Spotted Crake - 1992 onwards

Porzana porzana - Occasional visitor

1993 - one heard Goodwick Moor, 14 April (MAP)

1995 - one called at Marloes Mere 13-15 May (DJA, SB, JGr, SJS)

1997 - juvenile seen from the Creek hide, Teifi Marshes, 24 Aug (JG)

2003 -  A male called at Trefeiddan 17 May onwards into June, when it was thought to be disturbed by contractors.

2015 - One on Skomer on 10th Sept (JWM et al). This represented only the 3rd for the island and the 1st in 45 years. Accepted WRP.

Records extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports

Long-tailed Duck - 2012 onwards

Clangula hyemalis

Previous records of long-tailed ducks are summarised in Long-tailed Duck -2011

2012 -  1 female at Bosherston on the 10-15th November

2012 - 1 female from 5th December into 2013 off Wiseman's Bridge (possibly same as above).

2013 - 1 female Wiseman's Bridge 4 Jan - 27 March (same as above)

2013 - 1 drake Haroldston - 23 Feb (DJA)

2014 - 1 imm Bosherston 23 Nov - Dec 30

2016 - 1 Skomer 20 October

2016 -1  Gann 20 Nov (Gary ?)

2016 - 1 1st winter drake, Coppet Hall - Wiseman's Bridge - 22-24 Dec (Toby Phelps)

2016 - 1 Pen Caer - mid Dec.

2017 - 1 female Pen Caer - 4 Jan (first seen two weeks ago) to 3rd March (RD) (same as above)

2019 - 1 Pembroke Castle Pond 1-3 Nov

2019 - 1 Llys-y-fran 8 Nov

2019 - 1 Skokholm - 2 on 2nd Dec (3rd Skokholm record)

2019 - 2 Broad Haven, pair amongst the scoter flock, 7 - 29 Dec (probably same as above)

2020 - 2 Broad Haven from 2 -18 Jan (same as above)

Records extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Sightings Blog

Red-crested Pochard - 1990 onwards

Netta rufina - Vagrant

1999 - Male at Withybush Wood pond 24 Nov - Dec, with metal ring on leg and badly pinioned left wing.

2003 - Female Bosherston 11 Nov – 31 Dec (RJH, DJA et al ), another female Pembroke M P 30 Nov -  31 Dec (JH, PJ, M-YP). Third and fourth county records.

2004 - Single females Bosherston 1 & 2 Jan (LL, TJP) and Pembroke M P 1 Jan – 26 Mar (JH et al), juv Thomas Chapel 6-21 Oct (J & MB).

2007 - The only record was of a pair at rosebush Reservoir, 17-20 Feb (PKG, RD)

2010 - A surprise find was a male Red-crested Pochard in the middle of Angle Bay – so where did that escape from ?

Records extracted from Pembrokeshire Bird Reports to 2018

Ferruginous Duck - 1990s

1992 - A drake was at Skokholm on the 15th November (MB) and presumably the same bird at Treleddyd Fawr 1-6 Dec (JWD et al)

1993 - a male at Lleithyr Reservoir 2-20 Oct (JB, JRH, et al)

1994 - Male at Lleithyr Reservoir 16 Oct moved to Lower Treginnis Reservoir where it stayed until at least 7 Nov (JB et al)

1996 - Male at ivor's Pond 15 Oct (DJA, RWW et al) Male hybrid, presumed X pochard, Penberry Res 24 Oct - 2 Nov (GJW et al)

1999 - Male at Ivor's Pond 20 Oct (LL, OR, et al) and presumed same bird Heathfield GP 21-23 Oct and 6 Nov (MY-P et al) (accepted by BBRC)

Records extracted from Pembrokeshire Bird Reports for those years

Pintail - breeding records

There are very few breeding records in Wales

Skomer

1988 - 2 pairs bred and raised 2 chicks to fledging.  This is a new breeding record for the island and for Wales.

1989 - 4 pairs bred raising 10 young (broods of 4, 3, & 3)

1990 - 2 pairs attempted to breed but were not successful

1991 - It was considered that 2 pairs tried to breed but were unsuccessful

1992 - 2 broods seen on 6 June, but not an any subsequent day.

1993 - 1 pair bred and 1 chick seen on 2 May did not fledge

1994 - 4-5 pairs bred and 7 chicks fledged.

1995 - 2 pairs bred and two chicks fledged from North Pond

1996 - 2 pairs were thought to breed, but no broods were seen

1997 - One pair bred, one bird fledged from island.  Duckling first recorded 20 June.  The female and, especially, the fledged bird did have mallard characteristics suggesting hybridisation.

1998 - The presumed mallard-pintail hybrid was present, and was thought to have bred (with a mallard)

1999 - female mallard x pintail hybrid was present on North Pond intermittently throughout the season, mating with a mallard, but no chicks survived to fledging.

2000 - a female mallard x pintail hybrid was present on North Pond intermittently throughout the season, mating with a mallard, but no chicks survived to fledging.

2001 - A female mallard x pintail was present on North Pond intermittently throughout the season.  Two breeding attempts (with a mallard) resulted in the offspring being predated by gulls on both occasions.

2002 - A pair toured the island ponds between 4 and 24 April.  The female reappeared on 11 June and was reported at North Pond with six chicks on 20 June.  The chicks did not survive a day, and the female was last seen on 21 June.

2007 - a female Pintail x mallard hybrid was seen at the North Pond on 6th April with 13 chicks, but was not seen subsequently.

Skokholm

1993 - One pair probably attempted to breed, unsuccessfully, and had departed by early May

1994 - pair seen on 20 April only

1995 - Pair staying throughout April, but breeding was not confirmed

1996 - One pair frequented North Pond throughout March, briefly reappeared in mid-April but breeding not suspected

Records extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports 1988-2000

Rough-legged Buzzard - 1988

An emaciated bird picked up near Merrion early October 1988.  Restored to health at Little Haven Bird Hospital and released at Dowrog on 22 Oct (RJH).

Record accepted by WRAG in 1989

Record extracted from Pembrokeshire Bird Report 1988 & 1989

Pink-footed Goose - 2018

Anser brachyrhynchus 

Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant.

Previous records summarised in Bean Goose - 1994

1993 - Singles Ramsey 18 May and Fishguard Harbour 19 December

1997 - 2 Hook 5-14 Jan; one Teifi Marshes 12 June.  In both cases attached to Canada Goose flocks.

1998 - One with the Canada goose flock Teifi Marshes 6-10 October

1999 - One with the Canada goose flock Teifi Marshes 10 Feb - May (JWD, JG, DJ et al.

2000 - Presumed feral bird Teifi Marshes 5-19 Apr (JG), one W Strumble Hd 3 Nov (JWD et al).

2005 One Nevern Est 7 & 12 Oct (SB).

2006 - One Llechryd area Jan – 3 Mar (JG, LL).

2007 - The only record received was of one on Skomer 4 & 5 October (JGB, NT)

2010 - A single juvenile was at Newport on 26th & 27th Sept. (RD), while four flew east over Skomer on 1st Mar - only the 3rd record for the island.

2011 - A single bird of unknown origin was seen at Newport on 4th - 25th Mar.

2012 - Seven birds seen overhead near Martletwy on 8th Jan.  Four birds seen on Skomer on 29th Oct then re-located to Marloes Mere from 4th November until the end of the year

2013 - An uncommon visitor to the county with records of single birds often clouded with the unknown origin label, however the four birds that frequented Marloes Mere & Skomer from 2nd Jan until 30th March were almost certainly genuine wild birds.

2014 - A single seen in flight at the Gann on 30th March was the only record.

2015 -  A single bird at Newport on 22nd Sept was the only occurrence and most likely of doubtful origin.

2016 - A single bird frequented the Teifi from 27th June to 9th July – presumed feral.

2018 - Two on the Teifi Marshes 14th April was the only record.

Records extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports 1993-2018

Snow Goose - all records

1987 - 3 Cosheston 27 Jan (JBC), presumed, though not certainly, of "feral" origin.

1990 - 3 Skokholm and the Gann 16 Mar

1991 - 5 seen flying over the Gann and Skokholm on 14 April

2000 - 1 Blue morph among the Teifi Valley Canada Geese 17 Sept.

2002 - All records probably relate to feral birds originating at Skokholm, viz : 1st w Gann 5 Feb, 3 winged imms and a flightless ad Skokholm Mar – Nov, the imms visiting Skomer 25 May, 1, 3, 7, 13 June and 20 Nov, one with Canada Goose flock Llangwm late Nov – Dec.

2003 - All records probably relate to feral birds originating at Skokholm, ranged widely across the County during the year but not always together.

2004 - Three were recorded in the mid Pembs area, once as far out as Grassholm, throughout the year but they were not always together. Usually associated with Canada Geese, one paired w h that species at Middleholm in May.

2005 - All records probably relate to feral birds originating at Skokholm, ranged widely across the county during the year, but not always together.

2006 - All records probably relate to feral birds, originating at Skokholm, ranging widely across the County during the year but not always together, being seen in many places from St David’s to W Cleddau, including Skokholm and Skomer

2007 - All records probably relate to the feral birds which range between the Cleddau and Marloes area.  One present on Skokholm was found sitting on a nest with 5 eggs, none of which hatched. 

2008 - All records were of singles unless stated: at Lawrenny 10th Jan , Hook 5th Feb , Skomer 1st — 3rd Aug., Jordanston 25th Sept, Marloes 25th March then another 1 from 25th Dec until end of year. Two Nevern Est on 2f Sept. which then probably moved to the Teifi Est from 28th Sept until 5th November.

2009 - A single at Marloes Mere from 1st Jan. until 24th Mar., another at Little Milford from 7th May until 9th Sept., then at the Gann from 26th Sept until the 8th Oct. Quite probably all three records relate to the same bird. Two were on the Teifi all year.

2010 - As in 2009, two were on the Teifi all year apart from when they relocated to Newport for a couple of days in late September, when they picked up another bird which bore a coloured ring. A single bird on the Webs count at Hook in January and the resident at Marloes Mere were the only other records.

2011 - Two in the Teifi Canada flock, present on the Teifi throughout the year (also seen at Nevern Estuary) and one at Llys y fran Res. on 8th Mar.

Source: Extracted from the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports for these years.

2018 Skomer 24 June - Skomer report?

Red-breasted Goose - records

2012 one at Penberi Reservoir on 14 June (photographed by Mike Young-Powell).  Presumably an escaped bird, perhaps the same one seen in Montgomeryshire later in the year.

Chaffinch - 1894

Fringilla coelebs

A common resident, by far the most numerous, after the Common Linnet, of the whole finch tribe in the county.

Mr. Dix thought it " by far the most numerous of the Conirostres, exceeding in numbers all the others combined." He adds that he had never noticed any separation of the sexes, or addition to its numbers during the winter. He thought the Chaffinch the only small bird that, in his district, was as numerously represented as it is in the south and east of England. We do not agree with him in this opinion. The Common Linnet and the Yellow Hammer, not to mention several other small birds, are quite as abundant in Pembrokeshire as we ever met them in the English counties we were familiar with.

At Stone Hall our Chaffinches were remarkably tame, very often coming into the house to pay us visits, and they would build their nests as close to us as they could in the creepers trained around our windows. One pair that did so came in daily at the dining-room window to feed on any seeds that fell on the floor from our various cages, and finding the eggs in the nest to be unusually large and brightly coloured, the effect, we considered, of the hen bird's good feeding, we appropriated one or two of them for our collection.

"During the severe winter in January, 1867," writes Mr. Dix, " several Chaffinches were frozen to death. On the night of the 14th the thermometer fell to five degrees below zero; the next morning four of these birds were brought to me quite dead and stiff, — all of them had their heads under their wings as though they died asleep, — doubtless starvation had something to do with it, but I am persuaded the cold killed them. The 30th October following, I saw the largest flock I ever noticed. There must have been five or six hundred birds; they were in a small field close to the mountains; I watched them for some time without seeing a single bird of any other species."

Mathew M.A. 1894, Birds of Pembrokeshire and it's Islands

American Golden Plover - 2017

Pluvialis dominica  Rare American vagrant. 

 

Adult Gann 27th – 30th May (DG et al) and a juv. there 6th – 15th Oct (DG et al). Both accepted by WRP

.

Pembs Bird Report 2017.  includes a photo of each of the birds.

Black Grouse - pre-historical

Ice Age

Studies by Anne Eastham on the bird bones in the Hoyles Mouth and Little Hoyle caves near Tenby show that Black Grouse were present in the area 10,000 years ago.  The bones were found in a scree deposit left at the end of the last glaciation. This included bones that have been carbon-dated to 9,980 +/- 800 years before present.

A variety of species were present - listed in the original paper.

Eastham A. (2016) Goosey goosey Gander with Jemima Shelduck in attendance: two Stone Age occupation caves in South Pembrokeshire. Pembrokeshire Historical Society.