Garw nant

I've been laid up with the dreaded warblers neck (your fault Bevan) but hearing that a great grey shrike had been found at RGW I was determined to drag myself away from the fridge (I haven't been drinking just had my head in there) and venture out. Garw nant was very quiet, no foraging flocks except c12 long-tailed tits, everything else in single figures and then, and then! in the Sitka, bordering the north clear fell a grumpy barn owl, the day was made. I checked both clear-fell areas and the Cwm Cadlan road but no shrike. Next was the Neuadd reservoirs, again very quiet and no shrike. Called in at Rhaslas close to dusk hoping for a short-eared owl but no luck, just; wigeon[27] and tufted duck[29].

Garwnant

 

Sunday Morning I thought I would go over to Cwm Cadlan and see if there was any winter thrushes up there. It was very quiet and only birds seen were a Mistle Thrush and a female Kestrel. I thought of plan B and decided to drop down to Garwnant and have a look if the Great Grey Shrike was back but had no luck,  even the reservoir was dead with just lots of anglers. Best seen were 1 Great Crested Grebe / 1 Little Grebe /1 Tufted Duck drake, 1 Moorhen and 7 Cormorants and also had a flock of  Fieldfare over and a Red Kite.

In the North felled area I found a nice patch of Match Stick Lichen growing on a old stone wall and yes took loads of shots and think I need help as I cannot pass it with out stopping to take photos

 Also in the forest was a nice patch of Stag Horn Fungus and I found about twenty different ones

I was sitting there with a coffee and 6 Toffee Doughnuts and thinking this is the life and this Wren just popped out from the grass .

I have passed this bridge so many times and thought I would have a look. It is a smart bridge and has a small waterfall behind it and I will have too go back for a longer look.

Back Home

I got back from Peru on Sunday evening. I haven't been feeling very well since with a bad dose of flu and the trots. So I will just give a quick run down of the trip and post some more details with some photos later.

The trip involved 7 flights, long bus journeys, 3 hour boat rides, too much food ( I even refused some ), lots of sun, lots of rain in parts and more importantly plenty of birds.

I was also ill for a few days missing one day completely, one really nice man called Mike from Middlesex had to fly home before a week was out because of illness.

Birds seen by the party totalled around 582 which around 277 were lifers for me. I missed my most wanted bird the Long-Whiskered Owlet but that is one bird that is certainly not guaranteed. A few others high on my wanted list were also missed but of course others were seen which were surprises.

My favourite bird seen was my last tick of the trip Inca Tern in fact there were dozens ( And they were not in a zoo Mr Gaze ). Maranon Crescentchest, Lulu's Tody-Tyrant, Black Necked Woodpecker, White Tailed Jay, Marvellous Spatuletail, Kopecke's Screech Owl, Many Coloured Rush Tyrant, Pearl Kite, Black Collared Hawk, Black Faced Ibis were some of the other favourites.

Also some jinx birds finally fell, including two Potoo's Common and Great, Pacific Honero and for Mr Bell and Mr Hogan Doner Kebab's, to everyone else Black Capped Donacobius.

My camera also packed up after just about a week of the trip so not so many photos this time.

But I was given the photo posted below by Alejandro our guide from Mike and myself's trip to Manuas earlier in the year. Followers of this blog might notice a recurring theme here.

Yellow Browed Warbler

1 yellow Browed Warbler picked up first on sound and tracked down along the old Railway line in Robertstown and path to the old Ironworks and it was on the westside towards trecynon and railway bridge .it showed well in the tree along path and called all the time i was there and there is a old football pitch below.sadly i did not take my camera  and no photos for the blog.

Moths

I didn't venture out this weekend, apart from attending the Butterfly Conservation S. Wales branch members' day at Kenfig on Saturday. It was an all indoor event and ended late afternoon, so I didn't get the chance to venture anywhere else down there.

Running my garden moth trap for the GMS on Saturday night, I had a small, but nice catch of nine species, including these.

Autumn Green Carpet

Red-green Carpet

Spruce Carpet

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Black Rustic

A couple of weeks ago, I took a stroll along the disused railway line, at Llwydcoed. I didn't see a great deal, but did find this caterpillar of the Grey Dagger moth. The adults of Grey Dagger and Dark Dagger can only be reliably told apart by examination of genitalia, but luckily, the caterpillars are quite different from each other, so finding one, such as this is the only way of obtaining a safe field record.                                                                                                                                                   

Grey Dagger

Although common, these 'Silk Button' oak galls are always a treat to see.

Silk Button Gall

Common but I always like to see them: an Owl Midge.

Owl Midge or Moth Fly

In Search of the Mythical Ring Ouzel

 I got up early sunday morning and done my webs and it was nice too hear the Cetti warbler at Tir founder fields and  it called three times when i was there and it was a dark  morning too do the webs and just did not same like morning .Next stop up too Llyn Fawr too look for Ring Ouzel and after hearing that Mark had them around the corner at Llyn Fach last weekend and thought  maybe a good chance .Boy i was so wrong and got there to find  thick fog and  i Walk along  the  causeway road listening for any calls from the Craig above and all i could hear was raven and a Blackbird give me a bit of excitment and it was short lived when i so no white breast band  and when i got to the far end and had a coffee and waited  for a bit and i turn around too scan down the valley and spotted a flock of birds sitting in a tree and quickly got my scope on them and found out they were Fieldfare and 32 of the little beauty and on scan down the valley i spotted  too large flocks of fieldfare and there was easy 400 hundred in total and the fog was keeping them low  in the valley and my first for Autumn and was amazed by the big numbers .Well time went on and some more  fieldfare dropped in but still no Ring Ouzel .So i decide  too cut my loses and head for Dare Valley Country park and try there for a couple of hours ,Well on getting i heard Blackbirds Across the valley and picked up four birds feeding a  hawthorn and  sadley no sign of any Ouzel . So i keep heading up the valley and found a flock of Fieldfare feeding on the left and and set my scope up too check out if any  thing else was hiding in the hawthorn and if by magic a cracking Male RingOuzel jumped out and started feeding on the berries and give brilliant views as he feed and at one point he was sitting by Mistle Thrush and a Fieldfare and great too see next too each other and so made my day .In the afternoon i Nipped over Darwonno and found some FlyAgaric on the way down too the resevoir  and also a Small Flock of Crossbills and show what a great day out you can have in our valleys.

Snap

I think it Earth tongue time, as I found a load down at Whiteford on Saturday, plus a host of other fungi goodies. Birding wasn't great with 3 Crossbill's about the best of the days avian sightings.

As well as the Earth Tongues, other goodies included a pile of Collared Earthstars, and secong Earthstar spp G, rufescens (Correction - now identified as a uncollared Collared Earthstar), Verdigris Roundhead Stropharia aeruginosa, and a couple of Helvella's - Elphin Saddle, H lacunosa and White Saddle, H crispa.

                                            Collared Earthstar

                                         Earth Tongue

                                           Elphin Sadddle

                                            uncollared Collared Earthstar

                                                   Verdigris Roundhead

                                           White Saddle

and for a change, whilst coaching in Singleton Park, this little fella put in an appearance - looking for somewhere to pupate

                                          Pale Tussock