Every day since the 24th November 2010 when I was treated to a spectacular kingfisher sunset I've longed to see the kingfisher on the stretch of the Severn that runs through Dolerw Park in Newtown. But the big freeze lasted and lasted and the new path on the other bank got busier and I thought all the kingfishers dead or settled into new territories. This morning, a patch of red caught my eye. At first I thought it was a robin on the riverside mud having a drink, but my gaze triggered flight and turquoise ignition. The river is so low that it's showing its soft gums and sharp knuckles.

Last week I had some exciting sightings just metres from the Powys border in Shropshire - a glossy male ring ouzel with a perfect white crescent bib perched on a stile close to the foot of Corndon Hill, and, about 10.30 pm on 14th April, I think I glimpsed courting nightjars near Bishop's Castle and again, virtually on Offa's Dyke, near Mellington.

My friend's car has a huge sunroof. I saw a pale flick, a float and a bank, then another bird with nuthatch coloured underparts and upheld wings. Though the image was brief, I knew that they didn't have the density or composure of owls. WhenI saw a similar pair a couple of miles on I was reminded of the agility of hawks. There are several small woods along the B4385 and the land rises south of this to the Kerry Ridgeway in a series of quite secret brackeny cwms. At certain points on the Ridgeway I've often remarked that these cwms look like something from Thomas Hardy's Dorset. I wonder if anyone else thinks it likely that these were nightjars?

Ticks – just hitching a ride

I’ve plucked many a tick from our dogs and an occasional one from myself or a member of the family. Always trying to get the whole thing out but never quite realising the significance until I spoke with a couple of people touched by Lyme disease.

The symptoms described are dreadful and the consequences far reaching. One person has been unable to work for the past 6 years, another is recovering but knows there is a chance of recurrence. It’s one of those fairly new diseases about which we know very little for definite.  

Why is it called Lyme? After the town in Connecticut where an unusual cluster of arthritis cases was brought to the world’s attention in the 1970s and a few years later the cause was connected with the tick. I bet that discovery has done wonders for the local tourism industry!

From what I understand the ticks lurk around at the top of grasses and other plants waiting for a passing host to snag into. Once on board they climb up to a suitable position then dig in, typically into the nape of a dog’s neck, but anywhere will do.

When digging in, the ticks inject an antiseptic to numb the area and disguise the invasion. Then they gorge themselves for maybe 10 days until the pin-prick sized beast is as big as a grape and drops off. After days of feeding off their larder of blood they’re ready for more, climb up onto the plants and wait for another unsuspecting host; maybe a rabbit, badger or polecat. A rich cocktail of bloods.

The other day, after removing several bloated ticks off Molly, our collie kelpie cross, we had applied the ‘frontline’ tick deterrent. Instead of burrowing in, there were four of them walking around the top of her white fur seeking more tasty skin. Inside the house or car this is a time when humans look particularly appetising to a hungry tick. I carefully plucked the ticks off onto the kitchen table to photograph them – the rest of the family was none too pleased.

Tick Bite Prevention Week begins Monday 11^th April and there’s lots of information on their website at http://www.tickbitepreventionweek.org/

For practical advice on tools to remove them, see this short film from someone living in Snowdonia.

Pied Flycatcher/Invisible Birds

Pied Flycatcher: I help to look after 99 nestboxes in Coedydd Aber National Nature Reserve near Bangor. These are used by about 25 pairs of Pied Flycatchers and assorted tits (Great and Blue, mainly). A keen group of students do the leg-work checking the boxes during the breeding season, but I do have to visit before April to check the boxes, repair and replace as necessary. I was up there last Tuesday (29th) replacing a box high up in the oakwood above the carpark, and heard what sounded like a Pied Fly singing rather quietly. Then I saw it - my first ever March record! First eggs are not laid until the end of April, and it will have to wait some time for a lady friend to turn up. Invisible birds: I've written an article about birds which are difficult to find, it's in the latest Natur Cymru. Naturally I was hoping for some response, and was delighted yesterday to get an email from Jim Marshall who lives beside the railway bridge at Dyfi Junction, a few miles down the river from Machynlleth. Jim has sent me a great list of birds he and Sally have seen at their feeding station this winter, including up to 9 Yellowhammers, a Black Redstart and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (male and female). Jim's Lesser Spot W'peckers are the first records for the BTO Winter Atlas for SN69, the 10km square he lives in!

Springwatch in the Vale of Ffestiniog

Sunday 6^th March. In the foothills of Moelwyn Bach, on a sunny afternoon, my son was enjoying splashing through puddles on his bike when something caught his eye! A lively adder, woken from its siesta, wriggled away with ‘wheelspin’ as it struggled to find purchase on the long grass. Spring – watch out!

4 legs good, 2 legs better

The wild goats in Maentwrog nature reserve (Forest of the Wolves) have been enjoying the removal of the double height fence. This has provided an abundance of previously untouchable winter food. After a couple of months of feasting, the brambles are looking in a sorry state and ivy leaves can only be seen above the five foot mark.  Maybe this was how the giraffe started off.

Birds from a hide, and help us track down Ravens!

Recently I spent some hours in a hide at Aberogwen (The Spinnies), the North Wales Wildlife Trust reserve just across the Ogwen from Penrhyn Park near Bangor. Trust members man the hide once a month over high tide, to chat to visitors and help them identify birds on the reserve and out on the estuary.
We had 49 visitors while we were there, from as far away as Hertfordshire, Oxford area and Chester, also many locals including the family from the farm across the road! Everyone hoped to see a kingfisher, but it didn’t show up. Maybe the very cold weather in December and January did for it. Luckily other key birds like water rail and greenshank did appear, along with bullfinches (2 pairs), mergansers, goldeneye ducks (30 of these) and other usual denizens (39 species in all). Our key volunteer Richard provides all the bird feeders and fills them up ready for the weekend. We all enjoyed very close views of birds on the feeders, including a great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, long-tailed tits and six greenfinches. A handsome squirrel didn’t cause too much trouble.
Our next hide session at Aberogwen is on March 5th, 11am – 3pm.

Fieldwork for the BTO Winter Atlas 2007-11 finishes at the end of this month, and the final period for the Breeding Atlas starts in April. So we have March off! However mid-March onwards is an excellent time for spotting raven nests, because this species is a very early breeder. We’d love to hear about occupied raven nests in North Wales, with date and locality (grid reference if possible). You could ring through the details on 01248 681936 (please leave your name and phone number), or email the Natur Cymru office and ask Mandy to forward on to me. Many thanks.

Prequel to Natur Cymru

The first edition of Natur Cymru was published in summer 2001 but the tradition of in-depth nature writing goes back to spring 1955. Our predecessor, titled Nature in Wales, was published in an unbroken run for 32 years until 1987.

This is an invaluable resource for anyone seriously studying changes, patterns and trends in the natural world. Copies of the journals are held in libraries and amongst private collections but as of a couple of days ago the whole series is available on line. A big thanks to the National Library of Wales with funding from the JISC Digitisation Programme.

If you’d like to see the collection it’s just a matter of clicking here.

Naturally I went to the first journal and scanned the list of contents with articles by heavyweights such as R M Lockley and Bill Condry.  But of course you don’t need to plough through all 83 volumes. Just type in a search word and you will find pointers to the articles in which it appears. Progress can indeed be a good thing.