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   • Click here for the list of birds spotted at Brynarth


Twelve fortunate birders met at 10 am on Friday morning. A pleasant cross-country drive in happy anticipation of sightings of Red Kite brought us to a scenic viewpoint on the edge of a forestry plantation below Craig Wen on the little mountain road between Farmers and Llanddewi Brefi where we ate our lunch.

Just along the road a further stop was made where a pair of Crossbills sat in a small bare tree beside the road obligingly waiting for everyone to have a good view - a 'lifer' for a quarter of the party. At Pont Einon at the south end of Tregaron Bog there was a mass display by around sixty Red Kite, together with sightings of Rooks, Raven, Goosander, and Great Black- backed Gull. Further on at Pen Dinas, just south of Aberystwyth, we had a short walk along the shore where we spotted Red Throated Diver, five Song Thrushes, Buzzard, Cormorant, Shag, Stonechat, and Reed Bunting. The last stop of the day was in Aberystwyth itself. There was no sighting of the Black Redstart reputed to hang around the Castle but there was a Purple Sandpiper ('lifer' for one member), Ringed Plover, Oyster Catcher, Pied Wagtail and, finally, the highlight of the evening: 15,000 Starlings coming in to roost on, under and alongside the pier – each new wave of arrivals seeking spaces to drop into, jostling those already in place on every horizontal structure or dropping down to cling somewhat awkwardly to the vertical railings.

And so to Brynarth Country Guest House south-east of Aberystwyth for good food, friendly and helpful hosts and comfortable rooms Pre-breakfast walks could be taken around the house, through woodland, along the valley or into a little Nature Reserve just five minutes walk up the road (I heard three Great Spot Woodpeckers drumming here all together). But you did not even have to go out to enjoy early morning birdwatching as the bird feeders in the garden were well stocked and popular and could be viewed from the dining room over breakfast – the Nuthatch was a particular favourite. Our leader spotted a Brambling in one of the trees here. And since the garden had become a refuge for two cock Pheasants from the nearby shooting estate, this was another bird we could add to our list without stirring.

Saturday morning was spent walking along the old railway line of the Tregaron Bog (Cors Caron) Nature Reserve to look for, among other birds, Willow Tit. Success – not one but two, and close enough to give everyone a fine view (another 'lifer' for several in the party). We also spotted Goldcrest, five Buzzards, Dunnock, Long-tailed Tits, Canada Geese, Grey Heron, Reed Buntings, Wren, Rook, several Snipe out in the open, Heron, Mallard, Grey Wagtail, Red Kite, and Fieldfare. At Clarach Bay, to the north of Aberystwyth, we lunched on the beach before taking a lovely cliff top walk looking for elusive Chough but finding Oystercatcher, Curlew, Raven, Red Kite, Goosander, and several Grey Seal. Further north at Borth there were Great Crested Grebe and eleven Common Scoters. A brief stop beside Cwm Rheidol Reservoir added Goldeneye to our list, and beyond, even our leader had a kind of 'first' for here Robin saw, sitting atop a post, the palest Buzzard he had ever seen. A final stop at the bridge to look for Dippers produced Grey Wagtail. This day we were particularly grateful to be accompanied by a fungi enthusiast who could identify all we saw and demonstrate the reason for the naming of Blushing Bracket.

On Sunday morning we went to Ynys-hir RSPB Reserve on the Dyfi estuary where we saw Song Thrush, Tree Creeper, Little Egret, Curlew, Teal, Shelduck, Widgeon, Little Grebe, Siskin, ten Snipe, Redshank, Pochard, a small group of Dunlin on the grass among a flock of Lapwings, Redshank, and one fortunate member spotted a Green Sandpiper. But, surprisingly, there were no White-fronted Geese and still no sighting of a Harrier. We lunched at the picnic tables beside the Visitor Centre enjoying all the small birds at the feeders, Siskin in the trees beside us, and distant views of Buzzard and Sparrow Hawk. The journey home was via the Plynlimon mountain road and Devil's Bridge to the Elan valley reservoirs. It was a beautiful drive with one lovely view following another. There were Goldeneye on Nant-y-moch reservoir and then the day made up for the lack of raptors seen so far. A female Merlin sat on a telegraph pole beside the road long enough for everyone to have a wonderful view. We then stopped at Cwmystwyth, a noted site for Peregrines. No sooner had we emerged from the minibus than we heard them calling and had great views of both male and female - perched, flying and courting! And then a Kestrel obliging posed on a post beside the road before flying away. Just outside Rhayader we stopped beside the River Elan for a final Dipper search, a bird which had been eluding us all weekend – success at last, making a total for the trip of 83. Not a particularly high number but more than compensated for by the quality of the sightings