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The mountains were alive with wildlife. If I'd taken a pair of binoculars and a bird book I'd still be in the Rhinogs, watching and listening to the birds. The walks in the wild places were permanently accompanied by the chatting sound of stonechats and whinchats, the mewing of buzzards, the powerful evocative call of peregrines and the deep, sometimes almost warbling, croak of Ravens.
Other highlights were:
- The flash of whitegrey wings as a Hen Harrier lofts over a crag and then quarters the heather looking for prey
- A slow worm hiding under a rock on a drizzly misty evening (moved to put on a guy rope, then gently replaced)
- Bright red spot on the back of a small spider wandering in his own tiny world of heather and grass
- Continuous accompaniment of the sound of rock being chatted together, by stonechats and whinchats, calling out their territory from the tops of heather on the high moors.
- A family of peregrines calling to each other as they fly out and around from a cliff high above a col in the Rhinogs
- The gurgling trumpeting croak of distant ravens unseen as we slogged over Bwlch Main on the way up Snowdon
- The elemental sound of buzzards mewing as they soared in lazy circles overhead, a sound that always makes me smile and feel at home, taking me back to years of walks in the hills
- The bright pinks and purples on flowers of the heather, shining out amongst the dark shadow undergrowth
- Fluorescent yellows and greens of lichens on bare rock
The sight of a male hen harrier in the Rhinogs was particularly rewarding. It was far more at home than we were, a part of its natural environment, floating on light grey wings as it quartered the heather and bilberries in search of lunch.
On our way through the Welsh Mountains (and the valleys in between) we spotted the following birds:
- Cormorant
- Heron
- Mute Swan
- Canada Goose
- Mallard
- Buzzard
- Hen Harrier
- Peregrine
- Kestrel
- Coot
- Moorhen
- Herring Gull
- Swift
- Skylark
- House Martin
- Swallow
- Jay
- Jackdaw
- Magpie
- Crow
- Raven
- Rook
- Long Tailed Tit
- Great Tit
- Stonechat
- Whinchat
- Wheatear
- Blackbird
- Song Thrush
- Pied Wagtail
- Grey Wagtail
- House Sparrow
- Yellowhammer
- Chaffinch
- Greenfinch
We also saw innumerable LBJs (Little Brown Jobs: Pipits, Buntings, Larks), but as I wasn't carrying binoculars or a bird book they went without positive identification.
(If you want to learn more about any of these birds, try the RSPB's pages at http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/index.asp)
As for other animals, we saw:
- Sand Lizard
- Slow Worm
- Rabbit
- Fox
- Goats
- A huge caterpillar
- … and many sheep!
Looking closely at the heather and grass would always reveal a whole world of insects and spiders. Another whole trip could be spent just looking at those. I particularly remember a tiny but incredibly fast bright red spider or mite that was running with amazing speed all over my rucksack half way up Snowdon, and a small spider with a shining red spot on its back, spotted as we rested on the was over the Moelwyns. At every little stream there seemed to be brightly coloured dragonflies (though every attempt to take a picture of them failed!)
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