Eurasian Scops Owl sensation at Dunvant Park, Swansea

On Saturday 6th December night mid evening, a tantalising text stating a magnificent Scops Owl had bee seen in Dunvant Park, Swansea, just 20 minutes from where I was staying at North Swansea Premier Inn had me intrigued it had been seen in neighbouring gardens and flown into a Eucalyptus tree along the Western edge of Dunvant Park in the Killay district of Swansea. I got myself ready and no sooner had I done so than another text camethrough saying it had just been seen 9.50pm. I have always been intrigued and wanting to see a Scops Owl in the UK ever since Richard Millington had put an entry in his wonderful "A Twitcher's Diary" book and he had even included a fabulous drawing of the one he had seen in Dummer, Hampshire, quite a few years ago. Of course, I had suffered a double dip with John H. and Tony S. when we had missed both the Yellow Warbler and Scops Owl sightings in Kent in December 2024, we had gone and failed to see both. Within 30 minutes, I was driving along Dunvant road, having seen the sign to the entrance to the park, I parked behind 4 cars mounted half on the pavement which looked suspiciously like birders cars! (They were!) It was pitch dark but I followed the obvious track heading west dissecting the middle of the parks environs and I was on the look out for people specifically birders. A gaggle of 4 people could be seen at a cross section of the path and one raised binoculars, I knew I had found them. Suddenly a powerful light lit up the park and illuminated the lower right hand frond of a tree around 150 metres to the right of us, perched on a branch was a small Owl, was it... it? I raised my bins and saw the delicate subtle greyish- brown plumage, small size (like a very slim small Little Owl!) and lovely yellow eyes, it was the magnificent Eurasian Scops Owl! Native to the Mediterranean, this nocturnal huneter is a rare vagrant to these shores. No sooner had we seen the bird in the powerful torchlight then the light was abruptly extinguished like a sudden order for a blackout. These were Swansea birders, proper field birders who were concerned and rightly so not to disturb the bird or its intended hunting regime for the following evening. They were armed with thermal imagers and they could easily pick out the bird, which with the naked eye was near impossible to locate. The bird must have flown left as it was then seen in another tree on the extreme western edge of the path and the birders waited until their Carmarthenshire birders arrived just 10 minutes later and the light pierced the darkness once more and richly illuminated this magnificent Owl particularly when it looked at us with its piercing yellow eyes, and incredible sight! It appeared totally unperturbed by the light and looked around and remained on this perch for the duration of my stay. One further couple appeared (I later learnt this was one of the excellent Birwatch magazine's correspondents who obviously lived nearby!) and again the Owl was illuminated once more again for a short duration of a couple of minutes before most of us decided to leave. Unfortunately, I had not brought my camera set up, so no pics of this bird I'm afraid. Instead, I have some Library pics from photos I took of a Scops Owl in Lesvos Spring 2014. LIBRARY PICS OF EURASIAN SCOPS OWL LESVOS SPRING 2014 BELOW

Kites seen on journey to Wales

I took my usual journey over to Wales on Saturday 6th December, to see my sister Judy and along the way, I noted Red Kites drifting over the M25 (2) with particular concentrations at Reading, Newberry and the Swindon Hill 2, 3 and 2 respectively.

Benacre dip

On Wednesday 3rd December, leaving work early I drove straight down to Covehithe, A Dunnock near Benacre Broad. I had to walk through the weedy field, as cliff erosion meant the well worn path was on the very edge of the cliffs. As I walked to the srea, dog walkers had just gone through, not a good omen. I checked the area both the beach, cliffs and cliff face right up to the pillbox in the sea, no sign of the Twite, one Robin was on territory by weeds in the area where they had been seen. Back at the Broad, loads of 300+ Teal and 200+ Wigeon plus 2 male Pintail and finally an immature female Marsh Harrier quartered the reeds at the back. Disappointing, especially as they had seen 40 minutes before (at 2pm) I had arrived at 2.40pm.

Sparrowhawk and 3 more rosettes

On Tuesday 25th November, at 3.30pm I found a further 3 more Bee Orchid rosettes in the James Paget Burrage Centre garden as I was putting canes in to mark where they were, a female Sparrowhawk flew west directly overhead. Job for tonight will be to make up 3 cages to put in tomorrow! UPDATE job complete!

Hume's at Southwold Churchyard

Early morning on Saturday 22nd November I looked around Corton ORT hoping to find my own Hume's W., no luck or any birds really and when I was greeted by a dog walker with 2 massive Great Danes bounding down towards me off lead, although they were friendly enough (ie: they didn't bark/ bite me or leap onto me), such large dogs automatically instill a great fear in me, so definitely time to leave, especially as Jake G. had just tweeted stating the Hume's was still at Southwold Churchyard; although elusive and mobile. A visit to the genteel resort of Southold is always a pleasure (except when it is completely overcrowded) & after negotiating the usual flood pool at Potter's bridge, South Cove (any deeper and it will be impassable), I parked close to St Edmunds Churchyard. As I walked in, a calling Grey Wagtail flew directly overhead and south and over the church. I then observed a group of birders directly in front of me, just north- east of the church including Jake G, Dick W. & a few others. They were staring intently into a large bush, always a good sign! Incredibly, as I walked up, the Hume's Warbler was seen immediately it was showing reasonably well and was the first bird I laid eyes upon! The Hume's was in the large bush directly in front of us and good binocular views were obtained, it was around 20 foot off the ground and flitting in the bush vegetation, but it was mostly obscured, it was typically a subdued version of YBW, duller plumage with grey crown, it called a few times and I even managed a few record shots. It then flew to a bush closer to us, and the suddenly it was gone, seen for all of 5 minutes. Jake used his magic tape and a tit flock immediately came in together with a bright Yellow- browed Warbler, which was with around with 10 Long-tailed Tits and 3 Goldcrest. They then moved on and a looking at a Sycamore with an ivy covered trunk, (nearer the Church by the NE section), no sign of the Tawny Owl but a Tit flock flew in and what a probably a Whitethroat, sylvia warbler with brown back, grey head. But it was back on as it flew to the tree and just briefly perched but then it flew directly into the ivy. We looked around the Churchyard later on and heard the Hume's call once in bushes just north of Southwold Arts centre but we couldn't relocate it.

Late autumn goodies

On Sunday 17th November, after a tweet saying the Temminck's Stint was still at Minsmere, I drove straight over there in the early afternoon. Entering the hide Andrew E. was there and he had the Temminck's Stint & kindly directly mne onto the bird which was stright out (of the north part of the hide) at the very back of the East scrape. It was on an island right at the back and very distant but it was regualrly eeding, the fine diminutive Temminck's Stint (my first ever in November) walking by the edge of the island. It showed light fawn brown back, white underparts and straw yellow legs. A larger Dunlin and was bullying it and it actually flew closer to the grassy green island to the north of the east scrape right in front of post number 8 and a better view was obtained until 3 Dunlin here forced it to feed around the back of the island. Andrew E. later picked it up on its original island were it fed by the island edge and even once in the water. A male Goldeneye flew in and settled on the water directly in front of the East scrape hide even throwing its head back and giving its distinctive but brief calling display. John B. entered the hide & later on in the afternoon, I was pleased to be the first to pick up an in-flying fine male Goosander which flew in and again settled on the water directly in front of the East Scrape before it swam left and then stood on the edge of an island and started preeing before roostings. Its underparts were a magnificent sunset amber in colouration, quite striking. A little later Andrew called out 3 female Goosander flew in from the south and settled on the polder to the north of the east scrape. Several flocks of 10's of thousands of Starlings , a murmuration of Starlings, wheeled about impressively in the sky. Around 8 Avocet seen and when they flew looked really striking plus Pintail and Wigeon. There were lots of Gulls including c15 LBB Gulls and the odd 4 Great Black- backed Gulls but strangely no Caspians amongst them (especially given there were 33 seen the previous afternoon!).

Saturday birds

On Saturday 15th November, a persistant headache meant I was confined to the garden only in the morning, there were 2 Blue Tits, a Great Tit and a Goldcrest in the garden and a look around Corton area (where I saw Rob H0 revealed 2 calling Redpolls that flew over and west at the Corton Old Rail Track. Another Redpoll heard but this time it was not seen. An Egyptian Goose flew over the field south of Corton OSW and out to sea, a first for this site but there was little else.