Get back to nature....

Pond dipping with Granny

Mid Wales is an often forgotten part of Wales. The wildlife flourishes here. At Cwm Deildre there are badgers sets on the holding and a fox den in the next field and lots of rabbits. There are lizards lying in the sun, water voles and frogs by the pond and water lilies and newts in the pond as well as water snails, pond skaters, dragon flies and all kinds of creepy crawlies.

Birds seen at Cwm Deildre
The Cwm is quiet and the garden birds are undisturbed. We have Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, Fieldfares, Nuthatches, Redstarts, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, House Sparrows, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Chaffinches, Bramblings, Dunnocks, Doves, Tawny Owl, Blackbirds, Robins, Sparrows, House Martins, Swallows, Ravens, Crows, Magpies, Jays, a Merlin, Herons, Red Kites and Buzzards.

Birds seen close by Cwm Deildre
Peregrine Falcon, Green Woodpecker, Barn Owl

Wood Anemone

Birds only heard at Cwm Deildre
The cuckoo on 3rd May 2007

Wild flowers at The Cwm
With the dry start to the year and lack of growth of the grass and bracken it has been especially good for the wild flowers. The violets have been radiant in swathes all up the lane. We have cuckoo flower, bluebells, king cups, comfrey and many more. You can see all sorts of different fungi too.

More organised ways to see wildlife

Red Kite Feeding Centers
Red Kites regularly soar over Cwm Deildre but we are also between two feeding centers. One at Gigrin Farm, Rhayader where, for a small fee, you can view the Kites feeding at close quarters from the comfort of a hide. There is also video link to the barn.
To find out all about Red Kites visit their great website Gigrin Farm
The other feeding center is at the Forest Visitor Center at Nant yr Arian on the road to Aberystwyth. Here the kites are fed around a lake and it is free except for the car parking charge. There are various walks and mountain biking trails here as well. For more information contact Nant yr Arian Visitor Center or Nant yr Arian

Kite feeding continues throughout the year at 3pm in the summer and 2pm in the winter

The Elan Valley Lakes
There are FREE guided walks, birdwatching safaris and dawn chorus walks throughout the year around the Elan Valley Lakes.
For more information contact The Elan Valley Visitor Center