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

Pintail - 1949

Anas acuta actua

Mathew records many killed on Goodwick moor, but only twenty-eight taken at Orielton in eight seasons 1877-85.  It is scarce but regular as a winter visitor, to Orielton (fifty present there 26 Nov 1936) and Milford Haven, as well as small sheets of water (a pair Rhoson Pool 15 Sept 1941) including the ponds on the islands were it remains until early April if undisturbed.

R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society

Pintail - 1994

Winter visitor and passage migrant. Has bred

The status of the Pintail in Pembrokeshire has varied considerably. Mathew (1894) records many killed on Goodwick Moor but only 28 taken at Orielton decoy between 1877 and 1885. Lloyd encountered the species only once between 1925 and 1936 while Lockley et al. (1949) considered it to be a scarce but regular winter visitor principally to Orielton, where up to 50 were recorded. Mackworth Praed (1946) noted that 100 was regarded as normal at Orielton, and this remains the maximum recorded for Pembrokeshire. The Pintail has been scarce since, with up to ten being noted in most years but with some exceptions: 50 at Angle Bay on 27 December 1961, 20 at Castle Reach on 22 February 1963, up to 32 in Sprinkle Pill from 1972 to 1976, and about 23 wandering around the lower Cleddau Estuary and adjacent waters during the cold spell of early 1987.

A small passage has been noted off Strumble Head in September to November, the largest flock being 36 on 31 October 1990, during which period they have also been noted crossing St Bride's Bay, some stopping off on the islands. Lockley et al. (1949) noted that Pintails sometimes stopped off on the islands in spring and this became a regular feature during the 1980s, culminating in breeding on Skomer with two broods seen in 1988 and continued nesting to the present time, with little success, possibly due to gull predation.

Our interpretation of the overall record is that small parties normally pass through the county, occasionally accumulating when they encounter favourable conditions, otherwise passing on. The Orielton ringing recoveries, from 195 ringed between 1937 and 1946, are consistent with this, showing that birds from west Siberia, Finland and Germany reach Pembrokeshire and that some pass on to south Wales, Ireland and France.

Donovan J.W. & Rees G.H (1994), Birds of Pembrokeshire

Pintail - 1980s winter atlas

The BTO winter atlas showed that Pintails were noted in five mainly estuarine 10km squares during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84.

The darker the colour, the higher the relative total count for each 10km square.  The darkest blue represents over 4-29 birds seen in a day.

Graham Rees 

Pintail - 1894

Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"

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