Prize birding
Bird Watching competition winner Mark Wardman enjoys a rewarding birdwatching trip in Wales with TV’S Iolo Williams
Competition winner Mark Wardman spent some quality birding time in Wales with Iolo Williams
It’s amazing what vast experience, real expertise and cutting-edge kit can do. Mark Wardman, a 28-year-old charity fundraiser from north London, has been finding this out. His birdwatching hobby began five years ago when he was travelling in South America. It soon became a passion in his life and he thought he knew what he was doing. That was until he had the chance to take a friend on a rare autumnal birdwatching day in north Wales with nature observer, wildlife television presenter and Leica brand ambassador, Iolo Williams. For the amateurs it was, quite literally, an eye opener. Mark has not previously owned or used Leica products. Now, after winning a Bird Watching magazine competition to spend a day at World’s End and Burton Mere Wetlands in such exulted company, he has put top-of-the-range binoculars and a spotting scope from the prestigious German manufacturer near the top of his wish list. One moment in particular demonstrated how invaluable expertise and quality kit can be when out birding. “When we saw a male Goshawk being mobbed overhead by a small group of Ravens, it was all down to Iolo,” explained Mark. “He heard the Ravens and then quickly spun his binoculars on them and found a Goshawk there, too. It was something that we would never have seen without him and we would have struggled to identify the Goshawk. “It was really insightful having Iolo as a guide, tapping into his expertise and having him point out that kind of thing to us. His ability to spot things way before we had was impressive. We had a chance to use his Leica binoculars and spotting scope and it soon became clear why he rates them so highly. I would definitely consider buying Leica products in the future.”
Fantastic day
Quality equipment is a pre-requisite for a successful day’s birding, according to Iolo, who uses a Leica Apo-televid 82 scope with 25-50x eyepiece along with a pair of Ultravid Hd-plus 10X42 binoculars. “We had a fantastic day and saw some great birds, but you’ve got to have good kit,” Iolo stressed. “I think that’s one of the things that the lads learned. I let them use my Leica scope and bins and they were absolutely stunned by how clear it was. “The Goshawk we saw was being mobbed by Ravens and they were cronking like mad. They have so many different calls, but this is their alarm call they use when they mob something. When they do that it is usually big and powerful, so that’s what drew my attention, and I was able to
pick it out with my Leica binoculars.” The exciting sighting on the trip came early in the morning at the renowned World’s End moorland, a narrow vale located between Wrexham and Llangollen in Denbighshire. “I wasn’t expecting a Goshawk, but you can bump into them there,” explained Iolo. “I chose the moorland site knowing that there was always the possibility that we might catch up on a Hen Harrier there, too. “We went to see Black Grouse lek and saw 17 males right by the car. We then moved to another lek site, but on the way we spotted a juvenile female Hen Harrier, which was lovely to see.” Iolo added: “By contrast, we also went to the Dee Estuary, looking out towards across Hilbre Island where there is a large area of saltmarsh. It is a fantastic place. We set up the scope there and watched magnificent Great White Egret. We had Pink-footed Geese come over, too.”
Birding by hide
From there, Iolo took Mark and his friend to Burton Mere Wetlands, an RSPB nature reserve on the Dee Estuary straddling the border between Cheshire in England and Flintshire in Wales, to spend the rest of the day walking around and going to the various hides. “It really is a fantastic place at this time of year,” said Iolo. “You can see such a variety of wildlife. It was such a nice sunny day and we saw some cracking birds. We had a real variety of waders, things like Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew and Lapwing. We had Curlew Sandpipers as well. The Curlew Sandpipers were in among some Dunlin, so we could pick out some of the recognisable features of each bird.” The Curlew Sandpiper spot was the ‘pick of the bunch’ for Mark, who had not previously seen that particular wading bird. Earlier this year, he visited Skomer Island in south-west Wales to observe Puffins. But he hadn’t previously been to North Wales. Mark concluded: “Overall, it was an amazing opportunity to see species that I had not come across before. Birdwatching is a big passion of mine. In South America, I saw a ridiculous selection of birds and the experience sparked my interest; so when I returned to England, I started taking more notice of the birds around me. It has snowballed from there. This day out underlined just much there is to see in our own country – if you know where to look.”