Mark Hipkin 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Wow, what an amazing moment that must have been to set eyes on them. Stunning birds and lovey photos capturing them together. Another great find, Dave 👏

Hopefully, better photos from others to follow over the next days/weeks/months #birdingWales

Excellent work again Frank! No doubt difficult call in fading light. I, along with a few others, managed to connect with it this AM. It quartered the brambles on and off btwn 10:00 to 12:50 offering decent views in variable light. I make it a sub-ad Fem, so poss returning bird, but I’m not an expert

We were almost certainly there at the same time Frank and yet I managed not to meet. You are my bogey birder 🤣
Great photos as always capturing the scenes really well. And what an amazing scene it was!!

The periodic birding hotspot that is Jackstones Pier and more Juvenile Sabine’s Gull shots - did I mention there were a magnificent seven of them at one point #birdingWales

Oh and there were Grey Phalaropes at Jackstones Pier, yesterday, too. 3 in fact and later another 4 were seen at the other end of Aberavon Beach at the Neath River mouth so a minimum of 7 in the area. Here’s a few shots of three from my morning visit #birdingWales

Oh my goodness! Jackstones Pier, Aberafan delivered another epic bonanza of gull action. 12.5 years after the Ross’s & Little Gull spectacle it’s time for Sabine’s Gulls to take over. Up to 7 birds present since 18/09/25 Every birder I spoke to yesterday could barely believe their eyes #birdingWales

I wouldn’t mind a big feeding group of Great Shears off Gower either 😊. I’m listing Glamorgan this year so not leaving the area much but looking forward to a few seawatching trips to Cornwall in 2026. My best seawatching experience ever was at Pendeen over a decade ago so want another one of those

Nice to get the Sabs with breaking waves in the background. Lovely shots!

Oh what I would do for just one of those Great Shears to come up and have a look at the Gower coastline in South Wales 🤣 Great video as always

#birdingWales

A few photos of the juv Sabs off Mumbles this afternoon . What an absolute stunner!!

Snap! I saw this bird too. In fact I saw it at 14:35 first much further out but it must have decided to turn back and head into Swansea Bay with the wind as I lost it while taking the waterproof covers off my camera. Very pleased that it came past again later

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Ok thanks Peter, that’s really sad and worrying trend. It would be good to see them where their numbers are healthy so perhaps a visit to see them among other cool birds in Iceland, Norway or Finland is in order

Not done that yet Mike, but thanks for alerting me to a missing entry to my bucket list
🪣📋

In many ways I feel Arctic Skuas are like Red Kites. It doesn’t matter how many I see, each one is captivating and cool to watch. Today’s parasitic bundle of joy is a striking pale morph ad that was powering out of Burry Inlet early afternoon. A striking bird seen both sides of estuary since Tues

Absolutely shocking that this goes on year on year. I guess it all comes
down to folk with money, power and influence who like holding guns and killing things

Thanks mate, the next few weeks look a bit tasty. I’ve been busily making note of coastal locations with Cypress trees and Tamarisks

Not sure about expected but listed below are species that I still need that might expect to be recorded in Glam most years.
Grey Part
Red- L Part
Whooper Swan
Long-t Duck
Turtle Dove
Little Tern
Iceland Gull
Leach’s
Glossy Ibis
Purple Heron
Wryneck
LSW
Woodlark
YBW
Brambling
Lapland Bunt
Snow Bunt

Thanks Bernie. If feels like the Autumn is delivering locally fairly frequently so hope that continues to the end of the year 🤞

Yesterday’s Black Terns were a mini-milestone in my attempt at the Glamorgan Bird Year List record. They took me to 210, and significantly, is exactly 2 months earlier than in my failed 2024 attempt. Video attached shows the 3 birds feeding in channel off Whiteford Lighthouse beach on falling tide

Well done buddy, that’s a great effort. I’m super pleased you were rewarded for chancing it late in the day. And what a bird. Credit goes to Lukas who picked it out and managed to shout at me 100m away to let me know he had it without flushing the birds. It was a great birding day in Glamorgan 😎

Fantastic find Chris!! And great record shot too 👏

Nice one Frank. Not absolutely but this might be the first sighting of any deer on Gower for an extremely long time. I did a mammal course a few years back and the tutor mentioned that they thought it odd Deer absent from Gower but also mentioned that Roe Deer would probably turn up at some stage

The day after my first ever Pelagic trip in the UK and I’m still absolutely buzzing to see my first Wilson’s Storm-petrel. The excellent trip run by @westcoastbirds.bsky.social from Neyland Harbour was a great adventure and made extra special when this beauty treated us to a fly-by

Wilson's Storm Petrel gliding over the sea (Mark Hipkin)

Wilson's Storm Petrel walking over the sea (Mark Hipkin)

Wilson's Storm Petrel gliding over the sea (Mark Hipkin)

First pelagic trip of 2025 off the Pembrokeshire coast today, a really enjoyable day with the highlight being this Wilson's Storm Petrel (thanks to @markhipkin.bsky.social for the excellent photos). #BirdingWales

YouTube video by Dave Goulson No More Beewashing! Why beekeeping doesn't help conserve bees.

No more Beewashing please! Why beekeeping doesn't help conserve bees. Pls RT if you agree.
youtu.be/fiBYBmlKSYU

Swallowtail Butterfly @ 2500m at Fort de la Turra which is a climb above Col du Mont Cenis on the old France Italy border in the Alps

I have been surprised to see a number of species that I know well at high altitudes on this trip. Swallowtails have been seen on most days with the highest observation just above Col de l’Iseran @ 2780m. Today I managed a photo of one ( looking NW) at Fort de la Turra above Col de Mont Cenis @ 2500m

Only three more nights left in Bonneval-sur-Arc in the French Alps. It’s been extremely enjoyable with 3 world ticks for me. But tonight I’m hoping for a few moths to photograph and ID, if possible, in the future.