28 October 2010

European Storm Petrel off Aberavon Beach

A bit of seawatching this morning from Aberavon Beach brought some reward. 1 European Storm Petrel was seen darting through the surf off Aberavon Beach. I park at the car park off Scarlet Ave and usually have a quick scan from the end of the Esplanade. It was near enough the first bird I saw giving fleeting glimpses as it flew in the troughs between the waves.

You are more likely to see Leach's Storm Petrel at this time of year but this bird was much more compact and smaller looking. Also showed the white band of the underwing well. Unfortunately being close to sea level at this location, combined with the nature of the bird to stay close to the water's surface, it was soon lost heading into Swansea Bay.

Also of note are the Great Crested Grebe numbers. I have already recorded 89 from this area recently. The numbers have been increasing steadily and look set to continue doing so. I have to say that the vast numbers of Great Crested Grebes with occasional Divers on the sea here provided one of my highlights of last winter and I'm looking forward to a similar showing this winter. The early signs are looking good!

No comments: