Everything seemed to be on the move or newly arrived. Started
at Cletwr where sedge and reed warblers singing well and cuckoo distantly. Then
along the track to Dyfi Junction station where more reed and sedge warblers and
a lovely lesser whitethroat rattling away from dense blackthorn (about a quarter
of the way along the track). I think this may be the first lesser whitethroat
I've seen in the county. Ospreys showing well from the platform.
On the way
back down the track, there were 20 whimbrel on the saltmarsh bank, with an
osprey on a post on the saltmarsh behind and numerous swifts, swallows, sand and
house martins flying up river. 10 goosander on the river. All this while
lesser whitethroat, cuckoo and garden warbler singing. Then went to the
'parkland' area behind Dyfi castle where good views of pied fly, redstart and
wood warbler. On to Foel Fawr where tree pipit and another cuckoo.
Down at the
coast, manxies (c. 100) close in with gannets (40+) diving, 2 sandwich tern and
single red-throated diver and great-crested grebe. Down to Ynyslas Point for
high tide where best birds of the day - 40 bar-tailed godwit, of which at least
10 were in stunning summer plumage, 12 summer-plumaged grey plover and at least
7 sanderling in summer plumage. Single cattle egret in the usual field and
ring-billed gull showing very well. It seemed to spend a lot of time flying up
before landing briefly and then almost immediately flying up again. It did this
for about half an hour. Not sure if anyone else has noticed this behaviour.
The field it was in was alive with wheatears as well as at least 15 ringed
plover and several dunlin.
I then walked to Glandwr not expecting to see
anything extra. But it was very good, with a single greenshank and two common
sandpiper on the Leri, a nice male whinchat along the fence close to the pools
and very close views of a female marsh harrier. Finally walked to the boardwalk
on the north side of Cors Fochno where another cuckoo. The only negative
surprise of the day was no barn owl or grasshopper warbler at Cors fochno
Whitethroats and sedge warblers seem to be particularly prolific this
year. Exhausted!
Chris Forster Brown