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Mires, Mudflats and Murmurations: Itinerary 12th November 2014

A day out around the Dyfi and Dysynni Estuaries looking for winter waders and wildfowl, the best of our waterfalls and maybe finishing with a murmuration of starlings around Aberystwyth Pier. We’ll walk an old Roman Road in Aberdyfi while listening out for those lost church bells of the Cantre’r Gwaelod!

Winter evening at AberDysynni towards Cadair Idris

8.00am, Ynys Hir Days are getting short by 12th November, so we’ll try and maximise our daylight hours by starting as early as you like. Sunrise is about 7.30 am, so we could meet any time from then at your b&b or at the RSPB Ynys Hir car park. We’ll aim to spend a while at Ynys Hir, looking out for the recent sightings chalked on the board as we enter the reserve. With its mix of habitats, from broadleaf woodland with its treetops hide to ponds, boardwalks and wet mires and finally a great view out over the saltings we have a great chance of a wide range of species. We might spot flocks of ever-active diminutive long tailed tits high in the trees, hear the guttural call of herons and see groups of egrets congregating on stout branches at the pond margins. On the ponds there should be shelduck and tufted duck. Raven, buzzard and probably red kites will be overhead, and out on the marsh, well who knows? Shelduck, oystercatchers. maybe widgeon, gulls, oystercatchers, possibly Greenland white-fronted geese and of course the ubiquitous Canada geese. If we’re very lucky we might even spot an otter.

Egret, grey heron and mallard on Ynys Hir pool

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10.15am, Aberdyfi After a good couple of hours at Ynys Hir, we’ll move on around the Dyfi Estuary. We’ll drive through Machynlleth, over the Afon Dyfi and along the northern side of the estuary towards Aberdyfi. It will be close to high tide, and we may see waders pushed to the very edge of the strandline to feed or roost. We’ll stop en route just to have a quick look at how busy things are along the estuary, and then continue along to Penhelig at the southern end of Aberdyfi. We’ll have a look out to sea and over to Ynys Las on the other side of the estuary, which was frequented by Brent geese earlier in the year. We might see shag, cormorant, gulls, oystercatchers, even otters. But this is a winter estuary, so who knows what might be around. We’ll go in search of the “Roman Road” and walk part way along, dependent on the tide, keeping our eyes peeled for waders and geese all the while.

Penhelig “Roman Road” Shag by the jetty in Aberdyfi

We’ll have an early picnic lunch by the shelter at the end of the Roman Road, or if the weather is too inclement, we’ll sit in warmth and splendour in the lounge of the magnificent Trefeddian Hotel and have our lunch there, looking out to sea across the golf links. 12.30pm, AberDysynni and Broadwater After lunch, we’ll drive north along the coast through Tywyn and along to the large saline lagoon, Broadwater and the AberDysynni. As it approaches the sea, the Dysynni Valley dramatically opens out into a broad, flat coastal haven and estuary which are barred by extensive sand dunes and shingle banks along the coast. Broadwater, a large saltwater lagoon, is a gem of an area for winter birdwatching – a host of ducks, geese and waders overwinter here, sometimes in large numbers. The short grazed turf also often attracts feeding chough, and is habitat for meadow pipits. There’s also a small group of mute swan here, and some of this year’s cygnets might still be with their parents. As well as its birds, Broadwater also offers stunning views over Cadair Idris and Bird Rock, Craig yr Aderyn, and, on sunny days, unbelievable reflections.

Beacon Hill and Broadwater Many teal overwinter on Broadwater

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As we walk along the banks of Broadwater, we are likely to see overwintering teal, widgeon, shelduck, Canada and other geese and many mallard as well as cormorants spreading their wings on the far side of the lagoon. We should also look out for waders, possibly ringed plovers, dunlin and redshank running around on the shore line and godwits in the shallows.

Dunlin and ringed plover on Broadwater, Tywyn

If the tide’s still low enough, we can turn around and walk under the railway bridge of the Cambrian Coast Railway, and up along the shingle banks out to the shore, alongside the Afon Dysynni as it flows into the sea. This walk is often rewarded by some excellent sightings. Maybe a peregrine very close to the path, followed by the call of a pair of chough coming over Broadwater, and alighting to feed on the short turf. When we reach the seashore, we should see cormorants and greater black backed gulls perching on the rocks just past the water’s edge, while a few curlew, good numbers of oystercatchers , black headed gulls and crows were feed along the shoreline. If we’re lucky there may even be some waders such as the tiny sanderlings feeding along the foam. It’s worth looking out to sea too – there are often Eider duck offshore in the winter, and groups of scoter can often be seen flying low over the water.

Widgeon at Broadwater Ringed Plover at AberDysynni

2.00pm Dolgoch Falls Dolgoch Falls on the route of the Talyllyn Railway area series of beautiful waterfalls and ravines. Our first impressions of Dolgoch ravine must be the magnificent viaduct of the Talyllyn Railway, soaring high above the river and the path. We walk underneath one of those inspiring arches and see the skeletal branches of the trees seeming to hang over the river. In the bare branches, it’s much easier to see the woodland birds such as blue tits, great tits and robins, with blackbirds and the retiring dunnock possibly foraging in the undergrowth. Dippers are regularly sighted in fast flowing bubbling streams such as these, and even otters, and there may be a ‘kronk kronk’ of a raven or the harsh call of a grey heron flying overhead – so we need to keep our eyes peeled. If we’re feeling energetic, we can climb to the very top of the series of falls, taking in some of the stunning views along the Abertrinant Valley towards the Dysynni – views you can only see in winter through the bare trees. But we need to make choices here – if we want to see the starlings at Aberystwyth, we only have time for a flying visit to the falls, and we’ll need to leave by soon after 2.30pm.

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Dolgoch Ravine in Winter Winter blue tit, Abergynolwyn

4.00pm A Fall of Starlings We head back towards Aberystwyth, past the lovely Talyllyn Lake and the very base of Cadair Idris, picking up your car on the way if you’ve left it near Ynys Hir. We need to arrive on the prom in Aberystwyth by 4.00pm, as sunset is at about 4.30pm, and the starlings won’t wait! We’ll wait for something to happen, doubting initially that any birds will come. Then one or two starlings appear, then a small group of 5, and they begin to congregate on nearby rooftops, suddenly lifting off and swirling in a great crowd before alighting again. Before you know it you’ll be twisting around, looking out to sea, unable to keep up with where the next group’s coming from. And if we’re very lucky, they’ll treat us to the veritable black starling fireworks, dispersed groups sweeping, then coming together in dense black clouds. They might fly right overhead, and you’ll hear the susurration of thousands of little wings above. Until finally, they come down towards the pier and disappear without visible trace into the ironwork and struts underneath. All that’s left is the deafening noise……. Incomparable and breathtaking!

We walk a little closer to the pier to get some close up views and sounds of the starlings, and start to get a fee for their comings and goings and complex social structure. Then we watch as the light disappears and the coloured lights of the sweep of the prom start to dominate. But our day’s not finished yet, we have one last treat to come.

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Aberystwyth at Night

5.00pm, Aber Arts Centre and the Winter Fair We head up Penglais Hill to the Arts Centre on the University campus, part of the heart of Aberystwyth. With its great food, exhibitions and events, there’s something for everyone there. We stop for tea and cakes and a warm-up after getting chilled on the seafront with the starlings. We might want to have a look at the Café Gallery exhibition of bird poetry by Dylan Jones, A Bird Flew By, or the ceramics gallery downstairs. But what you’ll almost certainly want to do is to spend a little while browsing – or buying! – at the fabulous Aberystwyth Winter Fair. With tiny stands and hand-made gems of food, arts, crafts and clothing from the heart of mid and west Wales, I can never leave without acquiring something new – and I don’t expect this time will be any different! I’ll leave you there and wish you a safe journey home.

Aberystwyth Winter Fair

www.welshwildlifebreaks.co.uk

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What’s included in your Wildlife Break:

Transport to and from an agreed meeting point

Picnic or bar lunch, tea and cakes at Aber Arts Centre

Hot drinks and snacks throughout the day

Guiding throughout the day

Availability of books, maps and guides

Spare binoculars are available on request in advance

Photos and a species list after your Break

What to bring and wear:

Stout waterproof walking shoes or boots

Waterproof and windproof jackets and trousers

Additional layers of clothing just in case

Warm hat and gloves, waterproof if possible

Binoculars

Camera with plenty of spare batteries and cards

Walking poles if you use them