Gull-billed Tern:Loughor

I'd noted with interest the Gull-billed Tern found last weekend by Rob Taylor (great find Rob !) at WWT Penclacwydd which for the last few days has been commuting with the tide between WWT and Loughor Bridge.
I fancied an evening visit after work but until yesterday the lousy weather had literally put a damper on things.

A text from Mark Hipkin yesterday advising that he had been able to arrange access to the marsh through the new railway bridge construction site was too good an opportunity to miss and after a couple of phone calls I was soon winging my way down to Junc 36 at Sarn on the M4 to meet up with fellow "togger" Richard Smith.

We had arranged to meet Peter Morgan at the site and walked out to the marsh south of the bridge with Mark and Rich Facey and his partner hoping we could get reasonably close views and a good photo oppotrtunity.

The bird was present feeding at low tide on the sandbanks with Black-headed Gulls and we all managed a few record shots of the bird at rest and in flight,unfortunately it kept it's distance and never came close enough to get a really good shot.
As we stood hoping that the bird would fly in a little closer it took to the air again and relocated even further away and we eventually lost sight of it completely in the gathering gloom.

Although not an avid lister nowadays it was pleasing to add it to my Glamorgan and Wales list the only other member of the species I have seen being a distant bird out on the Exe estuary a few years ago with Dan and Wayne.

Reed Warblers:Llangors Lake

Generally quiet around the woodlands so spent an hour photographing Reed Warblers down at the lake.

Llynfi Valley Redstarts

Spent an hour in some nice light yesterday evening photographing a family of Common Redstarts on private land south of Maesteg that I have access to where the young had all fledged and some were still being attended to by the parent birds.

Woods and Water

After the thrill of catching up with the White Storks on the Friday I spent a little time on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning around Llangors Lake,Coed-y-Parc,Talgarth and Llwyn-Y-Celyn Wood,Storey Arms and managed some shots of the adult Little Tern which had visited the lake,Reed Warbler,Pied and Spotted Flycatcher.

"Which do you prefer,Stork or butter"

Showing my age with that title !!
Had a week off work over the Whitsun Bank Holiday and couldn't have picked a worse one for weather unless I fancied sea-watching in driving rain which I didn't.
The foul weather prevented us from going up to the caravan until Friday 8.June and I thought that I would make a bit of a detour on our way and try to catch up with the four White Storks that had shown up a couple of days previously in Dingestow,Gwent just off the A40 following their tour of various parts of the UK over several weeks.
Although I've seen hundreds on the continent White Stork is a species that I hadn't caught up with in the UK despite a couple of attempts including the bird just north of Neath last year.
I got directions from Mark Hipkin who had visited in the morning and after a few phone calls including one to Steve "The Wader" Hinton eventually found the field that the birds had been favouring for feeding.
There were no other birders around and the birds were also conspicuous by their absence,I drove the back lanes around the surrounding fields and spent time scanning but to no avail.
An hour and a half had passed and I was just about to call it a day when I caught sight of the birds in flight and they appeared to land in one of the fields across the main road from their "regular" field.
I set off (foolishly without my camera !) in pursuit and found the four storks in a small field at the side of the turn off from the main road into Dingestow village,whilst they were tolerant of passing vehicles as soon as they glimpsed me they took to the air and landed again in the opposite field but luckily only about 35m from the boundary hedge which would give me some cover.

I retrieved my camera from the Jeep and leaving Teresa having a snooze I sidled into one of the small gaps in the hedgerow and just managed a brief burst of shots before the birds sensed me again and took flight.
The birds seemed reluctant to land again and circled for around 20 mins before disappearing out of view in an easterly direction.
I'd briefly by the skin of my teeth managed a couple of ground shots and then spent the time that the birds were still in range getting a selection of flight shots some of which I was quite pleased with.

After a very slow start the afternoon had finally come together,a UK "tick" and some reasonably decent photos in the can,I was one happy "togger" as I drove the remainder of the trip up to the caravan.
I had been contemplating giving Friday afternoon a miss and going for the birds on Saturday morning,glad I didn't as they had disappeared by early morning and were seen in flight over the M4/M5 junction near Bristol mid-morning and have since visited North Wales and settled again briefly on the Somerset Levels.

Gropper - Return visit

Made a return visit a couple of weeks ago to the scrubby field behind Maesteg Cemetery in the hope of catching up with Grasshopper Warbler again.

I picked a nice evening after work and one eventually showed in some nice low evening light (makes all the difference) and I managed a few shots of the obliging bird.