West Wales Wildlife

West Wales is tops for wildlife!  (Please note this site is under construction!) 

Having lived in West Wales for over 30 years it seems that almost anywhere here is good for wildlife. You can’t go far without seeing the magnificent red kites and buzzards, for example. As a lifelong birdwatchers it seems to me to be a birdwatchers paradise! But that’s only the start, as there’s plenty of other interesting and beautiful wildlife in great diversity. Flowers and fungi, birds, bats and badgers, marine life, amphibians, reptiles and more. West Wales is so full of nature reserves and other lovely wildlife sites that it’s impossible to describe them all. Below are a few of my favourite highlights (which largely reflects where I’ve been personally).

• The Dyfi Osprey Project and Ynyshir Bird Reserve (RSPB) are in the North of Ceredigion, not far from one another. It’s worth a day just to visit these two places alone. 

The Dyfi Osprey Project at Cors Dyfi Reserve near Machynlleth is one of the best places to see ospreys in the UK. Watching the ospreys is also one of my sons favourite nature experiences, since he was very young. These majestic birds were hunted to extinction about a century ago but are now making a recovery. Nesting regularly occurs in this part of West Wales.

The RSPB bird reserve has a variety of birds all year around and at one time I regularly went there once a week without ever getting bored with it. Seeing kingfishers fishing (at the kingfisher hide!) is one of my own favorite highlights. I’ve also seen white-fronted geese and a few snow geese (in winter), shoveler ducks, redshanks, peregrine falcons, wheatears, pied flycatchers, wood warblers and redstarts, to name but a few. It’s worth walking around the whole reserve trail and stopping at each hide. 

If you are bird-watching in Ceredigion it is worth looking at this Ceredigion Birds blog site to see who is seeing which birds now, and where.

• Not too far away from Ynys Hir Reserve is also Dyfi National Nature Reserve, consisting of Borth Bog (Cors Fochno) and Ynyslas Dunes. The whole area has interesting wildlife, including plants such as the early marsh and other orchids, insects like the rare rosy marsh moth and reptiles such as adders and sand lizards. The local bird life is excellent, including stonechats, linnets , skylarks and shelducks. 
  On the sea between Ynyslas and Borth look out for a red-throated diver hunting, and for cormorants. Look out for terns, I’ve even seen them nesting on Ynyslas beach. There are sandwich terns, sometimes Arctic terns and little terns and more rarely roseate terns and black terns. I’ve also seen snow buntings in Borth in winter. Ynyslas beach has many interesting shells, which is lovely for children. The connecting beach of Borth is famous for it’s 5,000-year-old fossilised forest tree stumps, which are sometimes visible at low tide.

• The starling roost beneath Aberystwyth pier is a great site in Autumn and Winter. Just before dusk clouds of starlings gather in the sky in a great murmuration. The famous site has been on TV and many people travel to see it each year. Visit this page for information about the mumuration. There is also an impressive starling roost in the Preseli Mountains of Pembrokeshire.
  

• Red kites gather for feeding every day at Bwlch Nant Yr Arian, in Ceredigion. It’s also worth looking at the bird feeders, where I’ve seen crossbills, as well as a variety of other birds. Be sure to also visit some of the other attractions while you’re in this area, such as the Rheidol Valley and Devil’s Bridge. 
• Whooper swans (and sometimes a Bewick) can often be seen at Llyn Yr Oerfa, near Ystumtuen (a 5 minute drive from Bwlch Nant Yr Arian), in winter. Tufted ducks may be there too, while a range of birds of prey inhabit the surrounding hills all year round. Mountain hares also live in these hills and are especially visible in spring (“mad March hares”). Other birds you might see include stonechats, yellowhammers and goldcrests. The lake is only a few minutes from Nant Yr Arian, and also not far from Devil’s Bridge and the Rheidol Valley, which are all worth visiting. 
• Dippers can be seen at various (and clean) rivers in West Wales. They feed on aquatic insects, such as caddis fly larvae, while actually walking on the river bed. Some dippers in Wales have also been catching fish, which is pretty unusual. The River Teifi, on the northern border of Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion is a good river for dippers, but also keep an eye out for grey wagtails, kingfishers and even otters. A good place is on the Ceredigion (northern) side of the river at Cenarth (SN269 416). I’ve also seen dippers in the river at Newcastle Emlyn. 
  

• Grey seal pups can be seen at Cwmtydu Beach in autumn (sometimes called “Seal Beach”). You may see pups alone on the beach, but don’t panic as the mother is probably out at sea, and will be back to bring food soon. Do not disturb them, good views can be had from the prom, without going onto the beach. If you have dogs  make sure that these don’t approach or worry the seals. 
  

Cwytydu is in a deep wooded valley, with walks in the woods. The river goes down to the beach, where it is a popular place for children to play.  The coastal path trail leads to high pastures above, where you might spot wild ponies. There’s also an excellent café  which has a well visited bird feeder, if you fancy some easy bird spotting over lunch!

• Marloes Sands (in West Pembrokeshire) is another place where grey seal pups are born. More than a hundred pups are born each autumn and can be seen from the Deer Park’s clifftop. There are also choughs on the cliff tops, as there are at various places along the coastal paths of West Wales: I’ve seen them as far North as between Clarach and Aberystwyth. 
  

Marloes Mere is a good place for watching waterfowl, waders and birds of prey. Listen for the croak of ravens and watch out for puffins too. The area is a birdwatchers paradise.

• Dolphins can be seen in Cardigan Bay, sometimes from the shore, but it’s best to go on a boat trip, from Cardigan or anywhere South of there. I’ve also seen porpoises, and even seen them in very close to the beach, at Aberystwyth, though this was a lucky occurrence rather than a regular one.

• Cardigan Island is in south of Cardigan Bay, about 250m off the shore of Cardigan and only a couple of miles from Pembrokeshire. There’s an island nature reserve where you can see  bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic grey seals and their pups, harbour porpoises, nesting sea-birds, choughs and skylarks. There is also has a flock of wild Soay sheep, originally from the isle of Soay, south of Skye (Scotland).

As Cardigan Island has thousands of nesting sea-birds access is restricted. There is however Cardigan Island Coastal Farm Park where you can see wildlife and also enjoy the other attractions and events that are there.

• Pembrokshire has several wildlife islands. Skomer is the biggest of them, at around 730 acres. There are boat trips to and around the islands.

Skomer Island is less than a mile off the coast and is owned by Natural Resources Wales. It is managed by The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.  In spring the island’s carpet of bluebells and pink campion is a magnificent site. 

Skomer, along with neighboring Skokholm Island, are famous for having the largest breeding puffin colony in Southern Britain.

Skomer has the biggest and most important breeding colony of Manx shearwaters in the whole world. This fish eating bird is black above and white underneath, with long straight narrow wings. It flies with rapid stiff-winged beats and long glides, sometimes banking or ‘shearing’. 

Like the puffins, the shearwaters nest in burrows in the ground. On Skomer and Skokholm the shearwaters are safe from rats and other ground predators. In July the birds migrate in to their wintering grounds on the coast of South America. They return in late February and March.

Other sea-birds to see are razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars, gannets and lesser and greater black-backed hulls. Cormorants and shags can be seen on rocks, drying out their wings in between fishing trips. There are also birds of prey, including peregrines and short-eared owls. 

Skomer is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and is also a Marine Nature Reserve. As well as Atlantic grey seals there are porpoises, dolphins and even whales.

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