Llanferran Pool at St Davids is a shallow scrape I check out daily, always hoping an interesting wader will turn up - it hasn't yet but four or five Garganeys were a good find for someone while I was away in Spain in early April. On May 7th though, a really handsome male Blue-headed Wagtail was feeding around the Pool and I managed a few record shots, before it flew off to the south.
This individual was the fourth record for this Spring, and amazingly these are the first spring records since 2000 - there have only been 4 autumn records in addition, since 2000. There were no records of the other races this century until the superb male Black-headed Wagtail found by a visitor to the County at Marloes Mere on 12th May 2013.
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Since initially completing this post, amazingly (in cold westerlies) a second Black-headed Wagtail has been found in Pembs, by a visiting birder at Marloes Mere. It was a stunning, bright male, the 19th for Britain and Pembs' second. Kathy and I heard it call as it flew a short distance, giving a rolling 'zrrreep' call, quite unlike flavissima. The Spring of 2013 is becoming a magic one for Yellow Wags. A few of record shots here:
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| Black-headed Wagtail Marloes Mere 12th May 2013 |
The Bigger Picture in Pembs
Our British version of the Yellow Wagtail complex, 'M.f. flavissima' is a pretty uncommon passage bird in Pembs, 10 together, in autumn, is about as good as it gets and some years are pretty barren. It seems that until the mid 1990's, Blue-headed Wagtail 'M.f. flava' was much more regular than it has become. The other regular visitor to Britain, Grey -headed Wagtail 'M.f. thunbergi' has been recorded 9 times, with the last at Flimstone on 30th May 1986.
Of the races, considered genuine rarities, a Spanish Yellow Wagtail 'M.f.iberiae' was reported on Skokholm 19th April 1989 but this race is, as yet, not on the British list so I guess it doesn't count. The genuine records are:
Ashy-headed Wagtail 'M.f. cinereocapilla' Skokholm 17th-20th May 1992
Black-headed Wagtail 'M.f. feldegg' Skomer 7th May 1986
Black-headed Wagtail 'M.f. feldeg' Marloes Mere 12th-13th May 2013.
Of the races, considered genuine rarities, a Spanish Yellow Wagtail 'M.f.iberiae' was reported on Skokholm 19th April 1989 but this race is, as yet, not on the British list so I guess it doesn't count. The genuine records are:
Ashy-headed Wagtail 'M.f. cinereocapilla' Skokholm 17th-20th May 1992
Black-headed Wagtail 'M.f. feldegg' Skomer 7th May 1986
Black-headed Wagtail 'M.f. feldeg' Marloes Mere 12th-13th May 2013.
Records of Blue-headed Wagtail in Pembs since 2000
Skomer and The Deer Park 29th April 2000
Skokholm 4th September and 2 Skokholm 24th September 2000
Skokholm 9th-12th September 2003
St Anne's Hd 19th April 2013 (SS)
Marloes Mere 21st April (DA) and Marloes Mere 30th April 2013 (DG,BS)
Llanferran Pool St Davids 7th May 2013 (MYP)
Nice one Mike. It's very useful to get a local appreciation of the scarcity of these races. Personally, i think our Yellow is still the best looking of the lot, but all the same, the other races are smart enough in their own way.
ReplyDeleteWell done getting the record shots.