The big chill continues

I'm sure we all feel a great deal of concern for our birds as this prolonged spell of wintry weather continues there are signs that its taking its toll on some species. Is there any end in sight? Personally I don't mind this cold weather but then that's a selfish attitude I guess it has certainly caused massive inconvenience to people. A few days ago I had a call from two ladies who hail from the United States who wanted to come to Wales to see our birds. On their hit list was 'Dipper' 'Red Kites' and 'Shags'. So to Wales they came and stayed in an establishment in Machynlleth. I intended to visit Gigrin Farm during the weekend but when on Saturday morning Janet Baxter told me about the black kite which had been there for some days feeding with the red kites then the decision was made it had to be Gigrin a.s.a.p! So there we went and boy what a show at feeding time it was truly 'awesome' (400 to 500 birds!) and to see the black kite was an absolute bonus. Of course you have all seen the pictures on this blog so I need not say anymore (See too the pictures of the black kite on the Radnorshire bird blog. There is a link on this site). So today (Sunday) a Dipper was top of the list of birds to see so where better to go than the Clettwr and indeed that's where we saw the 'ringed' bird. My American companions were thrilled. So then onward to Ynyslas where thanks to John, Bob and Harry we had great views of the scaup on the Leri. Down then to the shore at Ynyslas where we all braved the bitterly cold wind. Here we were joined by Russell. We saw divers, Gt crested grebe and Scoters. After this I made my way to Aberystwyth stopping briefly at Borth where there was a very obliging kingfisher 'fishing' in the ditch by the roadside opposite the 'Nisa' store. According to one of Harry's contacts in Borth kingfishers are often seen in this ditch during the winter (correct me if I'm wrong on this Harry). From here I took the good ladies to south beach in Aberystwyth where we saw the purple sandpipers on the sea wall there were three in total and a couple of ringed plovers. The shags of course we found on the castle rocks as well as 4 female goosanders on the sea. There were turnstone, curlew and oystercatcher on the college rocks. No sign of the redstart though. I went back to 'Mach' via Borth to have a last look for a hen harrier and 'bingo' there it was a striking male quartering the marsh at Aber Leri. So what a weekend it turned out for my guests Mandy and Kate who will leave Wales with happy memories of their birding experiences. Sometimes its worth the effort with just a little help from our birding friends!