Wales - June/July 2008

Snowdon - Pyg Track / Miners Track

My first walk was up Snowdon. I set out from the Pen-y-Pass car park (359m) and headed up the Pyg Track. The path soon gains height and before long I was up above the Miners Track looking down at Llyn Llydaw. The path leveled out here, and a bit further on just beyond Glaslyn the Miners Rack climbed up to meet the Pyg Track which I was on. At the point I was at about 700m (100m above Glaslyn) with about 300m to climb to reach the Railway Track from Llanberis. In a number of places the path was difficult to follow and clambering over the slippery rocks was a challenge. After a steep final burst I reached the ridge which follows the Railway Track to summit. Although the path was fairly easy going from here, a bitingly cold wind was blowing the rain at me from the right with no shelter.



After 1 hour 45 minutes I reached the summit at 1,085m, here I had a brief rest to admire my achievement before heading down out of the wind. (Unfortunately the summit cafe was closed for refurbishment so their was nowhere to shelter at the top).

I made my way back down - a slow process over the steep wet rocks. By the time I reached the point that the Miners Track leaves the Pyg Track the weather had started to clear. When I got to Glaslyn the sun had come out so I stopped for a lunch break. I was finally able to get some good views of Snowdon.


Snowdon from Glaslyn @ 605m - 480m to the summit.

As it had been raining all the way up I had not seen any birds. I had heard a few Meadow Pipits around though. Whilst having lunch a couple of Herring Gulls gave some good photo opportunities. I also managed to see a pair of Ravens heading to the rocks towards the top of Snowdon.


Herring Gull at Glaslyn


Herring Gull at Glaslyn

Following the Miners Track back down to the car park, more Meadow Pipits were seen and a brief glimpse of a Wheatear. Total height climbed 726m.

Cadair Idris

The walk for Day 2 was up Cadair Idris near Dolgellau, which stands at 895m. I decided to start the walk from Penmaenpool on the Mawddach. I would therefore be climbing the whole 895m from sea level.

My route up Cadair Idris (Purple) and back (Green)

Several Grey Wagtails were seen in the Abergwynant river and a Dipper was seen just before the Youth Hostel.

This pair of fledgling Swallows were in a barn at Tynyceunant.

Cadair Idris - from 160m @ Tynyceunant

On the mountain itself there were a few Meadow Pipits and a couple of Wheatears.

On the way back to Penmaenpool as the path leaves the road alongside the Abergwynant river it rises steeply through a bracken covered moorland and eventually passes back down through green fields to the village. Up at the top of the hill a Peregrine was seen swooping on prey of some kind, which it then took off into a tree. A Buzzard was soaring overhead.

It gets rather windy up here!

The final descent is along a gravel track through woodland to Penmaenpool.

Map images produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Images reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

Minsmere (RSPB) - 31 May 2008

I had an enjoyable day on the Suffolk coast despite a few early set-backs due to the weather.

After a very early start I set out from Eastbridge along the footpath to Minsmere Sluice. The weather was very foggy so I had no chance of seeing any distant birds over the reed beds, and no hunting Barn Owls.

The closer hedgerow birds were however very much in evidence. I soon managed to see or hear Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Sedge Warblers. 2 very vocal Cetti's Warblers less than 100m apart seemed to be competing against each other. Their loud songs were exploding out of the hedgerows at frequent intervals. I was able to spot one bird as it flew from 1 bush to another.

I then discovered that the path ahead of me was completely flooded and too deep to walk through. This didn't stop 2 red deer hinds who paddled through then squeezed there way under a barbed wire fence out on to the reed bed.

Disappointed, I turned back after only a very short walk and decided to try my luck at Dunwich Forest. Here in the trees the fog was not a problem. In the woods the rhododendrons were putting on a good show.






Rhododendrons

There were several Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a few Jays, Treecreepers and a couple of Blackcaps were heard singing. I managed to get a very clear few of one of the Blackcaps just as I returned to the car park. On an area of heath a Tree Pipit was singing from a lone birch tree.

The misty air produced some good spiders web in an area of newly-planted pine trees. The spiders webs were on the ground and each had a funnel in the centre.


Spider's web

It was now 8.30 and so I made my way the the RSPB reserve at Minsmere. I decided to have quick visit to the Bittern Hide before the Visitor Centre opened at 9. A Bittern was booming somewhere to the left of the hide and as usual a Cetti's Warbler was signing underneath me. A sparrowhawk perched on a dead tree took off across the reed bed.

Although no bitterns were seen during this first visit to the hide the Marsh Harriers were very active, often being mobbed by Black-Headed Gulls.




Marsh Harrier (female)

Some Bearded Tits were in the reeds in front of the hide and a Red Deer crossed a stream and walked off along the track.



Red Deer

With the fog almost gone I checked in at the centre and made my way around the Scrape. There were plenty of sand martins in the sand bank in the old car park area. A Nightingale was surprisingly sitting out in the open on a grass bank.

Little Terns were nesting in the fenced-off area on the beach. These are one of my favourite birds. I love to watch them hovering over the Scrape or at sea.


Little Tern

From the East Hide there were hundreds of Black-Headed Gulls, 3 Mediterranean Gulls (2 adults, 1 2nd Summer), lots of Common Terns, many Avocets, Lapwings and Barnacle Geese. In front of the hide were a pair of moorhens with their chicks, which stayed safely hidden in the reeds most of the time. 3 Turnstones came to Island in front of the hide




Avocet




Black-Headed Gull


Turnstones


Moorhen

Along the Beach to the Sluice were Linnets, Dunnocks, Stonechats and Meadow Pipits. Cetti's Warblers were signing in the Sluice Bushes.


Stonechat (male)


Meadow Pipit

At the Sluice, Swallows were the star attraction. These lovely birds were eager to pose for photos.






Swallow on the signpost


Swallow on the gate to the levels


Swallow inside the sluice

The path from the Sluice to the South hide was very flooded, but passable with wellies or walking boots. From here 2 Bitterns were seen flying over the reed beds behind and I also got a good view of a Cetti's warbler out in the open.


Cetti's Warbler

A Little Gull was with the Black-Headed Gulls and Common Terns on the South Scrape, along with Avocets and Oystercatchers.


Avocet

After lunch I went back to the Bittern Hide for more good views of the Marsh Harriers. Again Bitterns were booming were 2 separate locations. A Heron was in front of the hide and a Little Grebe.


Marsh Harrier (female)


Marsh Harrier (male)


Grey Heron


Little Grebe

There were plenty of Marsh Harriers at the Island Mere hide too and another view of 2 Bitterns flying together and a Hobby. Out on the water were a few Tufted Ducks and some Cormorants.


Cormorants

To round off the visit a detour from the beach to Dunwich Heath provided some good views of a number of Dartford Warblers.

There was much evidence of breeding success at Minsmere. A number of birds had chicks including Avocets, Oystercatchers, Black-Headed Gulls, Geese, Mallards, Coots and Moorhens.

Coot with chicks

Black-Headed Gull with a hungry chick


Oystercatcher (one of a pair with 2 chicks)

Maybe more Black-Headed Gulls to follow!

Warblers - Fen Drayton Lakes

A selection of warblers seen at Fen Drayton Lakes (RSPB) in Cambridgeshire on 22 May 2008.


Willow Warbler



Blackcap (Male)



Garden Warbler





Sedge Warbler



Whitethroat

Also heard (but not seen) - Chiffchaff and Cetti's Warbler. Finally a Reed Warbler was seen climbing a reed stem. A total of 8 different warblers.

Poland - May 2007

This is an account of a short birdwatching trip to Central Poland at the end of May 2007. The area visited is about 100km West of Warsaw (Warszawa), and 30km South of the nearest town, Włocławek (pronounced: vwots-warvek).

The landscape is a mixture of farmland (mainly Rye, Maize and Potatoes) and woodland (conifers and mixed). The farmland fields are generally in narrow strips with grassy borders. Many cornflowers, daisies and poppies grow at the edges of the fields and within the crops.





The house was adjacent to the village school and within the school grounds. Birds seen here were Golden Oriole (wilga), Black Redstart (kopciuszek), Red-Backed Shrike (gąsiorek), House Sparrow (wróbel) and Fieldfare (kwiczoł).

A fieldfare (kwiczoł) had a nest in an apple tree and the black redstarts (kopciuszek) were nesting in an old out-building. Nightingales (słowik rdzawy) could be heard from the garden. A short walk away, a pair of White Storks (Bocian Biały) were nesting on a platform close to some farm buildings.


Details of a day’s walk:
On leaving the school-yard the lane was a sandy track, passed a few houses and then between fields. On the track in front were a couple of Blue-Headed Wagtails (pliszka żółta). Dozens of Skylarks (skowronek) were signing from or above the Rye fields.

A single Corn Bunting (potrzeszcz) was signing from a small bush and a White Wagtail (pliszka siwa) was also seen.



A Corn bunting was seen here

As I approached the woods a Black Kite (kania czarna) and a Common Buzzard (myszołów) were seen over the treetops. There is a rubbish dump within the woods, it’s possible that the Kite had been feeding there.

In the first conifer woods Golden Orioles (wilga), Hawfinches (grubodziόb zwyczajny) and Nuthatches (kowalik) were seen. On the downside the place was swarming with mosquitoes. I wished that I had brought some Jungle Formula. I’ve never been bitten so much in all my life. The weather was hot and I was wearing shorts. Jumping around slapping my legs like an Austrian lederhosen-wearing yodeller was ideal for birdwatching, so I decided to keep to the edges of woods as much as possible. Here the mosquitoes were not so bad.

Coming out of the woods the I reached a sandy path which was bordered by farmland a few farm houses, more woodland and recently felled woodland. Here a nightingale (słowik rdzawy) was heard signing (it was still quite early on the day).

Along the track was a woodlark (kalandra szara) at the edge of a recently felled woodland. Here there was also a Great Spotted Woodpecker (dzięcioł duży). All along the track there were Red-Backed Shrikes (gąsiorek), a very common bird in this area.

After a short walk along the track I ventured into a small area of deciduous woodland where I saw a pair of Willow Tits (czarnogłówka) and a male Redstart (pleszka). On the other side of the track in some long grass I disturbed a grass snake, which quickly slid off into cover.

Over the woodland all around Common Buzzards (myszołów) were regularly seen.

The track then opened out into a clear area with farmland on both sides. The fields here were uncultivated. Several hirundines were flying around, Swallows (dymówka), House Martins (oknówka) and Sand Martins (brzegówka) were noted as well as Swifts.

On a telegraph wire there was a Tawny Pipit (świergotek polny). A Turtle Dove (turkawka) flew along the track.

2 White Storks (bocian biały) flew over and landed in a nearby field.

I then arrived at a farmhouse with a small pond opposite. In the reeds around the pond were a couple of Reed Warblers (trzcinniczek). I was alerted by an alarm call and witnessed a female Blackcap (kapturka) being chased by a Red-Backed Shrike (gąsiorek). The blackcap (kapturka) got away. In the trees around the pond were some Tree Sparrows (mazurek).

Just beyond the house was a woodland of Birch trees. Here a Tree Pipit (świergotek drzewny) was singing, and a Wood Warbler (świstunka leśna) was also seen.


Tree Pipit

Further on the track passed through coniferous woods again. A spotted flycatcher (muchołówka szara) was flying to and from its perch catching flies.

I took a path through the woods on the right-hand side of the track. The trees were not too dense and a few deciduous trees were also growing in amongst the conifers. A Greenish Warbler was feeding amongst the leaves and another male Redstart (pleszka) was seen. A buzzard (myszołów) flew silently through the conifers.

When the path came to an intersection, I noticed the buzzard (myszołów) sitting on a nest in the tree tops. When it flew off I could see at least 2 fairly large chicks. I later saw a Buzzard (myszołów) heading towards this nest carrying some food (a small rodent).

The right hand branch of the intersection soon led out to the edge of the wood. Here in the middle of a large grassy field there was a cluster of trees. A Great Grey Shrike (srokosz) was seen perched on some dead branches.

I returned back in to the wood and took the left-hand branch. This soon opened out into a small clearing. Along the edge a Tree Pipit (świergotek polny) was seen repeatedly doing its display flight, signing as it flies up into the air to return to the same perch.

Above the woods a Buzzard (myszołów) was flying over. This was then mobbed by a Goshawk (jastrząb).

I retraced my steps back to the main track and sat on the verge opposite a clearing to half some lunch (Kiełbasa sandwiches and Czarlotka). Whilst having lunch I noticed 2 Honey Buzzards (trzmielojad) over the woods in front.

I had almost finished lunch when 2 Hoopoes (Dudek) flew out of the woods behind me and across to the other side of the clearing. I quickly put the remains of my lunch away and set off in pursuit. I caught up with the Hoopoes (Dudek) and got some very good views before they continued flying off through the wood.

2 White Storks (bocian biały) flew over. On some bushes in the clearing was an Ortolan Bunting (Ortolan).

I walked around the edge of the wood until another track was reached. Here I saw another Goshawk (jastrząb) over the tops of the trees. Beyond the wood was a large uncultivated area, here Meadow Pipits (świergotek łąkowy) were seen.

As I made my way back round to the end of the track, where it became a tarmac road there was a male Hen Harrier (błotniak zbożowy) gliding over a field of rye.

Where the tarmac road re-joined the track there was a female Pied Flycatcher (muchołówka żałobna) in the hedgerow and yet another Red-Backed Shrike (gąsiorek).

On the way back, passing the farmhouse (with the pond opposite) a Hobby (kobuz) flew past. Just beyond this a pair of Golden Orioles (wilga) flew across the track into the trees at the side. Several more Buzzards (myszołów) and Red-Backed Shrikes (gąsiorek) were seen.


At the end of the track, just beyond the first coniferous woodland there was a small lake. Unfortunately there were no birds to be seen here, however as I left a Hooded Crow (wrona siwa) flew over.




The small lake