Xmas wishes

 All the best to those who still support this erstwhile great blog and may you have a grand birding year to come. Special thanks to all at the Osprey project for the brilliant job they do and naturally Emyr and Janine. I raise a glass to you all.

Buzzards fighting

 

2 Buzzards fighting, Mochdre (at Dave Lister's reserve), 13 Dec. Many thanks to Rob Jackson for the photo. Rob writes, "Never ever, ever, in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to get two Buzzards in the same photo, but today I did. The fact that they were fighting was absolutely mind blowing, what a moment to capture. Huge thanks to David Lister for having this amazing experience

A very pale Woodcock

 

This very pale Woodcock was recently ringed by one of our local ringers (under BTO licence). The great majority of our Woodcock are winter visitors, breeding mostly in Scandinavia or Russia. They are mostly nocturnal, feeding either in woods or out in open fields in the uplands, probing soft earth with their long bills.  

BTO Ringing report added to the county bird report 2024

 

The BTO have now released the ringing data for Montgomeryshire in 2024, which can be viewed by clicking on the tab County Reports at the top of this page, choosing the 2024 report and scrolling down to p.33. A grand total of 6,704 individuals of 64 species were ringed in the county. The species most ringed was Siskin, with an astonishing total of 2,217. Next came 784 Pied Flycatchers (almost all pulli, which are nestlings). After the Ringing Report comes a list of recovered birds that were ringed or found ringed in Montgomeryshire. Among the most interesting is a Golden Plover ringed near Kerry, whose leg (with ring) was found on the island of Surtsey, Iceland. There are also details of especially elderly Blue Tit, House Sparrow and Dunnock, all aged at least six years. Many thanks to Clare Boyes for help with uploading.

Alwyn Ifans

 Having just learned from 'The Otter' that Alwyn has retired , I felt obliged on behalf of myself & Sue to post a few words of thanks to this lovely guy: we have visited Cors Dyfi since it opened and always received a warm and cheery welcome from him-the perfect man to welcome all visitors( and sometimes deal with the odd awkward customers!!!). I'm delighted to hear that he will still pop in to volunteer sometimes , so we need not be too sad!

We wish you all the very best Alwyn and still hope to have a word now and then.

Take care and enjoy.

Kev& Sue.

Recent sightings from round the county

8 Nov    Golden Plover, 181, on Heldre Hill, Long Mountain near Welshpool

8 Nov    Shoveler, 1 male, Lymore Upper Pool, Montgomery

8 Nov    Brambling, 1 female, Mochdre

8 Nov    Woodpigeon, more than 1,500 heading from Welshpool towards Newtown, early a.m.

                (n.b. A staggering total of 242,000 today over Newport Wetlands, S. Wales)

6 Nov    Fieldfare, 175, Redwing 30, and Brambling 4 at Llwynygog near Staylittle

3 Nov    Pintail, 8, at Llyn Coed-y-Dinas

2 Nov    Crossbill, 4, over Middletown Village

28 Oct   Whooper Swan, on nocturnal recorder, over Middletown 

Many thanks to Kevin Gallagher, Tony Coatsworth, Dave Lister, Chris Townsend, Paul Leafe, Luke Reynolds and Phil James for these records.  

Dolydd Hafren open again

 Dolydd Hafren has been re-opened after a few days closed for maintenance. Thanks to MWT for the news. The track is bumpy and muddy but passable with care even by non-4x4. 

Cambrian Mountains Society Seminar

 

2025

Seminar Cymdeithas Mynyddoedd Cambria

Cambrian Mountains Society Seminar

Speakers/ Siaradwyr

 

Words and Pictures: The Guardian Country Diary   John Gilbey, journalist

                Geiriau a Lluniau: Dyddiadur Gwlad y Guardian 

 

Impact of forestry on rural communities                                  Will Lock, 

              Effaith coedwigaeth ar gymunedau gwledig                     University of Sussex

 

Dragonflies and damselflies                                                 Red Liford, naturalist Gweision y neidr a pry merchedion                      

                                          Free Entrance/ Mynediad am dim

Clatter Community Centre Canolfan Gymunedol Clatter

11 October 2025             11 Hydref 2025

2-4pm, followed by tea  2-4pm ac wedyn te

An Archive from the Montgomeryshire Field Society

 

MFS Annual Reports 1947-1973: extracts of bird sightings

An archive of these reports from the National Museum of Wales was recently handed to me. I have extracted the following records and now passed the archive onto MFS, who hope to digitize it in due course. The full archive contains not only bird notes, but records of other fauna and flora in the county. In the earlier years, J.H.Owen was the principal ornithologist, and William Condry contributed records from the west of the county. From 1967 Roger Lovegrove compiled the bird reports. Many records were submitted by Ken Stott.

1948:   Corncrakes calling at Meifod, Welshpool, Deytheur, and Llandrinio. Young were seen at                     Tynllwyn, Welshpool.

             Chough: 1 pair bred successfully.

             Red-backed Shrike: nested successfully at Llanymynech.

             Nightjar : nested successfully at Llanymynech.

1951:    Woodlark nested Llanymynech Hill, juvs. in nest in July.

             Spotted Flycatcher: 127 nests were found and monitored by J. H. Owen.

1952:    Leach’s Petrel was found dead at Aberbechan.

1955:    Little Auk was found dead near Catle Caereinion.

             Golden Oriole: one singing, location not mentioned. This species appears in other years too.

1956:    Corncrakes ‘decreasing drastically.’

             Woodlark: still nesting at Llanymynech.

1957:    Hoopoe: 1 at Plas-y-Court, Middletown, 4 Apr; 2 at Llandysilio (Four Crosses), 25 Nov.

1958:    Woodlark on Long Mountain, probably nested Leighton Woods.

1961:    Crane in a field in Llangadfan, with a full description that rules out Heron: ‘black bushy       tail-like feathers and head markings clearly seen.’

1963:     Turtle Dove: 6 pairs recorded in the county

1964:     Yellowhammer: 100 at Groes near Guilsfield in March. ‘Good numbers in hedgerows                          everywhere.’

1965:     Golden Plover: 20+ pairs nesting on moors near Llanbrynmair.

1966:     Woodcock: several pairs bred Gregynog

               Redshank nested Hem near Forden.

1967:      Black-headed Gull colonies held 700 pairs (Llyn Hir), 650 pairs (Llyn Tarw), Llyn Lort 100   pairs, Llyn Mawr 80 pairs.

               Siskin: not known to nest in the county. Just occasional records.

1968:      White-fronted Goose: 1,080 Leighton in Feb.

               Black Grouse: ‘quite numerous’ in Hafren and Dyfnant Forests.  

               Golden Plover: 40 pairs on one moor in west of county. Numbers vary greatly year to year:                   some years very few found.

               Reed Warbler: first known breeding in county. 4 singing males at Lymore, Montgomery.

               Fieldfare: much more numerous as winter visitor than Redwing.

1969:      Grey Heron: only known heronry in county is at Bryngwyn (Bwlch-y-Cibau), 11 pairs. (22    pairs in 1971).

               Corncrake: probably nested successfully at Aberbechan and Pontdolgoch.

   Woodcock: bred Gregynog; roding (territorial display flight) at Aberhafesp and Moel-y-Garth

   Chough: bred at ‘usual site’: (I assume this is the quarry at Centre of Alternative Technology,                   where I saw them nesting in the early 1980s).

   Sand Martin: 1,300 pairs estimated along the length of the Severn in the county.

   Great Crested Grebe: bred at the following lakes: Gwyddior, Ebyr, Llyn Du, Gwgia,                             Vachwen Pool, Maesmawr, Lymore, Llyn Mawr and Van Pool.  

1970:      Great Crested Grebe: as above, plus Clywedog, Bryngwyn and Glansevern.

               Red-breasted Merganser: nested successfully near Llanwrin on the Dyfi.

               Grey Partridge: many records throughout the eastern part of the county.

               Turtle Dove: still several pairs.

1972:      Arctic Skua found dead near Llanrhaeadr.

1973:      Great Skua found dead near Bettws: first county record.

   Whitethroat: first signs of recovery in numbers after disastrous UK-wide 1967 crash in     numbers after drought in the Sahel.

               Wood Warbler: ‘reasonably common’ throughout the county’s woodlands.

               Ring Ouzel: 4 known breeding sites: Lake Vyrnwy, Carno, Dernol Valley, and Pennant                           Melangell.

In case you feel saddened by the loss or decline of many of the above species, the trawl through these records also reveals that some species such as Stock Dove, Reed Warbler, Stonechat, Redstart, Goldfinch and Siskin are now more numerous than in the post-war period. Now we know about 11 heronries in the county, compared with just one in 1969.