Teifi Birding and Wildlife

On the 22nd September there were an unprecedented 15   Mandarin Duck  from the river viewpoint on the Teifi Marshes.  An unusual sight with mixed sexes lined up along a couple of fallen trees. It is known that Mandarin bred upriver at Henllan this year.  Mandarin on the 24th - Jason Medcraft Record shot across the river when first seen- Hannah Cook They are a non-native species that has established a thriving wild population across parts of the UK after escaping from captivity in the early 20th century.  They were still present later in the afternoon on the 22nd. Also on that visit to the marshes Josh found that there had been an increase in large waders from Curlew hide compared with recent weeks - 13 Bar-tailed Godwit and 8 Black-tailed Godwit . Still a similar number of Dunlin , 51 but only 1 Ringed Plover. There was also a single Wigeon . This was photographed by Jason on the 24th. Wigeon with Mallard - Jason Medcraft After the surprise of multiple Mandari...

Highlight of the month was a Grey Phalarope on the 16th September. It was photographed from the river viewpoint on the Teifi Marshes and recorded on Ebird by a visiting birder. The picture can be seen on the Ebird checklist here  The monthly WeBS count of the estuary and river for the BTO was carried out on the 13th, a dull and drizzly day. There was less wader variety than recently from Curlew hide but still 27 Dunlin , 20  Ringed Plover , 2 Turnstone , 4 Black-tailed and 3 Bar-tailed Godwits .  Bar-tailed Godwit - Diane Williams Flock of Dunlin in the drizzle - Diane Williams Around the estuary on the 13th, 1 Turnstone and 4 Redshank . The Redshank were stretching and preening as if newly arrived It is surprising that no returning Wigeon have been seen yet. The first are usually back in August. Jax has photographed an increased number of Bar-tailed Godwit in the estuary with a count of 11 last weekend.   Bar-tailed Godwit roosting with Curlew and Oystercatchers...

Before September news- a couple of Arctic Skuas off Mwnt (Josh B) on the 31st August  Also, in the evening of the 31st an Osprey with a blue colour ring 7H6 was photographed by Justin. This Osprey was ringed near Inverness in 2022 and has been a regular visitor to the Teifi Osprey Blue 7H6 - Justin Yates 7H6 has been seen almost daily until today, the 12th, both in the estuary and fishing on the river through the marshes.  On the 1st and 4th, this was joined by an un-ringed Osprey. Un-ringed Osprey - Stuart Hall Also on the 1st, a Swift was seen from Curlew hide.  Swift - Jason Medcraft Following on from late August, the excellent variety and numbers of waders from Curlew hide continued into early September including 2 Ruff and 3 Curlew Sandpipers on the 1st. Ruff - Diane Williams On the 2nd Sept after the morning high tide there was still 1 Ruff,  1 Curlew Sandpiper, a Sanderling and adding to the variety, 3 Goosander Goosander - Jason Medcraft In the evenings...