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.