Newsletter May 2007

Friday June 15th Nightjar Watch.

Meet at Crychan Forest car park, above Cynghordy at 8.30p.m SN837413. We will hope for success on the night..

Saturday July 14th South and West Wales Wildlife centre at Cilgerren. Meet at the Centre car park at 10.00am. Following a walk at this site a suggestion has been made that we continue on to Llangrannog (20min by car) where we will be led on a coastal walk to see chough and sea life by “whispering” Reg Bevan.

Saturday August 11th

August can be a quiet time for birdwatching, so a Dragonfly/Butterfly walk will take place around the foothills of Cefn Bryn incorporating Broad Pool. Meet at Broad Pool Gower Peninsula at 10am. Should the weather be unsuitable for dragonflies an alternative walk from Cwm Ivy car park Llanmadoc along the beach and into the surrounding woodlands is suggested. Any doubts about the weather contact Wendell on 07840 881254 or 01792 897542.

Wednesday August 15th

An evening walk to see terns, meeting at 7pm. at free car park Pembrey Old Harbour just past Shoreline Caravan Park Burry Port. SN438003

Saturday September 1st. Newport Wetlands Reserve. Meet in the reserve car park at 9.30am. (Follow the brown signs)

We will then move on to the Goldcliffe section of the reserve and hopefully see a good selection of wading birds and wildfowl, high tide is at 10.20am. We will return to Uskmouth and after a break for lunch we will walk this reserve. We hope that by then the new visitor centre will have opened and that some of our Gwent friends will join us.

Wednesday October 17th. Annual General Meeting.

The A.G.M. will be held at The National Wetlands Centre at 7.30pm. and will be followed by a talk given by our club Chairman John Lloyd on the Tree Sparrows of the Towy Valley. This will be followed by tea/coffee and biscuits at £1.50.pp.

Any queries you have relating to any of the above events contact Wendell on 07840881254.

Short articles for the Newsletter would be very welcome.

Migrants at RSPB Dinas

The upland deciduous wood at Dinas is probably the best place in South Wales to see migrant breeders such as Wood Warbler, Tree Pipit, Pied Flycatcher and Redstart. The club’s field trip to Dinas on 26th April was timed to coincide with the arrival of migrants and was supported by a record 29 people. Although a fresh east wind made hearing and seeing the birds a little difficult, all our target species were seen by at least some of the group. Redstart was an early sighting with a male in low bushes next to the car park. A Goshawk mobbed by the local crows was an interesting diversion. Garden Warbler usually sings from cover and often does not show but one singing on a low branch close to the boardwalk gave many of us a best-ever view of the species. A pair of Treecreeper obviously had a nest in a dead part of an old oak tree and looked as if they were feeding young. Cameras clicked as the birds foraged on the trunk in full view. We logged several Pied Flycatcher including a female carrying nest material into a nest box. A Wood Warbler flitted though the low branches singing strongly. A Tree Pipit was spotted in display flight and we watched as it came down and fed on the ground. A Cuckoo was heard across the valley. Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Swallow and Nuthatch were also noted. The morning finished with a Dipper on the river and a Red Kite flying overhead.

Talley Lakes. Ladies Day at Talley.

The club trip to Talley on 19th May started with a short talk from Denys Smith about the history and wildlife of the Talley Lakes. The meeting attracted six lady members and only four men. The fair sex got the first sighting - a Red Kite flying over. As we headed towards the lakes, we added Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, and Swift. The wet field at the lakeside had Greylags and Pheasants. We watched two male Pheasants as they faced up to each other with displays of aggression. There were not many birds on the water but a pair of Mute Swans with seven cygnets was a nice sight. Here’s hoping they manage to avoid the giant pike which inhabit the lakes. We picked up some warblers including Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler in the woodland and a pair of Sedge Warblers bringing food to their nest just in front of the hide. Pied Flycatchers were in the trees and a Cuckoo called. The hardier souls headed uphill through open coniferous wood where we tracked down three singing Wood Warblers. Collins Bird Guide says that they breed in mixed spruce and deciduous woods in North Europe but conifers are not their usual Welsh habitat. We also checked out a Buzzard nest with one young and added Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Nuthatch (also with a nest) and Redstart to bring the list for the day to a respectable 38 species.

Birdwatchers flock to Carmarthenshire.

On March 2nd a Glaucous Winged Gull was sighted in Ferryside by Dominic Davidson. News soon spread of this rarity and locals were amazed when the next morning many hundreds of people began to arrive. The bird, a vagrant from North America, showed for 20min. on Saturday and 20min.on Monday. Many were disappointed but I am told that the ‘cream of British twitchers’ came to our county and it is an excellent record for us. This was the same Glaucous Winged Gull first seen and ringed in Gloucestershire during the previous December.

100th Member. Congratulations to Kim Leffingwell who some while ago became our 100th member and received a Collins Bird Guide to assist her birdwatching.