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Recent sightings

• 13 May 2012

  Tired migrants

  It's that time of year when every day sees new migrants moving through on their way to their summer homes, and this week there's been plenty of variety out on the reserve. We had a male cuckoo at the far end of the reserve on 6 May, a whinchat also on 6 May, yellow wagtails on most days and up to 8 wheatears on the Estuary Track. Waders have also been moving through, heading up to their northern breeding grounds - small parties of whimbrel are seen daily out on the estuary, along with groups of dunlin, and we've spotted both ruff and grey plover on the Deep Lagoon. High tide has often brought small numbers of sandwich terns into the estuary, following the fish which they feed on - their rasping cries are unmistakeable as you walk along the Estuary Path, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for them! Two Mediterranean gulls also briefly visited us on 7 May, and on 12 May we were treated to two red kites sailing over the reserve, heading south down the valley.

  The most spectacular sight this week was on 10 May, when hundreds of swallows and martins were seen on the ground in front of the Carneddau Hide. It was a cold, wet and windy day, so presumably they had recently arrived on migration and were exhausted from struggling against the weather. There seems to be plenty of food for them on the lagoons just now, as we've had a big hatching of non-biting midges - you can see them caught in the spider's webs on the windows!

  Our hapless pair of great crested grebes are suffering their usual trials and tribulations - having built the nest in a very exposed situation right in the middle of the Deep Lagoon, they were washed out within a few days. Undeterred, they decided to build again in exactly the same place, and again the nest disappeared. Thankfully they hadn't yet laid any eggs either time. They then appeared to have an attack of good sense and started building closer to the shore by the causeway, but that evening when I went along to see what they were up to, they were busy building back in the first location again, and a big fat terrapin was sitting in the middle of the sensible nest! The terrapin has been here for several years, presumably dumped when it outgrew its tank, and is always a surprise when you first spot it, as not quite what you would expect to see here.

  On Wednesday 16 May, we're going to be having a special evening when we open up the Coffee Shop after the usual Summer Evening Stroll. If you fancy coming along for a cup of coffee and cake sitting by the Shallow Lagoon as the sun sets, then come along for the walk  - no need to book, just meet at the Estuary Gate at 7pm, and the walk is free!

  Photo of swallows by Alan Gray

   

   

  Posted by Sarah Money

• 5 May 2012

  Scarce visitors, and undesirable ones

  This is a bit of a catch-up, as we've had a busy few weeks. Remember that you can keep up-to-date with our nature news on Twitter or Facebook in between our blog posts. This brilliant photo of a willow warbler was our April Photostream Conwy Picture of the Month, and will be used in our social media throughout May.

  Despite getting their nest washed out by last weekend's rain and winds, the pair of great crested grebes will not be defeated and have built a new nest, that looks a bit more substantial. Fingers crossed for better weather. We're hoping that some better conditions will also help the first lapwing chicks that hatched on Thursday.

  There are still a couple of pairs of little ringed plovers around the reserve, but neither seems to have settled yet.  Waders have been a bit slow coming through, but a few whimbrels and dunlins have been here the last few mornings, along with bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits and a smart summer-plumage knot.

  We've had quite a good number of Sandwich terns in the estuary this spring, including six on Thursday 3rd, perhaps pushed in to shelter by the northerly winds.  A whinchat was a nice surprise this morning, feeding alongside four wheatears on the saltmarsh.  A few yellow wagtails have been among pied and white wagtails on the estuary this week, but the wagtail passage has diminished in the last few days.  A grasshopper warbler was on the Ganol Trail on several dates, most recently on Wednesday (2nd).  The cowslips are still looking spectacular around the coffee shop, but get here in the next few days to see 'em, as they'll soon be over.

  

  The swallows, swifts and martins have been a spectacle over the last few weeks, feeding low over the lagoons during poor weather, and around your head over the estuary track if it got a little warmer.  Other highlights during late April include six white storks over Llandudno on Monday 23rd (but seen from the reserve by standing on a picnic table!), ring ouzel in the paddocks on Sunday 15th and redstarts on Sunday 15th and Monday 30th.

  Not all our visitors are welcome
  The first visitors to the reserve on Friday were greeted by the sight of the Benarth Hide with part of its roof ripped off and the guttering wrecked: we'd been visited by some undesirables (that's not the culprits in the picture, even though they might look a bit suspect...).  Thanks to our alert visitors and social media, we knew about this before we'd even arrived on site!  Two of our brilliant outdoor volunteers, Dave and Phil, came in this morning and did some temporary repairs, at least to ensure that it's watertight over the next few weeks, but ultimately we'll have to replace the whole roof, at a cost of hundreds of pounds.  That's hundreds of pounds raised by volunteers, donated by visitors and members, which we can't spend on something else.  What a shame!

  The man from planning, he say "yeah!"
  On a more positive note, we were delighted to receive confirmation last week that Conwy County Borough Council has approved our plans to create new outdoor visitor facilities, the centrepiece of which is Y Maes.  We've also appointed a Project Officer, to organise the programme. Laura Kudelska starts here on 21 May, and we look forward to her helping us transform the area between the Visitor Centre and the Coffee Shop.

  Get out and enjoy the reserve
  The Summer Evening Strolls have restarted for the summer, every Wednesday evening at 7 pm (you don't need to book). The reserve is a brilliant place to spend a couple of hours on a summer's evening.  And we've just posted our June events online, so see if there's something that grabs you. 

  PS. We still have a few places left on our Birds for Beginners course on Sunday 27 May.

  Posted by julian hughes

• 14 April 2012

  Wagtails on the move

  Our big news this week is that at least two, and perhaps three, little ringed plovers are on the Deep Lagoon, and by their behaviour this morning, they're up for nesting here again.  The exposed mud in front of Benarth or Carneddau Hide is the best place to look.  This little wader, with its bright yellow eye ring, is a visitor from west Africa, so will they stay to breed?  A few black-tailed godwits and dunlins have been among the curlews and redshanks roosting at high tide.

  Other migrants are trickling through, including 30 white wagtails with a couple of wheatears on the estuary this morning, and more willow warblers and blackcaps singing as the week progressed.  A whitethroat was reported on Thursday, and we had another osprey sighting on Easter Monday.  The flocks of sand martins and swallows are getting larger, with a few more house martins among them.  Some of the lapwings have settled down to nest, and we've seen robins and song thrushes carrying food this week.

  The cool weather is making it hard-going for insects, but a few speckled woods have been flying on the sunny days.  Let's hope we have a few more of them this week!

  We still have places on next weekend's Birds for Beginners event, if you know someone who might be interested.

  Posted by julian hughes

• 8 April 2012

  Another osprey and our first house martin, but northbound migrants are slow

  It's only a week since we were writing about glorious weather, but the northerly wind and rain this week have slowed summer migrants, and kept a few wintering birds at the reserve.  The highlight has been another osprey this morning, hovering right above the coffee shop.  There are more sand martins feeding over the lagoons than last week, and a handful of swallows have been seen each day.  Our first house martin of the year was spotted on Monday (2nd).  One or two willow warblers have been heard each day, and blackcap has been singing since Tuesday.  Wheatears were seen on Monday, but these have been surprisingly scarce so far this spring.

  On the water, our pair of great crested grebes are still here, displaying but showing no signs of nest-building, though a couple of pairs of Canada geese are already on eggs and one of two of the lapwings are bottom-shuffling, making scrapes that might become nests.  Shovelers and pochards have both been seen, and a few black-tailed godwits remained through the week.  Many of the curlews and redshanks have already left for their breeding areas, but a large flock of oystercatchers remains.  A first-winter Mediterranean gull was seen here on Monday and Tuesday. 

  It's not been a great week for butterflies, but the stoats have been reported occasionally and it's worth looking in the pond to see if you can spot a newt - there are two species, palmate and smooth in there.  And for a splash of spring colour, the cowslips outside the coffee shop are still looking impressive and the dog violets on the estuary provide a purple patch for those on a longer walk.

  Finally, a quick plug for a couple of events that are booking up.  The Birds for Beginners on Sunday 29 April is the first of three over the spring and early summer, while Wake Up with the Dawn Chorus on Monday 7 May is always a popular event, perhaps because it includes breakfast.

   

  Posted by julian hughes

• 1 April 2012

  Osprey, butterflies and our e-newsletter

  The week's glorious weather brought more early migrants, with the first willow warbler reported on Wednesday (28th) and the first osprey of the season mobbed by gulls as it flew north on Friday (30th).  Wheatears have been on several days this week, and the sand martin flocks are getting larger in size.  Butterflies spotted this week include speckled wood, small white, comma, peacock and small tortoiseshell.  A goldcrest singing in the car park on Friday was unusual for here; will it find a mate and nest?  If you're visiting this week, look out for the superb display of cowslips flowering near the coffee shop.

  Our pair of great crested grebes have re-appeared this week, and we still have two little grebes here, so are hoping that both of these will stay for the spring.  A count of 26 little egrets was high for springtime, so will we see an increase in the nesting population across the river in Benarth Woods? Certainly there are plenty of grey herons on nest platforms.

  The pick of the week's birding were two Iceland gulls, an adult and first-winter found by Rob late on Monday afternoon.  He managed to get a photo of one of the birds - a rarity here.

  It's still early for passage waders but a flock of 10 black-tailed godwits that dropped in on Saturday were welcome.  The flock of tufted ducks is getting quite large for spring, with 25 birds yesterday (31st).  A kestrel was a last taste of winter on Friday, and a red kite was seen by several visitors on Wednesday, while a couple of redpolls were heard flying over later in the week.

  We've just published our e-newsletter for April.  It includes news of three job vacancies, a couple of volunteer opportunities, our springtime events, and the first two winners of our Photo of the Month competition.  Download it here, or if you'd like to receive it straight to your Inbox, visit our December 2010 posting and follow the sign-up instructions.

  Posted by julian hughes

• 24 March 2012

  Doors open from the south

  The migrants have really started to arrive this week, with a good number of singing chiffchaffs on the reserve this morning, another wheatear yesterday (24th), the first swallows on Tuesday (21st) and Wednesday, and a handful of sand martins.

  The lapwings are displaying noisily, which is always a sight and sound to gladden the heart, and a couple of little grebes are hanging around, perhaps to stay and breed?  But where has our pair of great crested grebes gone - they haven't been spotted for a week?  The shelduck count on the estuary has increased, with almost 100 birds feeding on the mud on Monday.

  A few wintering birds are still here, notably male and female pochards, several snipe and a good size flock of redshanks, and although the starling roost has declined, they were still throwing shapes at dusk on Tuesday, scattered by hunting peregrine and sparrowhawk.

  We have two exciting job opportunities at Conwy this week, for an Administrator and for a Visitor Centre Assistant during the summer.  The deadline for applications is only a couple of weeks away, so do take a read if you're interested.

  The work by North Wales Trunk Roads Agency to improve the parking on the sliproad outside our entrance is well underway, and should be completed at the end of this week, just in time for the school Easter holidays.

   

  Posted by julian hughes

• 18 March 2012

  Patience is rewarded

  March can be a frustrating month.  The buds on the willows, the nodding daffodils on the roadside verges and the first cloud of midges are telling you that it's spring, but while every day you expect to see a summer migrant, your hopes are dashed on the rocks of a northwesterly airflow or low pressure over Spain blocking their route from Africa to your local patch.  This week, the frustrations subsided...

  Monday afternoon (12th) saw the first reports of sand martins mid-afternoon, and there have been small groups of four to six birds on several afternoons since, riding the breeze over the lagoons and hunting insects from just above the surface.  Although we've had one or two chiffchaff sightings in recent weeks, it's hard to know if these are overwintering birds or early arrivals, but three singing high in the trees yesterday (17th) are a good bet for summer visitors. And this morning, the first whimbrel of the year was on the high tide and the first wheatear on the causeway from the Tal-y-fan Hide.  For me, it is the first wheatears in North Wales, rather than swallows, that truly signify springtime.

  On the islands, the lapwings have started to display, their wheezing call welcoming visitors each morning, and several pairs of oystercatchers have got together and are being equally noisy.  Our single great crested grebe found a mate, and by late in the week the pair were weed-dancing in their elaborate display, while stoats have started to be seen more frequently; let's hope they're as showy as last summer - expect the youngsters to be around in late May.  Great tits have been investigating the nestbox on Tal-y-fan Hide, while on the estuary and lagoon, a few black-tailed godwits have been reported.

  We still have some signs of winter, with more than a dozen siskins feeding on alders in the wildlife garden, building up their reserves for a breeding season in the conifer forests, and one or two lesser redpolls were with them until Monday 12th at least.   Water rail and little grebe have both been seen too, and they can be hard to find later on in the spring, while the odd pochard, goldeneye and knot have been spotted this week.

  So, our patience has been rewarded, but have our expectations simply grown?  Now we want to hear the first blackcaps and see the first swallows.  They'll be on their way soon, so let's just enjoy every moment of the next few weeks and marvel at the amazing global spectacle of migrants on the move.

  Finally, on a more prosaic note, contractors for the North Wales Trunk Roads Agency will be re-modelling the sliproad from the A55 to the reserve over the next couple of weeks, improving the parking at the estuary viewpoint.  We understand that there'll be no or limited parking outside the reserve during working hours from Monday, but that there will be some limited parking after 6 pm.  While the work is underway, dog-walkers using the coastal path towards Deganwy may use the RSPB car park, providing dogs are on short leads in the car park. 

   

   

  Posted by julian hughes

• 11 March 2012

  The week in pictures

  You may have read last week's Blog about our plans to kill the invasive weed, Crassula helmsii, with saltwater from the estuary.  You may even have heard Huw Jones, from Environment Agency Wales, and me talking about it on Radio Wales Country Focus this morning. So, how did we get on?

  Well, in the last couple of hours we switched the pumps off, probably for the last time, but the water may settle a bit over night, so there may just be a little to pump tomorrow.  We pumped for up to one and a half hours each day since Thursday, and on a couple of night-time tides too.  It all went to plan, save for a couple of hiccups when I broke the meter that measures salinity and the generator ran out of fuel, but neither of these stopped us from getting on with the job.

  Here are some photos of how it's changed over the last few days, and one of BBC Radio Wales' Chris Dearden getting close to the action as 15,000 litres of seawater spurted out of the three pipes every second!

  

  

  We'll keep this water in the lagoon throughout the next year, and hopefully this will be enough time to kill the Crassula.  If it works, with Environment Agency Wales and Countryside Council for Wales who helped fund this work, we'll decide how to tackle the problem in the much larger deep lagoon.  We saw some frogs and toads crawling out of the lagoon as the saltwater levels rose, heading for the other freshwater pools, hopefully to lay the first spawn.  And the birds have been pretty contented too, with more tufted ducks and shelducks outside the Coffee Shop than we've seen for a long time!  The estuary path will remain closed until Thursday while all the pipes, pumps and cables are removed, so please bear with us a little longer.

  

   

  The February winner of our Photo of the Month was Jane Baker from Abergele with this wonderful blackthorn blossom picture, which we're now using as our March avatar on Twitter and Facebook. 

  Blackthorn is the first hedgerow shrub to flower, and this year they started earlier than usual thanks to the mild weather in February, but there's still plenty of time to see this annual spectacle.

  The picture now takes the second slot in our Photostream Conwy 2012 competition to choose the Photo of the Year.  Why not bring a camera to the reserve this week and get some shots for the March competition?  For full details, visit this Blog.

  Posted by julian hughes

• 7 March 2012

  A Visitor from the Mediterranean

  On the 1^st of March a near full summer adult Mediterranean Gull, drifted over the causeway and landed on the deep lagoon briefly, before joining the estuary Gull roost. It looked similar to the bird in the picture but with more of a black head. Lesser Black-backed Gulls are now up to ten.

  2 Red Kites have been reported twice over the reserve on the 29^th of Feb and 3^rd of March. The Female Sparrowhawk has been seen around the wildlife garden and car park.

  A Water Rail was seen outside the coffee shop on the 3^rd.

  A Great-crested Grebe has spent the week on the deep lagoon with 3 Pochard and 2 Tufted Ducks.

  A Chiffchaff has been seen on the 2^nd and 5^th of March, both times by the bridge pond. It gave a short blast of song on the 6^th.

  The Lapwings have started nest scraping and displaying on the islands. 15 Dunlin were present on the 6^th.

  A 1^st Winter Rose Coloured Starling was reported in the roost on the evening of the 6^th, Potentially, the same bird seen on 22^nd on November.

  A male Stonechat turned up on the estuary track on the 6^th, this is the first one on the reserve for a long time.  

  Posted by Rob Hughes