North Wales Birding (3 Viewers)

[JWN Andrewes]

Jan 29th

Car's out of action, getting it fixed Tuesday with luck, so just did a walk up and down the Alyn this afternoon, picking up the local riparian triumvirate of Grey Wagtail, Dipper & Kingfisher. Only other thing of note was a Snipe.

95 Dipper

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Feb 2nd

Spent most of the day pottering round Fenn's Wood & Moss, notching up a few common year ticks until I found what I was looking for, a very vocal, active pair of Marsh Tits. Then later struck lucky with a Woodcock, my first in Wales for years, found entirely courtesy of the thermal imager by a fenced off pond in the corner of a field. For the past three years I've been checking various sites I've seen them roding at way back when, all to no avail, so finding this one was a real rush! A drop in to Hamner Mere on the way home was nice for displaying Goldeneyes, but nothing NFY.

96 Treecreeper
97 Coal Tit
98 Bullfinch
99 Marsh Tit
100 Woodcock

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Jan 29th

Car's out of action, getting it fixed Tuesday with luck, so just did a walk up and down the Alyn this afternoon, picking up the local riparian triumvirate of Grey Wagtail, Dipper & Kingfisher. Only other thing of note was a Snipe.

95 Dipper

Saw a glint of blue on the other side of the river Neath on the weekend. Stayed long enough to get in my bins and correctly ID it as an empty Fosters can. Makes a change from Oranjeboom in suppose. 😂

 

[Prestdj]

off to angelsey next weekend in the campervan, since i first visited wales in 1986 i dont recall a bad visit! my first yellow wagtail was at abergele 1986

its a fantastic area with so much to discover

love reading the posts

 

[JWN Andrewes]

off to angelsey next weekend in the campervan, since i first visited wales in 1986 i dont recall a bad visit! my first yellow wagtail was at abergele 1986

its a fantastic area with so much to discover

love reading the posts

How was your weekend? Did you swing by Fforyd?

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Feb 6th

Couldn't get away till fairly late in the afternoon, so I just did my "local loop", taking in Gresford Flash, Llay Pool, an overlooked corner of Alyn Waters and a couple of soggy field corners. Ended up with a handful of Lapwings, a drake Goosander and a scattering of Shoveler and Teal for my troubles. Then on a whim I decided to finish up over at World's End, where at least I managed to conjure up a Red Grouse up towards Esculsham summit for the year.

Any parent of teens will probably be familiar with the seemingly endless rounds of extra curricular lessons, training, rehearsals, matches, shows and the like, and Monday nights are the busiest for us. On our way home from Buckley I recalled (just in time) a particularly onerous set of temporary traffic lights at one end of our road, so decided to detour down Pigeon House Lane. Excellent move as it turned out, splendid prolonged views of a Tawny Owl on a low Oak bough right over the road!

101 Red Grouse
102 Tawny Owl

 

[edenwatcher]

A familiar problem. Monday is a bad one for us too. On Thursdays Daniel pays badminton and a couple of weeks ago we too bagged a tawny owl on the way home - a bird we often miss.

Rob

 

[Prestdj]

How was your weekend? Did you swing by Fforyd?

Got confused it’s this Friday we are going

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Got confused it’s this Friday we are going

Ok, good luck for next weekend then! We might even be over that way ourselves on Sunday. It's the first opportunity we'll get to go together for the Teal, and we'll probably do a spell on Anglesey afterwards while we're over that way. (In theory I could sneak across for the Teal while I'm off tomorrow, but Arch wants it too and I can't be doing with going twice!)

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Feb 9th

Took a punt (and drew a blank) on a quintet if Ruddy Shelducks that were seen with Pink-footed Geese by the River Clwyd a couple of days ago, just the usual estuary fare on offer, nothing remarkable.

Then did a long walk east along the shore from Gronant towards Talacre, some nice birding but nothing outstanding, but it was nice to upgrade Cetti's Warbler from heard-only to seen, albeit briefly and in flight. Other than that, a few Grey Plover, mixed flocks of Dunlin & Sanderling, very distant Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver.

103 Sanderling
104 Cetti's Warbler

 

[Prestdj]

well back from our north wales trip

left mytholmroyd at 5am on friday and by 730 was looking for the surf scoter at llandulas plenty of common scoter but a nice place, next stop benllech again for surf scoter, it was drizzle and mist tide out so gave up, the scoter group was well out beyond the green bouy.
a juvenile shag in almwch port was nice to see.

we stayed at cemaes

chiffchaff at the east end of the beach was a nice find in winter plus a few ravens overhead

saturday

walked from cemaes to porth wen brickworks on the coastal path

found 2 chough on the headland east of the old church, at first in flight then feeding with jackdaws in fields on the headland, a fulmars had started to make nests and lots of guillemots heading east from middle mouse island, more ravens a few rock pipits and stonechats, song thrush was quite easy to see with a couple just sat out in the open

not much seen but very happy with chough

great weekend

 

[JWN Andrewes]

well back from our north wales trip

left mytholmroyd at 5am on friday and by 730 was looking for the surf scoter at llandulas plenty of common scoter but a nice place, next stop benllech again for surf scoter, it was drizzle and mist tide out so gave up, the scoter group was well out beyond the green bouy.
a juvenile shag in almwch port was nice to see.

we stayed at cemaes

chiffchaff at the east end of the beach was a nice find in winter plus a few ravens overhead

saturday

walked from cemaes to porth wen brickworks on the coastal path

found 2 chough on the headland east of the old church, at first in flight then feeding with jackdaws in fields on the headland, a fulmars had started to make nests and lots of guillemots heading east from middle mouse island, more ravens a few rock pipits and stonechats, song thrush was quite easy to see with a couple just sat out in the open

not much seen but very happy with chough

great weekend

Glad you had a good time, as you said before, it's hard to have a bad visit.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Feb 12th

Ventured beyond my three county year list zone this morning in an attempt to add Baikal Teal to the North Wales list. Arrived a little after 08:00 and started scanning through the Pintail. Didn't see it till around 16:30 when a sharp young birder arrived and picked it up in minutes! By this time it was roosting in the brow of a distant sea-weedy spit, and fortunately stuck it's head up as he scanned across it.
Throughout the day the birding was enjoyable, with loads of Pintail, Wigeon & Teal moving around as the tide came in and went out again, flocks of Brent Geese, scatterings of Dunlin, half a dozen Greenshank and a drake Scaup.
Also watched a Crow that seemed to be taunting a Kestrel, hanging from the phone wires beneath it's perch.
Part way through the afternoon we nipped off to Pontllyfni for the moulting Great Northern Divers that gather there this time of year. We only picked up a couple of dozen (compared to the fifty plus that had been there first thing), and also had a group of Red-breasted Mergansers displaying just off the river mouth, and Water Rail calling from a reedy field corner. Also my first singing Chiffchaff of the year.
We also passed the time in entertaining conversations with various of the other birders on site, one of whom we convinced to keep the faith and not go off chasing Surf Scoters, so we were doubly pleased to be vindicated when the Teal was finally picked up. Lord alone knows where it had been all day, we were no slouches in the scanning department, and conditions were near perfect. Oh well, way it goes. North Wales list now 274.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 2nd

Another attempt for the Rhuddlan Ruddy Shelducks, this time successful, followed by a scan of the sea from Ffrith beach, Prestatyn.

There can't be many stretches of sea shore in the UK more dire for winter seawatching than that between Rhyl & Point of Ayr. Other than some rafts of super distant single-pixel Common Scoter the sum total that I could muster across the vast, flat calm vista before me was two close in Scoter, a Guillemot and a Cormorant. Pants.

Ended up doing a much longer traipse than I had intended out through the dunes and marshes at Gronant. Couldn't fish anything of interest out of the Gulls at the mouth of Prestatyn Gutter (not in Cornwall any more), although I don't recall when I've seen quite so many Common Gulls all in one place. Since my last visit several pairs of Ringed Plovers have turned up to stake claims along the shingle ridge.

Most frustratingly though, while paused alongside one of the reedbeds I heard a short burst of calling from what I am all but certain was at least two Bearded Tits. I hung around for a good while after, and stopped for a bit as I passed again on the way back, but couldn't get sight nor sound again. After a bit of vacillating I erred on the side of reporting as "probable" rather than keeping schtum. Would have been a Wales tick if I had firmed it up. More pants.

105 Ruddy Shelduck
106 Guillemot
107 Ringed Plover

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 6th

Day off today. Weather could've been better, but you get what you get. I started off at Pensarn, outside of my year list area, but I still need Velvet Scoter for my March list so I thought I'd have a go. On the choppy side, but plenty of Scoter close enough in to go through. No luck by 10:00 however, and by now I'd had enough of the gusty wind hampering my search and I decided to crack on with the rest of the day.

Down to a much diminished Llyn Bran, playing host to no more than a small group of Tufties, and then round to the North West arm of Brenig which I could scan from the car in the intermittent blustery rain.

The day was going nowhere, so I decided to head over to Nilig. At least there I could sit out the showers in the car and stake out the feeders on the off chance of a Brambling in the breaks in the weather.

There was one such break as I transited across Clocaenog, not enough to have me reaching for the sangrias and deck chairs, but enough to encourage a Goshawk to engage in a bit of a half hearted display as I passed through its territory. Warranted a stop at least.

Feeders were very busy, lots of Siskins, Chaffinches, Sparrows, Tits and so on. No Brambling or Willow Tits (reported here occasional, never been lucky myself), but a couple of Crossbill sitting up high were very welcome.

Next stop (via a couple of roadside Kites near Derwen) was Ponderosa Cafe, up by Horseshoes Pass, where half an hour's aimless rambling came up with the goods, Choughs, a small flock of seven over calling, splendid. As I was nearby I detoured round to World's End before heading home, but no sign of any Black Grouse at the roadside lek site, just a Red Grouse wandering through it instead.

108 Goshawk
109 Crossbill
110 Red Kite
111 Chough

 

[JWN Andrewes]

And over the A550 on my way back from the movies just....

112 Barn Owl

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 11th

A local potter, first to Cop Hole Pool and adjacent saltmarsh, pretty quiet, but a very distant Ruddy Shelduck (much further away and it would have been in England) added some colourful interest. No doubt it was mulling over when to start it's journey back to Germany.

Deeside Industrial Park was super quiet. It's one of those places that hardly ever has anything of interest, but given it can be checked fairly quickly, and odd ducks can rock up in odd places, it often finds a place on the circuit when I come out this way.

By now the rain had arrived, not heavy but I didn't fancy the walk out to the cycleway by Burton Mere Wetlands so we switched across to the other side of the Dee, Connah's Quay Nature Reserve, where we could park by the hides, and indeed use the car as a hide, which worked wonders with the single Whooper that had joined the Mute heard.

Plenty of Teal & Wigeon at close quarters, a few Shoveler & Gadwall, waders thin on the ground, but a couple of Avocet added variety to the usual Redshanks, Blackwits & Curlews. Had hoped for Spotshank, but no joy this time, and still waiting for my first Peregrine of the year, with CQNR being one of those sites where they're likely.

113 Avocet

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 15th

Walked out to Burton Point this morning (after checking in on a rather quiet Shotwick boating lake), a single Ruff on the floods at BMW, along with the expected flocks of Blackwits, a male Marsh Harrier over and the Ruddy Shelduck out on the saltmarsh the highlights, bit no summer visitors yet (Sand Martin, Wheatear & LRP all realistic here).

Better luck with early arrivers round at CQNR, but not before a couple of Brambling by the feeders at Dee Hide (along with some well fed Rats), and at least four Greenshank from Middle hide (still no luck with Spotshank though), where a new-in Common Sandpiper was pecking its way along a muddy margin.

No sign of any Twite in an hour stake out at West hide, but the single Whooper still present, and the raucous clamouring of the Black-headed Gulls laying claim to nest sites gave a strangely summer-like vibe.

114 Brambling
115 Common Sandpiper

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 20th

The Flintshire/Denbighshire coast was clinging with grim determination this morning to it's status as worst winter seawatching in UK. Point of Ayr & Ffrith beach between them yielding nothing in the bird line, not even a Cormorant, although a brief surfacing from a Porpoise have me a mammal year tick.

The walk along the beach at Point of Ayr was much more rewarding. Chiffchaffs aplenty singing around Gamfa Wen, then Skylark song filling the air once I reached the dunes. A walk towards the point (taking care to stop well short of the high tide wader roost, lest I commit the cardinal birding sin of flushing the lot), gave me my first Wheatear, alongside a most welcome Snow Bunting, something I'd been hoping for but far from expecting.

My next punt also paid off, with a cracking drake Red-breasted Merganser on Rhyl Marine Lake, not present on my previous two visits this year. This was always the site I was most likely to find one, so I was chuffed to do so, they really are one of the most spectacular ducks going.

Nothing really doing at Rhyl Brickie, can be a good spot for early Sand Martin's but not today (nor Alpine Swift).

116 Wheatear
117 Snow Bunting
118 Red-breasted Merganser

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 23rd

Up to Gronant for high tide. A fun walk out, plenty of waders about, Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Knot etc. One of the Ringed Plovers was alarmingly pale. Good few Wheatears too, and a couple of Sand Martins. Nothing on the sea, as usual, and nothing of note in the Gull flock.

119 Sand Martin