Cysylltiadau Conwy: Gwella RSPB Conwy ar gyfer Pobl a Natur

Bydd ymwelwyr RSPB Conwy yn cael llawer mwy nag erioed am eu hymweliad yn fuan. Ar ôl ambell i newyddion da gan wahanol bartneriaid ariannol, yn cynnwys y project Cymunedau a Natur, bydd gwaith yn cychwyn ar drawsnewid rhai ardaloedd o’r warchodfa er mwyn gwella cysylltiad rhwng pobl a bywyd gwyllt. Bydd y project yn cynnig cyfleon newydd, cyffrous ar gyfer ymwelwyr…

It's only the second week in July, yet we've already seen lots of waders through the reserve. But it's a bad sign. The jetstream that has dumped the foul weather on southern Britain over recent weeks (because it's much farther south than usual) has left Iceland, Greenland, Spitsbergen and even western Scotland very dry. Too dry for waders that need pools. Because pools are full of insect larvae that feed their chicks…

The weather has continued to dominate our days and the movements of birds.  Following Friday's downpour, a male scaup was a great find early on Saturday morning, and is still present today (Sunday).  It's a bird that should be much farther north, breeding in the Arctic, but presumably had already failed and is already moving south.  It appears to have some staining on its breast - oil? - but doesn't appear to be…

It's that time of year when we play host to hundreds of geese and ducks all carrying out their summer moult after they've finished raising their young. Wildfowl lose all their wing feathers at once during the moult, and become temporarily flightless. As they are vulnerable to predators at this time, they tend to congregate in safe places, like our nature reserve, and stick together in large flocks for protection until…

It's proving to be a great year for orchids on the reserve.  The bee orchid count has topped 50 plants, and they're appearing in lots of places that we've never previously seen them - including by the bike rack next to the Visitor Centre.  They have usually faded by now, but they look like they'll be going strong for at least another week.  Then Sarah spotted some southern marsh orchids along the Ganol Trail…

As spring turns to summer (honest, that was summer we've experienced this week), the focus of our attention moves from breeding birds to the wild flowers.  Stars of this week's show are the orchids.  These are a special type of flower, and we have found three species this year: common spotted orchids, southern marsh orchids (new to the reserve) and bee orchids (photographed here by visitor Dylan Edwards).  It seems…

You may have noticed a few Canada Goose eggshells around the reserve over the last few weeks.  The herring and lesser-black backed gulls take a proportion of the goose eggs every year, but this gull will have had trouble breaking open the shell, as it's found a golf ball.  Think how smooth and perfectly round a golf ball is, and you realise that carrying the ball in its bill is quite a feat!  A great photo by Aled Williams…

It's that time of year when every day sees new migrants moving through on their way to their summer homes, and this week there's been plenty of variety out on the reserve. We had a male cuckoo at the far end of the reserve on 6 May, a whinchat also on 6 May, yellow wagtails on most days and up to 8 wheatears on the Estuary Track. Waders have also been moving through, heading up to their northern breeding grounds…

This is a bit of a catch-up, as we've had a busy few weeks. Remember that you can keep up-to-date with our nature news on Twitter or Facebook in between our blog posts. This brilliant photo of a willow warbler was our April Photostream Conwy Picture of the Month, and will be used in our social media throughout May.

Despite getting their nest washed out by last weekend's rain and winds, the pair of great crested…

Our big news this week is that at least two, and perhaps three, little ringed plovers are on the Deep Lagoon, and by their behaviour this morning, they're up for nesting here again.  The exposed mud in front of Benarth or Carneddau Hide is the best place to look.  This little wader, with its bright yellow eye ring, is a visitor from west Africa, so will they stay to breed?  A few black-tailed godwits and dunlins have…

It's only a week since we were writing about glorious weather, but the northerly wind and rain this week have slowed summer migrants, and kept a few wintering birds at the reserve.  The highlight has been another osprey this morning, hovering right above the coffee shop.  There are more sand martins feeding over the lagoons than last week, and a handful of swallows have been seen each day.  Our first house martin of…

The week's glorious weather brought more early migrants, with the first willow warbler reported on Wednesday (28th) and the first osprey of the season mobbed by gulls as it flew north on Friday (30th).  Wheatears have been on several days this week, and the sand martin flocks are getting larger in size.  Butterflies spotted this week include speckled wood, small white, comma, peacock and small tortoiseshell.  A goldc…

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…

March can be a frustrating month.  The buds on the willows, the nodding daffodils on the roadside verges and the first cloud of midges are telling you that it's spring, but while every day you expect to see a summer migrant, your hopes are dashed on the rocks of a northwesterly airflow or low pressure over Spain blocking their route from Africa to your local patch.  This week, the frustrations subsided...

Monday afternoon…

You may have read last week's Blog about our plans to kill the invasive weed, Crassula helmsii, with saltwater from the estuary.  You may even have heard Huw Jones, from Environment Agency Wales, and me talking about it on Radio Wales Country Focus this morning. So, how did we get on?

Well, in the last couple of hours we switched the pumps off, probably for the last time, but the water may settle a bit over night, so…

On the 1^st of March a near full summer adult Mediterranean Gull, drifted over the causeway and landed on the deep lagoon briefly, before joining the estuary Gull roost. It looked similar to the bird in the picture but with more of a black head. Lesser Black-backed Gulls are now up to ten.

2 Red Kites have been reported twice over the reserve on the 29^th of Feb and 3^rd of March. The Female Sparrowhawk has been seen…

On the 28^th 7 Buzzards were soaring together over the reserve car park, with more birds displaying over the local woods. The male Kestrel is still around the reserve. The female Sparrowhawk is being seen more often, especially in the evenings. The Peregrine caught a Black-headed Gull on the estuary on the 27^th this is being seen more regularly too.

With the temperatures increasing, the duck numbers are decreasing.…

Next week sees the start of a major project at RSPB Conwy, undertaking one of the biggest changes to the reserve since its creation almost 20 years ago.  We need to tackle an invasive non-native plant, marketed as Australian swamp stonecrop or New Zealand pygmyweed, but usually referred to by its scientific name, Crassula helmsii.

Away from its native Antipodean home and with nothing to keep it in check, Crassula spreads…

It has been a good week for raptor sightings. A Peregrine has been hunting over the reserve frequently and sat in front of the Carneddau hide on the weekend. The male Kestrel is still about, roaming around the reserve. A female Sparrowhawk has been seen chasing the Starlings in the evening roost and circling high over the reserve in the day. Buzzards are showing more frequently, displaying over the nearby woods. 4 …

Waders are starting to move north in greater numbers this week. The WeBS high tide count and general sightings recorded high counts of 95 Dunlin, 13 Ringed Plover, 30 Knot, 18 Black-tailed Godwits, 117 Curlew, 25 Oystercatcher, 200+ Lapwing, 12 Snipe and 56 Redshank.

High waterfowl counts include 26 Wigeon, 86 Teal, 4 Goldeneye, 13 Red-breasted Merganser, 6 Pochard, 7 Tufted Duck, Shoveler and 12 Gadwall. 3 Greylag…

On February 3rd the wings of a dead Short-eared Owl were found in the middle of the reserve. It may have succumbed to the cold weather. On the 6^th a Bittern was seen flying from the Benarth hide towards the Coffee shop.

This cold weather increased our duck counts. 14 Gadwall, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 5 Goldeneye, 2 Shoveler, 5 Tufted Duck and 4 Pochard graced the deep lagoon.

Our male Kestrel is still on the reserve…

After an absence from the reserve for a couple of years, a male Kestrel returned at the end of January. It’s been seen several times by the Ganol trail. Other raptors seen include a male Sparrowhawk, Buzzards and a Peregrine feeding on the estuary.

A Greylag Goose turned up for one day with the Canada Geese on the 29^th of January. Other waterfowl include a Goldeneye, 4 Pochard, 6 Tufted Duck and 10 Gadwall.

The bird of the weeks is a Siberian Chiffchaff found on the 23^rd by the Carneddau hide. This Welsh rarity has been describes as sounding like a cross between a Dunnock and a Bullfinch. It calls frequently from the willows joined by a Common Chiffchaff on the 24^th. The Firecrest was seen to at least the 23^rd. It is possibly still out there.

Sparrowhawks are seen almost daily and a Merlin was reported on the 21^st.

On the 13^th a Cetti’s Warbler gave a short blast of song by the Tal-y-fan hide. After keeping its head down for a few days, it called again on the evening of the 14^th by the coffee shop. The Firecrests have been seen more regularly this week after the winds dropped and the sun came out, occasionally singing. The Chiffchaff was seen twice this week too. 

As with our shallow lagoon, many small local patches of water…

Pete Wood's photo of one of our firecrests is our favourite photo submitted in December; will yours be one of our favourites in 2012?

We’d like to make the most of the amazing photos that visitors take at RSPB Conwy, so each month we choose our favourites to feature in our e-news, social media, on display around the reserve or in the reserve’s monthly Warblings column in the North Wales Weekly News…