Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust

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Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust The leading voluntary organisation promoting wildlife conservation in Montgomeryshire

This week's featured species is the beautiful Golden Plover.A scarce bird in Montgomeryshire, Golden Plovers are nonet...
24/10/2026

This week's featured species is the beautiful Golden Plover.

A scarce bird in Montgomeryshire, Golden Plovers are nonetheless a spectacular winter visitor. Although often seen in small groups, flocks of 1,000 or more birds can occasionally be found on our hills and mountains during the winter months.

Golden Plovers are medium-sized wading birds with a distinctive upright stance. In winter, look for their finely gold-spangled brown upperparts, pale underparts and short, dark bill. When disturbed, flocks wheel through the sky in tight formations, their rapid wingbeats creating a striking sight. In summer, adults develop a bold black face, breast and belly bordered by white, making them one of Britain's most handsome upland birds.

Glaslyn Nature Reserve is a great place to look for Golden Plover during the colder months. Other regular haunts include Long Mountain and the mountains above Llangurig.

If you're lucky enough to spot Golden Plover, please submit your sightings. Every record helps build our understanding of Montgomeryshire's wildlife.

📍 Report your sightings here: https://montwt.co.uk/wildlife/report-your-sightings or use the iRecord or Birdtrack apps.

Have you seen Golden Plover in Montgomeryshire? Let us know in the comments! 👇

A special thank you to players of Postcode Lottery UK whose support helps make possible, and to local photographers for sharing their imagery with us 🙏

Photos: single Golden Plover © Steve Benbow, flock © Richard Bullock

Bilingual Post Fel rhan o’r prosiect Pori ar y Creigiau, mae ein Swyddog Ymgysylltu ag Ysgolion, Fran, yn helpu disgybli...
23/10/2026

Bilingual Post

Fel rhan o’r prosiect Pori ar y Creigiau, mae ein Swyddog Ymgysylltu ag Ysgolion, Fran, yn helpu disgyblion lleol i ddarganfod Creigiau Llanymynech.

Dysgodd disgyblion o ysgol gynradd leol am fywyd gwyllt, hanes a'r hydref drwy arolwg bioblitz bach, gan weld llyffant, gloÿnnod byw, ceiliogod rhedyn a ffosil, cyn creu brasluniau siarcol.

Mae sesiynau misol hefyd yn annog darganfod bywyd gwyllt yn yr ysgol.

Mae gan bob disgybl Cyfnod Allweddol 2 Basbort Bywyd Gwyllt, gan ennill stampiau am ymweliadau a darganfyddiadau. Mae pob darganfyddiad yn meithrin chwilfrydedd a chysylltiad.

Ariennir y prosiect yma gan y Rhaglen Rhwydweithiau Natur. Mae'n cael ei ddarparu gan y Gronfa Treftadaeth, ar ran Llywodraeth Cymru.

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As part of the Grazing on the Rocks project, our School Engagement Officer, Fran, is helping local pupils discover Llanymynech Rocks.

Pupils from a local primary school explored wildlife, history and autumn through a mini bioblitz, spotting a toad, butterflies, grasshoppers and a fossil, before creating charcoal sketches.

Monthly sessions also encourage wildlife discoveries at school.
Every Key Stage 2 pupil has a Wildlife Passport, earning stamps for visits and sightings. Every discovery builds curiosity and connection.

The Grazing on the Rocks project is funded by the Nature Networks Programme and delivered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government.


Gweithredu ar Hinsawdd Cymru / Climate Action Wales Welsh Government Cronfa Treftadaeth y Loteri Gen / National Lottery Heritage Fund - Cymru

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Autumn is in full swing, bringing colour, a nip in the air, and some spectacular light and wildlife magic. 🍂 If you’re l...
22/10/2026

Autumn is in full swing, bringing colour, a nip in the air, and some spectacular light and wildlife magic. 🍂 If you’re looking for some inspiration to get outside our three D’s won’t disappoint!

🍁 : for woodland colour and fungi

🦆 : for autumn birdwatching and ever-changing wetland wildlife

🍄 for waxcap fungi and a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere

To find out more about these and all our nature reserves, head to our website: montwt.co.uk/nature-reserves

Nature never stands still in October. Every walk offers something new, from migrating birds overhead to fungi emerging beneath your feet.

Where's your favourite place to enjoy autumn wildlife? 👇

Photos: Dolydd Hafren © Lowri Geddes, Dolforwyn Woods and Dyfnant Meadows © MWT/Tamasine Stretton

This is a fungus with a dark side! Meet Cap Cwyr Duol, the Blackening Waxcap:🍄 cap cwyr = waxcap 🖤 duol = blackening, or...
21/10/2026

This is a fungus with a dark side! Meet Cap Cwyr Duol, the Blackening Waxcap:

🍄 cap cwyr = waxcap
🖤 duol = blackening, or becoming black

Starting off bright yellow, orange or red, the fruiting body gradually darkens and blackens with age or when handled.

The species also has another Welsh name: Cap Cwyr Pigfain ("pointed" or "conical waxcap"), reflecting its distinctive conical shape. This mirrors the scientific name, Hygrocybe conica, as well as one of its English alternative names, Witches' Hat 🧙. It's a great one to look out for at this time of year!

Waxcaps are among the treasures of our unimproved grasslands and are a good sign of habitats that have escaped intensive agricultural improvement. Cap Cwyr Duol is one of the more common members of this fascinating group and, happily, one of the easiest to identify. If you spot one, please submit your sighting at: 👉 montwt.co.uk/wildlife/report-your-sightings

If waxcap hunting is your thing, you might also enjoy taking part in Plantlife's : 👉 www.plantlife.org.uk/waxcapwatch

📸 All photos © Tamasine Stretton

📢 Job opportunity! Do you love wildlife and enjoy helping people discover how they can make a difference for nature? 💚We...
21/10/2026

📢 Job opportunity!

Do you love wildlife and enjoy helping people discover how they can make a difference for nature? 💚

We’re looking for a Nature Engagement Officer to work on the Making Friends with Wildlife project, an exciting partnership with Age Cymru Powys helping older people connect with, and take practical action to help, nature.

🧑Nature Engagement Officer
💷£27,695 pro rata, pa
⌚4 days a week
📌Remote working with some travel
📅Closing date for applications: 2nd Nov 2026

For more information and to apply ➡️ www.montwt.co.uk/jobs

🍂 Our Wild Guardians have been taking on the matchbox challenge, searching for tiny seeds, berries, nuts and other natur...
20/10/2026

🍂 Our Wild Guardians have been taking on the matchbox challenge, searching for tiny seeds, berries, nuts and other natural treasures that could fit inside their little boxes.

It was a lovely way to slow down, look closely and notice all the small things we might usually walk past. 🔍🌿

We talked about collecting natural materials sustainably too. We chose fallen items where possible, only took a small amount and made sure there was plenty left for wildlife.

They even decorated their boxes before filling them with their autumn finds. 🎨🍁

Why not give it a go on your next autumn walk? All you need is a small box and a keen eye.

See what tiny treasures you can find, and remember to leave plenty behind for nature. 💚

Do you recognise this beautiful bird? 😍The Great White Egret was once a rare visitor to the UK, but sightings are now mu...
20/10/2026

Do you recognise this beautiful bird? 😍

The Great White Egret was once a rare visitor to the UK, but sightings are now much more common and they can now be seen almost year-round at our Nature Reserve, where these photographs were taken.

Almost as large as the Grey Heron, but with longer legs and neck, the Great White Egret uses its long, dagger-like bill to spear fish and other prey.

While the member of the heron family is on the amber list for birds of conservation concern, wetland nature reserves such as and provide it with vital food and habitat, especially during winter.

Huge thanks to Rob Camera Jackson for sharing these incredible photos with us! 🙏

📸Photos: Rob Camera Jackson

If you go down to the woods today, you’ll be sure of a big surprise…Fungi season is in full swing and who knows which we...
19/10/2026

If you go down to the woods today, you’ll be sure of a big surprise…

Fungi season is in full swing and who knows which weird and wonderful species you might find 🍄🍄‍🟫

Autumn is the best time of year for fungi-spotting. Damp soil, cooler temperatures and fresh leaf litter provide the perfect conditions for many fungi to produce the above-ground fruiting bodies that spread their spores, to reproduce.

Why not use this spotter sheet and see which you can identify?

Do share your pics in the comments below ⬇️

18/10/2026

Between fungi with fabulous names, jewel-bright berries, rain-soaked surprises and leaves drifting down like nature’s own confetti, this moments capture the season at its most playful and colourful. There’s beauty in the grand vistas, wonder tucked into woodpiles, and the occasional reminder that some of the smallest creatures are living very busy lives indeed. Pull on your boots, keep your eyes peeled, and enjoy this latest glimpse into the wild week that was. 🍂🍄

Keep your eyes peeled for this brightly marked finch 👀 Winter visitors to the UK, large numbers of Brambling wing their...
17/10/2026

Keep your eyes peeled for this brightly marked finch 👀

Winter visitors to the UK, large numbers of Brambling wing their way to these shores from Scandinavia in search of seeds and particularly beech mast (the nuts of beech trees) to feed on.

Arriving in the county any time now, they often join with flocks of other finches such as Chaffinch and congregate in places with plenty of food, such as hedgerows, stubble fields and woodland – especially beech woods – and can sometimes be seen at garden feeders. Our Nature Reserve is a known Brambling hangout, as is Powis Park in .

So, how do you identify in their winter plumage?

♂️Males have dark, mottled heads, orange breasts and orange-buff wings
♀️Females are duller and browner, with a mottled grey-brown head and a paler grey nape patch

Both sexes of this sparrow-sized bird have a yellowish beak in winter, a white belly with dark flank spots or streaks and a distinctive bright white rump just above the tail which is the best way to identify the finch in flight.

Diolch yn fawr iawn/huge thanks to local photographer Mark Wilson for sharing these beautiful Brambling pics with us 🙏

Have you seen any Brambling so far this season? Tell us in the comments below ⬇️

A special thank you to players of Postcode Lottery UK whose support helps make possible, and to local photographers for sharing their imagery with us 🙏

📸Photos: © Mark Wilson

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Gregynog, Tregynon
Welshpool
SY163PL

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