Back to the freezer

I've been on holiday for a few weeks, and I had a fantastic time of course, but I was also looking forward to getting back to Conwy to see the progress made on Y Maes while I was away.  We've been able to open some parts of it for the Easter weekend, and the rest will open in phases over the next few months.  As you'll see from the pictures below, the wet ground conditions have made the job a bit more difficult, but this spell of dry, cold weather will hopefully mean that the main work will be completed in the next fortnight.  The soft ground conditions have also proved challenging for the team laying the new trail at the southern end of the reserve, which will ultimately end in a new viewpoint overlooking the islands on the Deep Lagoon.  We don't yet have a planned opening date for this.

If you've been into the Tal-y-fan Hide, you'll see that artist Richard Hackett is making good progress on the background scene of the mural, and he'll be adding the wildlife this week.  The right-hand side of Tal-y-fan Hide will be closed on Monday (22nd) and Tuesday (23rd) while the new floor is laid.  It's all going to look fantastic!

It was a bit of a shock to come back from Central America to the freezing weather, and not surprisingly, few of our summer migrants have yet made the northbound journey yet.  However, the sun is back north of the Equator and as the days get longer, so birds will move.  The first wheatears appeared on 23 March, only five days later than in 2012.  Up to three have been here most days since.  The first chiffchaff was heard on Thursday morning (28th) and there were several here today, while ospreys were spotted over the reserve on Thursday and Friday (28th/29th) - it's not hard, all the gulls go bonkers!  There was also a Sandwich tern here on Friday, which must be one of the earliest ever dates for the species here.

The cold weather forced stonechats down from the hills, just as they were pairing up for breeding. By Wednesday, there were seven along the estuary path, but they now all seem to have moved on.  The cold weather has slowed the start of the breeding season, but blue tits have been inspecting one of the nestboxes on the Visitor Centre, there's been a fair bit of 'bum-shuffling' by lapwings on the islands, and it was great to see that a second great crested grebe arrived overnight to join its mate; we hope that they'll nest here again.  The water rails have been calling more regularly and, after a bumper winter survey season, we'll be monitoring them this week to see what our spring numbers are like.

On the estuary, waders are evidently on the move, with small numbers of ringed plovers, the first little ringed plovers (27th), almost 200 dunlins, up to five black-tailed godwits and nine knot.  Other birds look like they'll be staying well into April, with lots of snipe still here, and goldeneyes and pochards still on the water.  Kingfisher has been seen several times in the last week, probably another cold-weather refugee from farther up the valley. A short-eared owl last Sunday (24th) was the second of the year, but to end on a less wintry note, the first peacock butterfly was spotted yesterday.  Spring is coming, honest! 

It's like Cannes out there - except it's flippin' cold. The events area (in the foreground) will host our monthly Farmers' Market, the annual Gardeners' Market (first of 2013 on 14 April) and all sorts of things we haven't yet dreamed up.  The picnic area has already proved popular, despite the chilly weather.

Muddy Puddle Club. The hill and tunnel aren't finished yet, and as you see from the foreground, the contractors have had real problems with the wet ground. We hope to open the paths later in April, but the grassy areas won't open until the seeds have grown

View from the top: we've opened some of Y Maes this weekend, but you'll have to wait a little longer before you can roly-poly down the bank!

"Can you see what it is yet?" - mural artist Richard Hackett painting Conwy Castle.  Next week, he'll be adding some nature to the scene.