The migrants have really started to arrive this week, with a good number of singing chiffchaffs on the reserve this morning, another wheatear yesterday (24th), the first swallows on Tuesday (21st) and Wednesday, and a handful of sand martins.
The lapwings are displaying noisily, which is always a sight and sound to gladden the heart, and a couple of little grebes are hanging around, perhaps to stay and breed? But where has our pair of great crested grebes gone - they haven't been spotted for a week? The shelduck count on the estuary has increased, with almost 100 birds feeding on the mud on Monday.
A few wintering birds are still here, notably male and female pochards, several snipe and a good size flock of redshanks, and although the starling roost has declined, they were still throwing shapes at dusk on Tuesday, scattered by hunting peregrine and sparrowhawk.
We have two exciting job opportunities at Conwy this week, for an Administrator and for a Visitor Centre Assistant during the summer. The deadline for applications is only a couple of weeks away, so do take a read if you're interested.
The work by North Wales Trunk Roads Agency to improve the parking on the sliproad outside our entrance is well underway, and should be completed at the end of this week, just in time for the school Easter holidays.
Julian HughesSite Manager, Conwy