Ffeathered Ffriends of the Ffestiniog

Birds and steam trains seem to get along well, probably bird watching and train spotting too. Here are three short films of birds nesting close to the line.

Nuthatches at Campbell’s Platform with the hole to their nest made narrow using mud set like concrete; this helps protect them from predators.

Woodpeckers (greater spotted) between Campbell’s and Coed y Bleiddiau; the cries of the chicks so close to the path was a real give away.

Pied flycatchers at Coed y Bleiddiau, which have travelled all the way from Africa, coinciding the hatching of their chicks with peak availability of a caterpillar which feeds on the young leaves of oak trees. 

Wild goats in the Vale of Ffestiniog

We don't have many wild goats in the Vale but we have one more than we did this time last week. Here's a short clip of the new kid running to keep up with mum:

There's another gang of six that spend most of their time in the woods beneath the railway line and, whilst one looks very pregnant, no kids yet. The ones with the chunky horns are the billies.

Woodpeckers in the Vale

Oak trees make perfect homes for woodpeckers. These shy and nervy birds shun publicity, hiding behind trunks, but the whimpering of young chicks gave away the location of this precision drilled nest. Turn on the volume to hear them plead for more food with mum and dad flying in parcels every 5 minutes or so.

I watched on and off for a couple of weeks until one day there was a different pitch and tone coming from inside. A while later the father flew off and the youngster stuck his head out with a plaintive call. It was as if this was the last chick in the nest refusing parental encouragement to fly. Maybe it was complaining about the rain or the cameraman sheltering beneath his umbrella. A day later the nest was empty.

Meanwhile another of the chicks slammed into our kitchen window taking a full 5 minutes to regain its composure. Flying at speed is a tricky business. 

Thanks to The National Trust for this beautiful nature reserve which is lovingly cared for by the wardens of CCW.

Forget Galapagos, come to Ffestiniog!

As well as steam trains the Vale of Ffestiniog offers spectacular wildlife and nature. Sea trout and salmon on the Afon Dwyryd and if you’re lucky you might see an otter. 

On either side of the valley Atlantic oakwoods or Celtic rainforest, more scarce than tropical rainforests and every bit as special with magnificent lichens, liverworts and slime molds. Redstarts and pied flycatchers arrived a few weeks ago. Right now the woods are blooming with bluebells and wild goats stepping carefully so as not to squash them.

Abandoned slate mines make perfect roosts for many species of bat such as the ‘lesser horseshoes’. ICI's explosives factory, Gwaith Powdwr, in which 17 million grenades were made is now a nature reserve where later this month you can hear the nightjars. Llechwedd Slate Caverns has nesting choughs.

We might have pine martens but are struggling to prove it. Ospreys returned to the area in 2004 and this year’s chicks recently hatched. Up in the mountains ravens and buzzards patrol the skies with the occasional red kite. Moths galore, last summer a holiday maker recorded 180 different species during his weeklong stay. Along the coast you might see bottlenose dolphins, porpoise, grey seals or maybe even a leatherback turtle – some years ago a turtle the size of a mini was washed up on Harlech beach and now sits in the National Museum of Wales.

Woodpeckers in early June with their nests precision drilled into the oaks.

Forget Galapagos, come to Ffestiniog! This is home to Ivor the Engine and Idris the dragon. What's more we've got a live wolf!