Is this really May ??.......

I had thought that May should be pleasantly warm so why was I out birding wearing three layers two of which were fleece and a pair of gloves ?
I spent the cold and blustery Saturday morning of the Bank Holiday taking part in a "Know Your Birdsong" organized walk at Pwll-Yr-Allt Nature Reserve in Talgarth led by county recorder Andy King for Brecknock Wildlife Trust and very enjoyable it was especially the bacon and sausage sandwiches at the end !!
After an afternoon in Brecon with Teresa I popped down to the lake but access everywhere was severely limited due to the unseasonal very high water level,gave up on that and went back to the caravan and watched some rugby.
An early start on Sunday morning had me heading for Cefn Cadlan hoping for some passage Dotterel,after checking the three reservoirs on the way for Osprey (no luck this time),I arrived at Cefn Cadlan to find Steve Hinton's car already parked up and just as I was about to phone Steve he,Nigel Addecot and Alun Hughes returned to tell me that there were no Dotterel to be found,saved me a walk anyway !!
The four of us made our way to Craig Cerrig Gleisiad in search of Ring Ouzel and whilst Steve and Nigel checked out the wood opposite Alun and myself had a walk up past the cliff face and managed just a brief flight view of one female,other birds of note were Whinchat,Stonechat,Willow Warbler,Tree and Meadow Pipit,Chaffinch,Raven,Common Redstart,a Red Kite hunting the distant ridge and an also distant Cuckoo calling.

The other lads headed for home and I finished off the morning with a look around Llwyn-y-celyn Wood opposite for Pied Flycatcher,Common Redstart and anything else of interest.
I quickly found two pairs of Pied Fly nest building,one pair using a nest box and another using a natural hole in a tree and managed a couple of reasonable shots despite the terrible light which resulted in me having to use a higher ISO than I would have liked.

Try as I might I couldn't find a Redstart but just as I got back to the car in the lay-by there were a pair flying around frantically with the male chasing the female,they were very skitish but I managed to get a few shots.

I popped up to Park Wood in Talgarth late afternoon hoping for Wood Warbler but once again found that they aren't in yet,they really are late this year,must be the cold,wet weather holding them back,I'll check again next week and hope that I have more luck.

"The calm before the storm......."

With Sunday forecast as a total washout with high winds I thought I'd get out on Saturday and first thing visited Park Wood in Talgarth again hoping for Wood Warbler,no such luck I'm afraid,the woods were very quiet in the blustery and cold conditions,not even last week's obliging Marsh Tit was around.
I did however come across a nice group of four Yellowhammers in bracken on the edge of the wood and managed a couple of shots.

On my way back to the caravan for a spot of lunch I called down at the lake hoping that a few passage terns may have been feeding.
The water levels were incredibly high and although there were no terns around there were hundreds,probably a 1,000+ hirundines feeding over the water.
They were mainly Swallows with some Sand Martins and fewer House Martins.
I spent an enjoyable 3/4 hour trying to photograph a few which was not easy to say the least but I managed some reasonable "record" shots ("toggers" term for photos he's not that happy with !!).

I thought I'd check out a couple of woods in the afternnon and first of all visited "Youth Hostel Wood" opposite Craig Carrig Gleissad again where my main target was Common Redstart and immediately found a distant pair on a hawthorn bush in a field on the edge of the wood,disappointingly they didn't hang around and I failed to refind them or any others in the hour or so I was there.

No sign either of last week's Pied Flycatcher.
I moved on to Llandefaelog Wood nr Cradoc which was even quieter the only birds of note being a pair of Common Buzzards and a Chiffchaff.

I thought I'd finish off the day at the lake with a walk from Llangasty to the new hide and got a very pleasant surprise when a Hobby flew from a tree near the gate entrance to the hide and hurtled past me towards Llangasty,what a sight !!
The lake was still littered with hundreds of hirundines and a few Reed Warblers sang in the reedbeds,a pair of Coot with two young swam past and on the way back to the Jeep I picked up a Goldcrest,Blackcap and Tree Pipit.
Not the best of days but at least I managed to get out which is more than I can say for today !!

Gropper.....patience required !!

Decided to make the most of a nice evening,probably the best of the week looking at the forecast,and straight after work popped up to the field behind Maesteg Cemetery which has great habitat and generally holds a few "reeling" Grasshopper Warblers.
I quickly found two birds at opposite sides of the field but getting them to show was another story,I had fleeting glimpes of both low in the vegetation and after giving up on bird two moved back to the first bird I had found.
It reeled away giving me the odd glimpse and then finally after 2hours and 10minutes with the light failing it popped up on to a bramble and I managed a few reasonable shots.
Unfortunately I had to crank up the ISO to cope with the gloom and to give me some sort of shutter speed so the resultant images are a little on the "grainy" side.
Never mind,hopefully the weather will improve and I can put in a few hours on a weekend with some nice light.

"Birdin' without bins"

My main aims for the weekend just gone were to catch up with and hopefully photograph Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher whilst up at the caravan.
The weekend got off to a great start when whilst travelling over Cefn Cadlan common on the A4059 between Penderyn and Beacons Reservoir on Friday evening a Short-eared Owl flew directly over the front of the car at about 15' giving great views,Teresa has seen so many SEO shots of mine over the winter that even she recognised it and "called" it,we'll make a birder of her yet !
Forgot to mention that whilst driving up the A465 and about 30 mins from the house I realised that I'd forgotten to bring my binoculars and as we were in Teresa's car I didn't even have the luxury of using my spare pair which I keep in my car.
The weather was reasonably kind on Saturday morning as I made my way up to Park Wood in Talgarth,despite the wood being alive with bird song Wood Warblers were conspicuous by their absence and whilst they've arrived in the UK they obviously haven't quite made it to this part of the world yet.

I picked up the call of a Marsh Tit which showed quite well and allowed me to get some shots that I was quite pleased with,the light was quite good as well which was a bonus.

Other birds seen/heard were Chiffchaff,Willow Warbler,Blackcap,Treecreeper,Common Buzzard and a pair of GS Woodpeckers.
After an afternoon in Hay on Wye with Teresa I took an evening stroll down to the lake hoping to pick up Reed Warbler in the small reedbed near the Crannog (only to save me a fair old walk !!) but to no avail,I walked back to the caravan and whilst passing the small wood near the entrance heard the call of yet another Marsh Tit which was quite obliging and allowed me to get some nice shots.

My plan for Sunday was to visit the small the small "Youth Hostel" Wood opposite Craig Cerrig Gleissad in the hope of connecting with Pied Flycatcher and as I got out of the car I heard the display song of a Tree Pipit which despite having no bins (doh !!) picked it up in the trees near the gate whre it posed nicely for a few photos just before a heavy shower set in and had me scuttling back to the car.

Whilst I sat in the car listening to "The Boss's" latest monumental offering two other soggy "toggers" came from the wood to the car parked in front of me,seems Steve Hinton and Nigel Addecot obviously had the same idea as me.
The shower passed and the three of us returned to the wood to find a single male Pied Flycatcher which we couldn't really get on to before the rain set in again and I beat another hasty retreat whilst Steve and Nigel stayed.in the hope of getting some shots.
The lads finally got back to Steve's car looking rather damp and bedraggled and didn't hang around,I decided to sit it out and after a while the rain finally ceased.
I decided to give it another go and refound the flycatcher in the same area of the wood where the three of us had seen it previously and after a while it came down lower in the canopy,I hastily rattled off some shots which given the miserable conditions turned out quite well assisted by a brief "window" of decent light.

Just as I was hoping for better and the bird was giving good views the heavens opened once again and forced me to call it a day.
Mission for next weekend.........Wood Warblers (weather permitting !!)

Spring on the River Llynfi,Maesteg

Didn't go up to the caravan last weekend so spent some time locally an hour of which was watching a family of Dippers near the Tyler's Arms at Llangynwyd with the juveniles still being fed on occasions by the parent birds.
Didn't quite get really close enough to absolutely "nail" a couple of shots but enjoyed all the same.