Teifi Birding and Wildlife

A look back at  the second half of  August which is ending with a wonderful variety of waders being seen and photographed from Curlew hide on the Teifi Marshes . More details on the waders later in the post. Waders in flight - Jason Medcraft From the 11th we had daily estuary sightings from Benjamin Bond, most observations from boats..  On the 12th and 13th there was a Spoonbill on a sandbank off from the Teifi Waterside. Also 11 Sandwich  T erns , a Great Egret and a Common Tern off Patch. An Arctic Skua passed Cardigan Island on the eve of the 12th too. On the 13th Aug there were 21 Sandwich Terns , a  Great Egret  from The Moorings St Dogmaels and 18 Mediterranean Gulls.  On the 22nd, 4 juvenile Knot  were the highlight. Out at sea, Ocean Sunfish have been recorded on several occasions along with daily Bottlenosed Dolphins   On the 9th August there were 11 Barnacle Geese and 7 Greylag Geese by Swallow boats. One of the Barnacle Gee...

 An adult  Spoonbill   was seen on the evening of the 30th June Spoonbill - Jason Medcraft It was on the river briefly from Curlew hide and seen by only a couple of people. This was followed by an adult Glossy Ibis early afternoon of the 1st July. Again, another brief visit which shows the merit of spending time watching the river from Curlew hide. Although it was on the far side of the river, Jax managed to capture some images of it. Glossy Ibis - Jax Wing Mandarin ducks continued to be seen regularly on Mallard pond from the 15th June until the middle of the month peaking at three on the 13th July. A Mandarin was seen on the river from Curlew hide on the 1st August. Three Mandarin ducks - Diane Williams Mandarin - Diane Williams Waders are slowly increasing as we head towards autumn. Regular colour-ringed Curlew JO ringed on the reserve in 2022 was back on the 11th. Curlew - Diane Williams Black-tailed Godwits in breeding plumage on the 14th Black-tailed Godwit - Dia...

A month of dramatically different weather from chilly winds at the beginning to the heatwave with record breaking temperatures towards the end The Teifi Estuary with Cemaes Head in the background June 6th at 9pm conditions were right for  Manx Shearwaters  to pass close in the bay.  300 west in 10 mins. Also 1 Gannet -  Cemaes Head in the background. Poppit dunes are always worth a visit in June to look for orchids and insects.  Looking across the dunes to Cardigan Island  This Dune Robberfly was an unusual find (awaiting expert confirmation). A nationally scarce species that predates on other flies. Luckily it doesn't target humans as its bite is apparently worse than a bee sting. Dune Robberfly - Dyfed James A minimum of 6 spikes of Bee Orchid are in the dunes this year Bee - Orchid - Dyfed James Also good numbers of Common Spotted Orchid An Osprey was seen high over the Teifi Marshes on the 16th and photographed by Tommy on the 19th Osprey on a gloomy...

A Tufted Duck was first seen on Mallard pond on the 14th May and present until at least the 18th Tufted Duck -Diane Williams Also on the 14th, mobile waders around the estuary as the morning tide dropped 53 Ringed Plover, 5 Sanderling, 55 Dunlin, 2 Turnstone, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit and 1 Whimbrel. 15th May - less small waders in the estuary but 6 Barnacle Geese were by Swallow Boats. Numbers of small waders decreased over the rest of the month and by the end was hard to find any despite frequent looking. 18th - 2 Spotted Flycatchers were seen from the river path 0.7km downstream from Llechryd Bridge. Spotted Flycatcher from across the river - Dyfed James A surprise to hear a Cetti's Warbler singing near Llechryd bridge. 3 Swifts , a Dipper , Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtail feeding fledged young were also seen near the bridge. Also on the 18th, 7 Whimbrel on Cardigan golf course (Peter Carlick) 22nd May - Jen Evans captured this picture of a Hobby from Mallard hide. Hobby - Jen Evan...

May started with a Curlew Sandpiper in   summer plumage . It was on Patch, Teifi Estuary on the 2nd and on the 3rd had moved to the Nevern Estuary at Newport Curlew Sandpiper - Jonathan Bissett As usual,  there was an increase in waders as we headed into May. By 8pm on the 3rd, the rising tide had pushed the small wader flock onto Poppit beach.. 90 Dunlin , 15 Ringed Plover and a Sanderling . 5 Sandwich Tern were roosting on buoys off the saltmarsh. Earlier in the day 1 Grey Plover , 2 Whimbrel and a lingering Curlew Sandwich Tern - Jonathon Bissett Sanderling counts vary from day to day, a peak count so far this month was 17 on the 9th with 45 Ringed Plover (Josh Brown) Sanderling - Diane Williams A visit to the estuary by Diane on Bank Holiday Monday, the 4th, was worthwhile despite the expected busyness with nice views of the small waders and Sandwich Terns.   Dunlin and Ringed Plover - Diane Williams Sandwich Tern - Diane Williams Also 19 Whimbrel, 12 S...