travel
HIGH AS A KITE IN MID-WALES
Dave Brayley discovers the perfect family adventure in mid-Wales watching the majesty of the Red Kites of Ceredigion at feeding time.
pic: AHISGETT
pic: ELEANOR BENTALL
M
y brief was simple: attend, with my family, the RSPB Ynys-hir nature reserve 12 miles north of Aberystwyth in the morning, then move 10 miles inland to watch Red Kites being fed at the Bwlch Nant Yr Arian Forest Visitor Centre in the afternoon. No doubt a nice day ahead, but spectacular? Probably not. How wrong can a person be? The location of Ynys-hir alone certainly fits the spectacular tag, and in the company of knowledgeable warden Russell Jones we were all enthralled by the beauty of the area. The reserve’ s visitor centre sits at the feet of the Cambrian Mountains, located in thick woodland beneath a high ridge which leads to a trail through these woods, before dropping down onto the wet grassland and salt marshes of the Dyfi Estuary. Stunning doesn’ t do the trail justice – looking out as it does at the first phase of peaks( snow-capped on our visit) of the Snowdonia National Park across the water. After gaining an understanding of the superb conservation work the RSPB carry out at the site, we made our way on to the new boardwalk that takes the walker into the heart of wet grassland and around to the most westerly part of the reserve, alongside a lake containing white-fronted geese, egrets, Canada Geese and shelducks amongst others. Throughout May the RSPB begin their guided Springwatch tour to coincide with the third year that the popular BBC nature show is filmed live from the reserve. Having spent a wonderful morning at Ynys-hir, I completely understand the attraction for the BBC as it’ s a beautiful setting for watching the wildlife of Wales spring into life as summer approaches. I highly recommend visiting the reserve, and at just £ 10 for a family of four for the whole day, it represents excellent value, with lots to do. Following our wonderful morning, I had no realisation that the best was yet to come. At the excellent Bwlch Nant Yr Arian visitor centre, we were met by the RSPB’ s Laura Reynolds and Sarah Cookson, where Sarah gave a fascinating account of the chequered history of the Red Kite in Wales and the inspirational tale of Bwlch Nant Yr Arian and its significant role in preventing this most majestic of birds from nearly becoming extinct in the UK. After our briefing, I didn’ t really know what to expect from feeding time, but was genuinely staggered at what transpired. About five minutes before it began, what had previously been a pristine but largely empty blue sky, suddenly became littered with these imposing, colourful birds of prey. They gathered in the distance at first, swooping and swirling with incredible poise and beauty, but they soon approached the lake that we stood on the edge of, waiting for the feeding to begin. When it did, the sight took our collective breaths away. The Kites, by now easily numbering 200 began to circle and dive onto the small patch of ground where raw beef was strewn by the feeder. For the next 15 minutes we all stood in awe as these magnificent birds swooped, never landing, onto the patch of ground containing their food. It would be an exaggeration to say that the sky turned black, but above the area of the food, the density of these birds diving for their food made the final scene of Alfred
Hitchcock’ s The Birds seem like fun at a butterfly farm. It was a genuinely thrilling and exhilarating display of what the natural world offers us. Whilst my fascination has remained with sport over the years rather than nature, this sight was so inspirational that in future, my sporting blinkers will remain raised as the extraordinary sight and survival story of the Red Kite has reminded me just what incredible beauty we have in Wales, set against a landscape whose splendor is only matched by the serene elegance of these incredible birds. I cannot recommend highly enough our experience of first the tranquil walk through Ynys-hir nature reserve, then the sensational spectacle of this once near extinct bird of prey being fed the food that once helped it to survive. Do yourself a favour and visit both, you won’ t be disappointed.
Red Kites of Ceredigion. Info: 029 2035 3000 / www. rspb. org. uk
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