Back from holiday I went lookimg for up-dates on the species featured on BBC Springwatch. Last Monday the remaining cameras on the buzzard nests were taken down and the BBC team told us that all the buzzard young had fledged with one of the young buzzards flying in to inspect the tree climber who was dismantling the camera. Sneaking in to the Domen las hide later that day, it was very sad to see the poor oystercatchers still incubating the two eggs, which are obviously infertile as they should have hatched some three weeks ago. The female looked very bedraggled with worn feathers and I hope she realises the worst soon and gets on with her own life; there is always next year to try for chicks again. At the outbuildings I checked on the barn owls and was pleased to see that all the chicks had now fledged, including BOB, the star of the show.
Other sightings over the last few days included a wonderful hobby (not if you are a swallow though), chasing swallows and martins over the river Dyfi; regular flocks of up to 30 crossbill and the first returning green sandpiper on the Marian Mawr pools. Kingfishers are now often seen on those pools and a suprise recently was a pair of wigeon joining the coots, teal and mallard on the pools below the car-park. Butterflies are increasing in numbers in the recent sunny weather with lots of ringlets, meadow browns and speckled woods around the reserve.