June....brings variety
On the 28th May in the evening there was still some Whimbrel passage with 6 on Cardigan Island. A Kestrel hovering near the Cliff Hotel and the pair of local Peregrines were hunting near the Island.
Also on the 28th, the Cemaes Head flock of 18 Chough going to roost is likely to contain both breeders and non breeders now the chicks are fairly well grown.
On the 29th, a Lesser Whitethroat was singing and showing in scrub very near Creek Hide on Teifi Marshes..an historical site. A look at the sea that day, Manx Shearwaters were passing the Teifi, at 100 per min flying west.
The first juvenile Kingfisher was seen on 30th May. Since then they have been observed regularly at Kingfisher and Mallard hides, sometimes two together
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| Juvenile Kingfisher - Diane Williams |
Mute Swans have successfully bred on Kingfisher pond. Cygnets were first seen on the 3rd June from Kingfisher hide after leaving the nest before the adults took them to the river.
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| Cygnets with adult - Jax Wing |
On the 22nd June they moved from the river to the shelter of Kingfisher pond enabling good views of the attentiveness of their parents and their growth in a couple of weeks.
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| Older cygnets - Diane Williams |
On the 4th June a female Goosander with her 4 young - a rare breeding bird in the Lower Teifi.
Down at the estuary, 3 Crossbills flew over on the 15th, a good record for the Teifi by Joshua Brown. Another unusual sighting was a Yellow Wagtail at Patch by John Ramm on the 17th.
Curlew hide is the best place on the Teifi Marshes to see waders, important at this time of year as non breeding and failed breeding birds start to move. A Greenshank on the 15th June and 2 Redshank on the 26th. On the 23rd a summer plumage Black-tailed Godwit was seen from Curlew hide. This photo shows the size comparison with a Little Egret
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| Black-tailed Godwit - Diane Williams |
Stuart was in the right place to see a Cattle Egret on the 22nd.
Little Egrets numbers (7+) are now increasing, often roosting in the trees opposite the hide and dropping down out of sight to a pond and wet area on private land behind.
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| Cattle Egret - Stuart Hall |
Butterflies...This one outside our area - but close enough, and away from known colonies to alert us....Maybe we have some suitable habitat if new colonies are emerging.
Marsh Fritillary - this one a surprise find in Ty Rhyg by Benj Bond 28th May.
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| Marsh Fritillary |
A good variety of Dragonflies have been seen this month including this Emperor dragonfly oviposting on Kingfisher pond.
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| Emperor Dragonfly - Tommy Evans |
As we approach the end of the month, an Osprey has been seen on a few occasions. Jen and Tommy had wonderful views of the bird with fish.
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| Osprey - Tommy Evans |
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| Osprey - Jen Evans |
This bird is unringed unlike the one that had been ringed on a Scottish nest this time last year.
July should be filled with young birds - the first juvenile Black-headed Gulls are now appearing and 2 adult Mediterranean Gulls roosting near the Webley on the 28th...
(Wendy J and Rich D)