Llandegla Forest (part 1)

At the end of April I booked a day off work with the intention of visiting Bempton Cliffs RSPB in Yorkshire. Unfortunately I was a bit unwell in the morning so I didn't fancy the long drive from the Wirral, but I didn't want to waste my day and decided to go for a walk around Llandegla Forest in North Wales.
Coed Llandegla is a commercial forest that opened to the public in 2005 as a mountain biking venue. But alongside the great biking trails are some fantastic wildlife habitats, indeed 50% of the Welsh Black Grouse population can be found within one mile of the forest, and in the summer the clearfell areas are home to Nightjars. Jane and I were too late in the day to witness the lekking of the grouse but we were happy to stroll around the forest in search of other wildlife.
Warblers were much in evidence as we wandered the trails through the conifers. The cascading song of the Willow Warbler is definitely one of my favourite sounds of Spring and they were probably the commonest songster on our walk.

 

 

We walked to the hide that overlooks the moorland where the Black Grouse lek in the early morning knowing we wouldn't see any but Ravens and Buzzards provided some consolation. It was quite a warm day and the willow flowers were a welcome source of nectar for foraging bees.

 

 



 Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes added to the mid-morning chorus, and the twittering calls of Siskin and Redpoll reminded us that the forest is a great habitat for these species.
A very obliging Wren perched and sang on some conifer logs and provided me with some memorable images.

Walking up a broad forest track near an area of clearfell we saw a largish brown bird disappearing behind a stand of conifers. "Cuckoo" we both said, more in hope than anything else. We quickly walked to the other side of the conifers only to find that our 'Cuckoo' was in fact a Mistle Thrush! It was a lovely bird but Llandegla is one of our favourite sites for Cuckoo, but maybe we were too early in the season for this African migrant.
We picnicked on a seat that overlooks Moel Famau, the highest hill in the Clwydian range. The hill is crowned with a tower which was built to commemorate the golden jubilee of George III in 1810. The tower gives the hill a unique profile that makes it easily recognised from some distance.
I shared my lunch with an unusually shy Robin and then we set off back to the visitor centre. As we neared the carpark I thought I heard the call of a Crossbill as two finch-sized birds disappeared over the forest canopy. I could not be sure though, so it didn't make it on to the day list. Crossbills used to be a guaranteed sighting a Llandegla, to the point that one area of the forest was nicknamed "Crossbill Corner". But after a cold winter a couple of years ago they have become more infrequent. They are a mobile species anyway so an irruption might boost the numbers here in the future.



Marsh Tits at Leighton Moss

Last week my friend Jane and I visited Sizergh Castle in Cumbria in the hope of seeing Hawfinches. We pulled into the car park in bright sunshine but it soon started to snow. A thorough search of the area failed to produce our quarry so we went for a short walk in the surrounding countryside; the coldness of the weather did not diminish our appreciation of this beautiful part of the country. After photographing common birds such as Robin, Wren and Blackbird, we returned to the car park but there was still no sign of the target birds. We decided to head south so we could lunch a Leighton Moss RSPB.
Passing through Milnthorpe the clouds unleashed a veritable snow blizzard of Dickensian proportions. It was almost a total whiteout! We drove on to Leighton Moss where we enjoyed a picnic in Lilian's Hide. I prefer to eat outside to maximise the wildlife viewing opportunities.
But to say the weather was changeable was grossly understating the situation. In the film version of H.G. Wells' classic novel The Time Machine, the time traveller views the passing days as a strobe of night and day; similarly the weather that day fluctuated rapidly between bouts of sunshine and mini snowstorms driven in by a bitter Easterly wind.
Undeterred by the elements we enjoyed a great day's birdwatching. One of the highlights for me was the newly built shelter by the bird feeders where we enjoyed great views of common woodland birds and scarcer birds including one of my favourites the subtly beautiful Marsh Tit. We rounded the day off with a very welcome curry in nearby Carnforth.

 

Robins and Wren photographed at Sizergh Castle.

Marsh Tits.

Common Snipe.

Immature Mute Swan in snowstorm.

Male Wigeon.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker.

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Leighton Moss

Burton and Blackpool

After an easy 12 mile run yesterday, I went down to Parkgate where the immature Spoonbill was showing quite well but a bit distant for decent photographs. So I headed to Burton Mere Wetlands where the White-fronted geese where hiding behind some distant vegetation and there was no sign of any Bewick's Swans. So I set my camera up near the feeding station and took some shots of woodland birds. Also saw my first Spotted Redshank for the year.
Drove to Blackpool today to take part in the Great North West half marathon. Wasn't too sure I'd be able to run after aggravating a muscle pull at circuit training last Monday. But I shouldn't have worried as I managed to complete the course in 1 hour 21 minutes. That's my second personal best in two weeks. Rewarded myself with a few beers while watching the football this evening.

The lichen on the branch nicely highlights the yellow of this

Blue Tit.

There was lots of activity among the

Chaffinches. This male is not quite in

breeding plumage yet, but they are already

starting to sing.

I don't normally photograph birds on

feeders but I couldn't resist a shot of this

Long-tailed Tit.

One of our commonest breeding birds, the Wren behaves more

like a small mammal than a bird.