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On the 28 th 7 Buzzards were soaring together over the reserve car park, with more birds displaying over the local woods. The male Kestrel is still around the reserve. The female Sparrowhawk is being seen more often, especially in the evenings. The Peregrine caught a Black-headed Gull on the estuary...

Next week sees the start of a major project at RSPB Conwy, undertaking one of the biggest changes to the reserve since its creation almost 20 years ago. We need to tackle an invasive non-native plant, marketed as Australian swamp stonecrop or New Zealand pygmyweed, but usually referred to by its scientific...

It has been a good week for raptor sightings. A Peregrine has been hunting over the reserve frequently and sat in front of the Carneddau hide on the weekend. The male Kestrel is still about, roaming around the reserve. A female Sparrowhawk has been seen chasing the Starlings in the evening roost and...

Waders are starting to move north in greater numbers this week. The WeBS high tide count and general sightings recorded high counts of 95 Dunlin , 13 Ringed Plover , 30 Knot , 18 Black-tailed Godwits , 117 Curlew , 25 Oystercatcher , 200+ Lapwing , 12 Snipe and 56 Redshank . High waterfowl counts...

On February 3rd the wings of a dead Short-eared Owl were found in the middle of the reserve. It may have succumbed to the cold weather. On the 6 th a Bittern was seen flying from the Benarth hide towards the Coffee shop. This cold weather increased our duck counts. 14 Gadwall , 2 Red-breasted Mergansers...

After an absence from the reserve for a couple of years, a male Kestrel returned at the end of January. It’s been seen several times by the Ganol trail. Other raptors seen include a male Sparrowhawk , Buzzards and a Peregrine feeding on the estuary. A Greylag Goose turned up for one day with...

The bird of the weeks is a Siberian Chiffchaff found on the 23 rd by the Carneddau hide. This Welsh rarity has been describes as sounding like a cross between a Dunnock and a Bullfinch. It calls frequently from the willows joined by a Common Chiffchaff on the 24 th . The Firecrest was seen to at least...

On the 13 th a Cetti’s Warbler gave a short blast of song by the Tal-y-fan hide. After keeping its head down for a few days, it called again on the evening of the 14 th by the coffee shop. The Firecrests have been seen more regularly this week after the winds dropped and the sun came out, occasionally...

Pete Wood's photo of one of our firecrests is our favourite photo submitted in December; will yours be one of our favourites in 2012? We’d like to make the most of the amazing photos that visitors take at RSPB Conwy, so each month we choose our favourites to feature in our e-news, social...

Sometime on the 5 th a flock of 60 Canada Geese arrived in front of the Benarth hide. Another notable arrival was 7 Goldeneye appearing on the 11 th . A lone Whooper Swan was on the estuary on the 4 th briefly. Shelduck numbers are now in their 20’s in front of the Tal-y-fan hide. 10 Gadwall ,...

The decorations are down, but the evenings are getting lighter (just!), and you’ve made your new year resolutions. It’s time to gear yourself up for 2012, step up for nature with the RSPB and spend 10 minutes over a cup of tea with our latest e-newsletter (1.3MB) It’s almost time...

The Firecrests have been seen almost daily over the festive period with three together on the 22 nd of December. One of the Chiffchaffs has been seen almost daily too. A second Yellowhammer of the year turned up on the 22 nd calling on the top of a bramble bush, along the Ganol trail. 2 Grey Wagtails...

This week we have carried out our Wetlands Bird Survey Counts for the reserve and estuary. Some of the high counts of Waterfowl include 354 Teal , 79 Wigeon , 5 Goldeneye , 3 Tufted Duck , 2 Pochard and 59 Mallard . Other water birds seen this week include our first Great Crested Grebe since the summer...

The 2 Firecrest’s have been showing well on and off this week in the bushes towards the end of the back-track. They have been showing with two Chiffchaffs . The crests showed particularly well on the 14 th calling and fly-catching high in the willows. The Yellow-browed Warbler was last seen on...

We've recently had two great pieces of news that mean we can give the green light to plans that visitors, staff and volunteers have been dreaming up for at least four years. The Countryside Council for Wales has granted the RSPB up to £179,000 towards a programme of work that we're calling...

The Yellow-browed Warbler has been seen in the same place at the end of the back track for at last 9 days now. It was joined by a Chiffchaff on the 5 th . A male Blackcap on the 7 th completed the Warbler sightings. 2 Snow Buntings were seen outside the Benarth hide and on the estuary on the 2 nd...

Highlight of the week was a Yellow-browed Warbler that turned up on the 28 th . This visitor from Siberia is a first for the reserve. It disappeared on the 29 th in the windy conditions but re-appeared in the same place with a Firecrest the following day. Then on the December 1 st two Firecrests were...

One of our birds of the week was a drake Common Scoter that turned during the Low-tide Wetland Bird Survey. It looked tired as it sat on the far bank from the Carneddau hide. Other ducks seen on the low-tide count included a drake Goldeneye, 4 Shoveler , Pochard , Gadwall , 3 Shelduck , 76 Teal ,...

Our first Greylag Goose for a while arrived on the 12 th to keep our two Canada Geese company. Shelduck started arriving back from their breeding grounds this week with at least 10 on the estuary, occasionally popping onto the reserve. A pair of Gadwall arrived on the 14 th with a Tufted Duck and Pochard...

3 Whooper Swans dropped in on the 6 th. Our first Shelducks have starting arriving back from their wintering grounds along with a Pochard , Tufted Duck and a pair of Goldeneye 8 th . Our highest Wigeon count was 195 on the 7 th . Goosanders have been seen on and off on the estuary, with a pair together...

Our Wigeon and Teal numbers are increasing day by day now. Five Pintails dropped in for two minutes on the 26th before flying up the river. Red-breasted Mergansers are displaying on the deep-water lagoon. A Peregrine has been seen almost daily on the reserve and a Sparrowhawk has also been seen circling...

The undoubted highlight of the week was a great white egret , found on the estuary by Dave O'Hara, a visiting RSPB staff member, on 14 October. It started out near the reserve entrance gate, but flew upstream along the River Conwy to past Glan Conwy, so views became a little distant. Very helpfully...

Autumn migration here on the reserve is still in full swing, with each day seeing a different suite of waders feeding up on the lagoons before they leave us and head off further south. The grey phalarope stayed with us until 26 September, and was seen busily picking insects from the surface of the water...

Barely had we got over the excitement of watching the buff-breasted sandpiper last weekend, when another wader brightened up this weekend. A grey phalarope was found yesterday and is still here this morning, busily bobbing along the shore in front of the Carneddau Hide. Strong winds brought several to...

It’s been a real week for waders in front of the Benarth Hide, as autumn migrants stop to rest and feed up on the muddy edges of our lagoons. The highlights have been a little stint (seen on 1 and 3 September) and up to 7 curlew sandpipers throughout the week. Helpfully, both species have been...