Ringed Wood Warbler

A few weeks ago(16/05) I mentioned on the blog a Wood Warbler that I'd seen singing in Cwm Doethie which was colour ringed. I've chased it up via the BTO and have had an interesting and comprehensive reply from John Mallord who is leading an RSPB study in to the rapid decline of the Wood Warbler recently. The study area runs from the Elan valley to RSPB Dinas and 150 adults and 550 nestlings have been ringed. The aim is to replicate a study from the 1980's to see whether changes on the breeding grounds are the cause of this decline.

The bird I saw was ringed as a nestling at Dinas, not far from Cwm Doethie, on 14 June 2010. John told me that after my email he went out and re-found it, still singing in the same larches! Apparently, Wood Warblers generally have a low site fidelity so this bird is a little unusual perhaps. I understand that preliminary results of the survey suggest that breeding success is as good now as it was then. So, problems are likely to be on the wintering grounds or migration routes.

Tanybwlch Tues 28th

Female goosander with 4 young just up from the bridge, unfortunately disturbed by dogs, ran on the water just like western grebes! all the way into the harbour, amazing sight, alas, forgot my camera! Also 3 young wheatears near the beach.

Spotted Fly Lower Rheidol

This Monday 27th June saw the return of at least one spotted flycatcher to this part of the valley ,perhaps the same one that Tony saw further down stream and what a welcome sight .This bird is so agile on the wing and can execute quite amazing stunts inorder to catch breakfast! Hopefully the male will set up his territory here and then we will enjoy watching the youngsters learning these amazing skills!

Lis Collison

Sightings from Matt Potter

On a walk around Nant Yr Arian early this morning, there were plenty of Siskins, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Lesser Redpoll, two Tufted Duck (male and female) a Little Grebe feeding one baby, and a first for me for this site was a Wood Warbler.

At home, the fledglings rise in numbers, plus now a fledged Coal Tit is hanging around. Still a few Grasshopper Warblers reeling away and some pleasing numbers of Stonechats about.

Matt Potter

Sandpipers and GC Grebe

Three Common Sandpipers and a Great Crested Grebe were on Llyn Egnant ( Teifi Pools) today. Another single Sandpiper on Llyn Gorlan

Spotted Flycatchers

A bird in my garden in Llangybi on Saturday was a nice garden tick. Whilst at work today I spotted two more, one in Penrhiwllan and another down the hill in Henllan.

Re: First class website upgrade

The website looks really good a great job Richard!

Birds out and about down the river; a family of Dippers with around four fledged under Cwmrheidol bridge a family of Mallards a bit further down the river with three large ducklings a Tawny Owl on top of a telegraph pole, fifteen Red Kites plus two Buzzards in a recently cut hay field, unfortunately a few Sand Martin burrow entrances in the colony above Glanorafon bridge were submerged during the recent heavy water on the Rheidol but I think most had fledged at least one brood (no Kingfishers). In the garden; three recently fledged Song Thrushes (that’s a first for the garden) they could not fly but boy could they run fast! a second more successful brood of cherry picking Blackbirds (despite my netting) Great Tits, Blue Tits and a platoon of both Hs Martins and Sparrows. One Swift occasionally using the gable box and another two large Swifts (wanabe Hs Martins) they were back and forward all day Sunday and at it again this morning I’ve now hastily erected a Swift box on the west wall. Finally whilst watching a screaming party last night at the front of the house they flew into a telegraph wire with a terrific whack I was shocked and expected to see a bird on the drive but they appear to be made of sturdier stuff.

p.s. the spotty has five chicks doing well

Tony Clark

Swans

Further to a posting a few days ago re Mute Swans in Aberystwyth harbour, there are actually 2 families there. Both were seen at lunchtime today, 1 pair with 3 cygnets at the entrance to the gap, and another pair with 1 cygnet near the mouth of the Ystwyth. Helen Herbert

Redstart@ Ynyshir.

Right where Kate and Chris C used to stand on Springwatch ,but they never noticed!

BWLCHCRYWS POND

Elaine's report reminded me that close to home is a female Tufted Duck with 9 tiny ducklings, first seen last Friday.

Pond yr Oerfa

This morning we saw a tufted duck with two small ducklings swimming on Pond yr
Oerfa. There was no sign of the male bird - I hope the two little ones survive
the local predators.

Elaine Izett

QinetiQ Aberporth

(Photo Wendy J)
Firstly many thanks to Karen Williams, of QinetiQ Aberporth for the invitation to help with this year's mid-June bird survey of the 550 acre site.
I think the species list was comparable to last year's, nearly fifty species.
Obvious monitored species like Peregrine were seen, along with fantastic Skylark numbers (20+ singing). Many Common Whitethroats in all the likely habitat, with Lesser Whitethroat added too. Disappointing no Stonechats...
Other highlights, Bottle- nosed Dolphins offshore, and 3 sightings of an Otter !! in and out the seaweed below us. An emergence of Dark Green Fritillaries must have taken place this morning with c50-100 seen in the breeze, also Small Heaths (and likely Small Pearl Bordered Frit's and Small Blue). Also some wonderful rare plants shared with us by Arthur Chater.
(Wendy J. & Richard D)

Thanks Richard

Thanks for the work you've done to give our Blog a bit of a face-lift Richard, I hope the rest of our gang like it as much as I do.

Bob

Don't Panic!

I have given the Ceredigion Birds blog a new look. It's amazing how quickly the time has passed since I first set the blog up for Bob and after discussion we agreed that the blog would benefit from a freshening up. Accordingly I have put in a new header including a couple of Kites which seemed appropriate. The Contacts and Links on the right of the blog remain the same and the Archive is still there but changed to a drop down box rather than a long list.
Those posting to the blog can continue to do so in the same way - no change to signing in and posting.
Hope you enjoy the new look!

Sooty shearwater, New Quay

This Sooty shearwater was seen and photographed by Nick White on Monday afternoon (21/06/2011) off New Quay Head. He was on a boat trip on 'Ermol 5' out of New Quay, the bird was also seen by Steve Hartley on 'Sulaire'.

WHIMBRELS

In line with the autumnal-feeling weather, Chris Bird saw some early autumn-passage birds this afternoon, or what many of us prefer to call return-passage: 3 Whimbrels flew south off Aberystwyth prom.
He also mentioned that on Saturday there were Mute Swans with 4 cygnets in the harbour on Saturday, 3 cygnets on Monday and just 1 today.

Fledglings

These recently fledged Sedge Warblers were a delight to see from Marion Mawr hide at Ynys-hir this morning. Parent birds were busy feeding them just below the hide.
We also saw at least 3 Spotted flycatchers on our short walk there.


Later Buster and I went for a walk on Foel Fawr where we saw another young bird being being shown the ropes by its parent. A male Yellowhammer had his work cut out trying to teach his offspring that it really shouldn't get quite so close to us. It ignored him and came to have a look at us from very close by.

Tawny Owl - Cilgerran Wildlife Centre

Slightly outside Ceredigion, but we had this wonderful view of a young tawny owl on Monday at about 2pm sitting just above the main driveway into the Cilgerran Wildlife Centre.

(photo taken by Liz Snell)

Aline, Angie, Elaine, Liz, Karen

Llanon 21 June (9-10.00 am)

Interesting combination of birds on the field next to the hotel in Llanon this morning.

I counted about 30 Med gulls (mixture of adults and immatures) - numbers seem to be building up over last few weeeks, plus 2 Sandwich terns in field, in amongst black-headed, herring and a few lesser black backed. Also one kite was perched on fence.

A month or two ago this field was dominated by common gulls - so seems to go in gull phases! And I guess this must be one of best fields for birds in Ceredigion as it's the one of the fields where lapland buntings were seen last winter.


Terry Barry

Cors Caron

Just a couple of photos taken during a quick walk around the Cors Caron boardwalk last Saturday- not a lot seen -much too blustery day!

Broadband restored

Hallelujah, I'm back on line.
Sorry to all those who sent messages that I haven't been able to publish until now.

Kestrels

Returning from Llanelli this afternoon we were delighted to see not one but two kestrels hunting over the cliffs south of Llanon.

Sue and Terry

Re: Swift in the box

Nice to see the Osprey chicks doing so well! There will be no shortage of fish now the Sewin run is in full swing on the Dyfi. Last night the first Swift took up residence overnight in my gable box with another two bigger birds failing to find an entrance. They were at it again this morning investigating every nook and cranny but unable to find the target holes. Probably all non-breeders as it’s getting a bit late to start now but never the less first bird after four years of trying ; things are looking up!

Tony Clark

Recent sightings from Matt and Charly Potter

Recent gardens sightings have included many fledglings of Blue and Great Tit and Siskin. A few Juv Great Spotted Woodpeckers have been about and being fed by their parents. Also younf robins, Dunnocks and House Sparrows.

There was also two newly fledged Pied Flycatchers with mum in attendance and a juv Yellowhammer. Locally, many Redstarts, Red Kite, Buzzard and Stonechat.

Up at Bleanmelindwr, there was a party of Winchats.

Matt and Charly Potter

Tir Sisial Public Access

Visitors to Llanrhystud might like to know that we now have a signposted
route open to the public. To get there, take the turning for Penrhos golf
club and continue past their entrance till the road climbs steeply through
trees. As the trees open out there's a parking space on the left with a
signpost for the path by the gate. It's about quarter of a mile from the B
road.
The path runs along the slope through a mixture of young and mature
broadleaves and conifer woodland, down almost to the valley floor, then
back up to the road through an area of mature Oak recently cleared of
Western Hemlock. Warning - this last section is Very Steep!
We have a good mix of woodland birds, insects, fungi, plants etc. The site
is gradually being restored to ancient semi natural woodland after a
forestry commission conifer planting spree in the 50's.
It would be great to have others keeping a lookout here as I just don't
get enough time to keep tabs on the wildlife as much as I'd like!

Keith Burdett

IN THE GARDEN

Masses of young birds in the garden this week including Siskins, Lesser Redpolls, Goldfinches, Blue and Great Tits, House Sparrows and this Great Spotted Woodpecker.

 The Blackbird which raised a brood from a nest on top of a tit nest box, well hidden in honeysuckle on the garage, has made another nest, this time in an open-fronted box on the back of the house in quite an exposed position. 
If young birds do hatch out it could be a bit of a tight squeeze in there!

Late Postings

At present we are experiencing our 8^th day without broadband connection - so is at least one other household nearby. Presumably, as a result of the drive towards greater efficiency BT channel all phone calls from their domestic customers to a call centre in India. We have had to endure the misery of calling that centre over these past 8 days, an experience I would compare with the heroic struggle made by migrating salmon - Only the most tenacious make it, it’s a miracle that any get through.

When the first Indian call centre worker couldn't fix our problem she told us that a colleague would call the following morning. Nobody called.

We phoned 0800 800 150 again, this time we were told that an engineer would come to our house between 1:00 and 6:00pm on Friday. Nobody came.

We phoned again and were told that no engineers were available for another 5 days!

So, it seems that the BT bean counters have prevailed and their drive towards greater efficiency has worked - this exhausted customer can no longer sustain the struggle.

I just haven’t got the energy to take-on India again so I’ve given up. We still haven’t got the service we’re paying for but as far as BT is concerned, there is no problem.

Sorry I can't post any of your communications at present but please keep them coming and I'll publish them when/if I get back on line.

Bob

Dyfi Osprey Project

The eldest chick is two weeks old today and the feathers are just starting to come into 'pin'. All three offspring seem to be flourishing and are feeding well - mostly Mullet and Sea trout (mainly esturine 'slobs'). The weather has been kind also with no excessive heat which can kill young ospreys but the wind can be a problem; the eldest chick started venturing to the side of the nest yesterday all by him/her self. Accordingly, both parents have increased their stick gathering forays in an attempt to build up the sides of the nest.

The remains of three fish surrounding Mum and chicks in the nest this morning somewhat resembling a sushi bar! Thankfully, food has not been a limiting factor to date.

Recent Digi-Pics

Taken during the past few days:

Pair of Chough with 2 of their 3 recently fledged young on the cliffs at New Quay.

One of several Crossbills, mainly young birds, at Coed Dolgoed near Pontrhydfendigaid. For a while the flock was on the path just infront of us!

 A Red Kite hanging on to a tree top in the wind and rain at Nant yr Arian. Good numbers are coming in for the feeding sessions at 3pm and we were lucky to see a 'white' leucistic bird during our visit.

 Whinchat on the slopes of the Foel overlooking Ynys-hir. The male was nearby with a beak-full of insects.

Photos from Ynys-hir

A couple of photos taken by one of my guests, Mike James, the other day: the Redstart was by Marion Mawr and the Whinchat was up on the Foel.

Now that Springwatch is over and looking back over the past 3 weeks of programs I'm sure that everone must agree how superbly Ynys-hir came across (and neighbouring Cors Dyfi and its Ospreys).

The Teifi to Senegal....

This evening on Patch, 2 nice summer plumage Sanderling, 2 Dunlin, and 7 Ringed Plover. Still 7 juvenile Shelduck at Jewsons. Observations over recent evenings have shown that we have far more Swifts feeding over the marsh than in previous years.

See the Teifi Ringing Group for a map of our latest Sedge warbler recovery, 1 of 3 foreign recoveries of Sedge Warblers received today...........

Cwm Brefi

There were 5 Yellowhammers singing there this morning. Also noted 4 male Stonechats with a number of juveniles hopping about and three male Reed Buntings holding territory. A Cuckoo was calling towards the top of the valley and single Spotted Flycatcher and Wood Warbler still present here too.

Spoonbill

The Coed-y-Dinas bird was still there yesterday pm.

SPOONBILL

One Spoonbill flying north-west over the north-west corner of Cors
Fochno at 16.00hrs today.
Jeremy Fraser and Arthur
Chater.

(I wonder if this is the one which recently spent a couple of days at Coed y Dinas near Welshpool? JAD)

Barn Owl

Sitting out late last night on the veranda in an elevated position it was nice to see one or possibly two Barn Owls working the margins of the hay field at the bottom of the garden; the second came around a couple of minutes after the first but it may have been the same bird. Also light entertainment above my head provided by two pipistrelle bats that had become fascinated by a CD disc I have hanging off the roof the reflective surface must have been playing hell with their radar as they appeared to be trying to get through the centre of the disc?. If you are wondering? the disc is supposed to be deterrent to try and stop my mud slinging friends on the west wall from spoiling my nice new wall (with limited success!)

Tony Clark

Tir Sisial - White Letter Hairstreak

Bullfinches returned again to feed on our little field early this morning,
but as the temperature rose dramatically at about 9.00, I noticed a very
dark fluttery butterfly passing through. I managed to get out and get up
close and found the earliest White Letter Hairstreak I've ever seen. We
get 2 or 3 most years in late July/August feeding on Hemp Agrimony/Joe Pye
Weed but perhaps this shows they are around earlier looking for rich
nectar sources when, for whatever reason, honeydew is in short supply.
Also today, with the river rising slightly, a Dipper has appeared.

Keith Burdett

Late Postings

Sorry folks, my broadband connection is up the spout. I've nipped along to a neighbour's to just check my emails and put this message on the blog. We are due to be sorted out on Friday so I hope to be up and running again then.

Bob Relph

Teifi Pools - yesterday

A fine day in the hills yesterday. At least two pairs of Common Sandpipers on Llyn Egnant and Llyn Hir. A good number of recently fledged Meadow Pippits and a sprinkling of Wheatears - numbers still down compared with a couple of years ago.

Foel Fawr

Just back from our walk on the Foel and what a beautiful morning to be up there. The sunshine felt good on my face and the estuary looked stunning - good light and gorgeous blue sea. We heard but didn't see a Cuckoo calling from Cwm Einion. Amongst the birds we did see were 3 or 4 Whinchat, 7 or 8 Willow Warbler and a male Yellowhammer.

Kingfishers

I walk past the spot below Trefechan Bridge at least 4 times a day but have seen no kingfishers for some time. It certainly was a regular spot last year.

John Woodruff

And I'm just back from an hour spent looking for them at the Clettwr, a regular location for them in the past. Sadly there weren't any there either.

Bob Relph

More Re: Kingfishers

In reply to Mikes query the last sighting I have had of a Kingfisher was on the 20^th April at Glanorafon up at the pool travelling downstream. Another spot that has been a regular hang out of the birds in the past is the high wall going upstream from the ‘gap’ in the harbour; best seen from the boat storage and car park opposite. (haven’t been there for a while)

*Message to Mike I’m fishing the river this year so I’ll definitely keep my eyes open and ask Fred & co to do the same.

Tony Clark

brambles and nettles

We have just returned from southern Sweden having been over-whelmed by the lushness of their countryside and the relaxed attitude home-owners seem to have towards gardening. Neat houses with neat patches for flowers and veg, a small close cut lawn surrounded by natural growth provides all the habitat required for a wealth of birds and insects. After long dark winters everything has a chance to live and thrive without the constant threat of strimmer and slasher invading every corner. Even in town parks large areas of uncut grass are allowed to flourish with attendant orchids,cowslips and more.
At this time of year it is tempting to tidy up stingers and fear the strident growth of bramble but they are still providing nest sites for 2nd and 3rd broods of warblers and our thrushes/robins/blackbirds/dunnocks.
At Denmark Farm, near Lampeter, their regular surveys proved that the bramble/nettle patch behind the main building held the highest number of breeding birds even given the marvellous habitats on the whole farm.
Nothing terrible will happen if cutting and clearing are left until September.

Re Kingfishers

I'm afraid Mike might be right about the Kingfisher population being hard hit in the winter. I haven't seen any at Ynys-hir this spring and a trip along the river at Mach a few days ago, to a place where I've seen them in the past was also a disappointment. My only sighting this year was a brief glimpse of one at Aberystwyth.

Tir Sisial - Bullfinches and other stuff

A pair of Bullfinches are feeding daily for long periods on Selfheal and
Creeping Buttercup seeds on the little field in front of our house. Having
reclaimed this field from what was a bramble patch in 2006, this year,
rather than strimming the field I've just whacked the nettles, brambles
and burdocks with a slasher leaving a nice mix of common wildflowers.
Great to have the finches making the most of it.
A flock of 20 or so house martins come to feed here each evening, usually
with 2 Swifts although yesterday 4.
Kites are chasing, grappling and diving over the woodland, despite
presumably still having young in the nest.
Redstarts established 2 territories here this year, one on each side of
the valley.

Keith Burdett

Boat Trip - last minute vacancies

Janet Baxter has just informed me that there are places available on a boat trip tomorrow.
It will be an opportunity to see cetaceans as well as bird life in Cardigan Bay.
The boat will depart from New Quay at 9:00 and the trip is scheduled to last for 8 - 10 hours.
From memory I think the cost is £55:00 per person but I'm not absolutely sure.
If you are interested in going you need to contact The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre on 01545 560032 ASAP.

Where have all the Kingfishers gone?

Has anyone seen a Kingfisher on the Rheidol or Ystwyth this breeding season? Having made several checks on stretches of the rivers known to be there regular fishing grounds I have not seen a single bird. I fear they may well have suffered in the past hard winter.

I hear that at Slimbridge no Kingfishers have been seen this year!

Has any one recorded any sightings?

Raining gannets

Over 150 gannets and lots of Manx shearwaters were feeding off Ynyslas tonight, gannets came in very close to the beach - photos taken with a wide angle lens.

Any more of these little drummers?

The cry of a new bird being seen from Wendy J's garden caused a hurried drive across the Teifi..
How many other deterrent woodies are being fixed to new electricity distribution poles.......apparently it is not working!!

Picture of Happiness at Clarach

Our spirits, if not of this Rook, were raised later at Borth by the sight of 100 or so Gannets feeding just off the beach.

Field Trip Report

The forecasters said it would be wet today and they weren't wrong. Five of us met at 9:00 this morning and were guided across a part of Cors Fochno that I think was new to us all. Despite the rain we did see some birds - Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Sedge Warbler and Skylark amongst them (we also listened to a couple of Reed Warblers) - and masses of Orchids. Thanks Roy, even though we got a bit damp I think we all enjoyed the walk and discovered a new area to visit again when the weather improves.

Whinchat on Foel Fawr

Attached is a snap of one of the Whinchats on Foel Fawr.

Peter Seaton

Foel Fawr

Buster and I were up on our favourite seat again yesterday. Whinchat, Stonechat, Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, Swallow, Swift, Raven, Buzzard and Peregrine all put in an appearance.

Redstart and blackcap - Lower Rheidol Valley

Its true what they say,you wait for a bus and eventually two come along. That was the case on Thursday morning.I no sooner saw a male black cap sitting on the fence rail near the willows by the river when out flew a male redstart looking very smart indeed and a first for me.Dare I suggest that they were both helping to feed their nestlings! The willows are so thick that its difficult to see if there are nests in the undergrowth but no doubt time will tell.It certainly makes up for the disappointment we all felt again this year when the Kites' nest was finally abandoned after the brooding time was well and truely exhausted.The adults are still flying around .Lets hope that it will be a case of third time lucky for them next year.

Lis Collison

Re: Spotty

Last year a close work colleague told me he knew of a Golden Eagle close to
where he lived on the road to Bont. This was well before the whereabouts of
this bird was widely known and circulated. I unfortunately took this news at
the time with more than a pinch of scepticism.

This afternoon he told me he
had spotty in the porch of his shed. I was there like a shot this evening
and sure enough was rewarded with the sight of a real little beauty. The
bird looked very nervous accordingly we made no attempt to get close but
this pic through a scope from a distance confirms her presence.

Tony Clark

RECENT DIGI-PICS

A recently fledged Dipper in the Afon Ystwyth on Wednesday.

 A pair of Chough at New Quay yesterday, relaxing in the warm sunshine.
 Six Dolphins put on a good show for much of the afternoon. As well as the sea-birds, another highlight was a Humming-bird Hawk Moth.

A distant shot ofa singing Yellowhammer at Ystumtuen this morning. I have to admit that this was my first for the year and what a delight it was.

The area where we found it was full of bird song and one contributor was this Tree Pipit. In a lovely little pine tree was a pair of Crossbills. What a great spot.



This afternoon we reached the coast at Ynyslas where Russell Jones put us onto a splendid-looking Golden Plover in full summer plumage.

The Teifi.......

A second brood of Shelduck at Jewsons, 5 small ones, and the brood of 4 doing well and getting too large to be easy prey. Otherwise a very quiet Teifi, Canada Geese now 200 + and I guess c500-700 to arrive before the moulting flock hits it's peak??
See Teifi Ringing Group to see ringing highlights from the Teifi, Midland Island and more....

Tregaron, Sunday and Thursday

Visits to a couple of tetrads in and around Tregaron enabled me to locate a few new species and lifted the total for one of the tetrads to 50. House Sparrows seem exceedingly common hereabouts and there also seem to be healthy populations of Green and Goldfinches. A Spotted Flycatcher was at Ystrad Caron and two more pairs were to the east of Tregaron. There were about 20 Sand Martins at a colony at Abercoed to the south. Higher up the hills at Bryn Du there were still 10 Crossbills present, presumably the same group I saw here containing juveniles a few weeks ago.

There is an interesting little article on the BTO website about 5 tagged Cuckoos in Norfolk. Two are still in the area whilst two others have already started heading south. However, I was most interested/amused to read about the final bird which is also still in its breeding area. One day it flew several miles to the outskirts of Norwich but then headed back home again that evening. Like it had gone on a day trip. I was left with a sense of wonder at how little we know about what 'our' local birds get up to and where they travel.

Dyfi Osprey Project

Today at 10.20am we saw the third egg hatch in the Dyfi nest. Absolutely incredible scenes in the visitor centre when the female osprey stood up to reveal a tiny chick pushing it's way into the world. A second hatched yesterday morning at 06.35 so now we have a full house.

A big thanks to everybody that has helped and sent their regards over the last few days and weeks - the last three days have been wonderful and a privilege to have witnessed. As Iolo said on Springwatch earlier talking about ospreys.. " the best news to come out of Wales for the past 20 years"

REDSTARTS

Brilliant news about the Cors Dyfi Ospreys. My guests and I had just arrived this morning when the third chick began to break out of its egg. Well deserved success for the Trust there and its staff and volunteers.
After a visit to a bustling, vibrant Ynys-hir it was off to Nant yr Arian and the 100 or so Red Kite which came in to feed. Tree Pipit and a couple of Crossbills showed very well from the start of the ridge path.
Below is a photo taken by a recent guest,Graham Tazzyman, of a female Redstart which had just been feeding its young in the Rheidol valley. 
The male Redstart was near my home at Trisant and his young fledged a while ago.

Crossbills and a quail

Good numbers of crossbill at Ynys-hir at the moment with 25+ in larches around the Visitor Centre this morning. A quick drive through the lowland wet grassland (mainly to escape Springwatch) produced a golden plover with a gammy leg and 12 fledged lapwing young. On a hunch I stopped at the best silage field at Hen hafod and shut off the car engine. Within 30 seconds I was rewarded with the typical 'wet-my-lips' song of a quail which continued singing for twenty minures or so. A very nice reserve tick.

More great news from Cors Dyfi..........

I've just returned from Cors Dyfi where chick number three is busy breaking out of its shell.
I'm sure Emyr will update us all soon, meanwhile let's wish the parents good luck in rearing their precious brood.

Cuckoos at Ysgubor-y-Coed

This morning, as we walked along the wall by Ysgubor-y-Coed in the pouring rain I doubted that we were going to see many, if any birds. Unfortunately my pessimism turned out to be an accurate forecast. But on the return leg of our journey I heard first one, then another Cuckoo calling from different directions, and a female bubbling away in response.

jay and goldfinch

Brilliant news about the ospreys. Not quite in the same league but still exciting we have had a jay on our peanut feeder in Capel Seion. Also had our first juvenile goldfinch of the year on the seed feeder – seems early this year.

Sue and Terry

HOBBY

A Hobby entertained us for much of the afternoon at Cors Caron while we were on the boardwalk in the south-east section. As the air was a bit cool it frequently hunted low over the pools and we had exceptional views. We could tell that it was the same one all the time as a primary was missing from its left wing.
I think the first sighting of the year was of 2 at Cors Caron on 2nd May, reported by Arfon Williams and thereafter only one has been recorded. Hopefully at least another one has been present, if not noticed.

Re: Swift Conservation / Website

In reply to Roger’s enquiry a very useful site to visit is www.swift-conservation.org this is the new website for ‘London Swifts’ an excellent conservation group and this site is packed with useful information and also has links to other sites. From my own limited experience I would suggest the ‘built in’ option is far superior to external boxes. One of the biggest problems is attracting the bird’s initially; white plastic facia boards / eaves are great to maintain but the longevity of the material gives little opportunity for access to the wallboard where Swifts like to nest. Upon close observation of the birds you will note they are attracted to dark cracks and holes particularly in stone / brick or roofing tiles; the built in boxes emulate this. A little tip is to keep all access closed until at least May (sorry Sparrow fans I’ve nothing against the birds honestly!) Hs Martins are different story the external boxes are great and I think superior as you can place them where you want them I make my own from a quarter of a 8 inch ball from a ball-cock. The home made boxes stand off the wall a little more than a naturally bird built nest and therefore the mess (and they are messy) falls on the floor not on the wall, *tip* must be out of the sun and if you buy commercially made reduce the entrances significantly (Sparrows who said anything about Sparrows!!)

Tony Clark

Dyfi Ospreys

The quality's not great but here is a picture of the 2 Osprey chicks being fed this morning at about 11:00.
I just can't think of anything to add!

Sightings this weekend from Ystumtuen.

Lots of newly fledged Siskin, Blue and Great Tits on the feeders at the moment, plus a fledged Dunnock and Robin. The Pied Flycatchers disnt take up residence in my quickly made nest box, but they have taken up one on the other side of the copse so we still see them cathing food in and around our garden.

On a short walk up the hill, there were 4 separate Yellowhammer territories with males singing with one confirmed breeding when it was with a female carrying food. Also found a potential Lesser Redpoll breeding territory. Some investigation to be carried out on that one, and the same with a new area tick, a superb male Winchat! Seen two days now in the very same spot! Fingers crossed! Plus at least 4 male Redstarts on territories as well, plus the usual Willow Warblers, Pied Wagtails and Tits and Finches.

Matt and Charly Potter

Swift Nest Boxes

I was interested to see Tony’s Swift nest box design.

We have a self build project in Glynarthen, currently at a very early stage of development, but would welcome any advice at all regarding the design of swift, swallow and house martin nest boxes that would be suitable for incorporating into the design of the new house. Suggestions not just about the design/purchase/building of suitable boxes but also with regard to the design of the eaves of the building, etc. would be extremely useful.

Many thanks in anticipation

Roger Watkins

Re: Swifts

On the subject of Swifts a lot of new birds appeared on the scene on Friday night with one very agile character displaying in very near darkness this involved the most aggressive and super fast flying (often at head height) I have ever seen; it was circling the house and ‘whacking’ my latest Swift-box (Mk IV) with a tremendous force. The birds were again much in evidence the following morning with a larger pair once again banging at the entrances of the box in the same manner as the previous evening they were also causing some minor inconvenience to the sitting Hs Martin’s checking out their homes on the west wall with the expected response that involved a great flurry of activity from the sitting birds. I agree there appears to be more Swifts around this year so far but they are so elusive I would be happy to have a non-breeder aboard as I have been making and experimenting with various designed boxes over the last four years and the current model is the best to date in terms of response (pic attached) its got a brick effect finish and integrated mini speakers. The House Martins are having a good year with six active nests two of which have fledged birds; I’ve lost the plot with counting the birds this year as there is so much nest hopping it’s become more of a commune than a colony on my wall!!

Tony Clark

Dyfi Ospreys

A real privilege to watch history being made at the Dyfi Osprey project yesterday. For those who can't get there you can follow constant updates and videos on their Facebook page. Fingers crossed all continues to go well, a just reward for all the hard work and dedication that has gone in to make this possible.

Dyfi Osprey Project

Thanks for the kind words folks. The Dyfi welcomed its first osprey chick in 400 years today and I'm really happy that so many local people were around to see it.

There's another chick cipping its way out of egg No3 so with any luck we'll have twins by the morning.

Today was a day I will never forget. I meant to ring so many people but sadly didn't get enough time - thank you everybody who have supported us in getting to this stage. Today, Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust stood up for wildlife conservation and won.

Early Swallows

A brood of four Swallows fledged yesterday from the single nest in our barn. What is surprising is that it is ten days earlier than last year. - the earliest I have ever recorded!

Dyfi Ospreys

That's absolutely wonderful news - let's hope all goes well. Especial congratulations to Emyr and all the team that have put so much effort in to the project.

Ospreys

Bob, you have just delivered the best bit of birding news out! Thanx for giving us a terrific thrill-wish we could have been there.
Well done OSPREYS!

Wonderful news from Cors Dyfi

I've just got back from Cors Dyfi where I was thrilled to watch one of the Osprey chicks hatching, live on their CCTV. One of the other eggs was also "moving." Scenes of great joy were unfolding amongst the throng of staff, volunteers and visitors to the project, crammed into the visitor centre. Emyr asked me to let everyone know that he is "quite busy at the moment!" but he will post full details for us as soon as he can.

Full on Buster...........

I have a lot to put up with sometimes you know.....
This afternoon I decided to take a couple of pictures of Buster and me watching birds from our favourite seat on the Foel. I asked him to look at the camera and say cheese and just as I was pushing the button for the second time I got a face full of him.

Kingfishers & Swifts

Interesting that Ian's customer should have regular Kingfishers but reduced numbers of Swifts - for me it's been the other way around. I would normally expect to see kingfishers fairly regularly at Ynys-hir but so far this year I've not seen any there and only spotted one, at Aberystwyth. And, although a few Swifts have buzzed around my house each year since we moved here, this year there seem to be more!

Llandysul

A woman who I was delivering post to today told me that a pair of Kingfishers are regular throughout the year here and that she sees them most days (her house backs on to the Teifi in the centre of town). I've noticed also that there appear to be fewer Swifts swooping over the town. I don't know if others have noticed a reduction elsewhere.

Foel Fawr

We were on the Foel by 7:15 this morning and what a lovely morning it was.
I saw a very young looking Tree Pipit, obviously as interested in what may have been its first sight of a human and two dogs as I was in it. I also saw 3 adult pipits chasing each other around in what looked like a competitive manner. Are they looking to start a second brood I wonder?
At one point I stopped to look at a Willow Warbler that I saw fly onto a small tree, then I noticed a Tree Pipit almost next to it. As I glanced at the next small tree I was delighted to see a beautiful, male Yellowhammer showing really well and then I noticed a male Whinchat at the top of the first tree. A few moments later a Whitethroat joined the Yellowhammer. Two Buzzards were drifting lazily overhead and I could hear a Wren and a Dunnock nearby.
Earlier I watched a male Stonechat with 2 young ones and a Meadow Pipit which had its beak crammed with food but wouldn't go feed its young until we moved on.
As I said, what a lovely morning!

Ynys Hir

Having returned from holiday last Saturday today was the first opportunity to get out birding so Sheila and I, together with daughter Sarah, made a reasonably early am visit to Ynys Hir arriving about 7am after a lovely stroll from the village. About 15 Swifts and similar number of House Martins accompanied us most of the way as we passed 5 or 6 singing Blackcaps, 3 Chiff-chaffs, Song Thrush, Blue Great and Coal Tits and a cacophony of song and contact calls, the air really was full with birds.
We eventually made our way to the woodland gate on the farm track behind the visitor centre, where we had super views of a family of Tree-creepers mum dad and three kids and a Spotted Flycatcher, Fem. Blackcap and probable Wood Warbler. Moving on 30m or so towards the cross-roads in the first tall larch we had a group of Crossbills. A superb deeply coloured male a female and 5 young. We watched these feeding for over 15mins before neck ache forced us on. Just before the X-rds we met a young couple staying in the village guest house and they wanted to see Lesser spotted Pecker I couldn't help them as I've not seen on down there this year, can anyone give me a definite sighting for the last month that I can pass on?. We did have 3 Great-spots together another Spotted Fly, Pied Fly and m Redstart before the railway bridge. All along this track we had to walk carefully as there were hundreds of tiny frogs making their way across the path. There were many more on the grassy path between the temporary car park and the vis. cent. c park making it almost impossible to put your foot down.
Around Marian Mawr (Bill Condry) hide we saw Wood Warbler, another Spotted Fly, Blackcaps Buzzards, Herons, Egrets etc. There were many more visitors than usual and volunteers to help them and all blessed by fantastic sunshine. What a lovely return, I can't remember ever seeing three different Spotted Flycatchers before at this time of the year.

Foel Fawr

When we went for our walk on the Foel yesterday, Lulu, Buster and me weren't able to get to our favourite bench for a while because a Peregrine was perched on rocks just a few feet from it. We stopped a couple of hundred yards away and watch it for a 10 minutes or so before it flew off. When we did get there I found the remains of some unfortunate prey species that the falcon had been eating. In the afternoon Buster and I went up the hill again and saw a probable Gosshawk, a Sparrowhawk, Red Kite, 4 Buzzards, Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Willow Warbler, Stonechat, Whitethroat and Dunnock.
This morning we went to the turn car-park at Ynyslas. There were probably a couple of hundred Manx Shearwaters, c20 Gannet, 8 or 9 Guillemot and 5 Ringed Plover knocking about and unusually for that location, a Grey Wagtail.

Aberarth & New Quay

Wednesday 1st June

A single female Kestrel along Aberarth cliffs where there were also three pairs of Stonechats - a pleasant surprise since the news seemed to be that numbers were down this year after the hard winter.

A lone Great Skua was seen working its way slowly south. The same bird was seen about an hour later off New Quay moving even more slowly and spending a lot of time on the water. This plus a number of Manx Shearwaters some way offshore plus some Gannets pleased my visiting friends from inland (Buckinghamshire).

A pair of Whitethroats and a pair of Linnets feeding young (at New Quay).

Ian Harrison

Kites Moulting

Yes Mark, - primary feathers missing at this time of year generally means that the birds are not breeding. 'Kite Nest Watchers' for the Welsh Kite Trust have reported a higher/earlier incidence of this phenomenon this season - perhaps an indication of not such a successful breeding outcome.

Llyn Syfydrin

This afternoon at Syfydrin - a family party of Canada Geese, Meadow Pippits, a Pied Wagtail, a Male Cuckoo being very vocal and a very obliging pair of Wheatears.

kite

Your kite looks pristine; over here today (N.Pembs) we had 2 kites circling & both had at least one primary missing from both wings - so moulting. Am I right in thinking that if they are moulting they are not breeding...... or am I mistaken?

RED KITES

It has been a while since we had a photo of a Red Kite and living here we can easily take these beautiful birds for granted. This photo was taken by one of my guests, Mick Ackers, at Nant yr Arian a few days ago.

Crossbills have become less reliable there recently but Tree Pipits are showing well, especially along the ridge footpath near the car-park.