Hello my name is Adam and I’m one of two interns who have joined the team at RSPB Lake Vyrnwy for the next six months. Since starting our role on the reserve me and Tom, the other intern, have managed to see 71 bird species and the main focus of today’s blog is to update you with our wildlife sightings from the month of March.
March had its fair share of dry sunny days allowing visitors and staff to enjoy the fantastic scenery.
Frosty mornings resulted in a frenzy of activity at the Coed y Capel hide feeding station with Great Spotted Woodpecker, Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch all regulars. Interestingly at the time of writing (30th March) the number of Siskin has greatly increased on the reserve and we hope that our nyjer seed feeders will help provide you with close views of these feisty finches.
The area between the dam and the sculpture park was a productive spot with regular sightings of Goosander, Dipper and Grey Wagtail on the river. A Firecrest sighted on the 11th may well still be in the area, take time to familiarise yourself with the call and you might catch up with this little gem on the reserve.
On the lake 5x Canada Geese, 5x Mallard, 2x Teal, 3x Little Grebe, 1x Great Crested Grebe, 3x Cormorant were seen most days, whilst 4x 1st-winter Mute Swan (8th), 3x Tufted Duck (14th), 1x male Goldeneye (29th) and 1x Redshank (14th) were only one day birds which spent most of their time resting.
This group of young Mute Swans spent one day resting on the lake, most likely after being persuaded to leave home by their parents who will be preparing for the new breeding season.
A warm spell mid-month provided perfect conditions for birds of prey to be on the wing, with a bit of patience Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk and Peregrine Falcon could all be seen flying over the lake. The sunshine also brought a small number of butterflies out of hibernation with Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell sighted across the reserve.
The Craig Garth-bwlch trail (blue trail) provided some great birding with 1x Green Woodpecker, 3x Raven, 20+ Starling, 2x Treecreeper, 5+ Redwing, 15+ Fieldfare and 1x Lesser Redpoll of note.
Ditches alongside many of the reserve trails are currently full of frog spawn with one pool also revealing the presence of another amphibian, a newt. The frog spawn unfortunately led to the poor newts’ demise after it became entangled within the jelly mass.
Towards the end of the month warm southerly winds resulted in our first Wheatear and Chiffchaffs of the year (25th). A large arrival of Chiffchaff was particularly evident over the last weekend of March with singing birds spread across the reserve. The warm temperatures also caused lots of toads to awaken and head towards their breeding ponds.
This little chap posed for the camera whilst en route to its breeding pond.
Cheers,
Adam