Usually by the end of March, good numbers of the early summer migrants have arrived. But March 2018 has been untypical, both for the prolonged cold weather dominated by easterly winds, and for a huge low pressure system over Iberia that effectively closed the door on northbound birds in the middle of the month.
Our first chiffchaff, on 11th March, was actually a bit earlier than the average, but with only a few days to go before April, there are still only a handful of singing birds here. Sand martins were next, with the first on 16th, but it was another ten days before the second group, and they remain sporadic. A wheatear on 18th was perched on a small snowdrift on the saltmarsh, and has been our only record so far. The only other migrant recorded here is house martin, seen on several dates from 26th, which is almost the earliest ever record for the reserve. A strange way for Spring to start.
Some migration is less obvious, but the birds still travel a distance to be here: lesser black-backed gulls are now here in double-figures, having spent the winter in Spain; up to a dozen stonechats dropped in on their way northwest, having probably also wintered in Spain; reed buntings are back on the reserve, and it's great to hear their '1-2-3 testing' call buzzing over the reedbed.
Otherwise, it's felt fairly wintry on the reserve, but the first willows are starting to bud, blackthorn flowers are adding some contrast to the bare bushes, and this week's sunshine has encouraged the first buff-tailed bumblebees to fly, with both queens and workers seen. Wet weather has brought dozens of adult toads onto the footpaths, heading to our ponds to spawn (thanks to Ian Preston for posting this great photo to our Flickr pool). Our trailcams have regularly seen a family of otters (female and two cubs) using the reserve in recent weeks, and we've compiled a short video of the clips that is showing in the Visitor Centre.
There remains a good mix of winter waterbirds, including gadwalls, goldeneyes, pochards and several pairs of shoveler (will this be the year they nest here?). Three (or four?) great-crested grebes are on the lagoons; they didn't nest last year, so we're keeping our fingers crossed for this spring.
The cold snap mid-month brought over 300 skylarks onto the reserve, feeding with dozens of meadow pipits around the hooves of our Carneddau ponies, which were kicking the snow clear and enabling the birds to access the soil. A woodlark was a good find among the skylarks, and only the second record for the nature reserve; it was reported again on Tuesday (20th). The snowy weather on Sunday 18th brought a male hen harrier to the reserve and a jack snipe that 'bobbed' all day just metres from the Tal-y-fan Hide window.
Last weekend, visitors were getting great photographs of the firecrests, at least two of which were still here. We haven't seen any since Sunday (25th), so have they now left, we wonder? Also heading off soon will be the starlings that winter in North Wales. After a winter with barely a murmur(ation), visitors shared some spectacular photographs at dusk last week, with an estimated 10,000 roosting in the reeds.
A Scandinavian-race rock pipit (littoralis) has been photographed several times in recent weeks, and its plumage is making us wonder whether some of the reported water pipit sightings relate to this bird? Has anyone got photos of a definite water pipit here this winter?
We go into the Easter weekend with hope and expectation that April will bring more summer migrants - and some warmer weather!
Julian HughesSite Manager, Conwy