Ynys-hir

Lapwing chicks hoorah!

2013-05-17T13:06:08Z

It has been a strange spring so far, dry with cold easterly winds early in April, strong westerly winds last week and heavy rain over the last few days. With such changeable weather It suprises me how our breeding lapwing manage to cope. Driving along the reserve's tracks at the edge of the lowland wet grassland this morning I carefully scanned the fields where the lapwings are nesting (53 pairs this year). To my joy there were good numbers of little lapwing chicks feeding amongst the short grass. We built an electric fence around the main breeding wader fields some years ago, which stops any predation by mammals, and there were lots of lapwing chicks within the electric fence. On the fields near the Breakwater hide which have no electric fence I was also pleasantly suprised to see lots of chicks too. Fingers crossed that enough survive to fledging and return to us again to breed in future years.

A slow spring

2013-05-13T13:47:18Z

Despite the occasional sunny day spring has been rather slow to arrive here. The majority of our summer migrants are now in with lots of pied flycatchers, wood warblers and redstarts busy making a home for themselves in the woodlands. An occasional cuckoo call in the low temperatures reminds us that it is really spring although, at times, it feels more like autumn. Our lapwing and redshank are also a bit late this year. Last year the lapwings were incubating full clutches of eggs on March 20th but things did not start this year until mid-April; 53 lapwing pairs are nesting on the reserve this year and recent rain, after a lack of rain for some months, has improved feeding conditions on the lowland wet grassland. No spotted flycatchers have been seen yet but they should hopefully arrive soon. As with everything this spring, better late than never!

Wildfowl and waders

2012-10-31T11:59:04Z

The monthly co-ordinated wildfowl and wader count on the Dyfi was carried out at high-tide this morning. I covered the Ynys-hir RSPB reserve section whilst others counted the other three sections further down the estuary. The barnacle geese, all 321 of them, were feeding on the remaining grass not covered by the high-tide. Most of the waders were roosting on the flooded fields near the Breakwater hide with over 200 curlew, 60 redshank and a few bar-tailed godwits hunkered down in the increasingly strong winds. The highlight amongst the waders was a spotted redshank, the paler body, longer bill and pronounced eye-stripe distinctive even at long range. From tomorrow we will be closing the path along the railway until April 1st to reduce disturbance to the wintering ducks and waders on the Breakwater fields. 16 Greenland white-fronted geese were feeding on the lowland wet grassland only 150m from the Breakwater hide; all were adults and the low productivity of this race on the breeding grounds is an increasing cause of concern. The rarest county bird of the day though was a male pochard. A common and familiar bird on most areas of water in England and parts of Wales it is a very scarce bird in Ceredigion and is only the second record of a pochard in the county this year. Strange to say but it is rarer in the county than both eider and long-tailed duck!

Winter arrivals

2012-10-26T09:27:43Z

Colder weather over the last few days has seen an increase in winter visitors to the reserve. Yesterday there was a strong passage of redwings through the reserve and the first goldeneye of the winter was on the Dyfi. 278 barnacle geese are feeding on the salt marsh and ten Greenland white-fronted geese were feeding on the lowland wet grassland with large numbers of Canada geese. Wader numbers on the lowland wet grassland are slowly increasing too with 750 golden plover, 2000 lapwing and 100 curlew. Birds of prey are now a regular feature with a ring-tailed hen harrier, a juvenile marsh harrier, merlin and peregrine seen yesterday along with the more usual red kites, buzzards and sparrowhawk.

Early winter arrivals

2012-09-07T09:28:35Z

Despite the sunny and warm weather a few winter visitors are already here. 63 barnacle geese have arrived on the salt marsh, some 3 weeks earlier than normal. Wigeon numbers have incresed to 400 and teal numbers are building up too with 600 counted yesterday. Some summer migrants like spotted flycatcher and blackcap are still here but most are moving on. A juvenile marsh harrier was hunting over the salt marsh today and a few passage waders are on the freshwater pools with 3 green sandpiper, 7 black-tailed godwit and a juvenile little ringed plover yesterday. At low-tide good numbers of other waders have been seen on the exposed mud and sand with 250 ringed plover, 800 dunlin and a few knot, sanderling and turnstone present.

So long Springwatch

2012-06-15T09:57:00Z

The Springwatch series is now over and the reserve will slowly get back to normal. The production village is full of vans and vehicles; equipment is packed away and our overflow car-park is full of lorries waiting to take away portacabins, tents and production vehicles. The live studio will be transformed back to a tractor shed by the end of the day and by next Tuesday all the cables and mini cameras will be de-rigged and there will be no trace that Springwatch was ever here apart from the memories.

It was a mixed spring for our wildlife. A number of tragedies - the loss of the kingfishers to mink, a feral cat predating the wood warblers and the death of runtie, the smallest of the nuthatch chicks. The appalling rain which flooded the production village and some of our lowland wet grassland. But, amongst these disasters, there was also good news. The barn owls look healthy and I am sure they'll fledge. The common sandpipers hatching just in time for the final programme and the redstarts fledging. It's been a good year too for our pied flycatchers with 49 pairs nesting in our nest-boxes and managing to rear around 4 chicks to fledging, which is great news. Despite the floods it seems that most of our lapwing and redshank chicks managed to swim to higher ground and on a visit to the main wader breeding fields yesterday I saw lots of chicks feeding well.

For the other wildlife that calls the reserve home, it's been a poor year. After little sun and too much rain, butterflies and dragonflies have been notable by their absence. Normally the woods are full of speckled woods and the fields a delight of common blues, green-veined whites and small coppers, but this year we've had a lot fewer than we normally see. As Springwatch departs and summer arrives I can only hope for some sunshine and warmer days. One of the iconic signs of summer is the arrival of the swifts and between June and August we're keen to know about any nesting pairs near you. You can tell us by clicking here.

The team of volunteers that have helped us in so many ways over the last four weeks are also departing. Some were students at Aberystwyth university who stayed on after their exams to give us a hand and they will now leave for their summer break. A few will continue volunteering for us - helping out in the Visitor Centre or carrying out hands on conservation work. Without their help it would have been difficult to run the reserve so effectively during such a busy period and many thanks to all for their help and we wish them good luck for the future.

Springwatch may be over, but there's still plenty of ways you can enjoy the wonderful wildlife where you are. Sign up to Homes for Wildlife and find out about the steps you can take to turn your own back yard into a widlife haven. If you fancy getting a bit further a field, why not check out our fantastic network of nature reserves. There's bound to be one near you that's ready to be explored.

P.S. Don't forget to submit your Make Your Nature Count results to tell us about the garden in your wildlife.

Nuthatch by Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com) and the view from in front of the Ynys-hir Visitor Centre by Jenny Hibbert (rsbp-images.com).

The last day of the series

2012-06-14T13:41:00Z

The last day of the Springwatch series has finally come and some of the stars of the show have timed things to perfection.

I was watching the web cams at lunch time and lo and behold, despite my low expectations, one of the common sandpiper chicks hatched! Over the afternoon more hatched and as I write we are all eagerly gathered around the screen in the Visitor Centre waiting for the last chick to make an appearance.

Our barn owls are growing fast too and if the weather holds and the adults continue to bring in lots of food all four should fledge successfully. The treecreepers are also doing well and fingers crossed that they all fledge too.

Throughout the series, we've been running Springwatch tours every day at Ynys-hir. This morning, we had a very special surprise guest, who was eager to join in. Iolo Williams, a regular Springwatch presenter, came along and introduced himself to a few of our star struck visitors (and staff!). Iolo encouraged those who were on the tour to walk up the infamous stairs and onto the tractor shed set. Many of the visitors had their pictures taken with him and the staff managed to get a couple too. The weather during the tour was rather windy, but fortunately the rain held off. Iolo pointed out a cheeky redstart, whilst jokingly explaining the difference between the Welsh and English species. Welsh redstarts are 'more muscular and better at rugby' of course! And, as a fellow welshman, I quite agree with him!

Iolo and the visitors on the Springwatch tour check out the tractor shed.

Our very own Gabi and Gemma get their picture taken with Iolo.

Even though the show is coming to an end, I'll be continuing to post blogs regularly over the coming weeks and will try to up-date everybody on the progress of the birds featured on the web cams.

Here comes the sun

2012-06-13T08:45:00Z

The sun came out at last yesterday and I managed to find a few minutes to wander the fields on the reserve looking for butterflies. Green-veined whites were out in good numbers with a few small tortoiseshell and common blues flitting from flower to flower.

The chrysalises of small tortoiseshell and painted lady shown on Springwatch last night reminded me of our successfull attempt to re-introduce brimstone butterflies on the reserve over 20 years ago.They were last seen at Ynys-hir in 1980. They disappeared from the reserve because their foodplant, alder buckthorn, had died out due to shading by a conifer plantation. And so, from the early eighties, hundreds of these shrubby trees were planted in suitable areas on site. In 1990 and 1991 eggs and chrysalises were sent to the reserve from a number of locations. The eggs were placed in suitable containers and fresh alder buckthorn leaves were collected daily to feed the caterpillars that emerged. Eventually adults emerged and they were carefully collected and released close to their favourite food. Every year since we have seen good numbers of adults and it was a delight this spring to see so many on the reserve.

At the edge of the peat bog I stopped a while at a sun drenched pond and watched chasers and darters skimming over the water surface. Large red damselflies and common blue damselflies were everywhere and carefully scanning the rushes at the water's edge I saw the first small red damselfly of the year. This little, dainty damselfly is one of my favourites but nothing, in my opinion, can beat the beauty of banded and beautiful demoiselles, both of which call the reserve home.

The seasons slowly change and the woods fill with the sound of chicks and there are skylarks singing over the meadows. Pied flycatchers will be fledging soon and will disappear into the woodland canopy to feed up for their migration south. Meadow brown and ringlet butterflies will soon appear and, as the strength of the sun increases, silver washed and dark green fritillaries can be seen flittering about. The first green sandpipers will be passing through the reserve for a pit stop before continuing on their journey south and young barn owls will be practising their hunting skills at dusk.

It's sad to think that tomorrow sees BBC Springwatch finished for the year, but summer will have arrived and with it the beauty and delights of another season.

Pictures of green-veined white and brimstone butterflies kindly provided by Will George (RSPB)

After the storm

2012-06-11T14:46:41Z

What a traumatic few days it’s been. As you’re all probably aware, mid-Wales suffered a storm of almost biblical proportions at the end of last week with 5 inches of rain falling in just 36 hours. The damage to local villages was horrendous with many properties evacuated and millions of pounds of damage caused. All the roads to the reserve were flooded and we had to shut up shop on Friday and Saturday with limited access from the south on Sunday.

The Springwatch production village was badly hit and a huge clean up operation started yesterday to repair the damage. The web camera on the barn owls and pied flycatchers are now up and running and the teams are frantically trying to connect all the other web cameras in time for tonight’s show.

Filled with trepidation I drove around some of the reserve in the Landrover yesterday and some of my worst fears were realised. Our lowland wet grassland suffered heavy flooding (as you can see from the photos below) with some of the lapwing chicks that were close to fledging succumbing to the rain and floods. Thankfully though, lots of the lapwing and redshank chicks managed to find higher ground so it wasn’t a complete disaster.

Some of the flooding we've had on the reserve over the last couple of days...

The Breakwater, Ynys Eidiol and Saltings hides were inaccessible after the drainage ditches overflowed and covered the paths which are still under 3 feet of water. We’re soldiering on though, and opening up as much of the reserve as possible as and when we can.

With the mini cameras down, I was starting to worry about how the other species we’ve been following fared in the storm. A walk through the woods re-assured me somewhat, with pied flycatchers and redstarts taking food to nests, a blackcap feeding young and lots of blue and great tit young. The redstarts on the camera have probably fledged by now and fingers crossed for all the other species too. Hopefully well get confirmation on tonight’s show. Even though we’ve seen some losses due to the storm, there should be enough young surviving to provide the next generation of adults.

Fingers crossed we’ve seen the last of the rain for now.

Wet and wild

2012-06-08T10:55:34Z

Despite the fact it's June, there seems to be little let up in the wet and wild weather we've been having over the last week with Ynys-hir looking particularly atmospheric on last night's show. The weather has already taken its toll on some of our Springwatch favourites, with six of the ten blue tit chicks not making it through last weekend, and last night's show left us wondering how much the delicate little goldcrest nest would be able to withstand with more high winds forecast over the weekend. If you can't wait until Monday to find out how your Springwatch favourites are getting on, don't forget you can keep up with the action on their webcams.

It's not just the birds we've been enjoying on the show that might be finding this unseasonable weather rather tough - it's the birds in your garden too. We're keen to find out how garden birds are doing at this time of year and you can step up and do your bit by taking part in our Make Your Nature Count survey. We're asking you to let us know the birds you see in your garden in one hour (between 2 and 10 June) and it's not just about the birds - we're keen to find out what other creatures visit your garden at other times too.

To find out more about Make Your Nature Count and how to take part click here.

Goldcrest - John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

The highs and lows of Springwatch

2012-06-07T14:44:00Z

It's been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster on Springwatch this week. A high note was the fledging of the remaining blue tit chicks on the Springwatch mini cams yesterday. If I'm honest, I was starting to get a bit worried for them, especially as the weather has felt more like autumn than spring over the last few days.

Looking at our nest-box records across the reserve, it's been a good season for our blue and great tits, with most of the nests fledging good numbers of young. The pair on the mini cams were a bit late in nesting and this is probably why they only managed to rear four young whereas all those that nested earlier reared seven or eight.

Our pied flycatchers seem to be having a pretty good season too. The woods here at Ynys-hir are carefully managed to make them perfect for species like redstart and pied flycatcher. We've re-introduced grazing into some of the woodlands to make them more open (pied flycatchers like open woodlands so that they can see their prey easier); nest boxes have been put up (carefully sited away from the prevailing westerly winds); and with plenty of sessile oak trees to provide a home for a wealth of wildlife (over 900 species of insect), there's normally plenty of food available.

At the moment the woods are full of family parties of birds busily feeding and creating lots of noise. Tit young are everywhere - a group of 13 long-tailed tits, all fluff and feather, moved past the window of my office and treecreeper young begging for food on the beech tree outside the Visitor Centre door to name just a couple.

For many birds here the breeding season is over and has been a success, though not for all. It was awful to see our kingfisher nest being predated by a mink on last night's show and a terrible surprise. We've had no records of mink on the reserve for a number of years now and had assumed that our otter population was keeping them away. Hence why this first sighting of mink for five years was such a shock! Once the Springwatch series is over we'll be setting up traps on the reserve to make sure we deal with the problem. In areas where ground nesting waders are present in good numbers mink can be a real problem for both adult and chicks. This efficient predator has been responsible for a huge crash in the water vole population and, as a species that isn't native to Britain, should be managed where it causes serious problems for important species.

On a more positive note our redstarts, pied flycatchers and barn owls are looking strong and healthy at the moment and a new camera was put up on a sedge warbler nest today. I don't think I could bear another predation or death by starvation amongst the species on the mini cameras. I know nature is cruel at times, but I am finding it difficult as the losses mount up. Fingers crossed that I can write about something more cheerful over the weekend.

Pied flycatcher by David J Slater (rspb-images.com), kingfisher by John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

Another wet day

2012-06-05T13:35:00Z

In true British bank holiday style, the weather has turned poor here again, with rain yesterday and more rain forecast for the rest of the week. Early nesters, like most of the blue and great tits on the reserve, have fledged their young, but it'll still be difficult for the adults to find enough food for their hungry chicks. For those with young still in the nest it will be harder still, as was shown so dramatically by the nest camera on the blue tits yesterday with six out of the ten chicks perishing over the weekend. Hopefully the four that are left will fledge and all we can do is hope that the redstart, chaffinch and barn owl chicks survive this spell of cold too.

Raising chicks hard work and the weather's not the only thing to worry about at the moment - there's predators about too. Weasels, stoats, cats, jays and magpies will all take young from nests and although this can be a problem, there are usually enough successful nests locally to produce a new generation of adults.

Another predator of young birds and eggs is the pine marten. The Springwatch team are trying to find out whether this slinky beast is still present in Wales, but so far none have been seen anywhere near Ynys-hir. Unfortunately I've never been lucky enough to see one myself. I think I'll have to head to Scotland to catch a glimpse, but as they're rather lovely looking animals it'll make the long drive north worth it. I have, however, seen the occasional polecat on the reserve and was lucky enough one hot July to see an adult polecat with three young walk unconcernedly past me on the track behind the Visitor Centre.

The weather may not be great at the moment, but this hasn't been putting visitors off. All the springwatch guided tours have been fully booked and today we've arranged two extra ones to cope with the demand. Pied flycatchers, redstarts and nuthatch have been seen on all the walks and a group yesterday were treated to a wave from the presenters as they drove past. The theme of the walks is the wildlife shown on the mini cameras and so far everyone has thoroughy enjoyed seeing some of the wildlife shown on the Springwatch programmes in the flesh. If you'd like to book your place on one of our walks and get to know RSPS Ynys-hir and its wonderful wildlife better then you can call the Visitor Centre on 01654 700222.

The first week of springwatch

2012-06-02T11:23:31Z

Well, what a springwatch week it was! Superb photography ranging from underwater filming of pike, close ups of insect life and moles underground. Badgers and foxes, pine martens and boxing male and female hares (as well as jumping mice in the mammal stump). The mini cameras on site have shown a great variety of wildlife; the high drama of losing 'runtie' the nuthatch (though the other five successfully fledged just an hour ago); the train hopping common sandpiper and all the other nests showing the day to day life of some of our nesting birds.

The camera teams have been finding lots more nests which will be gradually introduced as the series progresses. I am looking forward to the infra red cameras, planned for next week, which will show us some of the nocturnal goings on that we normally miss. Will Martin get more evidence of pine martens in Wales or will it prove as mythical to him as Ynys-hir's lesser spotted woodpeckers? Pre-recorded footage will showcase the stunning natural beauty of our British Isles in Jubilee week. I am sure next week will be just as exciting and I, for one, will be watching every programme.

Today, I took a short walk around Ynys-hir (on my day off, but I can't keep away from such a lovely reserve). Little highlights were a beautiful four-spotted chaser sunning itself on a rush stem, a family of long-tailed tits cavorting in the undergrowth, a lovely pair of goosanders on the river and a wood warbler giving great views as it trilled away not 50 yards from the Visitor Centre.

From the stars of the small screen to the stars in your garden

2012-06-01T14:33:07Z

There's been some incredible wildlife footage on Springwatch this week. The nest cams have brought us all the action from inside blue tit and chaffinch nests, we've seen the first ever footage of moles underground and last night Springwatch cameraman Lindsay managed to capture some brilliant shots of badgers frollicking in the Lake District. And the best thing about all that wildlife? It could well be in your garden!

So whilst Springwatch is taking a break for the weekend, why not grab an hour of the live show going on in your garden and step up for nature at the same time? Our annual Make Your Nature Count survey starts tomorrow and we want you to tell us everything that slithers, tweets, forages and snuffles in you garden. Don't worry if you're busy with the Jubilee celebrations this weekend, you can complete your survey at anytime between 2 and 10 June.

To find out more about Make Your Nature Count and how to take part click here.

Blue tit - Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)

Sad news at Springwatch

2012-05-31T12:59:00Z

Although not a regular Facebook user, I had a quick look at the BBC Springwatch page this morning and was dismayed to hear of the overnight death of 'runtie', the smallest of the nuthatch chicks. Although I know this happens often in nature it's still sad news. Programmes such as Springwatch not only show what superb wildlife we have in Britain, but they also have a way of making viewers identify with what the wildlife they're watching, sympathise with and become attached to what they see. Sadly, for some, this may be the only experience of the natural world they have. The more involved people become the more likely they are to care about nature as a whole and to step up and support conservation charities, like the RSPB, in order to help protect it. For this reason I think 'runtie' didn't die in vain.

On a more cheerful note, I'm glad to see that all three ospreys have hatched at the Dyfi osprey project and many congratulations to everyone involved for this continuing success story.

Just around the corner, at Ynys-hir itself, the mini-camera team have been busy finding yet more nests which will be gradually shown as the series continues. With such a great variety of habitats on the reserve and over 70 species of birds nesting here, there's a good chance of more news birds to Springwatch featuring in the show like last night's wood warbler.

With such cold and wet weather in April a lot of our bird species have nested later than normal and many are incubating or have young at just the right time for filming. There seems to be plenty of food for them at the moment with lots of caterpillars descending from the trees on thin silken threads. Today, it's raining heavily and I hope this won't reduce the amount of food available for both adults and chicks. It is good, however, for our lapwing and redshank young. The rain will soften the ground after the recent spell of hot weather, making it easier for them to find food and will replenish the pools and ditches where they spend most of their time feeding.

A local school is here today with our field teachers and despite the weather have thoroughy enjoyed their trip. In an age of computers and other distractions it's essential that young people have a chance to appreciate and learn about the natural world and and it's for that reason that campaigns such as 'Every Child Outdoors', launched here in Wales last week and highlights the importance of outdoor learning, are so important.

Osprey image: Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)