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

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 Dunlin floc

This weekend was the monthly long running Wetland Bird Survey for the BTO. Teifi WeBS regular counts started over 30 years ago. Highlights were the high number of Lapwing and Golden Plover coming down to the estuary now often approaching 1,000 of each species. Other counts of interest; Wigeon counts decreasing as birds start to depart, 176 and waders like Oystercatcher increasing to 69 as they pass through heading north. A single drake Goosander and two  Goldeneye remain. As mentioned in the last blog, the new Kingfisher hide has been completed. With visitors once again enjoying good views of the wildlife on Kingfisher Pond / Bass Lagoon we have delved into the history timeline of the Teifi Marshes.  Kingfisher hide looks over a lagoon that was created 30 years ago in 1992.  Kingfisher Pond 2018 Bass lagoon in the making  Work started in 1992 to construct a new lagoon at the Teifi Marshes. This was been made possible by the success of the Dyfed Wildlife Trust in becoming one of o

An adult Iceland Gull was picked out roosting over the other (Pembs) side of the Teifi at c430pm yesterday evening, the gulls were c800m away under the hill.....  ...but  a record shot through a scope.... Another good bird yesterday, a Marsh Harrier ...first reported by Josh Pedley. The Harrier was still present this early this morning. Photos on Twitter by Josh. Marsh Harrier Teifi Marshes The Marsh Harrier is just about an annual visitor since 1979 that rarely stays and I think the first January record for the Teifi. Nathan Walton led Pembs Bird Group walk around the reserve yesterday, some of the key birds being seen as well as the Group being able to inspect and view from the new hides, replacements for Kingfisher and Creek hides. The new Kingfisher Hide   The highlights of Friday and Saturday wader viewing on the falling tide was the the flock of Golden Plover and Lapwing -  over 1000 birds. Starling roosts... There used to be large roosts in the Teifi Marshes but in recent ye

Another new Chiffchaff on the reserve this winter, also one seen at Poppit yesterday. Chiffchaff - January 11th Guillemots were back on their breeding ledges on Cardigan Island yesterday -- one to look for during this calm weather. Our Skylarks disappear from the breeding sites around the Teifi headlands in winter. This sighting from Liz Snell adds to the local picture -- further up the coast in the coastal fields today between Mwnt and Aberporth c200 Skylarks and 45 Stock Doves feeding on the dunged stubble. A walk out beyond the Cliff Hotel to look for Purple Sandpipers and Turnstone on the rocks was unsuccessful this afternoon but good views of the Barnacle Goose flock as they flew out to Cardigan Island followed by several hundred Canada Geese. Canada Geese over Cardigan Farm Park Five Rock Pipits were feeding on the Golf Course and 2 Stonechat were flycatching in the sun. Stonechat The freezing conditions haven't brought us any obvious new arrivals, 250 Lapwing , 150 Go

A Willow Tit feeding in the main Teifi Marshes reserve car park. Willow Tit - Colin Dalton Willow Tits, Nuthatches, Coal Tits, are amongst the commoner Tits and House Sparrows feeding happily in the car park at this time of year. Easily the best time of year to see Willow Tit locally, see the Teifi  timeline below... Not all about birds on the Teifi, there were 6 Grey Squirrels feeding together too in the car park. Of the non bird species, perhaps the Bottlenosed Dolphins are the most important but we have Otters ... and they show well regularly on the ponds and river. Otter - Tommy Evans Red Deer .. often counts into double figures in the fields alongside the track to the reserve. Red Deer - Colin Dalton No major changes in bird species  or numbers over the weekend - still a great sight to see 500 Lapwing , 80 Dunlin , 24 Shelduck amongst the Wigeon opposite St Dogmael's Quay on the rising tide this morning and 16 Ringed Plover in front of The Webley. A look back on the Teifi t

A lack of Grey Herons and Little Egrets on the Reserve and estuary this week but they were feeding happily in horse paddocks of the Teifi floodplain near the sawmill past Llechryd. Counts yesterday of 7 Little Egrets and 4 Grey Heron . This area c7km up river is a little away past the established Heronry. Only the 1 male Goldeneye and 1 male Goosander on the river, Goosanders are likely to be upriver and Goldeneye numbers continue to decline...see below Male Goldeneye - photo Tommy Evans Geese around the estuary - a summary of numbers this week, 134 Barnacle , 2 Greylag and 5-600 Canada Geese. Lapwings and Golden Plover have remained around the estuary during the week in variable numbers depending in the tides, max so far c500 of each on the 1st. c100 Dunlin are around the estuary often feeding in front of the yellow house - a good mid winter count. A Common Sandpiper is still wintering in town, usually near the blue boat restaurant. A 2nd/ 3w Iceland Gull was bathing pr

Starting in 2022 we will be posting regular bird and other wildlife sightings from the Lower Teifi Valley, the headlands and the sea. From Cemaes Head in the west along the coast to Mwnt via Cardigan Island and around the estuary, the Teifi Marshes reserve and upriver to Abercych on the Carmarthenshire border. This is an historical patch which is centred on Cardigan Castle. From this point it is 6km to Cemaes Head, 6km to Mwnt and includes 8 km up the Teifi Valley.  Prior to this blog there have been several publications covering both recent sightings and historical records. Mick Baines publication is probably the most complete record up to the mid 80's.  Mick Baines 1985 Jon Green published annual reports for several years. The Teifi straddles county borders, which have changed over the years. County reports and Avifaunas cover all records as appropriate to each county at the time and will continue to do so. The area includes the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales reserves; Ce