North Wales Birding (2 Viewers)

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 29th

Decided to do the Black Grouse lek this morning, up at World's End. A good call, with decent enough weather and plenty of action. I sat and watched for a good hour and a half, their strutting, burbling and hissing occasionally spilling over into full blown dawn handbags. At one point the whole lot (all seventeen of them) suddenly upped and clattered away across the moor. I didn't see at first what had spooked them (a quick fore & aft scan for joggers on the road drew a blank) as I'd been looking down my bins when they took flight. A moment later the mystery was solved when an immature Goshawk took off from the edge of the lek site and cruised off over the horizon! Awesome! Less than a minute later they were back and carrying on like nothing had happened!

After that I headed up Esculsham looking for early Ring Ouzels but found none. Not to worry, time enough.

120 Black Grouse

 

[Owene]

Nice photos. Got good memories of that site but just that bit too far to make it an annual thing

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Yeah, it's a great site to have less than twenty minutes away. Won't be long before the Pied Flies, Redstarts, Wood Warblers etc start pitching in.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Mar 29th (continued)

Couldn't be doing with going to Conwy twice in the day, so I waited for Arch to finish school before heading off for the Alpine Swift. Arrived to incredibly distant views, not good enough for me to year tick it, never mind Arch to life tick it. Then it vanished.
This coincided with the first spell of clear bright sunshine since it was found, and it really felt like it had taken the opportunity of a break in the weather to do one. Hour and a half passed and things were pretty desperate, Arch had a prior engagement back at home and we would need to leave soon.
On the brink of heading off however a message came through; it's flying round the obelisk! This was up on the hill the other side of town, a five minute drive, a two minute yomp, and success! We finally got decent views, and then after a few minutes it drifted off back towards where we'd been earlier. A quick dart back for even better views and then when it drifted off a second time we followed suit, Arch making his lesson just on time!

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 2nd

With Sam having cricket practice in Ruabon over winter, I've been checking out a few sites in the area, with little to show for it until yesterday, when a brief stroll round Stryt Las Park (haunt of Muscovy Duck & Swan Goose and not usually a whole lot else) gave me a couple of Redpolls up on the Alder tops.

Ty Mawr reservoir was hosting a handful of Canada Geese and a Great Crested Grebe (no change there then), but nearby Cae-Llwyd was where the real prize was waiting, with a couple of Little Ringed Plovers down by the water's edge.

An afternoon circuit of some sites round the Dee saltmarshes was a bit disappointing, a few Avocets, a couple of Marsh Harriers, Willow Warbler singing at Cop Hole and the lone Whooper still with Mutes at CQNR.

121 Lesser Redpoll
122 Little Ringed Plover
123 Willow Warbler

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 3rd

Another session up at the World's End lek this morning. Arrived well before dawn, the Grouse audibly going at it unseen in the dark, and we were lucky to bag the third space in the layby (fortunately the other two cars had parked considerately, allowing me enough room, doesn't always happen). By the time it was decent light there were at least ten carloads of birders cramming in up the road to the second, more distant, layby (well, passing space, technically).

It was great to see the New Romantic Chickens strutting their stuff in direct sunshine for a change, but the real highlight was when a Greyhen appeared, on a gravel bank below the lek site, right by the car. I honestly don't think the lekkers saw her, she would've been below their line of site, and they didn't up the ante in their performances the way they do when the ladies appear. She slowly walked down-slope and out of sight, appearing further off in the bracken a little later, joined by a second.

This is only the second time I've ever seen a female, the first being fairly brief crappy views a few years ago. This sighting is definitely bird of the year so far.

Still no sign of any Ouzels up Esculsham.

 

[Prestdj]

Mar 29th (continued)

Couldn't be doing with going to Conwy twice in the day, so I waited for Arch to finish school before heading off for the Alpine Swift. Arrived to incredibly distant views, not good enough for me to year tick it, never mind Arch to life tick it. Then it vanished.
This coincided with the first spell of clear bright sunshine since it was found, and it really felt like it had taken the opportunity of a break in the weather to do one. Hour and a half passed and things were pretty desperate, Arch had a prior engagement back at home and we would need to leave soon.
On the brink of heading off however a message came through; it's flying round the obelisk! This was up on the hill the other side of town, a five minute drive, a two minute yomp, and success! We finally got decent views, and then after a few minutes it drifted off back towards where we'd been earlier. A quick dart back for even better views and then when it drifted off a second time we followed suit, Arch making his lesson just on time!

so jealous as we always stop off in llandudno junction on our welsh trips, but great bird for north wales

and for easter weekend 3 days in north wales cannot wait

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 4th

World's End isn't just about Black Grouse though (although there were several mooching about the lek site this evening, proving you don't need to hit it at sparrow-fart to score). I headed up there after work today for another crack at Ring Ouzel, but instead came up trumps with a glorious Short-eared Owl, giving extended close views as it hunted by the road, simply magical. Skykarks, Curlew & Red Grouse provided a suitable soundtrack. I'm looking forward to many more trips up that way as summer visitors arrive, (Ring Ouzels first please).

124 Short-eared Owl

 

[JWN Andrewes]

A stroll round Marford Quarry this morning failing to find any Orange Underwings did at least net me my first Blackcaps of the year.

125 Blackcap

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 8th

Went looking for Orange Underwings again, this time up Rhyddyn Hill. Inconclusive views of a couple of likely candidates circling each other high up in the birch tops, but scored a pair of Swallows twittering away by the houses as I passed on my ascent.

126 Swallow

Apr 10th

Yet another stomp around the Esculsham, after work in very windy conditions. Oodles of Mipits, good numbers of Wheatears, Skylarks, Stonechats and finally, a nice male Ring Ouzel. Great to get it sorted, once the passage birds have been through there's very little chance of finding any on territory round here.

127 Ring Ouzel

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 11th

Hawfinch was always going to be a tricky one. According to North Wales Wildlife Trust, their Coed Cilgroeslwyd reserve, just south of Ruthin and rich in Yew, has a breeding population,and I'd been meaning to recce it but hadn't gotten round to it, and then noticed a couple of reports from an adjacent village, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd. So it was to there that I made my way this morning, to check out the churchyard and its surroundings, as much to figure out a strategy for future visits as with any hope of scoring first time there. Score I did though, with the best views I've ever had, achieved within about ten minutes of arriving. A quartet flew in calling and hung out in the sunshine at the top of a nearby Yew for several minutes. So not tricky after all!

From there I bowled across to Llyn Brenig where the Osprey pair had recently arrived (very distant views on the nest) and was successful scanning the moor for Hen Harrier (even more distant views of a hunting male).

128 Hawfinch
129 Osprey
130 Hen Harrier

 

[JWN Andrewes]

And then there was a cheeky afternoon twitch in the drizzle to Conwy RSPB for Red-rumped Swallow, a Wales tick. There are much better photos out there, taken by better photographers, with better cameras, this morning when the weather was better, but mine will do for scrap book. Mostly it was a waste of time even trying to get it in bins, it was wheeling about and sweeping to & fro at such pace, but fortunately it was coming so close on occasions that optics were largely redundant.

On returning home, two House Martins over the garden.

131 House Martin

 

[Prestdj]

back from north wales does the llyn peninsula count as north wales?

 

[JWN Andrewes]

back from north wales does the llyn peninsula count as north wales?

Yes, absolutely. Good time?

 

[Prestdj]

yes

base for the weekend was Llanbedrog so headed off early from Mytholmroyd arriving around midday, though not a specific birding weekend saw some good birds

friday 7th april

Llanbedrog

set up camp and had a walk around the headland and back past the iron man statue and down the most dangerous steps to the beach ive ever been on

chough 2
raven 4
buzzard 2
willow warbler 2
chiffchaff many
siskin 4
stonechat 3

saturday 8th april

day spent visiting places around the Llyn peninsula a place i never visited though did see the sharp-tailed sandpiper at Dinas Dinlle years ago

choughs and ravens over the campsite in the morning, i do like choughs but never really get the chance to see them and have only seen them at a few places so yep a pleasure to see these daily for the weekend

headed from Llanbedrog to Traeth Porth Ceiriad just to take the dog on the beach, as usual lots of choughs and ravens a single fulmar patrolling the cliffs a few guillemots on the sea plus rock pipit and 7 linnets.
then on to Aberdaron not much here to see but pleasant enough.

Traeth Porthor

parked in the NT carpark and walked down to beach, the valley looks amazing for birds certainly a place i would look in autumn you never know?
a ring ouzel showed briefly at the top of valley before flying off also chiffchaffs, willow warbler and a single gannet offshore

Pwllheli

colette dropped me off at the Lon Cob nature reserve for a few hours birding whilst she got stuff for tea, found by walking the reserve then straight over the Embankment Road onto the marina made for good birding

teal 2
goosander 1 female
little egret 5
bar tailed godwit 4
ringed plover 12
greenshank 1
shelduck 9
sandwich tern 2
swallow 3

bbq for tea whilst coughs overhead good day

sunday 9th april

we headed towards Criccieth to see the castle then Porthmadog and went to hide at Traeth Glaslyn North Wales Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve not much here apart from 2 little egrets 2 shelduck

Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn

this was a real treat a really well run place loads of volunteers well laid out and plenty of scopes to use and from a yorkshireman point of view free! saw both male ospreys waiting for their mates to show up

monday 10th april

rain set in sunday night and made monday morning even wetter left Lannbedrog at 9am and headed home.

in keeping with my tradition of every visit to North Wales, i look for the surf scoter at Llanddulas, never saw it 3 times last year so i was so happy not to see it friday and neither monday got to keep traditions

great weekend stunning landscapes

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Aah, Llanbedrog, home of the Welsh Flintstones....

Glad you had a nice time, sounds like it was a good unwind.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 15th

A morning at a loose end in Ruabon, so I nipped a short way up the road to Llangollen, managed to nab a free parking space (far from guaranteed), and executed an efficient year-ticking raid on the Mandarins on the Dee. I know they're plastic, but they're also rather lovely, and although I occasionally bump into one while out and about much closer to home (twice from the garden), a visit to Llangollen is the closest thing to a shoo in for this species round here.

132 Mandarin

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Then in the afternoon, a nice tour of a handful of Dee estuary sites, starting at Greenfield, where a cluster of ten Common Terns way way out on a sand bank would have been star birds were it not for an unexpected fly by from a trio of Yellow Wagtails.

Not much else here, so dropped in on Flint Castle, where a Raven stalked about on the saltmarsh, the Sand Martin colony was nice and busy, and along with the regular waders (Curlew, Oystercatcher, loads of Redshank) was a single Whimbrel.

Finished up at CQNR, nice to see a few Avocets here, but not much else.

133 Common Tern
134 Yellow Wagtail
135 Whimbrel

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 16th

Happened to be passing late afternoon, so popped in to Cop Hole and got a couple of singing Reed Warblers.

136 Reed Warbler

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Apr 21st

Whenever possible I've been stopping by Shotton Rifle Range on my way home from work. Unfortunately, the day the Gull-billed Tern stopped by I was engaged elsewhere (Dad taxi service, if you must know), but on Friday I did at least manage to finally pick up a pair of Barnacle Geese, expected at some point, although I always find it necessary to hold my nose a bit when ticking Cat C Barnies. My first Whitethroat of the year too. No Spotted Redshank on the grazing marsh still, they're really giving me a tough time this year, but a couple of Little Ringed Plover.

137 Whitethroat
138 Barnacle Goose