Dowlais update and other local excitement - early June

 Sadly the two broods of Lapwing chicks (7 birds in total) all failed to make it past a week old.

There is at present, an adult sitting again though so fingers crossed.

The poor weather with lots of rain served to reflood the area though which looked to be good news for the Redshank, I suspected of being on a nest. And indeed it turned out that way with two chicks hatching on Sat 5th June and both still alive Wed.

I even managed a short video of one of them. The long bill marks it out from Lapwings

Other birds were closer and so easier to photograph, such as this Whitethroat

There are several pairs of these now breeding. The presence of a very young Rock Pipit means that they have also successfully bred

Other exciting events this week have been the discovery of a Red-veined Darter during our dragonfly survey at Portbury Wharf

And, of course, the fantastic finding of a River Warbler on the Somerset levels by one keen eyed observer

I have long wanted to see this species in the UK and such a close one could not be ignored

The song is mesmerising