Long-tailed Skua - 2006

Stercorarius longicaudus

Scarce passage migrant.

The Long – tailed Skua breeds in the Arctic and sub Arctic, wintering at sea mostly south of the equator.

This species was added to the Pembrokeshire list when Mathew (1894) recorded an immature shot at Tenby in the autumn of 1889 or 1890. Some 90 years elapsed before the second one was noted, an adult flying past Strumble Head on the 9th September 1980. Since then it has been recorded each autumn at Strumble Head in variable numbers. Just one was seen in 1993 and at the other extreme a total of 74 in 1991, 18 of them on the 15th September, with a mean of 13 per annum between 1980 and 2006. 

Total birds – 1980 – 2006, August to October in six day periods.

 

 Later occurrences were of single birds on the 1st November 1990, 4th November 2005, 14th November 1982, 2nd December 1996 and 3rd December 1999.

Most of the birds seen were juveniles, just 12 % were adults. All adults showed the dark lower belly of S. l. longicaudus, the form found in the species’ old world distribution, apart from one seen on the 3rd October 1999 which exhibited the all pale underparts characteristic of S.l. pallescens and therefore possibly from Greenland but the validity of there being two sub species is currently uncertain.

Away from Strumble Head, singles were recorded from the Pembroke to Rosslare ferry on the 24th August 1996, The Smalls on the 24th September 1983 and on the 3rd and 9th September 1984, Skokholm on the 4th October 1995, Skomer on the 11th September 1989 and 14th September 1991, Ramsey on the 28th September 1992 and 25th October 2000, North of Ramsey Sound in September 1993 and at St David’s Head on the 20th August 1997 with two there on the 30th October 1999.

There are just two spring records to date, singles passing through Jack Sound on the 2nd May 1995 and 30th April 1996.

Graham Rees

(Covers records up to and including 2006).

Yellow Wagtail - races

Motacilla flava

As well as the breeding and probable breeding birds noted before, male Blue – headed Wagtails, M. f. flava, which breed in Europe from southern Scandinavia to France,have been recorded in the spring on several occasions: at Skokholm on the 15th May 1958, on the 12th – 14th May 1959, two on the 18th May 1961, on the 29th & 30th May 1963, on the 29th June 1964, on the 27th May 1967, on the 17th May 1982, on the 16th May 1983, on the 12th June 1984, on the 15th – 18th June 1987, on the 11th – 17th June 1988, on the 4th, 8th, 11th and 13th – 14th May 1989, on the 11th May and 27th May 1991, on the 6th May, 22nd and 29th May 1992, on the 27th May 1993, on the 20th April 1996, and on the 26th May 1997, at Skomer on the 21st May 1997, on the 29th April 2000, on the 18th – 23rd  May 1996, on the 14th May 1992, on the 21st May 1993, and at Ramsey on 18th May 1985.

There are also autumn sightings on record, which should perhaps be treated with caution until any recorded details of their appearance can be scrutinised. Plumage becomes abraded and bleached during the summer and moult to winter plumage occurs in August and September. The records are included for future evaluation: two Skomer on the 18th September 1961, two there on the 27th August 1990, one Dale airfield on the 20th September 1986, one Skokholm on the 23rd August 1988, one there on the 4th September 2000, with two on the 24th September 2000, one on the 1st October 2001 and one on the 9th – 12th September 2003.   

Grey – headed Wagtails M. f. thunbergi breed from central and north Scandinavia to north - west Siberia. Males of this race were recorded on passage through Pembrokeshire as follows: at Skokholm on the 31st May 1978, on the 13th – 15th April 1979, on the 13th May 1979, on the 17th May 1982, on the 10th – 12th May 1987, on the 3rd – 5th May 1989, on the 31st May – 5th June 1990, and on the 25th June 1992, at Strumble Head on the 29th May 1983 and Flimston on the 30th May 1998.

 A male Spanish Blue – headed Wagtail M. f. iberiae, which breeds in Iberia and Tunisia, was recorded at Skokholm on the 19th April 1989.

A male Ashy – headed Wagtail M. f. cinereocapilla, which breeds in Sicily, Sardinia, Italy and Slovenia, was recorded at Skokholm from the 17th to the 20th May 1992.

A male Black – headed Wagtail M. f. feldegg, which breeds in the Balkans, Turkey, Caspian, Iran and Afghanistan, was recorded at Skomer on the 7th May 1986.

Graham Rees.

(Covers records up to and including 2008).

Yellow Wagtail - analysis

Motacilla flava

Yellow Wagtails have been recorded all around the coast, flying past or feeding on open ground, particularly pasture land with cattle. They have been seen on all of the offshore islands, even Grassholm, a large percentage of the county records being from Skokholm where there has been daily observation continuously since 1946. A few records were from the Teifi Marshes but very few from further inland, the only ones traced being five at Cilwendeg on the 24th August 1867, one at Crymych on the 7th June 1984, one Pen Gawse on the 6th May 1989, one Brynberian on the 2nd September 2001 and one Canaston Oaks on the 7th August 2008.

Yellow Wagtails have drastically declined in the UK since the 1980’s, by 70% between 1981 and 2006. This decline is reflected in the Pembrokeshire records as illustrated in the accompanying graph covering the years 1983 to 2007.

Pembrokeshire: trend in the number of birds per annum.

Yellow Wagtail - autumn

Motacilla flava

Autumn passage has been recorded from the 1st July to the 30th October, with two November records.

There have been very few recorded in July and early August.  Peak passage took place from mid August to September.  The end of August has clearly been the time of maximum presence, when the largest concentrations of up to 50 birds were noted at Skokholm and Talbenny during the 1960’s. Betts (1992) notes “up to 150 in August 1952” at Skokholm but is not date specific, so these could not be fitted into the histogram.  Passage has tailed off rapidly during October. There have been two November occurrences, on the 2nd at Mullock in 1981 and on the 18th at Skokholm in 1967.

Yellow Wagtail: pattern of occurrence

Yellow Wagtail - spring passage

Motacilla flava

Spring passage has been recorded from the 3rd April to the 29th June, with early birds at Skokholm on the 17th March 1948 and on the 10th March 1956.

All dated records available 1867 – 2008, in six day periods.

 

The bulk of the passage has taken place between about mid April and the end of May involving small numbers as shown in the above graph, the maximum recorded in a day being ten.

Yellow Wagtail - status

 Motacilla flava

Passage migrant, has bred.

The Yellow Wagtail has a breeding range spread throughout most of the temperate regions of Europe and Asia, extending into Alaska. The western European population winters in Africa. There are at least 15 subspecies, most of which are recognisable in the field. The subspecies which breeds in Britain is M. f. flavissima.

The following account refers to M.f. flavissima unless stated otherwise.

From the time of the first Pembrokeshire avifauna, written in 1894, to the present day, the Yellow Wagtail has principally been a passage migrant recorded in both spring and autumn. The exceptions were when a pair bred successfully at Lower Broadmoor, Talbenny, in 1997 and a pair behaved as if nesting in a potato field at Treginnis in 1983, which disappeared when the crop was harvested. In both cases the male was of the Blue – headed form M.f.flava.

The first record traced of Yellow Wagtails in Pembrokeshire which gave the number involved, the location and the date, was of five at Cilwendeg on the 24th August 1867 noted by Thomas Dix. It was 1930 before the next such record was forthcoming, followed by records in 1931, 1948 and 1949, in four years in the 1950’s, in eight years in the 1960’s, four years in the 1970’s and in every year from 1981 to 2008.

Grey Phalarope - 2006 status

Phalaropus fulicarius

Passage migrant.

The Grey Phalarope has a circumpolar Arctic breeding distribution, the closest to the UK being in Iceland. Wholly pelagic outside the breeding season, they are sometimes displaced inshore by turbulent weather. In the Atlantic they winter as far south as western and southern Africa.

Mathew (1894) considered the Grey Phalarope to be an almost annual storm driven autumn visitor to Pembrokeshire. Lockley et al (1949) added a further six occurrences. There followed records in four years in the 1950’s, in six years in the 1960’s, three years in the 1970’s and in every year bar one from 1981 to 2006. The increase in frequency of sightings was more likely to be the result of increased observer activity, rather than more birds occurring. A summary of this latter period could be just as written by Mathew.

Graham Rees

(Covers records up to and including 2006)

Sooty Shearwater - status

 Puffinus griseus

Passage migrant.

The Sooty Shearwater breeds in New Zealand and its sub Antarctic islands, south west South America, the Falkland Islands, the South Atlantic islands and Australia. They spend winter in temperate sea areas in the North Pacific and North Atlantic. In the Atlantic they travel off the eastern seaboard of the Americas to the Newfoundland area, returning south off the western seaboard of Europe.

The Sooty Shearwater was first recorded in Pembrokeshire on the 9th September 1931 when R. M. Lockley saw one from a boat between Skokholm and Grassholm. Then Lockley et al (1949) stated “Seen fairly regularly during the early part of September off Skokholm.” 

A total of 41 were recorded between 1957 and 1978, most being logged at Skokholm but some were also noted off Skomer, South Bishop, from boats visiting Grassholm and the Smalls, from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry and off Strumble Head.

They continued to be recorded on occasions at these places and also off St David’s Head, Ramsey, St Govan’s Head, from the Pembroke to Rosslare ferry, off the Swansea to Cork ferry and from small vessels visiting the Celtic Deep area. One to five birds per day were involved apart from 20 at the Celtic Deep on the 15th September 2002. However, much larger numbers were logged with greater regularity at Strumble Head between 1980 and 2006.

Overall annual pattern 1980-2006 at Strumble Head

 

(Expressed as the mean number of birds per six day periods. Values were adjusted for the seven day periods at the end of Aug and Oct by dividing their totals by seven and multiplying by six before calculating the mean.)

Passage has been recorded from the 3rd July to the 19th November, peaking in August and September but some sightings have been made outside this period. They were single birds at the Smalls on 22nd March 1984, at Whitesands Bay on the 28th December 2000, at Strumble Head on the 2nd January 1988, 3rd May 1982, 23rd December 1983 and 27th December 2006.

References

LOCKLEY. R. M, INGRAM. C. S. and SALMON. H. M.1949. The birds of Pembrokeshire, West Wales Field Society.

Golden Oriole - 1894

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

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Arctic Skua - Spring

Stercorarius parasiticus

The Arctic Skua has been sparse in Pembrokeshire waters during spring, with one to three per annum being the norm during the period 1958 to 2003, passing between the 4th April and the 30th June. Four in 1998, six in 1996, eight in 2002 and 10 in 1993 exceeded the norm. Records came from Tenby, Broad Haven (S), St Govan’s Head, West Blockhouse, St Ann’s Head, Skokholm, Skomer, The Smalls, St Bride’s Bay and Strumble Head.

Graham Rees.

(Covers records up to and including 2007).

Arctic Skua - Autumn

Stercorarius parasiticus

The number of birds involved each autumn varied, extremes being 67 in 1993 and 355 in 1985. Differing breeding success no doubt played a part in this variability but changing weather systems seem to have been the main factor.

Autumn totals at Strumble Head, 1980 – 2007.

 Passage has been recorded from July to December, at Strumble Head between 1980 and 2006, a total of 24 being seen in July, 32 in November and 5 in December. Totals for the months August to October, expressed in six day periods were:

Light to moderate winds with a westerly component prevailed in most autumns. It was thought that some of the Arctic Skuas travelling southwards through the Irish Sea were drifted eastwards into Cardigan Bay by these westerly winds. When the skuas encountered the north Pembrokeshire coast they followed it in a westerly direction, so as to gain sea room for their continued southward migration. When south–westerly gales occurred larger numbers appeared in Cardigan Bay, presumed to have been blown there from the sea area south of the Irish Sea. When the wind veered to between west and north before moderating, these birds were able to make their way back out to sea, many of them passing close in to Strumble Head. It was such a weather system that resulted in the largest day total recorded when 103 passed on the 3rd September 1983.

Light to moderate north–east winds predominated in the autumn of 1993 and few Arctic Skuas were seen, most of those that did pass were during short interludes of westerly winds. Strong winds from due east dominated the autumn of 2003 when a total of 203 Arctic Skuas was logged passing. Such winds could be expected to drift southward travelling birds away from Cardigan Bay, so it seems likely that those seen at Strumble Head had arrived by flying overland from the North Sea assisted by the following wind.

Observational evidence indicates that Arctic Skuas are diffusely spread once they have cleared the north coast of the county. Daily observations from The Smalls throughout the autumns of 1983 and 1984 recorded far fewer birds than passed Strumble Head on the same dates. Offshore watchers using boats going as far out as the Celtic Deep only occasionally encountered one or two Arctic Skuas, as was the case with shore based watchers on the west and south coasts of the county and on the offshore islands. At Skokholm the mean autumn total from 1953 to 2003 was seven birds.

 Graham Rees.

(Covers records up to and including 2007).

Arctic Skua - Status

 Stercorarius parasiticus

Passage migrant.

The Arctic Skua has a circumpolar Arctic breeding distribution extending southwards to northern Scotland. Migrants seen passing through British waters are en route to and from Atlantic wintering areas, principally south of the equator.

Mathew (1894) noted just one record of an Arctic Skua, shot at Goodwick, but gave no date. Lockley et al (1949) considered it to be occasional off Skokholm and Grassholm, mainly in August and September but sometimes in May or June.

A mean of 10 per annum was recorded in the county between 1953 and 1975, during a period when little seawatching was conducted. The low detection rate being linked to a paucity of watching was emphasised when Saunders (1976) noted 45 passing Strumble Head on the 8th September 1974. Watching at this headland became more frequent from 1978, with regular autumn observations from 1980 onwards. The annual average total of Arctic Skuas recorded in Pembrokeshire between 1980 and 2003 rose to 235, 90 % of them being seen at Strumble Head, passage taking place between July and November, the majority between August and October.

Graham Rees.

(Covers records up to and including 2007).