randombirder

It's a well trodden path but it doesn't make it any less magical.  Bialowieza.  Probably renowned for its' primeval forest but the area in general holds plenty of interest.  Just park the car and walk. Having employed the services of a guide on a previous trip, I decided to go it alone this time.  The result was simple.  Plenty of time staring at Woodpecker-less trees and definitely no Owls.  That was ok though.  It was to be expected.  The forest spans just over 3000 square kilometeres.  That's a lot of ground to cover and that's a lot of trees. I appreciate that the (mis)management of the reserve has its critics, there are problems for sure, but the habitat is nothing like what we see in the UK.  Well not on this scale anyway.  Let's hope it remains this way. The forest speeds away at an astonishing rate where a short walk can easily turn into a serious hike.  The meandering trails hold the promise of an interesting something at every junction.

An interesting day surveying an area on the North Kent coast.  The weather brought kindness in abundance, the strong May sun tempered slightly by a gentle  breeze.  It was great making tracks around the survey lines that covered eight miles in total. Bird of the day went to a  Nightingale that sang briefly within a large hawthorn and was always out of view.  A couple of Cuckoo were calling within the vicinity with one later seen flying low along the old sea wall. There were plenty of vocal Warblers including a couple of Lesser Whitethroat , with Common Whitethroat and Reed Warbler plentiful.  Just one Sedge Warbler was noted during the course of the day. There was a bit of interest on the receded tide.  A single Avocet looked forlorn in one of the bays, where a Common Sandpiper flicked low along the shoreline.  A stunning adult summer Grey Plover was accompanied by two not so dapper individuals with a Whimbrel and two Turnstone in the same area. A constant sound d

A really nice day with enough sunshine to make things feel comfortable, but a complete dearth of migrants on land and sea. Stopping off at Ferrybridge first, at least 16 Little Tern were occupying the concrete buoys out in the bay.  Two Whimbrel were barely the only waders on the exposed mud. On the Bill we gorged ourselves on food from the cafe, made tracks around the southern half of the island, indulged in cream tea, and sat lamenting our self-indulgence.  A perfect Saturday. Watching seabirds off the east cliffs had me enraptured for a while.    The cliffs were busy with Guillemot , Razorbill , Shag , and a couple of Fulmar soaring to and from the cliff-face. Moving onto Lodmoor later on in the afternoon provided a little more interest. A sole 1st summer Little Gull roosted on the edge of a scrape amongst the raucous Common Tern and Black-headed Gull . Waders were hardly plentiful but at least 30 summer plumaged Dunlin were present, fo

A quick dash over to the reservoir this evening to get my mind off work and settle myself down with some bird therapy. The south basin yielded the continuing 11 Black Tern that had been present for much of the day.  Two adult summer Dunlin were trotting along the causeway.

The five mile walk along the cliff-top from Borth to Aberystwyth is highly recommended with stunning views out over the Irish Sea and a heart-pumping undulating hike over to the fine town of 'Aber'. Also make sure you visit 'The Sands' cafe in the quaint town of Borth for great food and coffee. A highlight for me will always be the Red-billed Chough where a group of three birds passed overhead. A freshly emerged Small Copper was present close to Constitution Hill.

There are some places in the UK that for me are are just pure magic.  Wales in one of them, and specifically mid-to-north Wales.  For the second year running, a visit was made to the fabulous RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve around ten miles from Tregaron. It was spectacular, and much like last year, the sun was shining against a crisp blue sky. It started with a showy Garden Warbler singing freely near the top of a willow.  At least two Willow Warbler were in song in the vicinity.  The boardwalk enters the woodland where a subtle sounds of the Welsh woodland specialties draw in the senses. Wood Warbler are particularly vocal, the trills echoing through the sun mottled woodland, with a couple of males seen displaying and at least six males heard around the reserve. Pied Flycatcher are seen all around the reserve as are Common Redstart .  At one point, a male of each species were within ten metres of each other, while Tree Pipit and Wood Warbler provided a beautiful