Autumn Wryneck and an influx of Great Whites

Wryneck (Steve Culley)

Most birders dream of finding a rare visitor. Few of us will come across a first for Britain or Wales, but finding a Wryneck is more achievable as small numbers turn up each year. This woodpecker migrates from Europe to Africa each autumn, and has an unusual defence feature: twisting its neck and hissing like a snake when threatened. My autumn coastal walks have yet to realise a Wryneck, but there were wonderful views of one in last week’s sunshine at Cemlyn.
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Rarest visitor of the week was an American Golden Plover on Aled Isaf Reservoir, a species recorded on fewer than 30 occasions in Wales. This excellent find was only the third in Wales away from the coast and illustrates how waders migrate over land. It was in a small flock of European Golden Plovers, with which it may have travelled between the Arctic Circle and Europe for several years.

American Golden Plover (Tony Pope)

Birdwatchers have become used to seeing Great White Egrets – the height of a Grey Heron – alongside Little Egrets in recent years on larger estuaries. They are yet to breed in Wales, although that can only be a matter of time. The weekend saw an influx, with a Welsh record 24 on the Dyfi estuary, seven on the Conwy and five on the Mawddach; although this was small beer compared to more than 100 on Rutland Water in central England. Two more diminutive Cattle Egrets are at RSPB Cors Ddyga, with another by Porthmadog Cob, where a site record 17 Greenshanks were seen last week.

Other unusual sightings included a Garganey on Llyn Trawsfynydd, Spotted Redshanks at Malltraeth Cob and RSPB Conwy, a Barred Warbler at Cors Ddyga and Little Stint on the Alaw estuary. Thousands of Pink-footed Geese have returned to the Dee estuary for winter, with smaller numbers over Criccieth and Foryd Bay. A flock of 48 was the largest ever recorded over Bardsey.

For birdwatchers of a certain age, news last week of the death of Tony Soper was a reminder of the early days of wildlife on British television. Instrumental in the creation of the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, he fronted a suite of programmes that brought British nature into our homes in parallel to Sir David Attenborough presenting wildlife wonders from farther afield. He was a keen birdwatcher and was among the first people – with Welsh luminary Bill Condry - to see Britain’s first and only Summer Tanager, an American vagrant, on Bardsey in September 1957.
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The children’s tv series Wildtrack (1978-95), co-presented with Su Ingle, was instrumental in firing my own interest in birds, cemented by the annual Birdwatch programmes (1980-88) presented live from the field with RSPB Cymru’s Roger Lovegrove, which were a predecessor of Springwatch. His informal yet earnest style fell out of favour with tv bosses and he faded from public consciousness as the enthusiastic Bill Oddie and Chris Packham acquired his mantle, yet I am sure there are many other wildlife enthusiasts whose interest was nurtured, in part, by Tony Soper putting Britain's birds on our screens.