One very large brew and several good yawns later I was scraping the thin layer of ice from the car. Another hour later I was somewhere near the end of the M56 approaching Minera as dawn was breaking.
Last year around the same time I had visited this area and missed a glorious chance of photographing a male Hen Harrier as I pulled into the large parking area at the top of the hill just above Minera. As I stepped out of the car to look around at the
vast open moorland the Harrier drifted from my right hand side and floated away to my left clutching prey within it's talons. I had never visited this place before and I had been out of the car for less than a minute. The camera was ready and laid on the passenger seat behind me whilst I stood there staring open mouthed. That was a lesson learnt !
This year I stopped at the same place and the only thing that grabbed me was the wind and the cold. No Harriers, nothing. Damn bird watching.
The dashboard read 1 degree outside as I moved onwards. The sun was rising and looking strong, the ground had a veil of frost upon it that would soon disappear. A mile or so on and two cars occupied a passing place near a bend on the single track road. In the distance beyond these cars a male Black grouse stood alone upon a mound of heather clad moorland. Parking up further along the road I ventured out of the car and noticed 3 or 4 more males in the hollow below the first bird. Though distant they were easily visible with their stark white rumps contrasting against the dark heather. Far too distant to photograph I went into stealth stalking mode, keeping low and out of view of the birds. Making some progress around the hummocks I was fairly sure I was near to where I needed to be without being a threat to the birds.
By now it was 7.30am and the winter sun was casting harsh light across the upland. Now with only two birds in sight they had become vocal and aggressive towards each other. They strutted around like two Stags at a rut, sizing each other up before preparing to charge. The noises they made could be split into three distinct notes, a smooth bubbling rolling noise, a loud throaty, scratchy, hissing call that seemed to be the threatening tone and somewhere in between was a soft and gentle Guillemot type sound. All this was being acted out on the only flat and open area around. Occasionally other males would show near by or around the edges of the display area but at no time did more than two birds appear on the flat arena. At one point a male flew in and landed close by and several other birds seemed to appear from the tussocks surrounding the lekking area as if to see who had just arrived.
The males seemed to posture, pose, and threaten each other with bright red inflated wattles and rasping noises but without striking each other. A wonderful spectacle to watch as each bird either stood as a onlooker or stepped up to show his prowess towards another bird, tail feathers held high and head kept close to the ground like a raging bull ready to attack a red rag. Taking my chances with the camera from the comfort of the soaking wet ground that I was spread out upon I noticed two males fly off for no reason, and then another single male flew away a minute later. Within 10 minutes I had counted 11 males depart and that was that...it was now 8.20am and every bird had flown. That was it. A hour at the most of posturing, chasing and posing by these beautiful grouse was amazing. I would go and watch this display every weekend if I had chance.
The noise the whole spectacle is a great feast for the eyes and ears amidst the misty cold heights of the welsh moors.
Being slightly surprised by the small window the lekking birds had given me I moved on to look for the Great Grey shrike that had been seen in the area. Talking with another birder he pointed out where it had been spotted before I had arrived at that part of the moor. Within 30 minutes it showed itself though it was only visible through my scope, the dark bandit mask was clear along with the typical Shrike bill being evident.
A pair of Stonechats chased each other around, the male looking splendid and in good feather as they seem too in this area. Ravens passed over quite regularly and the odd Buzzard showed high and distant over the tops. A male Merlin perched upon a fence post at distance but flew before I could get anywhere near him. Red grouse could be heard and showed briefly and a pair of Sky larks landed in front of me and then departed quickly. Meadow pipits flitted around here and there whilst I am sure I heard a Curlew somewhere in the distant background.
On my way back after lunchtime I was glad I had dragged myself out of bed at 5.AM.
