Monday, February 28, 2011 at 6:23PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
Mathew, rare, seabird in Roseate Tern Monday, February 28, 2011 at 6:22PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
Monday, February 28, 2011 at 6:20PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 12:11PM 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).
Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:35PM Stercorarius skua
With an increased number of observers taking an interest in the birds occurring in Pembrokeshire’s offshore waters from 1980 onwards, the number of Great Skuas recorded rose to a level far greater than was expected from the previous sightings , with a mean of 196 per annum between 1980 and 2006. During this period the lowest annual total was 86 in 1993 and the highest 569 in 1983. The bulk of the birds were recorded on autumn passage, between July and November, though probably some of the 71 recorded in December over the years, might also have been migrating. Most were recorded along the north coast of the county, principally at Strumble Head.
AUTUMN TOTALS STRUMBLE HEAD.
Mean pattern of occurrence Strumble Head, 1980 – 2006, birds per six day periods.
The most recorded in a day was 198 on the 3rd September 1983.
It was discovered that the concentrations along the north coast dissipated once the birds had regained sea room when clear of The Bishops, in the same way as Arctic Skuas but less quickly. This is based on observations from boats and from sightings made from The Smalls when the lighthouse was manned by a birdwatcher throughout the autumns of 1983 and 1984. For instance when the maximum of 10 were seen from The Smalls on the 17th October 1983, 49 passed Strumble Head and when more typically three were recorded at The Smalls on the 20th October 1984, 66 were logged at Strumble Head. Numbers passing the offshore islands have also been low, normally between one and four birds on some autumn days, with seven off Skokholm on the 2nd September 1985 and seven off Ramsey on the 8th September 1996 the highest counts. Single birds have also been seen in St Bride’s Bay and off the south coast. However individual Great Skuas have shown a greater tendency to linger for a while than have the smaller skuas. Up to 10 have been encountered in a day in the Celtic Deep and 14 attended a mixed feeding flock of seabirds at Broad sound on the 28th September 1978.
Great Skuas have been recorded around the coast of Pembrokeshire on 19 occasions in January and 20 occasions in February, so evidently in some years they winter nearby. Compared with autumn, spring passage has been slight, with cumulative totals of eight recorded in March, 24 in April, 13 in May and 20 in June, having been detected in about equal number off the west coast and north coast but less frequently from the south coast.
Graham Rees.
(Covers records up to and including 2006).
GHR, Migrant, seabird in Great Skua Monday, January 10, 2011 at 7:33PM Stercorarius skua
Passage migrant and occasional winter visitor.
The Great Skua has the most restricted breeding range of the skuas that have been recorded in Pembrokeshire, nesting in Scotland, Faroes, Iceland, Jan Mayen, along the Norwegian coast to Bear Island and Svalbard, and into the Russian Kola peninsula. They also winter further north than the other skuas, principally in the Bay of Biscay and off North Africa. Some remain at our own latitude.
Mathew (1894) gives only one record of a Great Skua for Pembrokeshire, shot in Solva Harbour in 1894 but also quotes Sir Hugh Owen as stating: “is always to be seen in Goodwick Bay in a good Herring season”. It was next recorded in the county when one was seen at The Smalls in July 1955 and between then and 1979 there were records in 21 years, with a mean of five birds per annum and a maximum in any year of 18 in 1974. The species could be regarded as a scarce bird in the past and the literature generally regards it as increasing from about 1900 onwards, the Pembrokeshire record reflecting this.
GHR, Migrant, seabird in Great Skua Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 6:59PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 6:57PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 6:30PM Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 5:34PM Calonectris diomedea
Erratic visitor.
The Cory’s Shearwater breeds in several places around the Mediterranean, in Portugal and on the sub tropical islands of the east Atlantic. It is migratory outside the breeding season, many then occurring in the Bay of Biscay, regularly penetrating as far as Cornwall and occasionally appearing in large numbers off the south west of Ireland.
It is an erratic visitor to Pembrokeshire waters, being first recorded from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry on the 25th September 1965 by Jack Donovan. From then until 2007 a total of 86 birds have been logged. They were not recorded annually, being seen in 66 % of those years. The earliest was off the South Bishop on the 22nd February 1976, the latest off Strumble Head on the 29th November 1999. Otherwise the cumulative monthly totals were:
Most sightings involved single birds, with two in a day on five occasions, three once, five twice and the maxima of six in the Celtic Deep on the 26th September 1999 and seven off Strumble Head on the 15th August 1999. The largest incursion was in 1999 with a total of 26 bird days logged.
Considered by BWP as “equally satisfied with pelagic, offshore and inshore waters”, the fact that 78 % of Pembrokeshire sightings were made from the land, probably reflects the distribution of observer effort. A total of 14 of these were seen from Skokholm, Skomer, St Ann’s Head, South Bishop, Ramsey and St Govan’s Head, and 53 from Strumble Head. The hours of observation expended from the land greatly exceeded the time spent looking in offshore waters.
Offshore sightings were of singles from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry, from a small craft west of Grassholm and from another boat north of Porth Gain, five from the Pembroke to Rosslare ferry and 11 from shark-fishing vessels in the Celtic Deep.
Cory’s Shearwaters have been seen in Pembrokeshire waters in a variety of weather conditions, with winds from all directions and ranging from calm through moderate winds to full gale force, making their appearance unpredictable.
It is not known to what degree the races Calonectris diomedia deomedia and C.d. borealis are involved in the Pembrokeshire record.
Graham Rees
(Covers records up to and including 2007)
References
CRAMP. S. (Editor), 1977 – 1994. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa : the birds of the Western Palearctic, Oxford University Press, 9 Vols.
Friday, December 24, 2010 at 1:01PM Puffinus griseus
The number of Sooty Shearwaters seen has been dependent on the nature of the weather systems occurring during the peak passage time, August to September. A trickle of small numbers were recorded during light to moderate winds, larger numbers in more turbulent weather.
During the 1980’s Atlantic depressions moving south-west to north-east with their centres passing over Northern Ireland and Scotland were prevalent. Locally these produced south-west gales which veered north-west before moderating when the system progressed further to the north-east.
The south-west component is thought to have displaced shearwaters from the Western Approaches into the Irish Sea. They were able to make their way back southwards when the wind wore around to the north-west, many of them passing close in to the north Pembrokeshire shore in the process. The largest counts of Sooty Shearwaters at Strumble Head were made during these conditions, i.e. 237 on the 1st September 1985 and 397 on the 3rd September 1983.
The depressions that occurred in August and September between 1990 and 2006 tracked further south with their centres over Pembrokeshire or further to the south. These systems did not produce the south-west going north-west winds locally, indeed they often produced easterly winds which did not prove favourable for placing Sooty Shearwaters in Pembrokeshire waters.
They did occasionally produce strong north winds blowing through the North Channel and down the Irish Sea, which pushed some Sooty Shearwaters close to the north Pembrokeshire shores but in lesser numbers than during the 1980’s. Counts between 11 and 35 were made on peak days, the maximum being 42 on the 14th September 2004.
Breakdown of Strumble Head totals
1980 - 89 1736
1990 - 99 645
2000 - 06 474
Graham Rees
(Covers records up to and including 2006)
Friday, December 17, 2010 at 10:39PM Puffinus gravis
The majority, 128 birds, were seen from Strumble Head, a further 8 from the islands of Skokholm, Skomer, Ramsey and South Bishop combined.
For a species known to mainly travel well offshore it might be expected that the majority passing through the Irish Sea would be out of sight from land. Opportunities to detect these have been limited by the cost and availability of suitable boats and rough weather sometimes limiting their use. Despite these restrictions a total of 93 birds have been logged in the offshore waters of Pembrokeshire.
A group of 23 were flushed by the passing Fishguard to Rosslare ferry on the 15th September 1981. Five sightings of single birds were made from the Smalls during the autumn of 1982 – 84 when there were daily observations from the lighthouse. One was seen south of Caldey on the 4th August 1991 from the Cork to Swansea ferry. Three were seen from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry on the 10th September 1999. Two were logged about 10 miles north of the Smalls on the 8th September 2006 from a ship on passage from the USA to Liverpool.
A total of 59 were encountered between 1998 and 2002 from shark–fishing vessels hired to visit the Celtic Deep area.
The largest incursions into our waters were in 1999 when a total of 41 was logged in the Celtic Deep compared to 11 inshore off Strumble Head and in 2002 when 17 were seen in the Celtic Deep and 29 recorded at Strumble Head.