Finches

We had a lovely day out yesterday.  Ann and I and our two Mums took the road out through Llanfair Caereinion, Mallwyd and Machynlleth to Aberystwyth, and later drove back via Llangurig, Llanidloes and Newtown.  Rather a nice round trip along open roads with mountain scenery such as only Wales can provide, with a stroll along the prom and cod and chips with a fine and sunny sea view.

On the way we also stopped at the 'Osprey Project' at Cors Dyfi.  This is the most famous component of the conservation work of the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, having features on BBC Springwatch, which I suppose makes Monty, the male who has been at Cors Dyfi for a fair few summers now, Britain's most famous osprey.  This year he has a new mate, but the late spring and a very confused start to their relationship mean that their two chicks are maybe a month behind where one might expect them to be, in terms of growth and development.  Most years that would be very bad news, but maybe this year, with our pretty good summer so far, will be an exception.

We watched the webcams of the nest, and scanned the marshes with our field glasses.  The chicks are little punks with their spikey feathers, but are growing well.  Monty brought a fish while we were watching (a pollack, I think), and his mate fed the chicks with great care, tearing off very small pieces.  We also walked along part of the boardwalk through the marshes, noting a fine stand of marsh St John's wort but not seeing the reclusive water buffalo which help graze the area.

But I think we enjoyed the hide best, not just because of the views of Monty and his family, both on screen and through our glasses, but also because of the busy feeding station just outside.  I love finches, and they were there in plenty - chaffinches and greenfinches, but also (and delightfully) the smaller and very lively siskins and redpolls.  The males are specially colourful, the male redpoll having not just a prominent red cap to his brow but also pink suffusing the brown streaks of his breast.  Male siskins are lovely birds, with a black cap and green plumage with prominent black and yellow markings.  One male had so much yellow that he really shone in the bright sunshine of the day.

These are lively and acrobatic birds, and to watch them jostling for space on the feeders was an entertainment in itself.  For this stage in the season they were all in fine condition, which is I suppose a tribute both to the excellent weather and the excellent feeding they get from the Trust!  In our garden, these small finches are winter birds, not seen at this time of the year (we have to make do with chaffinches, greenfinches and bullfinches, not that that's much hardship!), so it was good to see them on a bright summer's day.