Cold weather arrivals with the thaw at Dowlais

 



As I had hoped the sudden rise in temperature in this part of the world produced an increase in birds to Dowlais scrape and the adjacent shoreline.


The first picture shows some of the variety that was on show with Black-headed Gulls, Shelduck, Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin and even a Teal here today.


A 30 minute search also turned up both Grey and Golden Plovers, albeit just one of each

Grey Plover


Golden Plover




In addition the regular 35 Lapwing suddenly became 163



Dunlin numbers increased, especially close inshore during the high tides



and sometimes produced a blur of movement



Of course its difficult to pick out any oddities among the throngs but this Knot showed up today, first on the scrape and then by the shore




The following day I even caught up with the Spotted Redshank that had been reported by others. (Seen here on the left of the picture)






For me, one of the exciting developments has been the increase in birders of all abilities that I bump into down there. Its especially satisfied to be asked about the birds by people who are just developing their interest, often due to the need to see new areas during lockdown, within walking distance.

Every extra person who notices the birds will help preserve the area against the inevitable seeming pressures of development that will surely come. We need our green spaces in Clevedon and this one is special for many reasons. One of these is the "Edge Effect". I mean the fact that your eye can stare across the estuary and not be hemmed in. |This was a key factor in our decision to chose Clevedon as a home many years ago and I am sure it has a similar draw for others here.

The scrape fields at Dowlais are also critical for breeding waders such as Lapwing and Redshank which are very short of space in modern Britain. The feeding possibilities for Curlews are also of huge importance... many of the world's Curlews are in real danger of extinction. Two species have already gone, one in my lifetime, and the others are seemingly following them. Every little are that can be saved is therefore vital.

So here is a picture of a Redshank, quietly feeding this week. Soon though they will be calling, chasing and displaying as the breeding season kicks off, maybe even this week !





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