birding...

Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus ©Sue & Andy Tranter http://www.suesbirdphotos.co.uk/ Wales has been described as a land of peaks and plateaux dissected by river valleys to which one must quickly add and a superb coastline. Although primarily upland, some 60% lies above the 500 foot (150m) contour, Wales is also a maritime country bounded on three sides by the sea. The bird of Wales is without question the Red Kite. For many years the only ones in Great Britain were the handful clinging on, and only just, in a few remote Welsh valleys. Its fortunes monitored, and protection provided, for almost a century by a dedicated band of watchers to whom we should be eternally grateful. Their efforts have been well rewarded for now one can enjoy watching Red Kites across much of the heartland of Wales. These same inland valleys, often with superb woodlands, also have other specialities such as Redstarts, Wood Warblers, Pied Flycatchers and Ravens. On many streams and rivers Goosanders, Kingfishers, Grey Wagtails and Dippers can be seen while Little Ringed Plovers nest on some gravel banks. There are fine estuaries for wildfowl and waders, the Dee and Severn shared with England, but others wholly Welsh like the Burry Inlet, the Dyfi and the secret creeks round Milford Haven. Then the wild rocky coasts haunt of Peregrine and Chough, and headlands both north and south from which one can marvel at passage seabirds. Last but certainly not least the magical Welsh islands. Indeed you cannot really claim to know birds in Wales until you have spent at least a night on Skokholm or Skomer to see and hear the Manx Shearwaters. After all perhaps half the worlds’ population of this remarkable seabird nests on these two Pembrokeshire islands. Top Welsh Bird Watching Sites Everyone will have their own choice, but below are mine, though it has been extremely difficult to narrow it down to this list. You will find more detail on each Welsh county page. (You can, of course, always dip into a copy of Where to Watch Birds in Wales by our contributor David Saunders - Fatbirder)

top sites

Welsh Hot Spots by District

contributor

David Saunders
Author - Where to Watch Birds in Wales
(Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire)
islandnaturalist@tesco.net

numbers

Number of bird species:421
National Bird - Red Kite Milvus milvus [There is not, as far as we know, a national bird for Wales - however, great prominence has been given over many decades to the fact that the UK`s remnant population of Red Kites hung on in mid-wales long after the English and Scottish populations had been extirpated by man - surely then the Red Kite deserves to represent Wales]

useful reading

Birds in Wales 1992-2000

In Search of Birds in Mid-Wales

Where to Watch Birds in Wales

useful information

Proact

clubs

Cymdeithas Adarydda Cambria - Cambrian Ornithological Society

Cymdeithas Adaryddol Cymru - Welsh Ornithological Society

Cyngor Cefn Gwlad Cymru - Countryside Council for Wales

Welsh Kite Trust

museums

National Museum & Galleries of Wales

trip reports

Travelling Birder
http://www.travellingbirder.com
The Travellingbirder.com birding trip report search engine guides you to 7,000+ birding trip reports on the Internet. You can search for trip reports from a specific country and time of year. Not all these reports are in English. So, if you can’t find the trip report you want on this Fatbirder page… give them a try!

1998 [Summer] - Helen Baines

local guides

Birding Pal

Cambrian Bird Holidays

Celtic Bird Tours

Mid Wales Birding

Shearwater Coastal Cruises - Pelagics

Thousand Islands Expeditions

places to stay

Last Minute Wales

Welsh Cottages

artists

Artist - Jennifer Coates

Photographer - Mark Newton

Wildlife Wales