MONTGOMERYSHIRE BIRDS: Ring Ouzel - (Mwyalchen y Mynydd)

Notable Recent Sightings

16/04	Purple Heron	1, Cors Dyfi
05/03	Firecrest	1, Lake Vyrnwy
05/03	Short-eared Owl	1, Lake Vyrnwy
14/01	Pink-footed Goose	1, Dolydd Hafren
03/01	Waxwing	20, Meifod; also 5 Welshpool by canal on 01/01. Last: 6 Bwlch-y-Garreg 17/03
23/12	Waxwing	Newtown College, first arrivals 04/12, 47 on 23/12, 67 on 01/01, 30 on 04/02
09/12	Cattle Egret	1 roosting with 8 Great Egrets and some Little Egrets, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas
02/12	Waxwing	21 Guilsfield, 12 Montgomery, 1 Welshpool, and 1 on 01/12 Llanfyllin
16/11	Dotterel	3, just west of Dyfnant Forest on RSPB land
16/11	Great Grey Shrike	1, on edge of Dyfnant Forest on RSPB land, last reported 19/01
15/11	Waxwing	25 or 30, just west of Lake Vyrnwy along the Dinas Mawddwy road
08/11	Great Northern Diver	A juvenile was found near Anchor, rescued and released
30/10	Black Redstart	1 in garden at Hendomen, near Montgomery
06/10	Hawfinch	5 in treetops at Powis Castle, by main car-park
04/10	Cattle Egret	Dolydd Hafren, a flock of c.30
29/09	Red-flanked Bluetail	Dyfnant Forest: a county first
23/09	Manx Shearwater	1st year bird grounded in Llanfyllin; released at coast
03/09	Cattle Egret	10 at Cors Dyfi, rising to 32 on 05/09
01/06	Turnstone	1 at Caersws with Little Ringed Plovers
03/05	Wood Sandpiper	1 at Dolydd Hafren
18/04	BLACK-WINGED KITE	1 video-ed at Glan Mule, near Kerry: a likely FIRST for UK
07/04	Black Redstart	Female on Carno roof
07/04	Little Ringed Plover	Llandinam Gravels
25/03	Osprey	Female 5F 'Seren' arrived back at Llyn Clywedog
25/03	Pied Flycatcher	An early migrant near Llanfechain
22/03	Hen Harrier	Female in flight near Berriew
15/03	Sand Martin	5, Dolydd Hafren
15/03	Golden Plover	c.50, Heldre Hill, Long Mountain, nr Welshpool
05/03	Whooper Swan	1, between Caerhowel (Montgomery) and The Gaer, with Mute Swans
05/03	Pink-footed Goose	1, Caersws, with Canada Goose flock
05/03	Jack Snipe	2, Caersws
05/03	Hawfinch	24, Powis Castle, feeding behind orchard
28/02	Pink-footed Goose	c.25, flying north over Welshpool
26/02	Merlin	1 male, chasing Meadow Pipit, Long Mountain near Welshpool
26/02	Pintail	3, Llyn Coed-y-Dinas, 1 since 14 Feb
14/02	Hawfinch	1, Powis Castle car-park, very vocal
23/01	Jack Snipe	1, Moel-y-Garth near Guilsfield
17/01	Brambling	80, in beeches at Pen-y-Waen near Cefn Coch with Chaffinches
07/01	Hawfinch	2, bathing in puddle, Cwm Lane, Castle Caereinion
		See Sightings Archive for older records

Monday, April 01, 2013

Ring Ouzel - (Mwyalchen y Mynydd)

I know it's 'April Fool's' day and when I saw this bird in our field this morning I thought 'you have got be joking!' but sure enough there it was turning over sheep poo foraging for grubs. Luckily I had my camera accessible and batteries charged up and managed to get a few shots of it. I apologise for the quality of the image but it was about 100 metres away and I've blown it up a bit but the ID is unmistakable, a splendid male Ring Ouzel. I had a feeling there was some bird movement this morning as from dawn small flocks of starlings were whizzing eastwards past the house. There were also more blackbirds and thrushes about today so something was going on. I have seen some good birds from my home in 30 years of living here but this is my first Ring Ouzel. Sadly I believe that they have disappeared from the Glaslyn reserve area just 4 miles away from us. That is the last place I saw a Welsh Ouzel. I referred to 'Birds in Wales' (Lovegrove, Williams and Williams) and it states that spring arrivals might be passing through en route to breeding areas farther north in Britain and Norway but it would be nice to think that this individual was heading just up the valley to their old haunts at Glaslyn.
So make sure you take a closer look at those blackbirds you see this spring just in case it has a white chest!