Christmas Day, so I've heard, is a a day for self indulgance. So taking that to heart, I set of just as the first hint of daylight was playing on the night sky, to head up into the high ground for a grand day out.
Cwm Cadlan was the location for the day. Driving up through Garwnant, two Woodcock were flushed from the road side, with another close to the Cwm Cadlan reserve parking.
It was, as expected, generally quiet, on the reserve. Loads of Fieldfare in the hawthorns at the top and in the pastures further up the valley. A male Kestrel was seen several times and a female Sparrowhawk shot through. A woodcock was flushed by a sheep, and the wing and a pile of feathers of another Woodcock were free of frost, suggesting that the bird met it's demise earlier that morning. A single Snipe was flushed by something unknown - I don't think it was myself, I was some 25+ meters away.
The only other sighting of note was a couple of mushrooms grown on a near vertical boulder face.
From the reserve it was up onto Cefn Cadlan pavement for lunch. Sitting on one of the limestone slabs, I had a great panorama across the high grounds. You could just make out the crowds at the top of Pen - y Fan, yet my only company were several Ravens, Carrion Crows and a Meadow Pipit. Bliss.
I had a poke around the pavement looking at the mosses and lichens. A couple of fungi were found, a small clump of Meadow Coral, Clavulinopsis corniculata, and a couple of Scarlet Catterpillarclubs, Cordyceps militaris.
From there it was into Garwnant, to see if I could locate the Great Grey Shrike. There had been no reports so far this winter, though just how many people have been looking is probable very few. Suffice to say that there was no sign of any Shrike, but one of a pair of Willow Tit showed really well. There were lots of groups of Crossbills, with several singing males, though most birds were female/juv birds.
Cwm Cadlan was the location for the day. Driving up through Garwnant, two Woodcock were flushed from the road side, with another close to the Cwm Cadlan reserve parking.
It was, as expected, generally quiet, on the reserve. Loads of Fieldfare in the hawthorns at the top and in the pastures further up the valley. A male Kestrel was seen several times and a female Sparrowhawk shot through. A woodcock was flushed by a sheep, and the wing and a pile of feathers of another Woodcock were free of frost, suggesting that the bird met it's demise earlier that morning. A single Snipe was flushed by something unknown - I don't think it was myself, I was some 25+ meters away.
The only other sighting of note was a couple of mushrooms grown on a near vertical boulder face.
From the reserve it was up onto Cefn Cadlan pavement for lunch. Sitting on one of the limestone slabs, I had a great panorama across the high grounds. You could just make out the crowds at the top of Pen - y Fan, yet my only company were several Ravens, Carrion Crows and a Meadow Pipit. Bliss.
I had a poke around the pavement looking at the mosses and lichens. A couple of fungi were found, a small clump of Meadow Coral, Clavulinopsis corniculata, and a couple of Scarlet Catterpillarclubs, Cordyceps militaris.
From there it was into Garwnant, to see if I could locate the Great Grey Shrike. There had been no reports so far this winter, though just how many people have been looking is probable very few. Suffice to say that there was no sign of any Shrike, but one of a pair of Willow Tit showed really well. There were lots of groups of Crossbills, with several singing males, though most birds were female/juv birds.
sound like you had a great Christmas day mart
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