Birding before Storm Darragh

 

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to get out and do some birdwatching. It would be a nice change of scene as I have spent a lot of time photographing trees and waterfalls in recent months.

A big storm named Darragh was soon to be upon us. Weather forecasters issuing a yellow warning for the Friday afternoon.

I decided to visit Peterstone Gout just before dawn and hopefully get a nice sunrise before the storm clouds and horrendous weather rolled in.

After quick pit stop en-route at Greggs I pulled up and parked at Peterstone Goldcliff. I was greeted by a beautiful red sky on the eastern horizon. For sure the saying "Red sky in the morning , shepherds warning" was going to be no truer a word said for what would come later in the day.

As ever looking up at that kind of sky made my heart jump a beat with excitement and I had a very good feeling that I was in for quite a spectacular sunrise and hopefully some good birding.

I quickly marched from the car park to the gout. The tide was going to be quite a high one and the estuary water was already flooding the muddy gout.

 The sky ahead of me was constantly changing. I think high up in the atmosphere there were strong winds causing a lot of turbulence as the storm slowly approached.

When I reached the birding screen the estuary was very serene. It was quite calm apart from the noise of the incoming tide and haunting calls of Curlews.

The red sky was reflected beautifully in the wet mud of the estuary. It all looked beautiful.

I then heard a friendly voice and was joined by one of my birding friends named Paul. I have so many birding friends named Paul - is this just some kind of coincidence or is there some secret algorithm that associates birding and photography with the name Paul and me.? It does make life easy for me so that I can remember peoples names but it does get confusing when I have to write about them in my blog or even worse when trying to explain to my mother who I have been out with for the day - she often says "Now what Paul is that you were out with?". So as as a result I have nicknames for the Pauls in my life. On this occasion at Peterstone I had the company of "Dr Paul" - he will know who I am talking about as will other readers I am sure.

I enjoy a good chat with Dr Paul and by the end of the morning I am sure his ears were aching after listening to my various stories, but we do have a good chuckle and share a passion for out feathered friends out there on the Gout.

We were not disappointed by the sunrise it was fantastic. 

Right on queue the birds woke up as the sun rose into the sky. A flock of Canada Geese flew past the viewing screen and the waders started to gather on the Gout as the tide came in. I love how the sun rising seems to flick a switch and nature starts to "fly" into action.

Highlights of our birding was a nice flock of Redshanks that were joined by some Dunlins. A flock of 14 Avocets really stood out and gave us some impressive views, especially when they took flight when a Peregrine Falcon disturbed the peace.

The redshanks were very nervous as a result and rarely settled for long. It was like they just could not find a comfortable spot and when they did they either got scared by something they could see above or the tide pushed them on.

Once the gout flooded completely its was a good time to move on and walk down towards Peterstone Village.

The hedgerows and fields had plenty of Fieldfare, Redwings and I also spotted a Green Woodpecker.

From the seawall near Peterstone, Dr Paul and I watched a big flock of waders gather close to the shoreline. They were constantly on the moved often taking flight and putting on a really good aerobatic show.

The flock consisted of Dunlins, Knot,Redshank, Grey Plover, Black Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Oystercatchers and Turnstone. In this location, stretching out across the salt marsh there were huge numbers of birds. Further along I could see Shelduck, ducks, geese and more waders. Peterstone appears to be a good place for Pintail Ducks especially.

So another great morning was to be had at Peterstone. I finished the morning with a very short drone flight to get some aerial pictures. Then it was time to pack up and head home before the storm hit.

Looking Eastwards across Peterstone Gout

Looking Westwards towards Peterstone Village and Rhymney Wharf