Birding North Wales (1 Viewer)

The first week in November will see me and the other half spending a week in Rhyll, North Wales with the in-laws. Can anyone suggest a few birding sites within a 2 hour drive of Rhyll that we can visit whilst we are there. Also if anyone knows of any sites which are disabled friendly so much the better (for the in-laws), the whole idea of this trip is that the in-laws look after our dog while we go birding, but we best take them out at least once.
By the way , how far is Gigrin farm (red kite feeding station) from Rhyll.
Thanks Bob

Bob,

Gigrin Farm is quite a drive from Rhyl, there is a Kite feeding station nearer at Nant-y-arian but even that would be on the range of your two hours, if not more.

Much nearer would be RSPB Conwy which has flat paths and (I think) disabled ramps, where you would see wildfowl and waders, nearby, Llanfairfechan promenade should be good in November with Red-throated and Great Norther Diver, Slavonian Grebe as well as 100's if not 1000's of Common Scoter with the chance of a Velvet or two (also Paenmaenmawr and Llandulas). With luck you might find the returning American race Black Scoter. There's a good cafe too!

Aber Falls might net you Chough but I suspect would not be suitable for your in-laws, the nearby Spinneys reserve near Bangor is good for Greenshank, Kingfisher and waders and wildfowl.

If Kite is your main quarry then you will probably need to motor south, but as the kites tend to wander in winter you could get lucky in the Conwy Valley. Try Llanbedr-y-Cenin in the Conwy Valley for Hawfinch (the churchyard and surrounding area are as good as anywhere) and you might also get lucky with Goshawk and hen Harrier.

With the A55 now a major trunk road you will be in easy reach of Anglesey, so RSPB South Stack should yield Chough, Raven and peregrine (as well as the out of range Hooded Crows, whilst there are many other good sites around the island such as Penrhyn Bay, Maltraeth, Holyhead Bay & Harbour.

I'm sure there are other BFers who know the area better who would be able to give you some more pointers, and I think there is another thread with site details on so try a search?

Enjoy your week!

Rob's reply has covered most of the main sites very thoroughly. Just to add a few more, the River Clwyd at Rhyl itself can be quite good. There is a path leading upstream as far as Rhuddlan, though its not disabled-friendly. You can usually find Snow Bunting on the shoreat Kinmel Bay nearby. East of Rhyl, Point of Air is very good in winter with good numbers of a variety of waders, and I'm told there is now a cycle track leading to the hide so should be OK for the disabled.

Going west, Llanfairfechan promenade is my favourite spot in winter, and just west of it there is a nature reserve at Morfa Madryn which is also good. There is a lane off the eastbound A55 leading down to the sewage works (just after the first exit signposted Llanfairfechan, but easy to miss). The sewage works often hold Firecrest and wintering Chiffchaff.

Are you looking for any particular birds?

You can also do the drive round the Great Orme at Llandudno (think it's free by November-time). Not a huge lot of birds, but you can park in the Rest and be Thankful car park at the top end and wander round looking for Snow buntings. My old patch. Not sure what the Chough situation is there these days, but Peregrine and Raven should be around.