Now the 4th June - my birthday. Was there anything that will make a good present?

First a trip back to South Stack RSPB to see if the Choughs would be any more amenable. No!!! only possiblity were long distant flight shots over the sea.

It soon got very busy again - well it was a bank holiday Saturday - so we started the journey south to Rhayader in mid Wales. This is where the BMW satnav got too clever for itself. The normal and direct route would be through Snowdonia but it picked up heavy traffic so redirected us off to the west. What a round about route that was - it took us 41/2 hours to do a 21/2 hour journey. The comments we made are unrepeatable here!!!

Anyway, approaching Rhayader, we realised that we were about to pass Gilfach Farm NR so we called in. This was one of our target sites for Pied Flycatcher, Redstart and Wood Warbler, all species that are rare in Cambridgeshire.

We stopped at the hide and found a very pale-looking Nuthatch feeding young in the nestbox opposite. Not one of the target species but who can resist an opportunity for something different.

and even bringing in to the nestling a very odd insect - no idea what it was but it seemd too large for the chick but it successfully took it.

There were Dippers nesting under the bridge but too dark for a shot.

So we moved up to the top car park and started to unpack our tripods. A local then informed us that they were not allowed on the reserve because, a few years earlier, a child on a school trip tripped over a tripod, grazed her knees with damages awarded against the trust. Unbelievable? Most certainly.

Also, at my last visit several years ago, people were putting out mealworms to attract the birds with excellent photographic results. Artificial feeding has also been banned because, we were informed, some years ago, some Dutch photographers fed the birds with dried mealworms, not live ones. They were fed by the parents to the nestlings that died due to dehydration. That is understandable but I cannot help but think that whoever made that decision missed a trick by insisting that only live food bought on the premises could be used - control and revenue for the Trust but that is thinking outside the box.

Anyway, the local was amazing. He took us to an area off the beaten track and sat us down near a nestbox occupied by Pied Flycatchers. The male was very active

with just the odd appearance by the female.

He then showed us where Redstarts can appear - not as successful but still a couple of shots.

He also told us where to find Wood Warblers so we resolved to return in the morning.

We then left to check into our B & B for the nest two nights.