It’s been a busy few weeks for sightings with summer migrants beginning to arrive and many other birds moving through on passage, but the overall highlight has to be the presence of up to two Alpine swifts (photo by Steve Culley), part of a large influx into the country that has been making headline news in the bird world since mid-March. Individuals were seen over the reserve on 28/3 and 29/3, then two were seen together on 30/3, and they were also observed in various locations around Llandudno Junction. Alpine swifts breed in southern Europe with their range extending eastwards into Asia, and like our common swifts they spend the winter in Africa.
Other highlights have included yellow-legged gulls with at least two different individuals seen on several days between 10/3 and 3/4. An early osprey flew over the reserve on 25/3, while a short-eared owl on 29/3 and a merlin on 1/4 were both good records here.
The sounds of spring came early this year with the first chiffchaff heard singing on 20/2 although this was most likely to be an overwintering bird. The first sand martin appeared on the morning of 17/3, with 14 present over the lagoons by the end of the day and counts of at least 200 birds by the end of the month. Wheatear and swallow both made their first appearances on 23/3, with two house martins arriving on 24/3, and three willow warblers on 25/3. The first three white wagtails, the continental race of pied wagtail making their way north to Iceland, were seen on 30/3, while common sandpiper appeared on 31/3, and the first blackcap was heard singing on 2/4.
A female scaup which has spent most of the winter here was present up until 19/3, then made a reappearance on 31/3 and has remained since. Other wildfowl has included pintail on several dates with a maximum of three birds on 6/3, while peak counts of other species included nine pochard from 2/3 to 6/3, 27 shoveler on 3/3, and 29 merganser on 13/3. Eight whooper swans were seen flying over the reserve on 27/3 and a drake mandarin was present on 30/3. Great crested grebe have also been seen regularly with a maximum of three birds from 24/3 to 25/3.
Waders of interest included spotted redshank recorded on ten dates with two birds present on three occasions, a grey plover on 9/3, two greenshank on 23/3, and peak counts of at least 100 dunlin on 20/2 and 25 black-tailed godwit on 26/2. A woodcock was also seen near the visitor centre at dusk on 16/3.
Other notable species have included great white egret recorded on seven dates, a Mediterranean gull seen on 31/3, kingfisher recorded on four dates, red kite over the reserve on 8/3 and 2/4, and treecreeper seen on 28/2 and 2/4. Movements of winter thrushes on 30/3 included 32 redwing and two fieldfare.
Meanwhile insects have started to become more active as we move further into spring with butterfly sightings including the first peacock on 17/3 and red admiral on 18/3, along with other species including dark-edged bee-fly, and red-tailed, buff-tailed and early bumblebees.