Twitchers out of line again sadly! The Baillon's Crake on Malltraeth Marsh RSPB reserve has attracted a lot of interest as any mega rare bird would. The majority of birders/twitchers have behaved well on site and been content with hearing the bird from an area opened up by the RSPB especially for visitiors keen to the hear the bird. The derelict buildings on the site are strictly out of bounds to all but sad to report at least four twitchers have climbed the dangerous building and not only that have used tape lures to see the bird while those who followed RSPB advice heard it but did not see the bird. What gives these idiots the right to ignore advice of the landowners and trespass? This behaviour will surely result in future rare birds being suppressed at this site, and likely other RSPB reserves. Thanks very much you inconsiderate idiots! If information is correct the situation is made worse by these same people being involved in national bird information services, they are paid staff, and these same services say "bird is impossible to see" which of course is correct if you respect on site directions from the RSPB landowner! And people complain about suppression? No wonder with people like this in the birding community! If you see people out of line, not just here, but at any twitch please speak up and try and stop this minority from yet again tarring birding/twitching with a bad name. Alan and Ruth www.thebiggesttwitch.com

Baillon's Crake Sound recordings

Click on the link for Baillon's Crake calling at Malltraeth Marsh RSPB this evening - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jBx6b1aSmI&list=UUZiq0jOB7tehyr-DpNfkFXw&index=1&feature=plcp Here is a sonogram of the crake calling - the call is the tightly packed lines between 2.5 and 4.0 kHz on 3, 6,9, 17, 22,24,26 and 30 seconds- click on the picture for an enlarged sonogram.

Baillon's Crake, Malltraeth Marsh RSPB

The crake was heard again this evening at 20-40m range but not viewable.  Access from A5 to carpark at SH464725.  It called most this eve between 22:00-22:30.  Sound recordings to follow.

Thanks to RSPB for allowing access to 'listening' area.

Rob

Cream Coloured Courser

On crest of a Wave

Put the moth trap back on last night after hols and ended up catching a new garden record, a smart Waved Umber. Two shuttle shaped darts also caught.

Glaslyn gulls.

A cracking Summer-plumaged adult Little Gull was on Llyn Bach at Porthmadog this afternoon before flying over to the Glaslyn nearby where it was joined by an Iceland Gull.

Courser, Bradnor Hill, Herefordshire

Wow!  Bleary-eyed turning my phone alarm off this morning, like many other people, I also made out a series of messages along the lines of "CCC, Hereford, f###laming heck".  A few hours later saw John R, Kev 'crutch' and I on England's highest golf course in blazing sunshine watching a crippling full adult Cream-coloured Courser running around the 8th fairway and adjacent area of short bracken.  In all the excitement my camera was on a low rez setting and together with a 'respectable' distance and heat-haze they're quite poor but you get the gist. 
Nicely unblocked from the smug Scilly crew.  Very pleased that other NW birders got there today too.
Rob