Teifi Birding and Wildlife

 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...

The highlight of the last couple of weeks was a Great Egret  which briefly dropped into Mallard Pond on the 25th April Great Egret - Diane Williams The second half of April started well with the recording of some more passage migrants on the 14th. Down at the estuary the first Whimbrel was calling, a Sandwich Tern flew into the estuary briefly and 2 Common Terns were feeding in the strong wind off Patch. 17th April.. the most interesting species was a Grey Plover with the high tide roost on Patch. Found just before the shingle spit covered and it flew over to Poppit. It was with 1 Whimbrel , 32 Ringed Plover and 8 Dunlin . Patch just being covered by the high tide 20th April, on a chilly, windy morning there was a noticeable increase in the number of  migrant  Sedge Warbler s singing and flying around the reeds allowing some excellent photos. Most of these will be just be resting and feeding before continuing their migration. Sedge Warbler - Diane Williams 21st Apri...

A walk on the Teifi Marshes at dawn in April is always filled with hope as to what new species might have arrived overnight 5th April - a 2 hour walk around the reserve resulted in 34 species. Migrants included 12 Willow Warblers , 11 Chiffchaffs and 3 Blackcaps singing. At the river viewpoint it was unusual to see several Goosanders in April..a pair and separately, 4 adult females. Teal numbers are going down as they head off to breed. 7th April - An Osprey was fishing on the river in front of Curlew hide (Catrin Williams) The 8th April was a day of arrivals -Tommy and Jen managed to photograph the Osprey and it turns out to be Blue 7H6, the Scottish ringed bird from 2022.  It is also a very familiar Osprey to the Teifi having been seen here in June 2024 , Aug 2024 and September 2025.  Osprey - Tommy Evans The first Sedge Warbler was heard on the Teifi Marshes (Catrin again). In the evening, Tommy photographed 2 Little Ringed Plovers  from Curlew hide.  Litt...

The American Wigeon first found on the 15th Feb was present for most of March usually feeding off Patch at low tide or from the Coronation Drive railings. It was last seen on the 20th March.  American Wigeon - Tommy Evans 28th Feb,  4 Stonechat around Mallard hide, 3 Chiffchaff near river view point and 3 Sand Martins over Marshes. The Cattle Egret  was with ponies in fields opposite Parc Teifi Industrial Park with 4 Little Egrets, and present into March, last seen on the 23rd. 1st March,  a singing Blackcap heralded in St David's Day... 4th March, a  Wheatear  was in fields beyond Cliff Hotel and a Swallow over the river through the Teifi Marshes. The previous evening there were 23  Sand Martins. 10th March, 50+ Sand Martins passed through the Marshes (Jon Green )  A good  - " almost daylight" sighting on the 11th of a  Barn Owl hunting over Mallard and Creek at 18.15. 20th March, a drake Mandarin   on  Kingfisher p...