The Young Birder

I was recently in Radnorshire, Powys, hoping to catch a glimpse of some spring migrants.  Radnorshire has some beautiful and amazing habitats - from ancient woodland, moorland, rivers, heathland, meadows and  also Celtic  rainforest; s o rare, it is considered to be even more threatened than tropical rainforest. My first location was the Elan Valley Celtic Rainforest which supports over 200 species of lichen and plant species and also a wide variety of birds. One of these birds is the beautiful Pied Flycatcher( Ficedula hypoleuca )   which nest in the large number of nest box's that the Elan Valley Trust provide for them. Walking up the steep wooded sloops of the valley I heard the calls of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, 2 other spring migrants who arrived earlier this month. After walking for only a few minutes I saw my first ever Pied Flycatcher flitting around in a low shrub. I was so pleased when I saw there were also 2 more darting in and out of the tree canopy....

I was recently staying at the Youth Hostel in Conwy, North Wales, the weather was on our side with bright sun and temperatures reaching 15c. Above is my favourite photo from the trip - a male Linnet in the sand dunes on RSPB Point of Ayr, Dee Estuary.  RSPB Point of Ayr is a fantastic nature reserve with sand dunes, beach, saltmarsh and reedbed.  There were many Meadow Pipits  ( Anthus pratensis )  flitting about in the dunes singing as they flew; this one perched really close by on a Evening Primrose stem. Distinguishing Meadow Pipits and Skylarks  ( Alauda arvensis ) can be quite tricky  though there are some ways you can tell them apart, the most reliable way is the size; Meadow Pipits  are quite a bit smaller than Skylarks which are taller and have a longer body.  Skylarks have a crest (which is sometimes not visible) and although plumage is quite similar they are  usually lighter. Here's a Skylark for comparison and you can see it h...