The sound of the fast-flowing mountain stream known as Caerfanell Brook always takes me back to holidays with my family when I was a child. I remember sitting with our feet in the cool waters to relieve ourselves from the hot weather we experienced one year when a Dipper turned up right next to us! It was very exciting at the time as I had only ever seen a couple of Dippers before and certainly never one that close. Over the years we revisited many times and the walk along the stream towards a waterfall became one of our favourites, with every visit being rewarded with a view of Dipper.

Over the years I have made many walks along this stream and it is always one of the places I visit when I am back in UK at various times of the year and for over thirty years I have been visiting this tranquil spot, seeing Dippers every time. Earlier this year I made an overdue trip and enjoyed a lovely walk along the stream, seeing a nice variety of birds including Dippers, which I made a short video about. The following is a selection of photographs taken from my walk in early August 2020 with a map of the location towards the end of the post.

The woodlands along the stream are really nice, a mixture of mature oaks, birch and patches of pine plantation, so that they hold some interesting woodland bird including a pair of Marsh Tits that greeted me in the car park.

High quality woodlands like these always contain some nice birds with Blue Tits, Long-tailed Tits and Great Tits joining this pair of Marsh Tit as well as Goldcrests in the conifers and a nice Treecreeper that found something nice to feed on close to my car.

Of course my main reason for visiting was to get my yearly “fix” of Dippers and the call of the running water drew me down towards it. The stream itself is a beautiful sight as it rushes through min cascades, forming a perfect habitat for Dipper. A short walk along it revealed my target and I was amazed that it allowed me to approach it quite close as usually they quickly fly off upstream at the first sign of disturbance.

I have seen White-throated Dipper many times across England, Wales and Scotland as well as in Kazakhstan but I have never been able to watch one for so long at such close range. This individual was so obliging that I was able to put together this short video about its behaviour.

As I was finishing videoing the Dipper and myself clambering around in the stream the weather started to change for the worse so I strolled back to my car, bumping into a stunning male Bulfinch feeding on some seeding weeds. Birders who join me on tours overseas often say that Britain doesn’t have colourful birds like tropical countries do. Well, they obviously forgot about Bullfinches!

Before the weather began to become cloudy the early sunshine inspired several Chiffchaffs to sing a little which helped me find a small group where adults were feeding juveniles.

Although they have become fairly common across much of Britain now, I saw my first Red Kite many years ago in the Brecon Beacons so it was nice to see one here.

I was enjoying seeing birds that I see little of in my home county of Kent and these days even House Martin is becoming fairly scarce in the area I grew up in so I was very happy to come across a barn, on a farm close to the stream, that was swarming with House Martins catching insects and heading back to their nests to feed their young. A wonderful performance.

While standing around enjoying watching the House Martins, I also noticed several Barn Swallows, a couple of Greenfinches in nearby trees and then a small flock of Swifts flying overhead, screaming and chasing each other around.

Shortly after this the clouds began to gather and I decided it was lunch time having enjoyed another pleasant walk along this area. It will certainly not be my last visit; I always enjoy visiting the Brecon Beacons and its birdlife, particularly Caerfanell Brook. Anyone wishing to visit this location can use the map below.