Llandegfedd Nestbox Monitoring

So this morning, Veronika Brannovic (GWT eastern valleys living landscape manager), Richard Poole (WW site manager) and myself met up on what was a rather damp trip around the North end of Llandegfedd to assess the state of the nest boxes. Having done our survey, we're going away knowing exactly what needs to be done to restore the nest boxes on site. The boxes were put up once upon a time as part of a Tree Sparrow project as Llandegfedd does have 1 nesting record of Tree Sparrows. Safe to say though that the boxes are very unlikely to get Tree Sparrows in the declining state they are in (the tree sparrows and the boxes that is) but that doesn't mean we should abandon that initial project. This work will hopefully be the first positive step between Welsh Water and GWT to create a thriving reserve for both wildlife and people.

Below is a picture taken today of what is left of our old Bird ringing hut. Something that will hopefully be the centre of conservation in Gwent again one day.  

Old ringing hut  

Old ringing hut  

Below is the biggest pile of Badger poo I've ever seen, next to the largest badger hole that I've ever seen! Lol

Badger poo  

Badger poo  

Winter Birds

Winter is pretty much here! It felt really cold on the moorland today and the birds new it! This time of year, they only have one thing on their mind and that is, food! Thankfully, that is where we can help out and providing birds with food throughout winter is sometimes the only lifeline certain species have. 

Brambling Extended

Another great session with the Brambling today! Finally got the male where I wanted him and even managed to get both male and female on same perch. Most importantly, I managed to learn quite a lot from observing them up close, not just behaviour but also sound. Also learned that nobody messes with a Goldfinch! Absolute bullies they are haha. I though the snapping sound of the bill of a Brambling was enough to scare anything off but the pure persistence and anger of a Goldfinch always seemed to come on top. 

Coastal Migration

Autumn/Winter Migration is hot topic right now in the Uk because Birds that I've already mentioned in previous blogs like Redwing, Fieldfare and Brambling have all come from up north from countries like Scandinavia. 

Birds don't always migrate across the sea though as some of our native breeding birds remain in the Uk but still move south or to the coast-line. This is called local migration and for some birds like Redpoll, local migration is really important. On our very own coastline of the Gwent Levels, you can expect to see a lot more Redpoll turning up to feed on various seeds that autumn provides in our coastal plants. Redpoll will often stick in flocks this time of year (like many other species) and throughout winter, the seeds in which they seek are often in open areas which exposes them to predators like the Sparrowhawk. 

Stonechat's are another species that end up in random places along the coast and despite some birds actually breeding along the coast line in spring, most have travelled from our uplands. 

Moving down in altitude can make all the difference to survive our cold winters. 


Car Advantage

I didn't realise just how effective having a car actually is for wildlife photography. Not just to get you to locations but you practically carry around a moving 'hide'. For whatever reason, birds don't seem to be too bothered by cars and so long as you stay inside, they don't fly away. The minute you step out the door.. they are gone! haha. Well, as you can see by all my Brambling photographs, I've been making the most of this technique and it already has brought me some really nice photographs. 

Brambling

Fair to say, I wasn't expecting this good of a result for Brambling this year! So very happy to get the opportunity. 

First Redwing, now Fieldfare and Brambling!

Autumn/Winter Migrants are flooding in at a rapid rate! So rapid that I've already photographed all 3 Birds that I intended on getting this Winter haha. Saw my first flock of Brambling today and they are such great Birds and something I will continue to look forward to seeing each winter. 

To top it off, I had such an awesome flyby from a Redkite that gave me a good look in before flying off into the Valley. 

Redwing Flocks & Red Squirrels

Short trip to the Table Top mountain up the Tranch to see if there were any Lizards in the sun but failing to find one lead me to stumble upon a huge flock of Redwing moving through while stripping the tree's of all its berries! Over 200+ birds moving through in varying sized flocks. I've actually missed Redwings! they are very pretty birds. 

Included below are some more pictures of yesterdays Red Squirrel Trip.

Red Squirrel success :D

I had such an amazing day with Mike Warbuton, Andrew Symonds and Lee Parsons today, well worth the long journey up to North Wales and despite a shadow following me around, we had a great time with a successful photography session.. JUST! It all happened within the last 30 minutes of our trip and the Dog walkers provided an extra challenge. 

Here are just a few of my faves from the trip

Red Squirrel Trip

All ready for the trip tomorrow to North Wales to see my first Red Squirrel! I'm really looking forward to it! So much so that I have to get up at 2 in the morning to get there for 7am. Luckily I worked extra last week so I can have Monday off work. This time tomorrow you should see some of my photographs. I can only hope that the weather is on our side. 

Keep an eye on this space! :D