Big Garden Birdwatch

The weather today couldn't have been worse for the birdwatch event.
I had recorded some yesterday fortunately and the feeder attracted most of todays with the exception of some of these captured by my Sony cyber shot digiscope!.It is early days but I am pleased with the results given the snowy conditions.The lapwing have returned to the fields across the Rheidol from us There must have been 50 in the flock this afternoon.The black headed gulls were taken last week,they were not at all happy having to share their larder with the visiting lapwing.I was pleased with the count it was more or less the same as last year with the addition of the greater spotted woodpecker a sparrow and a starling.


Lis Collison

Rheidol Raptors

This afternoon we went along the Rheidol towards the Power Station - the glorious sunshine and the interesting sightings on the blog set us off in this direction. We too found a white fronted raptor. Terry’s photos are attached - interesting.

Sue and Terry

Leri Scaup

Attached is pic of scaup(?), taken under Leri railway bridge low tide Sat. Sorry for the poor quality - had to use telescopic handheld.

Hopefully of interest!

Peter Seaton

Highlights from Ynyshir yesterday were

... a snipe behind the teal and shovellors on the bit of the unfrozen pond in front of the car park, a pair of tame, ground-feeding reed buntings near the Breakwater hide and excellent views of a male Hen Harrier from the hide and later on the wet field in front of the woods at the end of the return walk.

Cwm Rheidol

Ian and I received a lift to Cwm Rheidol today with Chris Bird, with
the hope that the Bittern might still be present.
Unfortunately we had no luck with this, but we did see 9 Tufted duck
(6 drakes, 3 females) 5 Goldeneye (2 drakes, 3 females), the 2 usual
pale/white Buzzards, and 4 Goosanders (1 drake, 3 females).

Ian Lycet & Rachel Davies

Penrhyncoch lakes

A trip around the Pendam lakes - all part frozen - and woodland this afternoon, was almost a case of a BFZ - only six Mallard on Llyn Pendam and Six Canada Geese on Llyn Syfydrin.

Ketrel @ Cross Inn

The ravens certainly think Spring has come at Cross Inn this morning, singing and aerial displays, just one great spot and one highlight, the first kestrel we have seen here since we arrived 8 years ago. Got a couple of long range zoom shots at about 40m.


David and Anne Lucas

Redstart @ Aber etc.

Isn't it typical : I get a pic of the elusive Black Redstart( he's always there , but miles up on the roof) and he's standing beautifully camouflaged in front of grey sandstone!

And that took over an hour, with some very funny looks through the windows ! Praps Bob can inform the college that any odd folk pointing large lenses at the college are in fact quite harmless !

Redwings oblige still on the nearby church lawn, sadly , one with a broken leg , tho worming very efficiently.

No otter at the bridge,but the rare species Baxterius Janeticus with new Mk 4 was visible at intervals taking pics of the Scaup.

Finally we watched a beautiful Barn owl float across the road around 16:30

Fri. 29th.

Scoter recoveries

Bob and Annie Haycock posted a fascinating snippet on the Pembs blog about Sea Empress oiled scoter recoveries which you can access direct from www.btoringing.blogspot.com
There are some comments on the Pemb blog about the rescue operation which some of you may find interesting and inspiring.

Spring

Well it was yesterday,Bob! Singing willow tit in our garden above Cors Caron; nearby a perfect old rotting willow tree!

A brief visit to Cors Caron

After a couple of days coughing and spluttering indoors, today cabin-fever kicked in so I just had to get out. I went to Cors Caron but had to retreat owing to a really cold downpour of something between rain and snow. But not before seeing a Peregrine dash over the feeding site near the new toilets - the chaff, gold and greenfinches dispersed like a grenade going off. I also saw a marsh tit further along the path as well as redwings and fieldfares.
Black redstarts are one of my bogey-birds, but this afternoon on my way home I got a good look at the male which was on the old college building in Aberystwyth.

Tetrad W

Thought I'd have another go at surveying this tetrad,high above Llanddewi Brefi (nearly 500m above sea level). Once again the road was blocked by ice/snow so had to walk a mile to the 'start.' Conditions weren't ideal with the wind blowing but it was dry and visibility good. It's a bleak area. Back in Nov. I recorded just 23 birds of 11 species but these included 'good' birds such as Woodcock,Stonechat and Reed Bunting. Today, after a 2 hour hike, it was more deserted than ever. Those exciting survey results in full;
Raven 1;Carrion Crow 1;Goldcrest 3;Coal Tit 1;Dunnock 1;Bullfinch 2;Slug 1.
I was getting desperate and lonely by the end.

Goshawk and Hens!

Beware of Goshawks and hens. A few years ago we lost six pullets to a renegade Goshawk. It attacked the old cockerel but failed, so settled for a further attack, on my Spaniel - drawing blood!

Goshawk

I live near Lampeter and just this weekend we were treated to a fabulous view of a goshawk which somehow found its way into our barn (chasing chickens we think). I have some video footage of it which you can link to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt1Un4j1dDA

Jo

Birds and computers...............

First redpoll on the feeders (eating Nija, with Goldfinches and Siskins which are now visiting in increased numbers as they seem to at this time of year), since last year at about this time, brightly coloured male? perhaps. It is significantly smaller than the Goldies and certainly no larger than the Siskins. So will anyone advise me - is it a Lesser, Common or just a 'British variant', or are they all one and the same?

also I need help emailing photos - since having to replace my hard drive my computer tells me it will not attach my pics, as it is not 'MAPI' enabled, I'm not sure what this means, any ideas would be gratefully received.

David Lucas

Leri Scaup

We went for a walk along the Leri this afternoon. Can't say we saw anything interesting except for the Scaup and Janet, both close to the railway bridge.

BLACK REDSTART

The male Black Redstart was very active this morning on the Old College at Aberystwyth and showed very well, viewed from St Michael's Church car park.

A mid-week outing

I'm forming a wagon train to head north for some mid-week birding.
Meet on Thursday 25th February at 08:00 in Machynlleth and then decant into 3 or 4 cars to drive in convoy to RSPB Inner Marsh Farm on the Dee Estuary - just under 2 hours drive.
Two or three hours birding there then move on to either Point of Air or RSPB Conwy (depending on what's about) for another couple of hours birding before heading home.
The trip will only go ahead if there is enough interest.
So, please email if you would like to go and let me know if you would like to drive or be driven.
I suggest passengers chip-in for fuel.
I think a maximum of 4 cars - 12 birders would be sensible.
First 12 to respond get to go............

Bob Relph

Maes Llyn pond cors caron

A large gathering of wigeon on the pond(120+) plus 3 pairs of Tufteds,a pair of goosander and a cormorant.

Leri Scaup

The scaup was still there, just upstream of the railway bridge at lunchtime today.

John Woodruff

CORS CARON

I had a walk along the old railway route from Ystrad Meurig today. The reserve can give the impression of being a BFZ (bird-free zone) but there were some little gems today. By the bridge over the Teifi there was a Dipper singing its heart out. I watched one there in the autumn. Some dogs were close by in the water and the bird did not fly away and adopted an unusual stance, stretching upright to see how close the dogs were getting.

I continued along the track and near the new little hide were a couple of Marsh Tits. Four Lesser Redpolls were feeding in the ditch by the path and close to the hide were a couple of Willow Tits.

WHOOPER SWANS at TRISANT

This morning there were two on a little farm pond, viewable from the road immediately south of Llyn Frongoch. However, gone by early afternoon.

Tarka - gender?

I would go along with it being a male - When I saw it at the same time as Kev at a guess I would have also said about 4ft. I have just roughly measured a fine cased specimen of a dog otter that I have and that came to 47 inches!

Anyway -with a name of Tarka it must be a male!

Tarka

In response to Elfyn, my uneducated guess is male-I guestimated the size around 4 feet and conclude that this would be a male/dog ,although sizes do vary considerably.

Leri Merlin

Last Sunday 24th, I had good views of this merlin flying between perches on the estuary, West of the Leri (@14.40). I also looked for the Slavonian grebe as far as here, with no luck.


Best Wishes & thanks for the blog - It's become an invaluable point of reference!

Chris Wallbank

Dog or Bitch?

Is 'Tarka' a dog or a bitch? Me thinks maybe the former and I think Bob too (is that right Bob?) Anyone else who has seen him/her any ideas on this? Looks like its going to be a battle of the sexes! Maybe Iolo will come up with the answer I guess he knows a 'girl ' when he sees one!

Leri Railway Bridge

As I was in the vacinity of Borth today I thought I'd go and see the Scaup.I took a walk over the road bridge and had a good view of a red shank in the mud nearby.It was getting on for lunch time and very cold when I noticed someone on the railway bridge, and the Scaup through it on the other side.I worked out how to reach the bridge and was very impressed with the access.Eventually I got on to it and had a grand view of the scaup and what a view of the Leri. The person I saw was a freelance wildlife camera man working for BBC Wales.He had been there since 8am and had seen Tarka disappear unfortunately up stream .Tarka is famous they have read about her on the Blogg!All things being equal Iolo will be able to show her on his programme scheduled for the summer.I think that this is where I pay a tribute to all dedicated photographers and camera persons for their patience ,skill and endurance in the name of wildlife.

Lis Collison

Green Sandpiper

On our pond adjacent but up the hill from Cors Caron late this afternoon. I thought it had gone down to Pembs during the snows. Willow tit still regular on the feeders with reed bunts on the ground.

Ynys-hir Monday 25th

quite a few birds around, this included a number of greenland whitefronted geese dotted around the salt marsh i counted around 20 but there were probably many more which were hidden eventually 6 of them gave fairly good views infront of the breakwater hide. 150 Barnacle geese were also here, some of the other birds around the reserve were teal (160+), wigeon (31), goldeneye (5), goosander (2), pintail (1), merlin (1), redwing (40), little egret (3), little grebe (3), bullfinch (2), siskin (3), jay (3), redshank (10), curlew (20+), lapwing (300+), shelduck (40+) and long-tailed tit (8).

Tom Wells

Sandpipers and scaup

7 purple sandpiper below the wooden jetty in Aber this afternoon. By the time I got to the Leri the light had gone along with the otter but the scaup flew a couple of circuits round the railway bridge in the gloom.

Woodcock

1 Woodcock in ditch on outskirts of Aberaeron, Sunday 24 January.

Ian Harrison

Sunday in Borth and Ynyslas

I went a walk around borth and ynyslas today, on the leri as has been stated was the scaup and a little grebe as well as 4 teal, 6 lapwing and 7 redshank. unfortunately i arrived at a bad time for the for my first welsh otter as there were alot of people at the boat yard so maybe next time. further out in the estuary at high tide were 120 wigeon, 9 shelduck, 2 redbreasted merganser, 1 shag and 1 little egret, 200+ curlew (which flew from the fields), 10 redshank and about 500 knot. At one point 2 peregrines came into attack at the same time both were unsuccessful, the female flew straight through but the male landed on a post and stayed there for about an hour, surprisingly being left alone by the birds in the area, they must have felt he was no threat without the element of surprise. despite a thourogh search i couldnt find a slavonian grebe and other birders came up with the same result, effort isnt always rewarded but luckily there were many other birds around. Between Borth and ynyslas were 21 sanderling and 12 ringed plover, pick of the birds out to sea were 100 common scoter, a great crested grebe was close in at Borth.

Tom Wells

Odds @ Ynyslas

Fieldfare

Reed Bunting

The Otter's still here..............

Spotted the Otter by the road bridge over the Leri today at just before 5pm. He headed off towards the rail bridge.

Also saw the Scaup, Kingfisher, Little Grebe, Curlew.

Hope this is helpful

Claire and Dave

What a morning!

The bittern was showing really well about 100 yards down from the Rheidol power station at about 10am today. Not skulking in reeds,but proudly strutting its stuff along the shingle.Only my second bittern and so much better than my last fly by at Cors Caron a few years ago.
I then went down to the Leri. A few bubbles moving up stream from the road bridge suggested that the otter was about and I was then rewarded with my first brief glimpse. It continued to move upstream so I followed up to the railway bridge where I had some excellent views. As it kept going further upstream it passed the scaup which I hadn't noticed before because I was so preoccupied with the otter. My second lifer of the day. A kingfisher added to the fun.
Birding surely doesn't get better than this.
Phil Dennis

BITTERNS, SWANS, DIVERS and BIRDERS

Chris Bird had marvellous views of a Bittern at Cwmrheidol this afternoon. It was at the edge of the river just downstream from the power station. It has apparently been there for 3 days.
Meanwhile, I was at the Teifi Marshes, watching a Bittern from the Kingfisher hide. Although not out in the open,like the one Chris was watching, I had my best and longest views ever of a Bittern feeding. In half an hour it moved very little and its hunting technique was stealthy to say the least.
Not far away, in the Teifi valley between Cenarth and Newcastle Emlyn was a party of 3 adult and 3 juv Bewick's Swans. (Sadly they were also on the wrong side of the county line.)
On my way back to Aberystwyth I stopped at Llansantffraed where there were 22 Grey Plovers and on the calm sea, 49 Wigeon, a couple of Red-throated and a Great Northern Diver.
At Aberystwyth, as the photo below shows, was one of the largest gatherings of birdwatchers we have had in Ceredigion. Mostly the usual suspects plus, always good to see, Wendy J and Richard D from border country to the south.

Ah well, there's always tomorrow...........

Here is a photo of Aberystwyth's Bonaparte's Gull Twitch! Which sadly
turned into a dip...

I know its not a bird photo - but I thought it would be appropriate,
considering its probably one of the largest congregations of birders
that Aberystwyth prom has seen for a while!
Rachel and Ian

siskins,snow and computers

Yesterday, I finally managed to get a couple of Siskins on to my little feeder by the back door but then realised that I have a competitor for their affections.Went to pick up Tomos from school....7 feeders,16 Siskins.Doh!
Attempted to survey a tetrad above Llanddewi today only to discover that the road to Ffarmers is still covered in deep snowdrifts.If it hasn't cleared by the end of Feb. I'll have to take a shovel with me next time.
Headed down to Maesycrugiau instead.Three Dippers again(same as early Dec) and a Goosander, but not a lot else. It always amuses me that the BTO computer gets irritated when you enter high counts for Starlings and Carrion Crows. It's clearly never been birding in the Teifi valley in winter.

GREENLAND WHITE FRONTED GEESE

Here are some of the Greenland White Fronted Geese which Bob and I watched from the Breakwater hide at Ynys-hir this morning. (See below.)
Later this afternoon, while we were on the Leri bridge, not seeing the Otter, Chris Bird rang to say that he was sure that a Bonaparte's Gull had come into the gull roost on College Rocks at Aberystwyth. The Bonapart's which had been on Anglesea for a few days was not seen there today. So, Aber prom it is tomorrow, late afternoon. See you there!

Consti and Old College Rocks

Today, we walked up Cliff Terrace toward the fields on top of Consti
hill. On the way, we saw this Siskin (among many Goldfinches, Blue
tits etc.) feeding in a front garden. I thought she looked very pretty
in the afternoon light so I took some photos.

Further uphill there were two Choughs feeding in one of the fields.

We then headed down Consti & walked to the Old College rocks where we
saw 19 Wigeon and 2 handsome male Shovelers out at sea.

A Grey Heron later appeared on the rocks and disturbed the peace, as
the gulls didn't seem too pleased by its presence!

A Kingfisher was also on the rocks, and we watched it as it tried to
swallow a fish that was almost as big as him! It took him a while, as
you might imagine!

Then to finish off the day, we watched the Starling roost. It was very
impressive, as usual. I took a few shots - enjoy!

Rachel Davies & Ian Lycett

Ynyslas and Borth

The 7 pink-feet were in the Ty Canol field for much of the day, accompanied at one point by a chough, and a little egret was on the saltings at Ynyslas at high tide. Between Ynyslas and Borth were 7 sanderling and about 20 ringed plover roosting on the shingle.

Teifi-- Bewicks, GG Shrike, Firecrest... & ...

Teifi Valley;-
Actually Carms, between Cenarth & Newcastle Emlyn in roadside fields. A group of 3 ad's & 3 juv. Then c1/2m closer to N. E. a group of 5 ad's. All birds unringed. Will be news early in am.(found by Jon)

Below reserve sightings;-
Great Grey Shrike;-Seen briefly in flight at dusk, but elusive this pm.(Jon G.)

Firecrest;-1 in gorse behind the visitor centre, seen whilst dipping the shrike.(Steve B.)

No sign of the Bittern, but Common Sandpiper & Goldeneye at Jewsons.

Birds at Ynys-hir and Ynyslas

John and I visited Ynys-hir this morning and, after the mist had drifted off enjoyed a bright and beautiful, almost spring like day. From the Breakwater Hide we got a prolonged view of a Merlin, "surveying the menu" from a post in front of us. 32 Greenland White-fronted Geese flew in and settled on the water directly in front of the hide, we got superb views of them as well. There were 105 Barnacle Geese to the west of us and we counted another 64 on our walk back to the visitor centre. We moved on to Ynyslas and spotted the Slavonian Grebe that has been around for a few days. Finally we spent some time by the Leri road bridge hoping to see the Otter. Although we dipped out on him, we did see the Scaup - still present close to the railway bridge - and a Kingfisher that must have been sitting practically under our noses before dashing off upstream.

Tregaron Bog

Thursday: Tregaron Bog

Maes-llyn pool, 150+ wigeon, & 12 tufted duck.

Elsewhere on the bog 3 female goosander & 5 teal on pool in front of windows of large hide.

Mark Wilson

No Otter..............

Animal in Leri river it hamster. I know hamster. I have hamster when I live in Torquay.
Adiós!
Manuel

Tan-y-Bwlch

Well we've finally finished our semester one exams for 2nd year! So to
celebrate - we went birding, of course!
One of the first birds we came across was a stunning male Black
Redstart which was feeding around the Old College rocks - I tried my
best to get some nice shots as he was quite approachable - but since I
only have a 300mm lens, & I was trying to get a photo of a bird that
doesn't stay still for more than 2 seconds at a time, this proved to
be rather difficult!
At castle point we saw the usual array of Purple Sandpipers, Ringed
Plovers and Turnstones.
Out at sea, Ian spotted a few bits and bobs, such as Guillemots and 2
Red-throated divers.
We then proceeded to Tan-y-Bwlch where we saw three Goosanders on the
Ystwyth (1 male, 2 females).
Further along, in the ditch between the fields, there were some Teal
and a Little Egret.

Rachel Davies & Ian Lycett

Job Opportunity

There is a job with the RSPB advertised under "News and Events".

Ynyslas

Single chough in the dune slack by the caravan site early this morning and one still there tonight. Kestrel hovering over the dunes there too.

"I wonder if Henry Williamson would have hit the big time if he had concerned himself with writing an account of a rat called Tarka? " No but Kenneth Grahame did ok with Ratty!

HEN HARRIER at TRISANT

Just heard from neighbours Jen and Jim,at the other end of my lane, that a male Hen Harrier passed by their house on Monday.
Another Brambling was in my garden this morning, this time a female and the local lakes are now largely ice-free. Frongoch now has a male Goldeneye.

BTO new ideas to count cliff nesting birds.

If you're counting sea birds and want to liven up your survey work you might try this:

http://wimp.com/basejumpers/

you will need sound to get the full effects.

Haiti, Blue Tits, Scaup and an enjoyable chat.

Haiti:
I apologise if I step on any one's toes with this introduction but here goes: my wife Sheila and our neighbour Del, are setting up a "One day Cafe" in the community bar/room at Y Plas, Machynlleth, next Wednesday selling teas, coffee light snacks cakes etc. to raise funds for the Haiti earthquake victims. There will be a second hand book and a white elephant stalls and a raffle. First prize in the raffle is lunch for two with wine at Ynys Hir Hall Hotel, to be taken by June 2010, having eaten there I can thoroughly recommend it. There are other prizes like bottles of wine and the list is growing daily as local businesses and individuals make donations. Tickets for the raffle cost £1 per strip and the draw will take place on Wednesday 15:00 at Y Plas. If anyone would like to purchase tickets please contact me either by email to mervyn.lloyd@btinternet.com or phone 01654 781 332.

All monies will be sent to DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) and UNICEF (also operating in Haiti).

Yesterday's bird count in my garden reached a peak at about 14:00 with 25 Blue Tits together around the feeders, Siskin numbers also swelled to about 30 with the constant whirl of motion it was quite difficult to be accurate but there seemed to be a high proportion of adult males.

Like Elfin I was at Aber Leri yesterday pm but a bit earlier and finally managed to catch up with the Scaup just up river of the railway bridge, but no sign of the otter. I did get a very nice view of a male Peregrine, unsuccessfully, chasing a flock of about 200 Lapwing. Someone was in the fields at the back of the Leri/Dovey saltings and seemed to be hunting the Canada Geese as about 300 or so were constantly flying around, a number of decoy Barnacle Geese had been put out. The afternoon was finished at Ynys Las car park sitting in the car alongside Chris Bird's car having a chin-wag as the sun went down, very enjoyable.

Tarka who?

No Mike its clearly an 'otter' I saw. Tarka would be most displeased if he knew that we had referred to him as a 'rat'! (I have met a few of those in my time too!)

Tarka the Rat.................

I wonder if Henry Williamson would have hit the big time if he had concerned himself with writing an account of a rat called Tarka?

Garden Birds - nr Bow Street

Still no Greenfinch or Siskins - it is time they moved south from Eglwysfach!

In the garden today, as well as the usual Tits, Chaffinches, Bullfinches, Woodpeckers etc there were two Woodcock in my small woodland.

Tarka or Ratty?

A friend, who used to work in the Leri boatyard, tells me that they never saw an otter around there - however there were plenty of Rats - as big as an Otter!

The Leri

I stopped on the Leri bridge late afternoon today (4.30pm) to look for our mate 'Tarka' but I guess he was on a 'siesta'. The kingfisher was at the usual spot on the wall by the Ynyslas boatyard shed in the area by the big Orange buoys and the moored small blue boat. Hard to see him sometimes.

Garden birds Eglwys Fach

As we come up to the great garden birdwatch I have been getting in a bit of practice, counting is proving difficult. At present Blue Tit numbers are starting to challenge the Siskin as Top bird with a maximum count of 15 at one time, they are frequently accompanied by 8 Great , 3 Coal and 2 long-tailed. Siskin numbers have remained steady at about 20. Yesterday we had 4 Robins together, they didn't squabble and appeared to be as two pairs today there only seems to be the one "pair" I can't tell male from female. 5 House Sparrows, 6 Goldfinches, 10 or so Green Finches, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Blackbirds, a dozen or so Chaffinches and the occasional Collard Dove make up the regular flock. All the winter Thrushes together with the Bullfinches seem to have moved on, although a Song Thrush is putting in sporadic appearances.

Locally I still haven't managed to catch up with the Otter, the Scaup or the Pink-feet but on a trip "up North" on Saturday I did manage to grab a new Welsh species for me when I saw 5 Woodcock near the Little Orme.

Brent Geese

Offshore from Ynys Las turn car park yesterday were 20 dark-bellied brent geese and 2 slavonian grebes. I looked for the scaup, pink feet and otter but without success. Will have to try again sometime but it is snowing here again!!!

Garden Birds

We visited Ynyslas this morning, it was cold, wet and windy, and we didn't see many birds. Back home and tucking in to our overdue breakfast, the garden birds were also tucking in to theirs. The species that seems to have survived the great freeze most successfully hereabouts is Greenfinch, we have dozens on the feeders, Chaffinch is the next most common. Blue and Great Tits are also here in numbers and Siskins have returned. House Sparrows are also constant visitors. A first for us was a hen Pheasants, pecking at the fat-balls which she can easily reach by standing on the fence beneath the feeder. I didn't actually buy fat-balls to feed to pheasants but I hadn't the heart to shoosh her away.

Tregroes Tetrad

Very pleased to bump into Ian Morris doing his postal rounds whilst I was on my timed tetrad in South of County.

We compared our recent sightings and both remarked on the high numbers of Blue and Great Tits and absolutely no Thrushes since the freeze.

I counted 47 Blue and 23 Great Tits in hedgerows, woods and on feeders. Wrens were down from 6 in Nov to just 1 and generally less other Passerines.

Philip Ellis

PURPLE SANDPIPERS at BORTH

This afternoon there were 3 Purple Sandpipers on the rocks at the southern end of Borth beach.
I was pleased to see my first Brambling of the year, in my garden at Trisant.

bits 'n bobs

Managed to see a few things these last couple of days courtesy of Royal Mail luxury bird tours. Yesterday there was a Marsh Tit on a feeder in Capel Dewi(Llandysul),40 Lapwings at Maenygroes and up the road near the honey farm in Cross Inn (New Quay) a Peregrine shot over the road. Sadly today as I left the office at Horeb I spotted a dead Barn Owl in the road. I did check to see if it had a ring but it didn't appear to.
On a brighter note it was nice to bump into Phillip Ellis today and stop him for a chat whilst he was out surveying a tetrad in Tregroes.

Hen Harrier at the Leri

Bumped into John at the Leri Road Bridge this afternoon, both of us hoping that we might see the "celebrity" otter. But he clearly thought it wasn't worth appearing for an audience of just 2!
A male Hen Harrier wasn't so prima donaish though and did a fly-past for us - along the saltings, over the road and onto the bog.

Leri -am High Tide and others

Alongside the saltings this morning were 35 Redshank, 15 Wigeon, 7 Mallard and a lone Shelduck - all numbers way down on last month's comparable tide. A Merlin flew along the edge of the dunes but no avail - no small prey species.

At home Stock Doves have taken up residence in the Tawny Owl box - going through their nuptials in the upper branches of the Oak tree. Other returns in the last couple of days include Long-Tailed Tits and Grey Wagtail.

Black-bellied brents

I was sea-watching off Borth this morning at 10.15am and in my scope I saw a high flying flock of geese far out to sea making a steady heading towards land when they got closer I could see that they were dark bellied Brent geese and there were 22 in all (maybe 23). They alighted on the sea just off Ynyslas. From their flight 'trajectory' I reckon they came from Ireland then I guess they may have flown from Pembrokeshire too but I'd put my money on the former theory. They were probably tired following the Irish sea crossing. Anyway keep your eyes open for these guys they may well end up the Dovey estuary somewhere to feed up. It was high tide at the time so perhaps they were 'aware' of that and would wait for the ebb and make their way to the estuary.
I saw the usual divers and scoters offshore.

One more

Sorry:I forgot the one with the "Ring".

Ps. Sig 500 (nikon fit) for sale.

Teifi Marshes

See PembsBirds for Great Grey Shrike & Bittern on the Teifi today!

Back to Birds

Finally got that ole Scaup and sort of got the Redstart ,tho' can do better.

Leri Otter - Sunday - Monday

On approaching Leri Bridge Ynyslas late yesterday afternoon, and seeing the congregation of birdwatchers and photographers all eagerly peering over the bridge, I thought the Otter must be providing a Sunday afternoon matinee performance. Soon after introductions to Kevin and Wendy, - whom I had not had the privilige of meeting before - the guest star duly appeared, providing a wonderful display of Aqua-Gymnastics. My only regret was that we had arrived rather late in the day when the light was fading so photographically conditions were not good.

Hoping for a repeat performance a short visit in the gloom this afternoon only produced views of four Aylesbury ducks down below the boatyard and an indeterminate diver in the distance - too far even for Kev's heavyweight lens combination!

Ring of Bright Water

Well ...sometimes stuff comes to he who waits....Lutra we love you ...As Janet has already said ,yesterday was something: met Mike , at last and his better half ; Phillip Ellis + John Turner ;plus bystanders ,and the otter performed for us all -relief as I don't have to murder Rob or abuse Elfyn.

So many thanks to all , but especially the blog: where would we be without it-this is where it comes into it's own.

So a few pics to add to Janet's and coax the rest of you to have a look .

Slavonian Grebe Ynyslas

We stopped off at Ynyslas to give the dogs (and grandson) a run on the beach on our way home from Herefordshire this afternoon. My telescope was under about half a ton of "stuff" but I had to dig it out because I was delighted to see a Slavonian Grebe in amongst a group of 11 Wigeon and at least 1 Goldeneye on the estuary. Also saw a Little Egret.

Cross Inn

Whilst at Cross Inn (Sunday) pleased to meet John, saw Great Spot (and heard several along with Jays) and a male Hen Harrier after John had left, no Great Grey Shrike tho' but a very pleasant walk

David & Anne Lucas

Sunday morning in Aberystwyth

No sign of a Great northern diver this morning, (Sunday) however an adult male Black Redstart feeding on the pavement behind the old college in the sun and on the lower parts of the building made up for it. I counted 6 Purple Sandpipers on the Sea Wall and there were 14 Turnstones on the North end of South Beach

Tom Wells

CORS CARON

Andre Marsh tells me that in his garden at Pontrhydfendigaid today a Lesser Redpoll visited a bird feeder and a Little Egret passed by, near the Teifi. Later, at the north end of Cors Caron he was fortunate enough to see 2 male Hen Harriers and 8 Whooper Swans, incl. 2 juvs.
Quite a weekend in Ceredigion!

Otter etc

Caught up with the otter (at last!) below the Leri Bridge this afternoon at 3.30, he performed well in front of the gathered audience but we waited in vain for him to catch and eat something on the bank.

Also a Little egret flew across Aberwennol Bay, Borth earlier in the afternoon and a Water rail was investigating round our bird feeder this morning before crossing the road and disappearing into the reed beds by the golf course at Ynyslas

YNYSLAS

2 Slavonian Grebes reported by Kevin McGee this morning, one on the sea and the other off the saltings which apparently showed very well.
Other birds of note: 3 Grey Plovers, 3 female Goldeneyes, a Chough feeding in the dune slacks and the 7 Pink-footed Geese on their usual meadow with 50+ Skylarks and an adult Mediterranaean Gull.

GREAT GREY SHRIKE

A pleasure as always to meet David and Ann, this time in Cross Inn Forest. Shame we were not together when the Shrike, reported yesterday by Andy James, showed really well. Some noisy Crossbills about, once quite close, but not seen.

ABERYSTWYTH

10 Purple Sandpipers seen by Harry and I early this morning at the high tide roost on the prom wall by the Castle and Old College and a male Black Redstart on Old Coll which showed really well, even at almost ground level.
A Yellow-legged Gull by the pier was later reported by Andy James.

Pink-feet, Ynyslas

The Leri Otter

Caught up with Elfyn at the Leri Bridge this afternoon, and we watched the
otter catch and eat an early tea (4.30). He was slightly farther
downstream than before. Also Kingfisher and Little Grebe there.
One dipper at Clettwr.

Simon Cox

Cattle Egret

Bird Guides has a report, posted at 15:55 today, of a Cattle Egret at Llanfarian..........

3 GOOD SPECIES

This morning Andy James saw the Great Grey Shrike in Cross Inn Forest, in the usual,large cleared area towards the centre.
Bob, Meurig, Janet and I watched the 7 Pink-footed Geese at Ynyslas, exactly where Brian Kington saw them yesterday.
Late afternoon, John Woodruff and Chris Bird saw a Great Northern Diver just off the beach opposite The Belle View Hotel in Aberystwyth, seen later by Harry and Meurig.
What else is out there!

Kites @ Gigrin

As many of you are voyaging to Gigrin to see the "star", I thought I would pop this fella on so that you can keep an eye out-a very attractive bird ,not to be confused with no:51 the partially leucistic bird with the tags .

In view of all the disputes over "Black or Black-eared" I suggest ss. Golden Kite!

Little Egret

A bit late to post this I suppose, but a little egret flew out of the ditch beside the road between the railway crossings at llanbadarn and Morrisons roundabout on Wednesday 13th.

Jeremy Moore

Little Frenchmen - 'Mon Dieu'- Ooo la la'!

Dear John (no pun intended!) I'm sure I'm not the one to answer your question on feral R.L.Partridges but as I've indicated on this blog previously during the last 5 years or so I have seen a single partridge in the valley near my home in Aberhosan Machynlleth and a pair at Darowen near Machynlleth so I guess you can all make your own assumptions! Its an attractive bird though (yes I do still have a passion for attractive birds!) and makes a change from the over population of pheasants and I suspect partridges have better road sense!

Red-legged partridge

We didn't see much after Bob went but there was a red-legged partridge on the entrance to the road to the Lower Clettwr. We have discussed this before, they were being bred there, but what I would like to know now is whether RLs (the BTO two-letter species code) are still being bred in the area or are they now a feral population (and thus a tick!)? Not that we are twitchers, you understand. I think Elfyn might know the answer as long as he is not still trying to finish reading Tarka the Otter.

The Clettwr was fairly full, too much for dippers. Shopping in Morrisons then called, followed by an excellent chili con carne and the first night of bridge since the 18th December due to icy carpark - though you must take hat off to mother and toddlers and W.I. who carried on regardless.

For the record, Sue Fowler found a weak kite last Saturday out in Dolybont and I ran her and Dave and Jimmy the kite to the rehab. unit at Gigrin on Sunday. It flew and adopted a strange upside down position from the netting. Over there on Thursday to see the black kite and Jimmy is doing fine. There was a very leucistic kite there and two meat eating herons.

There were two snipe in the marsh next to the house on the 9th January here in Capel Bangor and two little egrets on the 10th.

PINK-FOOTED GEESE

Brian Kington paid one of his regular visits today from the Midlands. As well as seeing the Scaup on the Leri, he was delighted to find 7 Pink-footed Geese on a damp meadow to the south of Searivers Caravan site at Ynyslas.

ABERYSTWYTH HARBOUR

Helen Ougham and Sid Thomas tell me that the harbour continues to be a good place to see Redwings at close quarters, even now the thaw has arrived. There are almost always several on the grass near the fire station and behind the Marina flats, foraging alongside the Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Jackdaws. They have also noticed Goosanders in the harbour much more frequently than usual. The 'Gap' at low tide has attracted Ringed Plovers and Lapwing. The week's highspot was a beautiful Little Egret which spent some time in and around the rocks at the mouth of the 'Gap' at lunchtime today.
(The digger reached my home and the wine crisis is over. I have been touched by the concern several have expressed.)

Scaup on the Leri and Raptors at Ynyslas

We bumped into John and Ann Val on the Leri Road Bridge this afternoon, they had the Scaup in their scope so we had a wee peek. We then walked along the Leri but apart from a couple of Ringed Plover there were no sightings to mention here. Finally we drove along the track beside the boatyard and on towards the visitor centre. At 4:05 we were thrilled to see a male Hen Harrier followed almost immediately by a Kestrel, both travelling in the same direction, ie south, away from the saltings.

The river Leri, adjoining mudflats & saltings today

The Scaup was present up and down river of the road bridge today. There was a drake shoveler resting amongst the teal on the mudflats lower down river. A peregrine rested and preened on the 'skeleton' of a long beached boat on the saltings higher up the estuary and beyond that there were many shelduck. A pair of cock reed bunting preened in a shrub on the tidal embankment. No sign of 'Tarka' the otter but I was told by a local resident that the workers at the Leri boatyard see it regularly.

Here are some photos I took of the Scaup and some facts which might interest readers.
The Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) 'Hwyaden Benddu' in Welsh breeds in the colder climates of Iceland and Siberia. Its primarily a winter visitor to Britain. The name 'Scaup' or 'Scaup-duck' derives from an old Scottish medieval word- 'Scalp' for a mussel bed. They eat a wide variety of food but they favour molluscs in winter especially mussels and boy there are plenty on the Leri just look from the bridge! A Norfolk name for the bird is 'Mussel Duck'.

And Otter yet again!

Thanks Rob Davies for your kind words and I am so pleased you got a glimpse of the otter. I know exactly how you feel my dear fellow! I'm really looking forward to seeing the video footage.

Scaup at Aberleri

This morning I relocated the Scaup that has been on the Leri. At 9.35 she was further downstream, past the boatyard on the Dyfi and seemed to be keeping company with a female RB Merganser. There were c100 Redshank feeding on the saltings plus a few Curlew.

Murder Rob!!!

I cannot believe it-we tried most of the day (with JanBax at one stage ,later with Bob Relph ) for the otter and must have given up about 3 mins before Rob arrives and SEES it!

Sod's Law??

Anyway a lovely interlude with Bob ,as he spotted this Ringtail-sadly it refused to come up to us in order for its portrait to be taken, but it did look beautiful glinting in the late afternoon sun.

Caught the Redwing earlier on the verge in town-bottom of Penglais hill -as pointed out on the blog t'other day.

Otter, Otter, Otter..............

I want to thank Elfyn and the Ceredigion Bird Blog for drawing my attention to the Otter at Leri. I have been hoping to get a good sighting of an otter in the UK all my life really but they always seem to be at Bosherston, Westfield Pill and other places when I am not. I saw a lovely Cape Clawless Otter on Llandudno beach once but that was Llandudno Cape Town! Anyway yesterday (Wednesday) I was driving up from Pembs to Bangor (lovely snow drifts in Ceredigion) so I took a chance and drove to the bridge described by Elfyn as best I could identify it on the map being a foreigner. I got there at dusk and to my great delight there was the otter fishing beneath and just upstream of the bridge. He caught an eel and climbed out onto the bank to consume it quite quickly and then he went back into the river to resume the game. Thank you, thank you thank you! I even managed to get a video of him so when I have mastered the techno bits and posted it on vimeo I will send the link

Best wishes

Rob Davies

Kites etc at NantyArian

At feeding time today some 150 Kites came in - wonderful sight aginst the backdrop of the snow covered hills and the frozen lake - especially when they skated on the ice trying to pick up dropped morsels.

Other birds seen included 3 Crossbills, a Nutatch and a lone Siskin.