Ixobrychus minutus – Aderyn Bwn Leiaf – Rare visitor
Little Bitterns breed through much of Europe but is a rare vagrant to Britain. The first early records come from Mathew (1894): an adult male at Merlin’s Bridge was trapped beneath the wheel of the Mill and became part of the Mathias collection, later donated to Tenby Museum. He cites two other specimens collected including one in the same collection but there is no evidence either was obtained in Pembs. Later Lockley et al (1945) wrote of ‘singles off the Pembrokeshire Coast’ in 1899, shot near Fishguard in ‘about 1916’ and ‘taken’ near Solva ‘many years ago’.
There have been a further eight records in the modern era and these records are, thankfully, properly documented:
1964 – One found dead at Broad Haven 26th April (KJS Devonald) male
1970 – Sandy Haven 18th April (J Lloyd et al) male
1983 – Dowrog Common 3rd May (C Lambourne, KJS Devonald, GH Rees) male
1993 – Whitesands, found dead 12th April (J Bennett, R Hadfield) Specimen retained by JB. male
1995 – Castlemartin, a wing found 2nd April (GH Rees et al) male
1995 – Cilgerran Gorge 6th May (PE Davies) female
2008 – A garden near Haverfordwest 7th-10th May (G&S Davies) later found dead (ID by RJ Haycock). male
2012 – Teifi Marshes 19TH-20TH April, (S Bebb et al) 2CY male
That four of the eight records involved dead birds is remarkable. The Teifi Marshes bird stayed just long enough to allow an opportunity for photographs. Clearly a male, the body plumage has moulted to attain adult plumage and an adult tertial can be clearly seen, contrasting with the majority of the retained juvenile wing feathers, proving that this is an immature bird. (top photo)
MYP 29/05/2013. Updated with records in the Pembrokeshire Bird Reports
