AllWays Traveller Features
Rare wildlife in mid-Wales
Spring is one of the best times of the year to see rare wildlife and get 'up close to nature' in the countryside of Mid Wales
This unspoilt region in the heartland of Wales has an abundance of natural environments and some of the rarest species of birds and animals in the UK.
These include visiting ospreys, red kites, otters, beavers and dolphins.
The UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere
The UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere Wales is one of the best places to see a diverse range of wildlife.
Otters swim in the rivers, beavers have recently been released, ospreys return every spring to breed, red kites grace the sky and dolphin pods are often spotted from the beach and on boat trips.
Nature reserves
Nature reserves good for bird watching include Cors Dyfi and the Dyfi Osprey Project and the RSPB Ynys-hir reserve, which are all near Machynlleth.
For the last 50 years, RSPB Ynys-hir has been a home for wildlife and a major visitor attraction.
Located on the A487, Wales Coastal Way, in the village of Eglwys-fach, the reserve covers 850 hectares with a wide mix of habitats - mountain, lowland wet grassland, reedbed, bog, woodland and saltmarsh.
Springtime at this reserve is spectacular, with pied flycatchers, redstarts and wood warblers singing.
The woodland floor transforms into a carpet of bluebells.
Watch the diving display flights of lapwings and the piping calls of redshanks on the Marian Mawr pools.
Cors Dyfi Reserve and Dyfi Osprey Project is the best place to see ospreys, otters, beavers, nightjars, warblers, increasingly rare hen harriers and even water buffalo, which are introduced to graze the marshes.
Ospreys spend their winters in
West Africa, but since 2011 some of them have come to Cors Dyfi each spring to mate.
Over the years, the osprey partners have raised one to three chicks successfully each year.
Watch them live at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtlCjc1D4Qo
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/ynys-hir
Ospreys
In a double success story for Mid Wales, ospreys have also been nesting at Hafren Forest alongside Clywedog reservoir, near Llanidloes, since 2014.
Watch them live in the nest at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyciWNPFuWM
Cardigan Bay coast
Nearby, along the Cardigan Bay coast, dolphins and porpoises often put on a display for spectators.
For the best chance of seeing them, visit Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre in New Quay and take a boat trip.
New Quay is one of only two places in Great Britain where you can see bottlenose dolphins.
Dolphin Survey Boat Trips
Dolphin Survey Boat Trips provide an underwater microphone which allows passengers to listen to the dolphins in their natural habitat.
www.dolphinsurveyboattrips.co.uk
The Falconry Experience Wales
Further inland, at Forge, near Machynlleth, visitors can see birds of prey at the Falconry.
The falconry experience includes falcons, hawks, American buzzards, a white tailed sea eagle and a fast paced demonstration of a falcon flying to a lure.
Falconry Experience Wales also organises Raptor Days with wildlife presenter and author Iolo Williams who introduces people to the raptors at various locations in Mid Wales.
www.raptorexperiencewales.co.uk
Red Kite Feeding Station
To enjoy the spectacle of seeing more than 100 red kites feeding, travel to the Red Kite Feeding Station at Bwlch Nant yr Arian, between Llanidloes andAberystwyth.
Bwlch Nant yr Arian became a red kite feeding station in 1999, as part of a programme to protect the small number of red kites in the area at that time.
Nowadays, the red kites fly in from a 10-mile radius to be fed by the lake daily at 3pm and the spectacle can be watched from the lakeside viewing area.
www.naturalresources.wales/bwlchnantyrarian?lang=en
To view the range of quality accommodation available in Mid Wales :
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