COLUMN: A big day out just down the road

The ospreys grab the headlines, but our friends at Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust tell us that Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve is about much, much more, and just an hour away.

Although an hour’s drive from Welshpool, Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve just outside Machynlleth is a go-to destination for north Powys nature-lovers.

Originally estuarine salt marsh, the site was used as a conifer plantation before being bought by Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust in 2006. Since then, it’s been gradually restored back into a wetland oasis, complete with precious peat bog, swamp and wet woodland, that’s teeming with life.

As many people will know, the reserve is most famous for its winged residents, the Ospreys. These magnificent birds of prey have been breeding at this reserve every year since 2011 – when they first did so it was the first time Ospreys had bred in the Dyfi Valley for 400 years.

Today, happily Ospreys are not such an unusual sight in Welsh skies, but our Dyfi Osprey Project is the biggest of its kind for engagement, attracting interest from all over the world.

The summer months are the perfect time to visit Cors Dyfi. Breeding female Telyn and her partner Idris (male) both returned earlier this year and their clutch of eggs has just hatched… exciting stuff!

You don’t have to rely on just your binoculars, either, as seven high-resolution 4k cameras located around the nest stream live footage to screens in the Dyfi Wildlife Centre’s viewing room, where visitors can enjoy cinematic wildlife imagery.

Built using grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welsh Government, along with public donations, the stunning £1.1 million timber-clad Dyfi Wildlife Centre is a flagship of sustainability in Wales.

Thanks to cutting-edge renewable technologies, it’s climate-positive, meaning it generates more clean energy than it needs – enough to run a whole terrace of 12 houses with 2.4 people living in each of them for a whole year!

It also uses local, recycled and repurposed materials, including pews from a church in nearby Corris, timber from Esgairgeiliog forest three miles away and slate tiles from Llanberis. If that wasn’t enough, 15 fast chargers for EV vehicles and four e-bike chargers can be used by visitors.

A celebration of the wildlife, heritage and traditional industries of the Dyfi Valley, such as ship-building and coin-making, the centre is also an educational hub par excellence, with fascinating bilingual interpretation and visual displays seamlessly integrated into the building.

Notably, a feature staircase, made by a local carpenter from oak and recycled copper, evokes the hull of a famous ship built on the Dyfi River in the 1800s, while a stunning penny floor depicting the same waterway was created by volunteers using thousands of donated pre-decimal coins.

The centre’s first-floor Galeri, a beautiful open-plan events and exhibitions space with vaulted cedar-clad ceiling, boasts breath-taking vistas across the nature reserve, all the way to our 360 Observatory Tower. It’s a great spot to enjoy a panad (cuppa) and cake, or to simply soak up the views.

Although the Ospreys are the star attraction, there’s plenty more wildlife to see here. As you walk along the boardwalk to the Observatory, you may hear Reed Warblers and Grasshopper Warblers singing amongst the reeds and scrub; you might see a sudden flash as a Common Lizard who’s been basking in the sun makes a dash for it; or you may smell the midge-repelling Bog Myrtle.

One animal you won’t see, but which is present in a seven-acre enclosure, is the Eurasian Beaver. Our small beaver family play a vital conservation role on this reserve by helping us manage the dense willow and birch scrub that’s drying out the wetland.

After all that wildlife-watching, why not grab a bite to eat in our Caffi Tŷ Maenan? It serves up top Welsh food and drink, cooked to traditional recipes using local produce, that can be enjoyed inside or out.

During summer, the Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve and Dyfi Wildlife Centre are open every day and, with events for adults and families, including Nature for Beginners, there’s always something new to see and do.

For further information, directions or opening times, visit: www.dyfiospreyproject.com.

PICTURES (Photo: © Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust/Emyr Evans)

Top: You can enjoy views across the stunning 17-hectare reserve from the Dyfi Wildlife Centre’s Galeri 

Middle: The £1.1 million Dyfi Wildlife Centre is a shining light of sustainability in Wales 

Bottom: Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust’s Cors Dyfi Nature Reserve just outside Machynlleth is home to the world-famous Dyfi Ospreys