At the headwaters of the Afon Lwyd sits Waunafon Bog, a large expanse of Moilna dominated wetland habitat that's exposed and bleak in wintertime but reverberates to the song of skylark in warmer months.
A visit to the bog in winter is an early entry in the naturalists New Year diary. So last weekend, at an hour or so before sunset I was pulling on my cold weather clobber ready for a session of short eared owl watching - hopefully. Away from the coast Waunafon Bog is a bit of a pilgrimage for local inland patchers. Historically there's been up to six birds recorded but numbers fluctuate from year to year, so nothing guaranteed
Access to the bog environment is via a disused mine road. Nowadays this thoroughfare complete with its panoramic upland views is a venue for dog walkers, joggers and cyclists, so a man with binoculars and camera gear does generate the occasional puzzled stare. On this visit the wind was light and the sky almost cloudless ideal for owl and raptor watching.
First up was a pair of stonechat moving from bracken to bracken top. A single meadow pipit was flushed from the roughage before I reached my preferred viewing spot on the elevated bund of a disused railway track. Looking south I waited, scanning the vista before me. Illegal off road bikers provided an audible and sometimes visible backdrop. After a while with light fading a single short eared owl was detected quickly gliding and flapping between the willow scrub that is now taking hold in the centre of the bog. I watched for several minutes, before, as if by magic, it vanished from sight. With mission accomplished, it was hometime, but not before I caught sight of a raptor alighting on a fence post mid bog. Although light levels were now not great, from its size and shape this bird was a merlin, clearly arriving to roost. I took a number of light poor quality for confirmation. On my return a red grouse reminded me that I needed to 'go back, go back' . An so I did.
