Hi,
The dawn chorus is one of Britain’s greatest natural wonders, this week we set our alarm clocks early and headed out with visitors to experience the Vyrnwy chorus. The group weren’t left disappointed as hundreds of woodland birds filled the air with music on what turned out to be a glorious sunny morning. Surprisingly Common Redstart was one of the first songsters followed quickly by thrushes and Wrens. Willow Warbler was the late riser with the first bird heard at about 5:25am. Great scope views of Common Redstart and Common Whitethroat proved popular with both visitors and guides.
The woodland birds also performed well on our bird song recognition course with obliging Pied Flycatchers on the Yellow Trail, ubiquitous Chiffchaff, a typically skulky Garden Warbler on the Yellow Trail and at least one pair of Wood Warbler showing pretty well near the boathouse.
Red Campion is an excellent nectar plant for insects and is currently in full bloom along hedgerows on the reserve.
Spotted Flycatcher was a highlight for the interns this week as it brought their reserve bird list up to 100 species sighted since arriving at the beginning of March. The first white bridge downstream of the dam looks to be a reliable area for Spotted Flycatcher at present. Tawny Owls were very vocal as more chicks branched out from their woodland nests. Swift, Swallow and House Martin activity was high around the dam and Visitor Centre as birds settle to breed in the area.
Tawny Owl's have been very audible over the last week as chicks start to branch from their nests (Thanks to Gavin Chambers for the image).
Dipper continues to show well on the Afon Vyrnwy downstream of the dam (Thanks to Gavin Chambers for the image).
Other interesting sightings this week included, a single Cormorant which spent a few days near the dam, regular Red Kite, Wheatear and Whinchat along the Dinas Mawddwy Road, Peregrine Falcon and Raven from the Lakeside Hide (daily) and close views of Jay from the Yellow Trail.
A Raven put in an appearance at a camera trap on the reserve this week (Thanks to Tom Griffin for the image).
Microlepidoptera Of The Week
Battery issues resulted in no light trapping on the reserve during the week however, do not fear we still have a moth of week and this time it’s the turn of a micro to be star of the show. The Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana flies by day and as the name implies loves nettle patches where it can be seen swarming on sunny days.
The wings of the Nettle-tap moth form a distinctive v-shape.
Cheers,
Adam