Teifi Birding and Wildlife

The season is moving on, some species are leaving, some are now in song ... The falling tide as seen from the main path, the Gulls favour the river through the reserve, rather than feeling the blast of the westerly wind in the open estuary. 200m down river, the adult Iceland Gull was opposite Curlew hide at 930 yesterday .. The scene from the hide, and the Iceland Gull is there... Further up river, 5-6 Little Egrets in the horse paddocks before the Sawmill, interestingly these don't appear to be in breeding plumage unlike those around the reserve or in the estuary.. The Barnacle Geese haven't settled down yet, over the last few days the whole flock, c 130 are either on Cardigan Island where most will nest, or grazing in the cliff top fields. A short look at the sea proved worthwhile this morning, with 2 Red-throated Divers , 2 Kittiwakes and a single male Common Scoter all flying west past Cemaes Head. Ducks are disappearing fast, most obvious are the Wigeon , down to 87 b...

 Teifi Barn Owls and Magpies by Colin Dalton... Not just the excitement of evening Barn Owls on the Reserve, the photo below has captured a few of the Magpies at their regular gathering - often up to 40 birds make their way noisily across the Marsh to the Willow scrub around the Osprey platform Magpie roost at dusk- Colin Dalton With a very low tide this week it was possible to walk out to the old Lifeboat Station at the far end of Poppit Beach to explore the low intertidal zone. It makes sense that this area often has feeding Gulls and Oystercatchers as the tide drops when you see the food rich habitat. Species such as Common Scoter and Great Crested Grebes have historically favoured this area too. This winter, despite regular scoping, the sea has been very quiet for these species. There is a regular flock of Common Scoter up the coast though, viewable from the path between Aberporth and Tresaith. The low tide rocks are covered in Honeycomb Worms . These build tube shaped structur...

At least one of our  Kingfishers has been providing excellent photo opportunities from the new Kingfisher Hide, what will be photographed next... Kingfisher - Colin Dalton A look at sea and the mouth of the estuary added little, the sea was too rough for Guillemots to venture into the cliffs, but the Fulmars were soaring around the cliff tops and attending their ledges. Stuart provided the sighting of the week ... Shovelers at Mallard Pond - Stuart Hall This party of 4 Shoveler , equals the largest record in recent years .. The graph has only data for some years since 1994, but shows the peak for Shoveler on the Teifi is during the early Spring. Down at the estuary,   Wigeon numbers are dropping rapidly, maybe less than 50 can be found on a visit. Wigeon - Rosie Hemsley Over the last few days, although the afternoon tides have been suitable for waders to roost on the mud, the Golden Plovers aren't around and the Lapwing numbers have decreased to about 100. Though the D...