The Dee and Thereabouts

Category: North Wales

Dippers at Loggerheads

(Sunday 27^th September, 2026)

Over to Denbighshire this morning to Loggerheads Country Park. There were a few drops of rain as we arrived but, luckily, the shower quickly passed. The temperature was a reasonably mild 17°C, but the sun was determined to stay away, so it was quite gloomy.

    Before we entered the woods we thought we’d take a quick look from the wooden bridge opposite the visitor shop, just on the off-chance that we might spot something. We were in luck: a White-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus) was just a few metres downstream from us. Perched on a rock mid-river, the Dipper bobbed up and down in its characteristic fashion as it surveyed the fast-flowing water for food.

White-throated Dipper

    As we watched, a Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) flew upstream and very close over the Dipper’s head before landing on the stones nearby. I’m sure that this ‘buzzing’ was done playfully – certainly the Dipper was unperturbed and carried on searching for food as if nothing had happened. Both species of bird share the same habitats – fast-flowing water through rocky or stoney terrain – although their differing feeding habits mean that they don’t have to compete with each other for food. The Dipper feeds on caddisfly larvae and other invertebrates like freshwater shrimps, which it retrieves from underwater, whereas the Grey wagtail feeds on insects that it finds on rocks and stones or by plucking flying insects from the air. We often see both bird species along this stretch of the River Alyn.

Dipper searching underwater for food

    The wagtail quickly departed downstream again so no photographs today. We did register that it was a male – the last time we saw them, there were three altogether, which we think were two adult birds and one juvenile. The juvenile has obviously fledged and will have established its own territory elsewhere along the river and it looks like the female parent has also gone. Outside of the breeding season, the Grey wagtail is quite solitary.

    The Dipper, on the other hand, will stay with its mate. We can’t be sure if the bird we saw today was male or female, as both sexes are very similar, but there’s a very good chance that its partner is still around!

The clear water of the River Alyn at Loggerheads

    The presence of Dippers and Grey wagtails is always a good indication of the water quality of the rivers or streams which they inhabit. If the water is of poor quality due to agricultural run-off or some other form of pollution, then the food chain on which both species’ depend will be affected, which will in turn affect the birds’ ability to feed and ultimately to breed. So, this stretch of the River Alyn is in reassuringly good condition. However, both White-throated dippers and Grey wagtails are currently on the Amber list of Birds of Conservation Concern, so we need to remain vigilant.

    We carried on into the woods where we saw a pair of Robins (Erithacus rubecula) hopping on and around an old, rotting log. I suppose that we’re so used to seeing Robins in the United Kingdom that we almost take them for granted, but they’re bold, cheerful little birds that sing throughout the year and it’s always a pleasure to encounter them when we’re out and about.

Robin

    Despite North Wales still being officially in drought status, there has been some recent rainfall here as confirmed by the little bursts of mushrooms at the base of trees and on decaying logs. The mushrooms in the photographs are Hypholoma fasciculare, commonly known as sulphur tuft. You can see that they are a pale creamy colour on the outer edge, then go from yellow to orange-red in the centre, creating a sort of sunburst effect. They are quite lovely, though highly poisonous, and they certainly stood out in the gloom of the woods. [Incidentally, while we’re reasonably good on birds and wildflowers, I must point out that neither of us has suddenly become an expert mycologist – we cheated by consulting an app!]

Sulphur tuft mushrooms

    As we made our way back, the Dipper turned up again for a second photocall – we really were honoured today!

The important stuff

To The Mill House café (Tŷ’r Felin) for a cappuccino each, accompanied with a Caramel Biscoff (Stu) and a Vegan Cookie (Col). Scrumptious!

01.10.2026
Water at Big Pool Wood

(Sunday 6^th September, 2026)

A couple of changes at Big Pool Wood in Gronant, Flintshire, since we were last here only a month ago. First, there were several inches of water at the bottom of the pool – not much, considering all the rainfall we’ve had recently, but an improvement on last time, when the long dry spell had left just patches of mud. Second, sections of reeds had been cut back around the reserve. This work is carried out by the North Wales Wildlife Trust volunteers and is an essential part of maintaining the site.

    It was a nice 22°C when we arrived with a light south-easterly breeze blowing, though this was barely noticeable in the shelter of the woods. There was the odd shower at first, but the sun came out mid-morning and it became quite hot. Being the rock’n’roll rebels that we are, we went round anti-clockwise this time – well, all right, we just fancied a change!

Top: An immaculate Robin and, bottom: a less than tidy Wren

    From the first hide, we watched a Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) creeping about a holly tree. It looked a little unkempt, unless it was still moulting. By comparison, the Robin (Erithacus rubecula) was immaculate in its new feathers – clearly dressed to impress!

    Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and Great tits (Parus major) zipped in from the surrounding trees and help themselves from the feeders.

Top: Blue tits (‘who are you looking at?’); bottom: Great tit

And we saw a family of Dunnocks (Prunella modularis) exploring the undergrowth. Initially, there was just the one adult bird, which was difficult to see: the Dunnock’s dull, streaky brown back feathers and grey chest and head were ideal camouflage against the backdrop of the reeds. But this bird became bolder later, encouraging the other three family members to come out from cover. This was an unusual sight – I don’t think we’ve ever seen more than one Dunnock at a time. A lovely bird.

Top: Dunnock blending in with the reeds and; bottom: becoming a little bolder

    There were creatures other than birds about, including a Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) which tentatively approached the area of ground underneath the feeders, seeking spilled nuts and seeds. It retreated into the undergrowth as a Robin flew in, the sudden movement startling it. It soon returned though and even managed to pose for a photograph!

Grey squirrel showing its best side for the camera

    Once the squirrel had finally gone, a Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) showed its face from a small hollow at the base of a nearby tree. The rat stayed there for quite some time sniffing the air, before eventually moving out along the ground. It shot back to its hidey-hole as the Robin suddenly returned. After the Robin had flown away again, the rat came out and moved across the ground once more, hurrying for a short distance to a sort of jetty – I think it was just a long-submerged plank of wood at the base of the pool. We’d both been thinking that the rat was after food dropped from the feeders but were surprised to see it head straight for the water and start drinking. It must have been very thirsty as it drank for several minutes.

Brown rat tentatively checking its surroundings before venturing out for a drink of water

    It’s an obvious observation, I suppose, but a water source does attract animals of all kinds. We saw several dragonflies flying around a different section of the pool (we were at a different hide now). One dragonfly in particular seemed to be zipping around chasing off other, smaller, dragonflies. Judging by its huge size and its vivid blue colour, this one was an Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator). The others seemed to be Common darters (Sympetrum striolatum), which are reddish-orange dragonflies with narrow bodies. These were just as fast as the Emperor and it was incredible how they seemed to race around and then just come to a complete halt, mid-air! Some of the Common darters were linking head-to-tail, presumably a prelude to mating.

Common darter

    On our way back to the car, we heard lots of honking from over the fields. There was a large, mixed flock of Greylag (Anser anser) and Canada geese (Branta canadensis) gathered across a couple of nearby fields.

A mixed flock of Greylag and Canada Geese

These fields are very close to the Dee Estuary and provide fertile ground on which to forage, hence the presence of so many birds. Small groups of geese flew off as others landed and there were actually many more birds in the fields than the photograph indicates.

Top: Alder leaves uniformly fragmenting; bottom: unknown fungus

The important stuff

We called in at the Abakhan café in Mostyn for refreshments. Col had a White Chocolate and Cranberry slice with his cappuccino, while Stu opted for a slice of Lime and Coconut Cake with his. Very nice!

11.09.2026
A Walk with Friends

(Sunday 30^th August, 2026)

Over to Loggerheads Country Park in Denbighshire this morning, where we met up with our friends – Sue, Tanya and Claire. It was a pleasant 19°C with a barely noticeable southerly wind and it stayed sunny for most of the morning.

    The last time that Stu and I had been here, in late July, the River Alyn came to an abrupt halt not far beyond the stone bridge that crosses onto the Leete path. As the area has had some rain since then, we were expecting the river to have risen a little, but the water is still quite low, petering out just a little bit further than it did during the drought. The Alyn does flow underground into various swallow holes and caves so this may account for the water levels taking some time to recover.

While the bed of the River Alyn is still very dry, the trees and undergrowth look more vibrant than they did during the recent drought

    Sue and I were scanning the river for Dippers but had been unsuccessful. Stu pointed out one he’d spotted, which had concealed itself behind some overhanging branches of a sycamore tree on the far bank. We could just make it out behind the bunched leaves, but this particular bird wasn’t in the mood for posing for the camera today!

    Further along the Leete path, we spotted three Grey wagtails which appeared out of nowhere to land on the dry riverbed and began scouring it for insects to feed on. They then all zoomed off upstream. We noticed that an adult bird was aggravating another bird – a juvenile by the looks of it. We suspected that the adult was trying to encourage the younger bird to find its own territory. These might have been the same three birds that we’d seen last month – two adults and their fledgling. And while the adult birds will continue to feed their offspring after they’ve fledged there’s a limit to how long that they’re prepared to do this. While we saw quite a few insects flying around – testament to the little bit of rain that’s recently fallen – food resources are still somewhat limited due to the overall low water level.

The riverbed by the wooden bridge is completely dry

    There were other birds in the woods today including Crows and Robins, and a Goldcrest also made a fleeting appearance.

Top: Robin (Erithacus rubecula) and bottom: Carrion crow (Corvus corone)

The light dappling through the tree canopy was something that you’re subconsciously aware of, I suppose, and it was this light that attracted our eyes to the glistening strands of a spider’s web. It was suspended from a hazel tree on the opposite side of the river. In the photograph, you can just make out the spider in the centre!

Spider in its web

    While we were all generally aware of our surroundings, I have to confess that we spent a good deal of our time just talking to one another – hardly surprising since we hadn’t seen each other since earlier in the year. We all lead busy lives, of course, but it’s always good to spend time with your friends and share moments like these whenever you can.

The important stuff

Claire and Tanya had to get off early, so it was just the remaining three of us that went to the café. Stu had a Mars bar rice-krispi cake with his cappuccino, and Col had a Lemon curd blondie with his. Sue stayed away from the cakes and just had a black coffee, donating her bonus biscuit to a very good cause (yes, Col had it!).

04.09.2026
By Flint Castle

(Sunday 16^th August, 2026)

This morning, we were at the Dee Estuary over by Flint Castle, arriving just after low tide. In Flintshire this week, the mercury reached the mid-thirties so today’s low temperature of just 16°C made a nice change, especially with the barely perceptible wind from the north-west.

Flint Castle

    My knowledge of Flint Castle is very limited, which is a bit embarrassing considering that I live only a few miles away. However, I do know it’s where King Richard II surrendered to Henry Bolingbroke, who would later become King Henry IV. (Oddly, I first learnt about this when studying William Shakespeare’s Richard II in school, which was er…one or two years ago now!)

    Visibility was fair but the poor light seemed to project an atmospheric gloominess onto the castle and its surroundings. The castle does offer a wonderfully scenic backdrop to the estuary, though you’ll also find more modern edifices in the vicinity – the Flintshire Bridge which spans the Dee and the four distinctive chimneys of Connah’s Quay Power Station, for example. So, a marked combination of the old and the new!

The Flintshire Bridge and the four chimneys of Connah’s Quay Power Station

    There was a flock of Swallows (Hirundo rustica) flying low along a water channel on the marsh. (Though it’s difficult to pinpoint these channels accurately from the ground, you can follow their rising and falling contours along the marsh – possibly you’d have a much clearer view up on the ramparts of the castle, though I’m only guessing).The Swallows were evidently feeding on the wing and every now and then they would land on the ground to re-energise before taking to the air once again. They were quite far away from us – and very fast – so there’s not much detail in the photograph, but it was great to watch them.

The low-flying Swallows (top) went unnoticed by this chap (bottom)

    While we were watching this display, a Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) alighted on a nearby Hawthorn bush. The orange breast, white collar and black head on the bird identified it as male. He stayed there for a moment or two before exploring the marshland a bit further out.

Stonechat

    Further inland from the estuary, we watched a Pied wagtail (Motacilla alba) as it scoured the short grass for spiders and insects, its tail bobbing up and down characteristically. As its name implies, the Pied wagtail’s markings are black, white and grey and it really is quite a lovely bird. This one was later joined by its mate.

Pied wagtail

    As we made our way back through the castle grounds, a Speckled wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) landed on a leaf in front of us and paused to take a breather. It opened its wings to allow us a decent view, although I suppose it was really trying to warm up in the weak sunlight! Speckled woods have lovely cream-coloured spots which contrast with their otherwise dark brown colour. You can see the ‘eyes’ on the wings in the photograph – one on each forewing and three on each hindwing. These butterflies like damp areas and you’ll often see them in woods – they’re particularly noticeable along dappled areas where the sun peeps through, claiming shafts of sunlight as their ‘territory’.

Speckled wood

The important stuff

On the return journey, we called in at the café in Daleside Garden Centre, Hawarden, for a slice of Bakewell (Col) and Coffee and Walnut cake (Stu) with our cappuccinos. Marvellous!

21.08.2026
A Trickle of Water

(Sunday 26^th July)

Over to Loggerheads Country Park in Denbighshire this morning. A westerly wind blowed the odd gust but, as ever, we were pretty much sheltered down in the woods. The 16°C temperature was much cooler than it had been in the last few days, but there hadn’t been any rainfall for quite some time – in fact, North Wales had officially been declared as being in a drought only days earlier.

    The pond just beyond the old sluice gate was completely dried up and the exposed earth resembled crazy paving. Admittedly, this is just a shallow area of water – a ‘spillover’ if you like – and we quite often see insects such as dragonflies and damselflies roaming over it and, on occasion, a solitary Heron. But not today.

    Halfway across the stone bridge leading into the woods, we paused to look upstream: the River Alyn was still flowing reasonably well, but when we looked downstream, after just twenty or so metres, the river became a mere trickle of water before disappearing altogether. I should point out that the Alyn does naturally disappear underground at Loggerheads into the limestone swallow holes and caves before the river reappears further downstream, a phenomenon that is more noticeable during prolonged spells of dry weather in the summer months. But even taking this into account, this was the lowest we’d ever seen the Alyn at Loggerheads.

    We weren’t expecting to see much in the way of birds or wildlife at all, given the lowness of the river, to be honest. However, we often see White-throated dippers along this stretch of the river and we know they don’t tend to stray far from their habitat, so we crossed our fingers. We were in luck – before long we saw, perched on a rock mid-stream, a Dipper perform the familiar bobbing action that gives the bird its name. We watched for a while as the Dipper submerged itself in the water searching for food before it eventually flew off upstream.

White-throated Dipper

    Moments later, we were surprised to see three Grey wagtails – two adults with a much duller-coloured juvenile. When we were last here at Loggerheads six or seven weeks ago, there was the same family set-up – that is, two adults and one juvenile. Although Grey wagtails will carry on feeding their young and staying close by them after they leave the nest – monitoring their progress, if you like – this is typically for about two weeks. So, the juvenile that we saw back then should already have become independent and have had to find its own territory, which means that the juvenile we saw today is probably from the adults’ second brood.

Grey wagtail

    We carried on along the Leete path beyond the wooden ‘bat’ bridge (the bridge has a carving of a bat suspended above the centre of it). Looking down at where the river usually flows, we could see only the dry rock of the riverbed.

    There was a distinct absence of birdsong too, everywhere eerily quiet. This is probably due to many of the birds not wanting to draw the attention of predators as they go through their summer moult: replacing feathers compromises the birds’ ability to fly well, leaving them vulnerable. (Some birds, such as ducks, shed all their flight feathers at once, leaving them completely flightless for the three or four weeks it takes for them to be replaced).

The dried up River Alyn by the ‘bat’ bridge

    Besides the Grey wagtails and the Dipper, there were still one or two birds about today. We saw a couple of scruffy-looking Robins skipping through the undergrowth and we watched several Nuthatches darting from tree to tree. None of them made any noise though!

    The morning had remained largely overcast although under the protection of the trees this didn’t really matter. But now it started to rain. Well, it wasn’t really rain, which would have been very welcome, but more a thin spray of the faintest vapour which disappeared almost immediately.

The important stuff

Over to Tŷ’r Felin (The Mill House café) which has moved from the small room right next to the mill and now sits in the much larger area in one of the main buildings at the entrance to the park. We sat outside under the tree sipping our Cappuccinos and savouring the delights of a slice of Bara Brith, with full butter of course (Col), and a slice of Cherry Cake (Stu). Marvellous!

31.07.2026
Butterfly Highway

(Monday 6^th July – Friday 10^th July)

The UK once again recorded very high temperatures during this latest heatwave although it’s been even warmer in the rest of Europe. With Chief Photographer Stu currently away on holiday, this week’s blog is just a record of the butterflies and one or two other insects that have visited the garden.

Above: Peacock butterflies

    I’ve spent a lot of time venturing no further than the garden in this hot weather and this has turned out to be a good thing as I managed to photograph quite a variety of butterflies during the course of the week. In fact, there were a further two species of butterfly that appeared but which I was unable to get a decent photograph of – a Gatekeeper and several Green-veined Whites. But it certainly is encouraging to see such a diverse range.

Top and middle: Red admiral with wings open; bottom: Red admiral showing underwing

    Undoubtedly the Buddleia bush (also known as the Butterfly bush for good reason) at the bottom of the garden has been helpful in attracting the various butterflies. The Red admirals and Peacocks appear to be the biggest fans of the flowers, although Small tortoiseshells, Small whites and Green-veined whites have also been drawn to the bush, though in lesser numbers. The flowers have a lovely scent which seems more pronounced as the evening draws in so presumably the plant attracts night-time pollinators too.

Top: Small white; middle: Large white (underwing); bottom: Small tortoiseshell

    The other benefit of the Buddleia is that the butterflies tend to dawdle on the flowers and spread their wings, so can be motionless for at least a few moments which was ideal for getting the odd photograph!

    Not all butterfly species are drawn to Buddleias though: when the Commas (there are two of them) are not whizzing maniacally up and down the garden, they usually prefer to rest on the Hazel leaves – as do the Large whites. But the butterflies that I see more than any others here are the Holly blues, although they rarely stay in one place for very long.

Top: Comma; bottom: Holly blue

    Besides the butterflies, both Buff-tailed and White-tailed Bumblebees are regular visitors: I’d just been snapping away and still had the camera at hand when I caught sight of an insect that I don’t ever recall seeing before, though I believe they are increasingly common in the UK. This is the Hornet hoverfly, sometimes referred to as the Hornet mimic hoverfly. As its name might suggest, it is similar in size and appearance to the European hornet and imitates its buzzing flight, chiefly to deter predators from approaching it when it visits flowers. Unlike the four-winged European hornet, however, the hoverfly– like all true flies – only has two wings. It also lacks a sting.

Top: White-tailed Bumblebee; middle and bottom: (Mimic) Hornet hoverfly (apologies for the blurred picture)

The important stuff

From the garden I went all the way to Café Chez Col where I had a lovely cup of tea, which tasted almost as if I’d made it myself, and an Almond slice made by some bloke who makes “exceedingly good cakes”. Very nice!

13.07.2026
Egrets and Ditches

(Sunday 28^th June, 2026)

We were at Mostyn this morning where the 21°C temperature offered a pleasant change from the recent heatwave that we endured in the UK earlier this week. The breeze (WSW) was barely noticeable as we made our way from the path behind Abakhan and headed towards the shore at Mostyn.

    Several Housemartins flew over the cornfield to our left, gathering insects on the wing. Bare only a matter of weeks ago, this field now has an impressive crop of corn flourishing in it.

    Encouragingly, we saw an abundance of butterflies during the walk. Primarily, these were Small whites and Green-veined whites, although there were other species making an occasional appearance such as Small tortoiseshells and Gatekeepers. We weren’t sure if the large number was a consequence of the recent hot weather or if this just happens to be a particularly good place for butterflies. Certainly the area does appear to be flourishing at the moment with trees, hedges and undergrowth all looking verdantly leafy, although some rain might be welcome.

Top: Small tortoiseshell; middle: Gatekeeper (underwing); bottom: Small white butterfly

    There were several Goldfinches merrily chirruping away as they stop-started along the treetops. One of them strayed from the rabble and tooted out a tune from its perch on a telephone wire.

Goldfinch

    A male Blackbird was perched on a post with something in its beak, though we couldn’t quite make out what this was (we were a bit confused by the long branch but this is actually behind the bird). The bird’s feathers looked a little bit bedraggled and, as it’s a little bit too early for the annual moult, I think this can be put down to two things. Adult Blackbirds that are rearing young chicks can have a ragged or even bald appearance as they can be susceptible to parasites that might have infested their nests. Also their feathers are probably not being preened as often as they perhaps ought to be either: parent birds can easily neglect to carry out their regular self-care due to the need to find and deliver food for their offspring.

Male Blackbird looking a bit bedraggled

    A little further along from the Blackbird, we saw a Greenfinch contentedly sitting low on a branch, seemingly just letting the world go by. This one is male as you can see from the olive green feathers on his back – the females and juveniles tend to be much more muted in colour overall.

Male Greenfinch

    As we came to the end of the path, we scanned the irrigation ditch which lies parallel to the estuary shore. We were looking for the Kingfisher that we’d seen the last time we were here, a month ago but we didn’t manage to see it this time.

    What we did see, though, were two Little egrets. Each bird was in a different stretch of the water and each of them seemed to be staying within its own particular territory, although I suspect that they were only adapting temporarily while they waited for the tide of the nearby Dee Estuary to recede once again, at which point they would migrate to the mud and sand to feast on what the water uncovered.

Little egret – note the two crest plumes and the chest feathers of the breeding plumage. You can also see the egret’s yellow feet

    Each of the Little egrets had long plumes at the back of their heads and on their chests. These are typically seen during the breeding season but, as both males and females grow breeding plumages, it’s very difficult to tell the sexes apart. The male is slightly larger in size but this is only a useful indicator if the two sexes are standing next to each other. Though we usually get a good look at the black bills and black legs of Little egrets, we don’t ordinarily get a decent view of their feet, as they’re usually submerged in water or otherwise difficult to see. However, this time we could clearly see their yellow feet which make a distinct contrast to their black legs.

We looked along the shore but, probably because the tide was high and almost reaching the boulder breakers, there were no sea birds to be seen at all today. Apart from one angler who was putting away his fishing gear as we were returning from the shore, we saw nobody else on the entire walk. A lovely spot.

An old friend

The important stuff

We retraced our footsteps and went to the Café at Abakhan for a cappuccino each, which were accompanied by a Raspberry Bakewell slice (Col) and a Cranberry and white chocolate slice (Stu). Naturally, we were both very pleased to have achieved one of our ‘five a day’ healthy fruit portions!

03.07.2026
Jay at Loggerheads

(Sunday, 7^th June 2026)

Over to Loggerheads Country Park in Denbighshire today. The wind (SSW) was quite blowy on occasion but you barely noticed it here as the woods are so sheltered. Although overcast the morning remained dry and the temperature didn’t rise above 15°C.

    The ditch between the car park and the buildings had been drained and cleaned up, prior to relining it. While we were examining this work, we noticed a Grey heron standing motionless in the pond just beyond the sluice gate. We carried on down the path for a better view and stood watching as the bird stealthily stalked the pond in search of prey, although it loos like its collecting nest material in the photograph below.

Grey heron with leaves in its beak

    As we came to the stone bridge that crosses the River Alyn to join the Leete path, we saw a plant with bright, white, four-petalled flowers. This is Dame’s rocket which more commonly flowers as a purple or lilac colour. The white petals on this version seemed to hold their own light and certainly stood out against the predominantly green foliage in the background.

Dame’s rocket

    Surprisingly, the wild garlic flowers that had carpeted the woods only weeks before had all but gone, with just the occasional earthy whiff reaching us. A reminder of how quickly time marches on, I suppose.

The River Alyn’s waters often disappear underground, leaving the bed dry

    A short way along the river we were reassured to see the White-throated dipper once again: we hadn’t seen any Dippers since they had (presumably) abandoned their nest further downstream after the Alyn’s water had receded, a not uncommon occurrence here at Loggerheads which we’ve covered elsewhere on the blog.[1] Good to see, although it was just the one Dipper that made a fleeting appearance this morning.

White-throated dipper photographed mid-blink

    Nature doesn’t always provide us with pleasantness, it has to be said, and shortly after our Dipper had disappeared upstream, there was a raucous commotion in the trees on the opposite bank. We looked over to see a Eurasian jay with a small bird in its beak, while another small bird had the Jay’s tail in its beak.

Eurasian jay devouring prey

    The two smaller birds were Great tits and, though it was difficult to be absolutely sure, it looked like the Jay had taken an adult Great tit and that this poor bird’s mate was valiantly trying to rescue it. The second bird flew off as the Jay turned on it, tentatively returning a little while later, by which time the Jay had finished off its partner.

Jay with remnants of Great tit on branch

    The Jay is probably the most secretive of our corvids in the United Kingdom and you don’t often see them, though you do occasionally here their cacophonous screeching, which is hard to miss really. The Jay’s diet is varied and it will eat fruits, berries, acorns, and insects, but will also eat small rodents, young birds, and eggs. Occasionally – as in this case – it will also take adult birds. With its pinkish plumage, black and white flashes on its wings, and the distinctive sky-blue and black patch on its upper wing, the Jay is arguably our most colourful corvid but seeing our first Jay in two or three years behaving in this brutal way was obviously not the best way to witness it’s reappearance. However, it is what birds – and other animals – do, and we should treat such behaviour as dispassionately as we can.

    We saw two adult Grey wagtails and one fledgling all flying low along the course of the river to forage around the stones on which they alighted. It looked like the juvenile was still being fed by one or both of the adults for the most part. Much paler than its parents underneath, with barely any yellow, this youngster did seem to be learning about habitat and food sources from its parents. These are skills it will need when it becomes fully fledged, which cannot be that far off now.

The adult Grey wagtail (top picture) is much more yellow underneath than the juvenile (middle and bottom pictures)

     We caught sight of a Chaffinch as it flew from our side of the river to the trees over on the far bank. As we followed this colourful male’s progress, we almost missed the female with her more muted colouring, which enabled her to blend in with the branch on which she was perched.

Male Blackbird

    Whenever we’re here at Loggerheads Country Park, we seem to hear but rarely see Wrens. Today, we could hear one singing from the trees behind us and being answered – or competing with – one whose call was coming from across the river. As we were a little further downstream now, where the waters have receded, Stu was able to walk across the riverbed and get a photograph of this lovely little bird.

The Wren delivered a fine solo performance for us

The important stuff

Over to The Mill House café (Tŷ’r Felin) for our well-earned refreshments. Cappuccinos, unsurprisingly, with a Lemon muffin with gooey lemon curd in the middle for Col, and a Chocolate mini-egg pie (or something) for Stu. Very nice and very healthy!

[1] See Along the Leete 14^th April, 2024; and The River Vanishes 27^th July, 2025

13.06.2026
Above the Dee Valley

(Sunday 10^th May, 2026)

39 metres (127 feet in old money) above the Dee Valley to be more accurate. Yes, we went over to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wrexham County Borough this morning. Although the sun popped out occasionally to remind us of its existence, the temperature struggled to get any higher than 12°C which seemed colder at height. Still, it was a reasonably bright day and we had some magnificent views from our vantage point in the sky!

Looking down at Cystylltau Bridge, which was constructed during the 17th century.

Looking west towards Berwyn Railway Viaduct

    The aqueduct carries the Llangollen Canal across the valley and, as you’d expect, this particular stretch of water is popular with narrowboats although, today, we saw two teams of canoeists crossing over as well. There is a towpath on one side of the aqueduct, providing great views over the River Dee as it courses through the valley below, and this was busy with people crossing from both sides.

    This dog is clearly used to being chauffered across the aqueduct.

It certainly makes a difference looking down on the green tree canopy below, rather than leaning back and looking up. As you can see from the photographs, the foliage is absolutely flourishing everywhere.

    The cast-iron trough that carries the water has to be cleaned and maintained of course. This happens every five years: each end is closed and a plug opened to drain the water into the River Dee below. It’s basically the same as emptying your bath at home, although this is a slightly bigger bath!

The words on this sculpture by Anthony Lysycia are from Sir Walter Scott who had described the aqueduct as ‘the stream in the sky’. Scott had also wondered how fishes could swim above flying birds, hence the central depiction.

    Thomas Telford and William Jessop get the credit for building the aqueduct, although they did get a little bit of assistance from the more than 500 men that were also involved in the work over a period of ten long years. There’s a little museum at one end of the aqueduct where you can learn all about its history. Quite fascinating.

    While there are railings on the towpath side, there aren’t over the far side: I’ve been over in a narrowboat only the once and remember looking out of the window and not seeing anything other than sky on that one side! It really was a thrilling experience (a bit hairy, to be honest). The aqueduct is well worth a visit, whatever form of transport you opt for.

Although holes were drilled to take railings, they were never actually added to the far side of the canal’s cast-iron trough.

While this looks like you’d get a close view of the valley below, it might not be to everyone’s taste!

14.05.2026
RSPB Conwy

(Sunday 19^th April, 2026)

We were at RSPB Conwy in the borough county of Conwy this morning. Although only 11°C, it felt much warmer: the day was sunny with barely any wind. The nature reserve is family-friendly with a play area and sandpit near the entrance, and Conwy Castle and the surrounding hills and mountains provide an impressive background.

Looking across the river towards Conwy Castle

    There were several Canada geese nesting by the main lagoon while Oystercatchers and Lapwings roved the shallows. Shelducks and Coots bobbed along the water and Moorhens moved furtively around the undergrowth.

    Top: Canada goose; bottom left: Lapwing; bottom right: Oystercatchers.

There was also a pair of Gadwalls, a species of duck that we hadn’t encountered before. In fact, we almost missed them as they were amongst a group of Mallards and we initially assumed them both to be female Mallards, before noticing the white tail feathers and dark grey bill of the male Gadwall. While the females of both duck species are very similar at first sight, the differences do become more apparent once you take a closer look.

    As we walked between hides, we heard the distinctive sound of a Chiffchaff calling from a nearby tree. It’s difficult to separate the Chiffchaff from the Willow warbler as they are both very similar in size and appearance. Willow warblers have pale brown legs whereas Chiffchaffs have dark brown or even black legs but you don’t always get a clear view of them. You can, though, differentiate the birds through their songs: the Willow warbler has a descending trill kind of song, while the Chiffchaff’s song is a steady two-note repeated phrase – supposedly it sings its own ‘chiff-chaff’ name. Luckily for us, then, that this Chiffchaff sang for our benefit!

Chiffchaff

    Trichomonosis is a word we’ve all become more familiar with in recent years: this parasitic disease affects many birds by making them unable to swallow food or water, which inevitably leads to emaciation and often death for those birds. The disease is transmitted via saliva and regurgitated food, so it can be passed by parent birds feeding their young and through courtship feeding. It can also be passed via contaminated food or water at bird feeders: the RSPB has recently advised against the use of flat bird tables and tray feeders in particular as well as limiting feeding during summer months.

    Particularly affected by trichomonosis in recent years have been Greenfinches and Chaffinches and, while we still come across Chaffinches on our travels, we’ve struggled to see any Greenfinches at all in the last couple of years, so it was very pleasing to see no less than three of them appear together at one of the RSPB feeders. Let’s hope that circumstances are improving for them and other birds.

Above: Greenfinches; below: a great shot of a Greenfinch coming in to land.

    One of the unlooked for consequences of feeders – and I’m not referring to that awful bird disease here – is that rodents such as rats and squirrels are attracted to the overspill that lands on the ground. Those that we saw today were having a grand old time with this free food!

Squirrel and rats feeding on overspill from feeder.

    Blue tits and Great tits skittered from tree to tree and were clearly enjoying the balmy weather. We heard Dunnocks and Wrens amongst the avian choir, although we didn’t catch sight of any. We did see our old friend, the Robin, though!

   Robin and Blue tit

There are lots of plants flowering now and it was great to see the ground awash with colour: the pale lilac of Cuckoo flowers (also known as ‘Lady’s smock’ I believe); the bold yellows of cowslips and marsh marigolds, the daintier pale yellow of primroses, and the purple of the many dog violets scattered at the sides of the paths. Hawthorn has also begun to produce its white blossom. It seemed as if everywhere was beginning to flourish.

     From left to right: Marsh marigolds, Cowslips, Cuckoo flowers (also known as Lady’s smock)

Talking of dog violets, the caterpillars of several butterflies, including the Pearl bordered fritillary, the Silver washed fritillary, and the Dark green fritillary like to munch on these particular flowers. So, something to look out for in the coming months.

Dog violets

The important stuff

Having burnt off so much energy, we went to the spacious café for replenishment: Stu had a Caramel Slice with his cappuccino and I had a slice of Bara Brith (and butter) with mine. Very nice!

    Suitably topped-up, we went outside and took one last look through the binoculars before we left. We saw several Little egrets nesting high in the trees on the far side of the estuary, although they were that far away we didn’t notice them until they were pointed out to us by a helpful member of staff. Well worth a visit.

26.04.2026