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These are fabulous little birds, quite confiding of people (if you keep still), and can form reasonably large social groups sometimes.
An afternoon visit to Llanrhidian marsh to check for Harriers paid off when a female Hen Harrier showed up, although a long way out as usual. Great to watch though, but never close enough today for any photography.
An hour or two later the grey clouds blotted out the sunlight, and it became reasonably dark quite quickly, so abandoned for the rest of the day.
Thank you to everyone who turned up and supported the `Walk with the Warden` with me this morning.
The weather might not have been ideal, but it was good just to be out together, looking over different habitats and exploring areas that some people didn`t know existed. It was good to meet you all.
The next `Walk with the warden` is on Saturday 16th December . I look forward to seeing you there.
Well with Christmas beckoning around the corner, it`s going to be good to get out and about a bit today to clear the head from the past week, get the boots on, and check out what`s out there for the people on the walk today.
It`s been mild so far, no hint of a frost yet, but who knows what`s ahead. The Bewick swans have been later arriving at Slimbridge due to the mild weather, but the influxes of some birds may indicate a very cold winter ahead for Europe and Scandinavia. I had the odd sighting of a pair of Shovelor mating outside of the Peter Scott hide, a Common Darter resting on the timber of the foot bridge to the Heron`s Wing hide, and Water Rail quite vocal down past the reedbeds at the Welsh Water hide (normally get more vocal mid winter leading up to Spring). So I think some of our nature is a bit confused at the moment.
With the recent storms, and more gales forecast for today, there`s a chance of something unusual turning up, you just have to be at the right place at the right time. For example, when I was checking the Reserve prior to last month`s `Walk with the warden`, a passing Short Eared Owl was reported on the salt marsh from the British Steel hide, being in the opposite side of the whole site from where I was (very frustrating!). But it`s going to be blustery all day today, so we`ll see what happens.
Next weekend is the WWT Llanelli Christmas Craft fair weekend, so a good chance to check that out plus the Shop too. As for me, i`ll probably be outdoors somewhere.
Today`s walk starts at 11.30am. Be weatherproof and have good footwear, as it`s still sweeping down as I type this.
See you later.
Having been a volunteer since it started five and a half years ago, and my previous similar work both in Swansea and Plymouth, I will miss the rapport and involvement with our guests immensely.
I remain a volunteer with WWT Llanelli when time permits, and of course will be doing this Saturday`s `Walk with the warden` as per my other post. I look forward to bumping into you there.
I`ll looks like a soggy and windy one, so come prepared with suitable clothing and boots (the paths can be very wet and possibly muddy).
See you there.
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With all the news from the Middle East and Ukraine, the world is still a crazy place.
I went to their known area rather tentatively, knowing that they are subject to disturbance, and too much attention from people will probably make them decide to move on.
The day was spent next to the cover of high bramble bush, using the shadows, and trying not to get caught in the thorns. With one quite active soon after my arrival, a second started showing an hour or so later, joined by a few even more distant ones in adjoining fields by the afternoon. Some hefty and prolonged showers (that weren`t forecast) made the light drop considerably at times, but generally a great few hours.
I sincerely hope they won`t be disturbed, as more people begin to turn up to watch them, or try and find them. I`m also hoping that those that turn up also respect the local land ownership, and don`t upset local farmers (as what happened down in Newport with the Barn owl some time ago).
With a large influx of birds, my money`s still on a very cold winter in Europe and Scandinavia.
Let`s see what happens over the next few months.
Interesting scenarios published this week seem to suggest a wetter, milder autumn and early winter, leading to a much colder but drier mid-to-late winter,
There seems to be an influx of Waxwing to the North of the UK, particularly Shetland and Orkney, Shorties across the country, and even Water Rail to the Welsh Islands. With Hen Harrier and Merlin also down on lower ground and coastal marshes by early October, it could be that much colder picture not too far ahead? Who knows.
Just need all this regular rain to stop though.
I took a break from all the gloss painting and other stuff form the last few weeks, and went to Llanrhidian yesterday to see what was there. I was hoping to catch a Short eared owl, as someone reported one a couple of weeks ago, but no show while I was there.
My other main target birds were Hen Harrier, and both a male and a female were present - a long way out though. With the very soft mud following big tides plus the heavy rain recently, I decided to sit tight by the car and see if anything would come close. Not my day, however plenty of birds out there including large numbers of Geese, Goldfinch bouncing around the marsh, Great white egret, Red Kite, Stonechat, etc.
Back on my local estuary i`ve had Merlin around and again good numbers of Canada and Greylag Geese, but no sign of a local Hen Harrier yet this year on the limited time I can be there. (The roaming horses restrict where I can view from now). Hoping that one day I will catch a Short eared owl locally, perfect habitat with the rough fields adjacent to the marsh. My gut feeling is that they have passed through at some stage over the years, but haven`t seen this yet.
I saw my first two Redwing of the winter on Llangennech marsh this week, so hope they will be in in good numbers soon.