10 of the best wildlife days out

10 of the best wildlife days out
http://www.visitwales.com/explore/wildlife-fauna/top-wildlife-days-out
Wildlife is easy to spot in Wales, says Phil Hurst of Wildlife Trusts Wales. Our top ten wildlife experiences show specific sites where you are highly likely to see the animals or birds listed, but they are not exclusive to these locations. Dolphins can be watched from numerous headlands around Wales. And if you’re lucky, and know where to go, you can spot otters in the early morning along rivers from Bangor to Cardiff.

• Ospreys
  
  Osprey soaring through sky
  Ospreys nest from April to late summer on the Cors Dyfi reserve in Machynlleth. Other birds of prey regularly seen include red kite, honey buzzard and marsh and hen harriers. Children also love to see the very special creatures who help to manage the wetlands: a herd of water buffalo. There’s a visitor centre and most of the reserve has wheelchair access.
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• Dolphins
  
  Bottlenosed Dolphins
  Although dolphins can be regularly seen from the shore in many parts Cardigan Bay, the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre organises boat trips from April onwards. The North Wales Wildlife Trust also run regular land-based dolphin watching seashore safaris over the summer.
  
  
• Otters
  
  Otter
  Visitors often report seeing otters at the lovely Gilfach Farm reserve in Radnorshire. Last summer a family saw a female and two cubs walking along the nature trail in mid-afternoon! The best time to visit is October to December when otters come to the waterfalls to chase the leaping salmon.
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• Fields of Orchids
  
  Orchids and Ox-Eye Daisies at Pentwyn Farm Meadow, Monmouthshire by imaginedhorizons
  Situated above the beautiful Wye Valley within the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Pentwyn Farm reserve provides commanding views over the surrounding countryside. Early summer sees thousands of green-winged orchids in spectacular wildflower meadows.
  
  
• Red Kites
  
  Red kite around Aberystwyth, Ceredigion by Howie Mudge
  Once on the edge of extinction, there are now an estimated 1,000 breeding pairs of these birds in Wales. Feeding stations where visitors can experience these magnificent birds close up include Gigrin Farm (a few miles south of the Gilfach Farm reserve in Radnorshire) and the Red Kite Feeding Centre at Llanddeusant in the west of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
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• Puffins
  
  Puffin
  There are an estimated 16,000 puffins and 300,000 Manx shearwaters on the world-renowned Skomer and Skokholm islands, which are also home to large numbers of grey seals. You need to book visits in advance but this makes for a fantastic family day out. Boats run daily from March to December.
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• Migrated Seabirds
  
  Arctic Tern
  With well over 1,000 nesting pairs of sandwich terns, Cemlyn on Anglesey is an internationally important site for seabirds. Visitors can experience these rare and elegant birds close-up – chasing and diving in spectacular courtship displays or winging in with freshly caught fish. The Arctic tern, which also nests here, migrates up to 50,000 miles every year between the Arctic and Antarctic.
  
  
• Salmon Leaping
  
  Salmon leaping at Radyr Weir on the River Taff, Cardiff by anjado
  The sight of salmon leaping up waterfalls is always thrilling, even though it’s a relatively common sight in the autumn months along many rivers in Wales. In Mid Wales one of the best places is the River Marteg at the Gilfach Farm reserve in Radnorshire, but you can even see them in the centre of Cardiff on the River Taff by Blackweir.
  
  
• Magical Bluebell Woods
  
  Bluebells
  Carpets of bluebells cover the ancient woodlands in many parts of Wales, but few reach the dazzling heights of Coed y Felin, just outside Mold in Flintshire.
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• Autumn leaf splendor
  
  Autumn
  For autumnal blazes of colour, the valleys of South Wales rival the forests of New England. The Silent Valley reserve near Ebbw Vale is a perfect example, while the Pwll-y-Wrach reserve in Brecknock has spectacular autumn colours in ancient woodland running down to plunging waterfalls along the River Enig.

 

How wonderful!!!