Trip to Wales

A trip to Wales primarily to see family meant little birding time but I did see Red Kites along the M25, one or 2 at Reading and Newberry and some in Wales near Cross Hands on the journey over on Thursday 5th June. On Friday 6th June, I drove over to Dinas as I was driving through a narrow stretch of road with Oal woodland one side and a gully stream the other I did briefly hear the trill of a Wood Warbler, but there was no way of stopping safely sadly. AS I travelled down the road to Dinas, I could hear a Tree Pipit singing but alas again nowhere to stop and investigate. I parked at Dinas car park, which they have put gravel down which is a vast improvement for parking. Signs up at the beginning of the walk meant part of the woodland trail would be inaccessible as they were replacing part of the boardwalk. I walked down and immediately I heard the familiar 5 note call of a singing male Pied Flycatcher. Moving very slowly along the boardwalk it was singing at the top of a bush just by the boardwalk but then flew back a little. It then settled on the rope 'handrail' briefly before again flying back. I next spotted it on dead bush branches which became a regular perch. It was singing away and I moved carefully using foliage as cover and was able to get a number of pics from this location, including the bird singing. It would regularly fly back to the stream and even visit a very close nest box where it was joined by a female Pied Flycatcher too. Just back from them a fine male Redstart was seen too and joined by a female and they were regularly visiting a hole by the top of a dead tree stump and I managed pictures of these too. A Willow Warbler briefly alighted on the floor very close but I missed the picture as I was focusing it flew sadly.