HomeRoomsTariffsBookingNews & OffersDirectionsGardensGalleryLocal AttractionsGuestbook

BRYNARTH 31ST MAY--3RD JUNE 2008

Arrived on a beautiful sunny evening for our four night stay to be warmly greeted
by Cathy and Ian. Coffee was served outside as a red kite soared overhead – the perfect start. The mature garden, set in 8 acres of meadows and woodland features a small pond, sheltered by shrubs and trees, with adjacent, well stocked feeders. Here we watched a constant succession of tits – blue, great and coal, plus nuthatches which were nesting in a box in the garden. Chaffinches and a pair of pheasants cleared up any food under the feeders. Other regular visitors included jay, great spotted woodpecker, dunnock, robin, blackbird, collared dove and house sparrow. After a splendid dinner, we walked up the lane to Cors Ian, a small valley mire reserve, overlooked by a dry slope featuring western gorse. At the reserve entrance, by the disused caravan, a pair of pied flycatchers were using a nestbox. The reserve itself added cuckoo, willow warbler, raven, meadow pipit, and fox! We understand that the barn owl box is active.

The following morning before breakfast, a stunning male bullfinch appeared on the lawn, nibbling the seedheads of daisy and clover. We saw him on several occasions later in the trip. We spent the morning at Cors Caron (Tregaron Bog), walking the old railway line track. From here, there are good views over the bog. A good variety of singing birds were enjoyed, notably whinchat, garden warbler, willow warbler, whitethroat, sedge warbler and redpoll. A pair of lapwings were seeing off a crow, and stonechats were feeding young. Additional species included :- magpie, skylark, meadow pipit, reed bunting, chaffinch, goldfinch, blackcap, wren, dunnock, robin, jackdaw, raven, buzzard, red kite, jay, mallard, mute swan, cuckoo, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, woodpigeon, blackbird, song thrush, house sparrow, treecreeper, swallow, house martin, pied wagtail, swift, plus a Wall butterfly, and Latticed Heath moths.

We then drove to the coast to one of our favourite locations – Llangranog, adding sparrowhawk en route. Here, despite intermittent sea mist, the coastal path up to the headland at Ynys Lochtyn featured yet more willow warblers, a whitethroat, linnets, stonechats, meadow and rock pipits, wheatears (2 pairs nesting in a dry stone wall), and our main target species – chough. 4 birds were present and seen at close range in perfect light. The cliffs here held 4 fulmar nests amongst the many of herring gull, whilst on the sea were guillemot, razorbill, and singleton cormorant and kittiwake. A short seawatch produced distant gannets and a remarkable passage of manx shearwaters- approximately 400 in 10 minutes, all fluttering gently over the flat calm surface. Returning to the garden, a post dinner period added blackcap, garden warbler, spotted flycatcher and willow warbler to their already extensive list.

The next day saw us spending a six hour visit to our favourite RSPB reserve in Wales – Ynys Hir. Additional species to those already recorded were – siskin, chiffchaff, grasshopper warbler (heard, but not seen), reed warbler, redstart, sand martin, goldcrest, black headed gull, greylag, shelduck, little egret, grey heron, moorhen, coot, redshank, common sandpiper, oystercatcher, red breasted merganser. In all 61 species were recorded, before the sultry conditions brought on a thunderstorm at 5pm.

With the overnight rain clearing by 10am, producing a fresh sunny day, we decided to take up Ian's suggestion and take the local road to Swyddffynnon, over Lledrod Common. Here we enjoyed close encounters with red kites and displaying curlews.

Returning north to the crossing of the Ystwyth at Trawsgoed, we walked the Forest Enterprise path at Black Covert, hoping for dipper. We were unsuccessful ,but added our first rooks of the trip, and enjoyed excellent views of spotted flycatcher and grey wagtail. After lunch it was on to Ynyslas Dunes, north of Borth, where 20 dunlin overflew, and breeding ringed plover were seen. Manx shearwaters, this time actually shearing in the rougher water, were passing close to the dunes. In the dune slacks, 2 species of uncommon orchids were in flower. The “crushed raspberry” colour of Early Marsh coccinea, contrasted with the paler pink of Northern Marsh majaliformis. Both were delightful. We stopped off briefly at Clarach Bay on our way back and were fortunate enough to see a pair of chough, and finally picked up dipper on an equally brief stop again at Trawsgoed. A treecreeper was singing in the grounds of Brynarth as we arrived, to round off a splendid trip, where 88 species were recorded.

Steve & Liz Oakes, Wiltshire.