September 2019

On our way to the Teifi Marshes NNR, we had a quick look at Kenfig NNR. It was very quiet birdwise & we only saw a Common Whitethroat. We continued on Llanelli WWT, where we had lunch. Afterwards, we went to the British Steel Hide that overlooks the estuary, but the light was bad. We saw Knot, Greenshank, Redshank, Grey Heron, Magpie, also Rabbit & Cattle Egret feeding alongside the Cattle. We saw a Common Wasp chomping on the wooden fence post. The star bird we saw from the Michael Powell hide was a Male Kingfisher flying from perch to perch fishing. There were also some Waders viewable from here, mostly Greenshank and Redshank. We then made our way back to the car park. In the hedge near the car park was the larvae of a Buff-tip Moth. We resumed our journey to the cottage on the Teifi Marshes NNR, where we will be staying for a few nights.

Red Knot [Flock]

Common Whitehtroat [Juvenile]

Kingfisher [Male]

Magpie [Adult]

Cattle Egret [Winter]

Teifi Marshes NNR
14th September 2019

On Dad's birthday we spend the day exploring around the nature reserve at Teifi Marshes. We saw a couple of Juvenile Common Buzzards perched in the tree on our way to and from the Otter Hide. Three Water Buffalos that grazed on the reserve showed well from the hide, despite the brambles being in the way. We went along to the Kingfisher Hide, where a Grey Heron showed well on the island. We didn't have to wait long before the Kingfisher perched in front of the hide. The bird was a Juvenile Male. We had more Kingfisher action from the Mallard Hide, with both Male & Female perched in small tree close to the hide. We watched for a long time as they chased each other about the pond, giving us the best views we’ve ever had of Kingfishers. It was also good watching their behaviour, with them fighting and prosturing at each other. There were also some Snipe and Little Grebe as well on the pond.Going back to the Visitor Centre we saw a Speckled Wood Butterfly resting on the main path. After lunch at the cottage, we went to look at Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber & Castell Henllys. We then went back to Teifi to look at the Creek Hide & saw a pair of Greenshank & a Carrion Crow. A couple of Curlews also showed well in front of the hide.

Water Buffalo

Common Buzzard [Juvenile]

Water Buffalos

Common Buzzard [Juvenile]

Speckled Wood

Grey Heron [Adult]

Kingfisher [Pair]

Kingfishers

Curlew [Adult]

Greenshank [Pair]

Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber

Marloes
15th September 2019

We had an early morning look for Otters & Kingfisher at Teifi Marshes NNR before breakfast, but didn’t see any. We then headed to Marloes to look for Chough and Seabirds. We walked around the cliffs and down below on the beaches were lots of Grey Seal Pups. Some of the Adults were with the youngsters and some were in the water. There were not many Seabirds about, but we saw Fulmar and Raven flying around the cliff face. The Choughs were also flying around the area & very mobile, we saw some flying over the water to Skomer Island. We eventually found some perched with one on a fence post. They were very wary & soon flew off shortly afterwards. We didn't see any Wall Browns this time, but we did saw a Small Copper near the car park. We had good views of Stockholm Island. On our way back to Teifi Marshes NNR, we had a quick look at two more Burial Chambers at Carreg Samson & Carreg Coetan.

Skomer from Marloes

Grey Seal [Female & Pup]

Grey Seal [Juvenile]

Grey Seal

Fulmar

Chough [Adult]

Chough [Pair]

Small Copper

Chough [Adult]

Carreg Samson

Carreg Coetan

Teifi Marshes NNR & Poppit Sands NNR 16th September 2019

We started by looking for the Kingfishers at the Teifi Marshes NNR, sadly we didn't see any that morning from both Kingfisher & Mallard Hides. A Little Grebe was fishing in front of the Kingfisher Hide. On our way to the Mallard Hide, I spotted a Juvenile Bullfinch in the hedgerow. The Curlew showed well in front of the Creek Hide. We headed further up the coast to New Quay on the Cardigan coast to look for Bottle-nose Dolphins. They showed well at times but very distant. We also had lunch there. On our way back down to Teifi in the afternoon, we stopped for a cup of tea at Aberporth, which was a lovely little place. We finished the day at Poppit Sands NNR near St Dogmaels. We saw a Little Egret, Black Swan with Mute Swans & Grey Wagtail.

Willow Badger, Teifi Marshes NNR

Little Grebe [Summer]

Bullfinch [Juvenile]

Curlew [Adult]

Little Egret [Juvenile]

Black Swan [Adult]

Black & Mute Swans

Grey Wagtail [Female]

Leaping Dolphin, Aberporth

Teifi Marshes NNR & Pembroke 17th September 2019

Our final day at Teifi Marshes NNR started very well with excellent views of the Female Kingfisher from the Mallard Hide in lovely sunlight, also a couple of Little Grebes moulting from Summer to Winter Plumage. Another unexpected bird we saw was a Sub Adult Water Rail, which made a very brief appearance.

On our way back home, we stopped in Pembroke to look for the Lesser Yellowlegs that had been present for a few days.It eventually showed well feeding along the bank by the Castle and at close quarters. Like most of the other Lesser Yellowlegs that reach our shores, this bird was a first Winter. We had lunch & a cup of tea there while watching the Yellowlegs, before heading home late that day.
It had been a brilliant few days.

A week later, we heard that the Kingfisher Hide had been burned down which was very sad to hear. The Kingfisher and Otters were still being seen there though, so it hadn’t affected them at all.

Kingfisher [Female]

Little Grebe [Moulting Adult]

House Sparrow [Juvenile]

Kingfisher [Female]

Red Admiral

Small Tortoiseshell

Painted Lady

Lesser Yellowlegs [1st Winter]

Lesser Yellowlegs [1st Winter]

Pembroke Castle

Forest of Dean 18th-20th October 2019

18.10.19

We headed to the Forest of Dean to meet up with the Naturetrek group. We had a quick look at Parkend to see was what was there. We saw Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Redwing, Fieldfare & Grey Squirrel. We saw some Mandarin Ducks at Cannop Stoneworks. After, we headed to Speech House Hotel to met up with the group & have dinner. We then headed out for a spotlight drive through the forest.

We saw Fallow Deer, Fox, Badger, Muntjac & Wild Boar with Juvenile.

19.10.19

We went for early morning walk around the forest & saw Lesser Redpoll and Hawfinch flying over. We heard a Male Fallow Deer calling in the forest, as well as seeing a Doe with a Calf. A small flock of Common Crossbills were feeding on the cones very distantly. A Female Roe Deer was also seen, it's very unusual to see Roe Deer in the forest & was the first one I've seen in the forest.

After breakfast we headed to Cannop Ponds to look for Mandarin Ducks. Sadly, we saw only Coots, Moorhen, Little Grebes, Mute Swan, Cormorant & Grey Wagtail. Afterwards, we headed to St Briavels to meet up with a man called Keith, who was going to take us round to look for Hazel Dormice. Keith has a license to look into the nest boxes along with his mate Darren because Dormice are protected by law.

There were 50 boxes around his garden and most were unfortunately empty. There was evidence that Dormice had been using one of the boxes, by a nest. The only rodents that were seen in two of the nest boxes were the common Wood Mouse with some Juveniles. After surveying the area, he invited us into his house for a cup of tea and something to eat. The birds on his feeders were Blue, Great & Coal Tits, also a few Brown Rats were feeding underneath. We had lunch in the pub at Parkend. I also had a brief view of the Dean Forest Railway Steam Loco WD 152 Rennes at Parkend, having arrived from Lydney Junction & was running around the train. In the afternoon, we went for a walk around Brierley. We saw a Raven fly over, Goldcrest on top of the Spruce Tree and Hawfinch being mobbed by a Lesser Redpoll. We then headed back to Speech House Hotel for dinner. In the evening, we returned back to St Briavels in hope of seeing Badgers from Keith's house. The Fox made regular visits to the garden, but sadly the Badgers failed to put in appearance. We had leave at about 10:30 to head back to the hotel & said goodbye to Keith & his wife.

Fallow Deer [Female]

Carrion Crow [Adult]

Coot [Adult]

Roe Deer [Female]

Little Grebe [Winter]

Brown Rat [Adult]

Hawfinch [Male]

Goldcrest [Adult]

20.10.19

We had another early morning walk around Woorgreens Lake NNR and although we heard Fallow Deer bellowing in the Forest below, we didn't see any. We returned to the hotel for breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed to Nagshead RSPB. Immediately after leaving the hotel, we found some Wild Boar foraging around in broad daylight. We had walk around the Nagshead RSPB reserve. We saw a few Bracket Fungus on the tree and a Fallow Deer Buck crossed the path in front of us. From a viewpoint on the long trail we saw a Red Kite soaring. I was looking along the fence line for Wild Boar hair, that occasionally gets caught on the barbed wire when the animal passes underneath. We saw plenty of Wild Boar foot prints in the soil known as slots. A few Fly Agaric [Amanita muscaria] along the path & one with big bites either side, possibly from a Fallow Deer. I spotted a Juvenile Nursery Web Spider [Pisaura mirabilis] crossing the path. We saw a pair of Hawfinches perched up in the tree & a Female Brambling [first of the Winter]. Suddenly they all flew off when a Goshawk passed overhead. There were loads of Grey Squirrels on the reserve. After lunch at Speech House Hotel, we headed to Woorgreens NNR. We saw Exmoor Ponies & Highland Cattle that grazed on the reserve. A couple of Stonechats were perched on the gorse bush. I spotted some Bracken with some dry mud splashes, possibly from when a Wild Boar having a wallow and then a bit shake to get some of the mud off. Also spotted some Fungi, which I identified in my book as Turkeytail [Trametes veriscolor] & is one of stump rotting Fungi Species. It was the first time I saw these Fungi, that I know of.

The final sighting of our Forest of Dean weekend with Naturetrek was a Goldcrest. Afterwards, we went back to the Speech House Hotel at the end of our weekend away. Thanks to Greg for leading the tour also thanks to Anne, Linda, Katie, Deirdre, Tony & Liz for their company.