MONTGOMERYSHIRE BIRDS: Spain for Xmas anyone?

Notable Recent Sightings

17/11	Firecrest	2, Castle Caereinion
07/11	Barnacle Goose	1 among Canada Geese, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas
07/11	Hawfinch	a few, Lake Vyrnwy, also Bramblings
01/11	Short-eared Owl	1, Cefn Coch Wind-farm
01/11	Great Grey Shrike	Gregynog
28/10	Great Grey Shrike	Lake Vyrnwy, also 1 on 30th at Eunant
25/09	Gannet	1 juv grounded near Caersws
07/09	Nightjar	1, photographed near Pontrobert
17/07	Quail	RSPB Lake Vyrnwy, also heard 20/06 and 08/07
24/04	Long-eared Owl	2, RSPB Lake Vyrnwy
16/04	Purple Heron	1, Cors Dyfi
05/03	Firecrest	1, Lake Vyrnwy
05/03	Short-eared Owl	1, Lake Vyrnwy
14/01	Pink-footed Goose	1, Dolydd Hafren
03/01	Waxwing	20, Meifod; also 5 Welshpool by canal on 01/01. Last: 6 Bwlch-y-Garreg 17/03
23/12	Waxwing	Newtown College, first arrivals 04/12, 47 on 23/12, 67 on 01/01, 30 on 04/02
09/12	Cattle Egret	1 roosting with 8 Great Egrets and some Little Egrets, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas
02/12	Waxwing	21 Guilsfield, 12 Montgomery, 1 Welshpool, and 1 on 01/12 Llanfyllin
16/11	Dotterel	3, just west of Dyfnant Forest on RSPB land
16/11	Great Grey Shrike	1, on edge of Dyfnant Forest on RSPB land, last reported 19/01
15/11	Waxwing	25 or 30, just west of Lake Vyrnwy along the Dinas Mawddwy road
08/11	Great Northern Diver	A juvenile was found near Anchor, rescued and released
30/10	Black Redstart	1 in garden at Hendomen, near Montgomery
06/10	Hawfinch	5 in treetops at Powis Castle, by main car-park
04/10	Cattle Egret	Dolydd Hafren, a flock of c.30
29/09	Red-flanked Bluetail	Dyfnant Forest: a county first
23/09	Manx Shearwater	1st year bird grounded in Llanfyllin; released at coast
03/09	Cattle Egret	10 at Cors Dyfi, rising to 32 on 05/09
01/06	Turnstone	1 at Caersws with Little Ringed Plovers
03/05	Wood Sandpiper	1 at Dolydd Hafren
18/04	BLACK-WINGED KITE	1 video-ed at Glan Mule, near Kerry: a likely FIRST for UK
07/04	Black Redstart	Female on Carno roof
07/04	Little Ringed Plover	Llandinam Gravels
25/03	Osprey	Female 5F 'Seren' arrived back at Llyn Clywedog
25/03	Pied Flycatcher	An early migrant near Llanfechain
22/03	Hen Harrier	Female in flight near Berriew
15/03	Sand Martin	5, Dolydd Hafren
15/03	Golden Plover	c.50, Heldre Hill, Long Mountain, nr Welshpool
05/03	Whooper Swan	1, between Caerhowel (Montgomery) and The Gaer, with Mute Swans
05/03	Pink-footed Goose	1, Caersws, with Canada Goose flock
05/03	Jack Snipe	2, Caersws
05/03	Hawfinch	24, Powis Castle, feeding behind orchard
28/02	Pink-footed Goose	c.25, flying north over Welshpool
26/02	Merlin	1 male, chasing Meadow Pipit, Long Mountain near Welshpool
26/02	Pintail	3, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas, 1 since 14 Feb
14/02	Hawfinch	1, Powis Castle car-park, very vocal
23/01	Jack Snipe	1, Moel-y-Garth near Guilsfield
17/01	Brambling	80, in beeches at Pen-y-Waen near Cefn Coch with Chaffinches
07/01	Hawfinch	2, bathing in puddle, Cwm Lane, Castle Caereinion
		See Sightings Archive for older records

Monday, December 17, 2012

Spain for Xmas anyone?

As many of you know myself and Tony have been putting a lot of effort over the past few years to try and understand where all of our wintering (and breeding) Golden Plovers are disappearing to. We've been concentrating on the wintering population around the mid Wales/Shropshire border. Originally we were ringing them with just BTO rings, but after very few re traps in following years, we took it one step further and each bird that is now trapped and ringed, has it's own individual colour ring (making it identifiable in the field without having to be re captured by a ringer).

Since starting this project back in January, we have already had 5 reports of our colour ringed birds inc: one at a breeding site in North Wales and another in a flock of 1500 birds in Holland!

This winter we have been given 2 Satellite tags (see http://midwalesringers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/sat-nav-on-a44.html), to try and further our understandings of the birds. We weren't however prepared for what we were about to find out! After myself and Tony had be commenting on how few Golden Plovers there are around this year, we had and email saying the 'Ceri', our satellite tagged Golden Plover from the Ceri Ridgeway had decided to fly south and was now wintering near Madrid.