with two Bullfinches along the wooded section of Birch Rock tramway, a nice find and the final ‘common’ bird that I considered lacking from this years list. From here on Read more…
I wouldn’t consider myself completely addicted to patch birding quite yet, but by the end of this years Patchwork Challenge that could be a real possibility. As it was I headed straight from Bracelet Bay on Saturday to the windswept grasslands of Cefn Drum to see if I could locate Read more…
The forecast this morning didn’t look too promising so it was up to an old stalwart to step in and provide a destination. Those of you who read this blog religiously (doesn’t everyone?) will probably have guessed that I am referring to Bracelet Bay and Mumbles Head, two locations that Read more…
The recent discovery of Stock Dove and Kestrel on my local patch got me wandering about what else I’d potentially missed by keeping to regular routes and routines. As a result I’ve spent the last couple of weeks poking into every nook and cranny I can find to make sure Read more…
If our walk from Ogmore a week ago had signalled the first real signs of spring migration around these parts, then last Saturday was definitely the main event. In just a few hours at Kenfig pool we were treated to an array of recent arrivals, my personal highlight of which Read more…
My twitter feed this week has been full of people detailing their influx of spring migrants and today I was hoping to grab my little piece of the action. With only Swallow, Wheatear, Arctic Tern and an admittedly hard to beat Hoopoe on the list so far, there was certainly Read more…
I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours on patch this evening following up on some red-hot intel put my way courtesy of Barry Stewart. He’d been around Cefn Drum on Monday and had spotted two species which I have never seen there myself. Needless to say I’ve had itchy Read more…
This years extended winter has meant that the garden feeders have really taken a battering from the local bird population. Each refill has typically been lasting just a couple of days resulting in us getting through a lot of seed. The care package that arrived from Nature’s Feast a few Read more…
Yesterday produced an unexpected but most welcome surprise in the shape of a Hoopoe at Middleton on Gower. First reported on Saturday during torrential rain I originally gave it a miss as Hoopoe is easily my biggest bogey bird and I didn’t fancy another wet, fruitless search (see this entry Read more…
After our exertions on Bleaklow the day before, a nice gentle walk around the upper reservoirs of the Derwent valley seemed like an ideal choice for Saturday. Well that was the plan anyway until I decided that an eleven mile circuit of both the Derwent and Howden was exactly what Read more…