A dip and a wag on the Afon Llywd

 

I've been checking in on the birdlife that call the Afon Llwyd their home in Pontypool. I took a walk along the local stretch of my river on during a lovely spring afternoon.

I was treated to great views of a Grey Wagtail that was foraging along the sides of the river. Grey Wagtails (Motacilla cinerea) are really beautiful birds. I find that they are not always the easiest to get close to. On this occasion, I was just sitting on the river bank and this bird popped up into view and was quite happy with me watching it.

It was busy searching for invertebrates and I noticed that every now and then it would pick what looked like a midge fly straight out of the air.

Grey Wagtail catching a fly

They have a really distinctive "jizz" (characteristic)  of wagging their tail continually hence their name.

Grey Wagtails also have quite a distinctive high-pitched call which is usually the first thing you will hear when near them.

Grey Wagtail

Where you find Grey Wagtails, you will often find the UK's only aquatic songbird - Dippers (Cinclus cinclus).

We are very fortunate in the Borough of Torfaen to have Dippers almost along large stretches of the river.

I soon found a Dipper that was busy singing from on top of the hull of an old plastic boat.

The Dipper was in full song and it was great to be serenaded by it. The bird was very accommodating and allowed me to watch it quite closely from a path alongside the river.

A close up of the singing Dipper

Dippers are amazing birds and are adapted for life in the river waters, where they hunt for invertebrates such as Caddis Fly larvae.

They have amazing waterproofed feathers

Dipper foraging in the river