Raining birds

Today was just one of those mornings when the nature reserve was alive with birds. The bushes and trees were hooching with thrushes, primarily redwings and blackbirds, fresh in from Scandinavia. There are plenty of hawthorn and rowan berries, and lots of rosehips, bright red in the sunshine, that will feed them for the next few days. Then I came across a flock of blue, great and long-tailed tits, with robins and wrens among them, sometimes so many that they were dropping out of the bushes and feeding in the grass (something I haven't seen long-tailed tits do before). Just for a few minutes, it felt like it was raining birds.

It's been a busy week on the reserve, with lots of visitors here for half-term, and our fungi and Pumpkin Bird events hugely over-subscribed. Work finished on the widening and resurfacing of our trails, and we have already reopened one section. It's much improved, especially for visitors using wheels. We hope to open the other section this week, but are waiting for the last pony to be persuaded to leave. We graze the southern half of the reserve with Carneddau mountain ponies, which do a great job of eating the reeds, bramble and grass, creating a more diverse structure for flowers, insects and birds. The current team of six ponies have been here for three years and it's time to bring in some new ones following the round-up of the ponies in the mountains next month. Five went to their new home last week, but one refused to go. We'll have another go at catching him later today...

The reserve has, not surprisingly, a more wintry feel as we go into November. There have been a few fieldfares and mistle thrushes along with the redwings, and the first siskins appeared around the feeders yesterday. Two, possibly three, firecrests are along the newly reopened 'Return Loop' trail, though are not easy to see - will someone get as good a photo as this one by Bob Garrett from last winter? A Cetti's warbler was heard near The LookOut over the weekend, but not since, while treecreeper and coal tit were also scarce visitors. Stonechats have been regular on the estuary path for the last few days. On the water, a female scaup has been present for several weeks (but the accompanying young male has not been seen since last Wednesday, 26th), along with a small number of pochards. A couple of goldeneyes popped in on 20/21 October, but have not been seen since.

The outdoor volunteers have been cutting and clearing reeds in front of the Coffee Shop and to create clearings close to the boardwalk, and the water rails are loving it. I saw four this morning, and there are quite probably more than this. A couple have been very regular in front of the Coffee Shop.

Wigeon numbers are increasing on the estuary, where a great white egret has been present daily since 26 October. Choughs were being seen daily until the clocks went back at the weekend, but now probably head out to feed in the Conwy Valley before we get here. Greenshank, dunlin and black-tailed godwits are late-comers, heading south, and a little stint last Wednesday (25th) was a surprise. An even bigger surprise was a hefty second-winter glaucous gull on the high tideline that same afternoon, only the third reserve record and the first since 2006.