Alpine Accentor - 1997 - first for Pembrokeshire

The autumn half-term holiday of 1997 found my extended family and I staying in a holiday cottage in Porthgain.  A time to escape the city with the odd spot of birding thrown in.  A trip to Ramsey Island and seeing choughs for the first time in several years were the limits of our ornithological ambitions for the week.

With both of these achieved, on Thursday 30th October my partner and I set off for an afternoon drive to Fishguard, stopping off at Strumble Head on the way.  On arrival, at 13:45, we spent 15 minutes in the look-out watching the plentiful porpoises offshore.  Being an almost windless day, bird movements were minimal and confined to the ubiquitous gannets and the odd auk.  We then walked toawards the lighthouse and, on reaching the concrete steps leading down to the walkway over to the lighthouse, a bird appeared on the wall in front of us. On looking though my binoculars I was astounded to find that it was immediately recongnisable as an Alpine Acentor, a bird I had last seen in similar surroundings on the Isle of Wight, eight years previously.

For the next 15 minutes we watched the accentor as it remained in constant view on the wall, steps and nearby rocks at a range of around 5 metres.  It was tame and lethargic and was not seen to feed.  Sara returned to the car to fetch a notebook and camera and on her arrival back I attempted to take some photos - although with eventually disappointing results. 

We also noted the bird's salient features: it's portly, skylark-sized, appearance; black wing-converts tipped with white to form two wingbars; creamy stripes on the mantle; white throat flecked with black, heavy rufous streaking on the breast sides extending and darkening on the flanks, belly and undertail converts; tail tipped white and extensive yellowing base to the bill. The "naked eye" appearance of a grey-brown bird being belied by these distinctive features.

After a while I became aware that several people were queuing behind us on the steps and I decided to leave to try to find other birders in the area.  I returned a few minutes later with three "casual" birdwatchers who, although appearing interested in my find, had not heard of the bird.  Unfortunately there were now many people on the steps were the bird had been, attracted by the sight of some seals on the beach.  After seeing it again very briefly on nearby rocks before it was disturbed, we left the area to drive the four miles to the nearest phone-box to try to contact my father.  We left a message with the somewhat bewidered owner of our cottage and, not being aware of any local birder's numbers, phoned the news through to a national birdline.

At 15:00, on arriving back at the site, I quickly refound the accentor where it had last been seen, but again only briefly before it was flushed, dropping down over the cliff-edge.  Disappointingly, the area was then subject to constant disturbance for the next hour and more, including a party of rock-throwing teenagers!  At just before 16:30 I gave up searching, rather fearing the worst for a bird which had not been seen outside the same small area or flew any distance.  It was, to my knowledge, never seen again.

The Alpine Accentor was the first for Pembrokeshire and second for Wales, athough the first this century.  It was only the eleventh UK record since 1958 being the fourth autumn recod in the time.  There had been strong southerly winds the previous day and perhaps the bird had found itself in the Irish Sea and made landfall at Strumble Head while attempting to reorientate

Sean Davies (Bristol)

Pembrokeshire Bird Report 1997

Update on Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 11:04AM by Pembrokeshire Avifauna committee

Record accepted by BBRC in 1998

Strumble Head

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Strumble Head  Birding sites in Pembrokeshire

Knot - autumn passage

Calidris canutus

Post 1949 the Knot has principally remained an autumn migrant, which has passed through from the 13th July to November, occasionally into December.  Records have mostly involved one to 20 birds per occasion but 36 were seen at Angle Bay on the 23rd September 1999, 40 there on the 24th October 1963 and 43 on the 11th September 2000, 22 at the Gann on the 6th September 1991 and 24 at Frainslake on the 4th August 1997.

Flocks have also been noted moving southwards offshore which in all probability did not alight in the county and possibly not until they had reached France or beyond. This movement has involved 25 passing Ramsey on the 30th September 2001, 67 passing Skokholm on the 29th September 1958, 30 doing the same on the 25th August 1979 and a total of 2,742 logged passing Strumble Head in the autumn between 1983 and 2006.

The Strumble Head passages have been annual but variable, the fewest in a year being 21 in 1986, the most 578 in 1999. Groups of up to 20 birds were mainly involved but larger flocks were seen on many occasions, the largest being 85 on the 20th August 1983 and 90 on the 26th September 1996.

Pattern of passage, Strumble Head, 1983 – 2006 in six day periods.

Knots were also recorded during a lighthouse attraction at Strumble Head in the early hours of the 25th September 1985.

Sooty Shearwater - analysis

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)

Great Shearwater - Where seen

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.

Balearic Shearwater - Analysis of Strumble Head records

Puffinus mauretanicus

From one to five birds per occasion were recorded from Skokholm, Skomer, Grassholm, Ramsey,

Whitesands Bay, St David’s Head, Fishguard Bay, St Govan’s Head, from the Rosslare to Fishguard ferry and in the Celtic Deep area. However intensive watching at Strumble Head revealed a greater presence in local waters than observations elsewhere hitherto suggested.  

The annual totals are probably over-estimates as they would include individuals remaining in the observation area for more than one date. Unlike most other seabirds which are generally seen passing north to south through local waters in the autumn, Balearic Shearwaters arrive from the south in search of food and are often seen feeding offshore.

Hours of observation

 

The number seen has varied from year to year.  The hours of observation compared with birds seen indicates that this was not just a consequence of observer effort. The trend over the 23 year period was of increase.

This was part of an increase noted throughout south west Britain at this time, demonstrated by Wynn and Yesou (2007), which was probably due to a warming of the sea surface causing small fish shoals, the prey of this species, to move  further north than in the past.

Most were recorded between July and November, the largest numbers between August and October. Counts at Strumble Head have usually consisted of one to six birds per day but rising to about 20 when strong northerly winds blew. Higher counts of 33 on the 4th October 1996, 36 on the 2nd October 1999, 37 on the 22nd September 2003 and the maximum recorded of 93 on the 7th October 2006, occurred when there were strong northerly winds, which pushed birds closer inshore than they might otherwise have approached. Exceptional numbers of Balearic Shearwaters were seen in the waters of south west Britain including Wales, in the autumn of 2006.

Patterns of occurrence at Strumble Head: total numbers.

 There have been a few sightings outside the July to November period: once at the Smalls in December 1984 and January 1983, 10 times in eight different years at Strumble Head in December and 10 times in four years in January. None have been recorded in March but singles have been noted at Skomer on the 25th April 1991, at Skokholm on the 15th May 1997, from the Fishguard to Rosslare ferry on the 25th May 1997, near Grassholm on the 2nd June 1993, off Strumble Head on the 2nd February 2002, 16th April 1990, 2nd June 1993, 2nd June 1996 and 8th June 1987. 

From time to time observers have pointed out that some shearwaters seen in Pembrokeshire waters resemble Yelkouan Shearwater. Other observers considered these birds could be particularly pale Balearic Shearwaters. Those breeding on Manorca would appear to exhibit mixed characteristics of both Balearic and Yelkouan Shearwaters, further clouding the issue.

Graham Rees

(Covers records up to and including 2006)

References

WYNN. R. And YESOU. P. 2007. The changing status of Balearic Shearwater in northwest European waters, British Birds, Vol. 100, 392 – 406.