Last weekend’s birding trip - a long weekend in mid Wales with friends from the Bedford RSPB Local Group - included a couple of what I can only describe as ‘Tolkien’ moments. On Friday afternoon as we sat in the hide at Gigrin Farm, Powys waiting for the Red Kite feeding session to begin there was almost an air of menace as birds started to gather in trees around the feeding area, anticipating the gory banquet they were soon to take part in.
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| Red Kite |
The Ravens in particular wouldn’t have looked out of place in any supernatural tale – dark forms against a background of knarled, misshapen branches…
As soon as the meat had been spread over the ground a free-for-all ensued that was mesmerizing to watch. By this time the sky was full of Kites; they preferred to use their aerial skills to get the food – swooping down one after the other and grabbing chunks to fly away with. By contrast the Buzzards and Corvids landed on the grass to eat…
… or stuffed as much as they could in their beaks before flying off somewhere to feast undisturbed.
The drama was non-stop and there was so much going on you hardly knew where to look for fear of missing something good – an unforgettable afternoon and definitely a wildlife spectacle not to be missed.
On Saturday a walk round RSPB Ynys-hir reserve and a cliff walk at Clarach Bay made a very pleasant day, but on Sunday morning we were back in Lord of the Rings terrain - RSPB Gwenffrwd-Dinas reserve. The path round this reserve crosses the steep slopes of a deep river valley. It was narrow and winding and as we made our way up and down through the boulders I was reminded of Frodo and his companions trying to cross the Misty Mountains – a band of intrepid heroes with tall, bearded Gandalf leading the way [oh yes, we even had our own Gandalf].
Even though it was hard going at times and quite treacherous in places it has to be said that no-one complained (although at one point I did hear a faint, anguished cry of ‘Is there a pub up here’).
Thinking that the others might be cheered by my comparison of our situation to that of the brave Middle-earth characters, I mentioned it to Paul who was next to me. His response - an indignant ‘Are you suggesting I’ve got short legs and hairy feet?’ - was not the reaction I’d hoped for. Hastily changing the subject, I decided to concentrate instead on watching out for any marauding Orcs – but thankfully they must have decided to take the day off, as none were seen. We did, however, get enchanting views of this little water sprite...
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| Dipper |
After lunch we set off on the journey back home to The [Bedford] Shire, happy with the weekend’s birding and looking forward to our summer adventure in the wilderness of Northumberland. Who knows what wondrous creatures we’ll find there…
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