Carmarthenshire's First Temminck's Stint, Stirring Spoonbills, and a Hobby
The saline lagoons are bursting with bird activity after some big spring tides.
One tiny wader made a particularly big impact on our site this week
Wildlife Sightings at WWT Llanelli from 20th to 28th August 2025
Highlights: Temminck's Stint, Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Ruff, Hobby, Spoonbill, Marsh Harrier, Bar-tailed Godwit, juvenile Kingfisher, Cattle Egret, Whimbrel
The Saline Lagoon area is back in business! After a long dry spell, the big spring tides have finally been able to top them up - and the birds have wasted no time in returning to make use of them! The views from the British Steel Hide have been absolutely aflutter with activity, with 14 different species of wader spotted in just the last few days. The biggest highlight of the week was undoubtedly Carmarthenshire's first-ever Temminck's Stint on Monday 25 August 2025.
A tiny wader measuring no more than 15cm long from beak to tail and weighing just 20-40g, the bird's unexpected appearance marks the first record for the county.
Other wading stars of the Saline Lagoon included a Ruff, three Spotted Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel. A staggering 1015 Black-tailed Godwit were counted on Monday, with a peak of 41 Greenshank nearby to reinforce our reputation as possibly the UK's best site for passage Greenshank. 402 Curlew were counted, their haunting and very welcome calls echoing across the lagoons.
Three Cattle Egret have also been showing together, living up to their job title by hanging about the grazing cattle herd and helping with insect control.
Over on the Dafen Scrapes on Thursday 28th August, birders were rewarded with a blown-in Grey Phalarope showing well from the Goodall's Hide and British Steel Hide.
Another sign of the changing seasons, the Spoonbill flock of three is still visible from the British Steel Hide. It surely won't be long before they're joined by their friends for the winter - we can't wait to see the flock grow again!
The birds of prey have also been making their presence known this week, with a Peregrine Falcon spooking everything, and a Marsh Harrier clocked flying over on Wednesday 27 August. A Hobby was also spotted on Wednesday, only the second sighting of the year so far.
Out on the Millennium Wetlands, highlights include Lapwing and Gadwall, and the juvenile Kingfisher have been seen fishing successfully for themselves!
The air is still buzzing with insect life, including Clouded Yellow, Comma, Small Copper, Peacock, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown butterflies, and lots of dragonflies on the wing. Look out for Southern Hawkers, Emperors, Migrant Hawkers and Common Darters as we move into September.
If you'd like to get better acquainted with the dragons, don't miss our upcoming expert talk from Dr Sazer.
Featured Photo Credit: WWT image of a Temminck's Stint at WWT Slimbridge.
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