Things have gone quiet on the hill but we do have a pair of resident redstarts (and another on the common land below), at least one pair of siskins, great spotted woodpecker and nuthatch. The odd treecreeper passes by but we hardly ever see long tailed tits this high . Several pairs of kites patrol the ridges and valleys and at least one pair is nesting in the valley below. Several pairs of skylarks nesting higher on the ridge too. We hardly ever hear or see cuckoo, curlew, spotted flycatcher or pied flycatcher although all were fairly regular visitors 5 or 6 years ago as was the occasional yellowhammer on the common.

Llyn Coed y Dinas

A quick visit for an hour this afternoon provided the best birding of the year, certainly in an hour!. Various BH Gulls in different stages of breeding and plumage, a male Widgeon (injured?), White wagtail, a Moorhen trying to build a nest 4 feet up some rushes and a gorgeous GC Grebe near the hide. Also, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing, Wren and Chiffchaff singing but the stars of the show were the Reed warblers and Reed buntings right in front of the hide almost at arms length. Incredible views. This little 'gem' as Elfyn calls it below is a must see at this time of year. More info from the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust on 01938 555 654. Take a camera - you won't need anything larger than a 300mm lens for the two reed species.

Sleepless Owl!

There was hell of a racket coming from the cypress trees by my house this afternoon as a host of blackbirds and thrushes ganged up on a resting tawny owl. I saw it shift from one tree to another. It could have been a young bird.
I saw a peregrine hunting over Llwyngwern near Machynlleth this afternoon.

Common Gull @ Llyn Coed y Dinas

A 2nd summer Common Gull dropped in for 10 minutes or so this evening before heading off south.

Hares

I saw a stunning male redstart at Tal-y-Wern near Machynlleth today that's not an unusual sight around these parts but I also saw a solitary hare. Of course this is a bird blog but the hare is such a rare sight nowadays that I thought it worthy of mention.

Manafon Magic.....

I decided to take a little trip down to the river at Manafon this evening and I was very pleased that I did. In one of the smallest river banks you can imagine there were a couple of pairs of Sand Martins, upstream there were Dippers and Spotted Flycatchers, a small way downstream there were Kingfishers, and just as I was about to get in the car a Group of 25-30 Long-tailed Tits decided to drop in.

Blue Tit comes to sticky end.

This good weather is great for aphids, and having a greenhouse, I have for many years used the bright yellow traps which cause them and whitefly to form a close and lasting relationship. It was therefore with horror that this morning I discovered a freshly dead Blue Tit which was firmly stuck by wings, body and tail to the plastic strip. At this time of year the greenhouse vents are open and the bird must have made its way in, and perhaps tried to take the insects from the sticky trap. I've not heard of this happening before - does anyone know of precedents?

Last Saturday saw a successful "Beginner's Birdwatch" session at Llyn Coed-y-Dinas, put on by Montgomeryshire W.T.. Only 26 species recorded, but excellent views of the Reed Warblers, and a pair of Reed buntings right in front of the hide. Add that to perfect views of the Great Crested Grebe underwater as it torpedoed after the abundant fry, and distraction display by the Common Sandpipers and it was an interesting day. Thanks to MWT staff, Eley and Sandy who also spent time in the hide as we tried to remain hydrated given the heat of the day.

Spotted Flycatcher @ New Mills

At least 3 in a very small wood near my house this morning, oddly one of them was feeding like a warbler from time to time!

Red-legged Partridge @ Pantyffridd

Although they had probably escaped from a local farm, I was quite excited to see a pair of Red-legged Partridges on the way to work this morning!

Med Gull @ Llyn Coed y Dinas

Juv/1st summer reported around 15:30 yesterday afternoon, sadly not seen this morning!!

Llyn Coed-y-Dinas

I paid a visit to Llyn Coed-y-Dinas near Welshpool today which is a reserve managed by the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust. What a cracking place this is. The hide is well situated overlooking a decent sized pool. The most obvious bird here is the black-headed gull which breeds here in good numbers and their raucous cries fill the air. I was really impressed with the variety of bird species I saw the water birds alone were enough to please the wildfowl enthusiasts and included species such as shelduck, Canada geese, wigeon, tufted duck, mallard, moorhen, coot and chicks, great crested grebes. Who needs to go to Slimbridge to look at waterfowl! There were lapwings too and a common sandpiper feeding at the water's edge. Cormorants rested on one of the islands in the pool. I watched a stock dove making feeding forays from a nest box affixed to a mature oak. In the reeds directly below the hide I was enthralled by the reed warblers which emitted their rattling song and gathered nest material. These were the best views I have had of this species. I also saw a female reed bunting. The surrounding trees and scrub were alive with the songs of skulking warblers such chiffchaff, blackcap or garden warbler. There were song thrushes and blackbirds too.

I reckon every community in Britain should have a wild area like this on its doorstep such reserves not only provide a haven for birds and other wildlife but allows people to get active in the countryside. It is an indication of what can be achieved by the creation of a man made environment for the benefit of wildlife. When I was in the hide I was joined by a party of jubilant schoolchildren and their teachers who were apologetic for the intrusion and the noise level created by their progeny but I think its great to see kids out and about enjoying the local environment a bit of 'green therapy' can be beneficial and help them understand the natural World. Another thing I liked about this reserve is its accessibility to disabled persons. If you are wheelchair bound then this is a great place to visit. There are large perspex windows in the hide which allows good observation of this watery gem and its attendant bird-life.

After returning home from my journey to Welshpool I noted that my windscreen was plastered with dead insects clearly a sign that there is plenty of food around for our insectivorous birds.

Plenty of excitement at Dolydd Hafren event

Well, 40 bird species recorded during my recee at Dolydd Hafren yesterday and only 39 during the event today, but the excitement of today's sightings far outway numbers!

The reeds in front of the first hide provide a great opportunity to view Reed Buntings, Reed and Sedge Warblers at close quarters, giving me a chance to listen to the differences in song of the latter two. From the second hide, we also enjoyed watching a Peregrine bathing in the river, although he didn't stay too long once the Oystercatchers starting mobbing him. However, nothing could beat the fantastic views of a Hobby foraging for insects over the river, a first for me and what better introduction! Given that he came back every 30 minutes or so, I guess that there must be a nest nearby!

Dippers @ New Mills

A pair of Dippers in New Mills are diong well with there second brood now, which are nearly a week old!

Common Tern @ Llyn Coed y Dinas

3 present this evening, along with the rest of the usual mob.

14th May. Llyn Coed-y-Dinas.
The majority of the Black-Headed Gull colony has settled into incubation-mode, but some pairs are still nest-building and I saw 3 newly-hatched chicks yesterday. An attempt to count sitting birds on nests surprised me as I got to 397 - way higher than I would have estimated. It would be good if someone else would have a shot at the number, please!
In poor weather this morning, there were about 60 Sand Martin and 10 Swallow. The pair of Great-Crested Grebe are still present, but seemingly not on eggs, while the pair of Shelduck have been present for several days, and the Oystercatcher pair are busy displaying - I believe their first nesting attempt came to nothing after a long incubation. Reed Warblers are building in front of the hide, and Garden Warbler and Blackcap are singing on the way to it. At least one of the recently-erected nestboxes is occupied by Blue Tits.

(possible) Knot @ Dolydd Hafren

While walking towards the second hide this evening, I heard a bird (pretty certain it was a wader) calling at least four times. Not knowing exactly what it was I was keen to get to the hide as quick as possible to see it! Sadly when I got to the hide there was nothing out of the ordinary to be seen, however a gentleman in the hide told me that someone who was in the hide about an hour ago had seen what he thought was a Knot! When I got home, I went though all of my wader calls on the computer, and the closest I could get to it was the flight call of Knot! Who knows? A Knot was also reported at Coed y Dinas yesterday.

The Oystercatchers downstream from the second hide now have 3 very small chicks, lets hope the make it through to adulthood.

Osprey passing through

During an evening walk tonight, we were surprised to see a very large bird approaching us above the canal at Burgedin locks, near Arddleen. As it came nearer, we were surprised and delighted to see that it was an osprey, heading northwestwards. It passed right over our heads, at just above tree height before disappearing from view.

Other highlights this week included great views of 2 hobbies on Sunday at Dolydd Hafren - catching insects, and then one perching and preening for 15 minutes or so in a large willow beyond the 2nd hide.

Then on Monday, the nuthatch using a nestbox fitted with a camera in the garden, hatched 5 or 6 young - she is still 'incubating' them most of the time, and the male brings insects to her - she then feeds her young, and occasionally leaves the box to share in the finding of food. Once or twice both adults have been in the box together, sharing in the feeding - it's all compulsive viewing!

Tuesday's Birds

I had a day of mixed fortunes yesterday it was tinged with a bit of sadness as one of the pied flycatcher males in my garden (probably the male depicted in a photograph I submitted on an earlier entry) decided to end its life by headbutting my bedroom window. I heard it strike the window from downstairs. I'm thinking that it may have been hot-tailing a flying insect and flew into the window. His partner is busy nest building and probably unaware of his demise so I don't know what will happen hereon There is a spare male about though so lets hope he does the business!
Anyway following this I checked one of my kite nests and saw that there was a white fluffy chick in it which was only a couple of days old the parents were feeding it and the mother bird was so delicate in presenting bits of carrion to the chick. I informed the farmer that he was a 'surrogate' father which pleased him no end and he told me of another possible pair in the area so I hightailed it to the given location and discovered a new nest site (possibly not a new pair but a mislaid one from previous years!). Again the farmer who owns the land was overjoyed. Farmers and landowners are very positive when it comes to kites nesting on their land and its important for nest monitors like myself to maintain a good relationship with them. The same land owner has a good sized badger sett on his land and I paid it a visit the first such visit for 3 or 4 years. It was obviously very active. I must get around to watching it one night. The same wood had pied flycatchers and a ravens nest. The day didn't end there as I checked a nest-box put up for barn owls in a local barn by Bob Formaggia about 3 years ago and it contained a pair of these magnificent birds. They will be safe here as the farmer (a different one again) is also very positive towards nature conservation. He is another lucky one to have a kite nest on his land. Farmers sometimes get a bad press (and we all whinge about them from time to time!) but rest assured there are many out there who are just as concerned as you or I about the declining numbers of some species of birds and animals. Many indeed are not as vociferous in voicing their condemnation of badgers and their link to bovine TB in cattle. Lets hope they can exert some influence on their compatriots and we avoid the calamity of a cull in mid-Wales at some future date.
Have our readers noticed a fall in house martin numbers this year? There seem to be fewer about my home patch.

Common Sandpiper @ Lake Vyrnwy

2 showing very well infront of the 'Peregrine hide' today. Other birds present on the resevre included, Goosaander, Great Crested Grebe, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Siskin, Redpoll, Meadow Pipit, Wheatear and Cuckoo.

Dolydd Hafren 9/5

Highlights from this morning :

1 Red Kite
2 Hobby
1 Little Egret
2 Lesser Whitethroat

Warbler Watch

Hope to see many of you tomorrow for our one-off Warbler event at Cors Dyfi. We hope to get 8 species with a bit of luck. We start at 10am, finish at noon, it's free, bilingual and all are welcome!

Dolydd Hafren

Just a couple of birds to add to Braytons earlier sightings, this Tawny Owl sat along side two of it's young, and a cracking view of a Hobby infront of the second hide.

Whimbrel

4 whimbrel seen well at Dolydd Hafren on thursday May 6th, eventually flew high away going North. no sight of yesterday's ruff

Ruff @ Dolydd Hafren

1 present this evening (viewable from the second hide looking upstream) along with 4 Whimbrel. Other birds of note included Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Teal, Shelduck, Swift and 14+ Greylags!

Llyn-y-Tarw

A visit up to Llyn-y-Tarw this evening produced 14 Canada Geese, 3 Mallards, 2 Tufted Ducks, 2 Ravens, several Meadow Pipits, 1 Siskin, 1 Buzzard, 1 Wren, 4 Swallows and 5+ Wheatears.

Swifts

A group of 20 + hurtling over town bridge near church in Newtown today , screaming rowdily-presumably full of the joys of pre nuptials.

Hobby @ Dolydd Hafren

(via Wynn Evans & Brenda Doughty) 1 present this morning, also 1 Yellow Wagtail, 5 Common Sandpipers, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, Sedge and Reed Warblers and large numbers of hirundines. 8am to 11am

Garganey @ Llyn Coed y Dinas

Drake present on the lake today, spending most of its time along the left shore (from the hide).3 Common Sandpipers also present.

Warbler Watch

I hope nobody minds me using these few words here to let you know that we will be having a Warbler Watch event at Cors Dyfi next Saturday (May 8th) from 10am - 12 noon. We will have many bird experts including our very own County Bird Recorder, Brayton Holt.
It's an opportunity for people to engage with these often overlooked African migrants and get an opportunity to learn more about them - no longer will people have an "LBJ" species on their list!. We hope that we will have seven 'cetrs' (willow, sedge, grasshopper, garden, chiffchaff, whitethroat and blackcap) and a couple more with any luck.
The event is ran by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust - leave your wallets at home, it's free, but do bring a friend and a camera. Sedge warbler above taken at Cors Dyfi yesterday, very obliging!
Elfyn, thanks for your kind words below, diolch ti.

Skomer Island the 'Jewel in the Crown'

We are so lucky in Wales to have so many contrasting habitats with an abundance of fascinating wildlife. I love the rolling hills and woodlands of my native mid-Wales but equally I also love our coastline and particularly the Pembrokeshire islands. Last Thursday my wife and I visited Skomer Island which is a national nature reserve managed by the South and West Wales Wildlife Trust. This is about the best time to visit this magical island with its vibrant seabird colonies consisting of razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes and fulmars, and of course everyone's favorite the comical puffins looking resplendent in their summer plumage and looking all the World like porcelain figurines. We were treated to some good raptors and owls too such as peregrine, little owl and short-eared owl but we missed the hen harrier that another visitor spotted. Grassholm island lay tantalizingly close to the west but yet so far with its immense colony of gannets (39,000 pairs at the last count). There were noisy grey seals on Skomer too hauled up on the beach fasting between feeds and harbour porpoise offshore. Of course Skomer comes alive at night with the eerie calls of the manx shearwaters as they return to their burrows to their breeding partners. You wont see them in the day but as you wander along the paths around the island you may hear the odd one calling from its burrow. The bluebells, for which Skomer is famed, were just bursting through and give it another couple of weeks and these will be a carpet of blue. It is an absolute joy to walk on the path from the old farm to the Garland stone through a mass of colourful bluebells.

So take yourself off to Skomer in the next month or two and experience the island in all its glory.

The 'Dale Princess' departs Martins Haven near Marloes daily ('except Mondays' -but does so on bank holidays) at 10am, 11am and 12 noon returning from 3pm.
For more information visit the following link:-

http://www.pembrokeshire-islands.co.uk/

To be or not to be!

Emyr bach I'm sure many of us have felt equally as humbled when misidentifying birds at least you have had the decency to own up to it! There have been many times in the past when I wish I was somewhere else when making a mistake in identifying a bird. At least my friend it shows that people are actually looking at the Montgomery bird blog! I think though for those people, (viz- ordinary mortals not extraordinary birders!) who do not own a bird guide of any kind and who take a peek at this blog may like to know the difference between a merlin and a kestrel and a common and a lesser redpoll so I recommend that they take a look at the following link to the R.S.P.B.'s 'Bird Identifier' site. It is very good and user friendly.

www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier