Our holiday week has started in Wales.

Friday 9th September 2022.

Y Beudy Cottage; our retreat for the next week in the heart of the Welsh countryside.

Yet again, Becky and myself are on a well deserved Cottage holiday. Instead of our usual South Devon trip, I decided earlier this year that we would try Wales for a change and I picked out a lovely looking Cottage in the heart of the countryside, set on a small farm just outside the village of Crymych some 17 miles east of Fishguard, in the north-east of Pembrokeshire. Well, it took us around 5 hours to get here from Portsmouth, due to heavy traffic on both the A34 and also the M4, arriving around 4.30pm after leaving around 11.30am.

Top photo: one of two Grey Herons flying over the field behind the Cottage. Middle photo: the field behind the Cottage. What goodies could be hiding in this field? Bottom photo: the moth box is ready for action and the Proprietor said that this Owl box was used this year by a pair of Jackdaws!

I encountered at least 6 Red Kites, 4 Common Buzzards and just the one Kestrel on the way up here and after unpacking and setting up the moth box in a good looking spot around the back of the Cottage, which overlooks a large scrubby looking field and a nearby river, I am really excited about my prospects here for not only the moths, but also the bird life in the area. After talking to the proprietor, she told me that she breeds Angora Goats and there is also a Goose, Chickens and also 5 Peacocks! There are also two dogs and two cats around the farm too, so I have to keep Scruff on a lead when he is outside the Cottage.

Top photo: a couple of singing Robins in the garden. Next photo below: a Coal Tit on top of the garden Conifer. Next photo below: a pair of Mistle Thrushes were in the nearby field on top of a dead tree. Bottom photo: One of the cute Angora Goats checking me out! 

Late afternoon, I took a stroll around the farm (Penyrallt Uchaf Farm) and Cottage and enjoyed some nice birds while walking Scruff. A pair of Ravens flew over, calling in doing so and good numbers of both House Martin and Swallow were flying high over the fields. Around the gardens, there was a lot of ‘hooeting’ from 'Willow-chiffs' within the trees and hedgerows and I saw at least three flying around including a singing adult Chiffchaff. A pair of both Goldcrest and Coal Tit were enjoying the Conifers around the garden and a pair of Chaffinches were perched in a tree by the large pond. Incidentally, the pond held quite a few Frogs calling, though seeing them among all the vegetation was impossible!

Top photo: a pair of Chaffinches were in the trees by the garden Pond and below: One of many Chiffchaffs around the garden. This little beauty was in a Sloe Berry bush.

Looking down into the field behind the Cottage, a pair of Mistle Thrushes perched up on top of a dead tree, not too far from the River Nevern down below where we are staying. I watched a pair of Grey Herons land near there and I am wondering if there are any Dippers on this River. I shall explore later once I find out where the footpath is. While Becky is watching the TV tonight, I shall be regularly taking a look at the moth box tonight and checking for any Owls nearby. I still have not added Tawny Owl to my year list yet, but I stand a fighting chance here by the look of it.