Original PaulE
Well-known member
Trip to Wales
Saturday 29th of October to Thursday 3rd of November
Based near Dolgellau
We arrived on the 29th after an uneventful drive , a small flock of Parakeets over the M25 about the best, to late really to do anything, but a quick trip down the river got us distant views of a Dipper . So, a delicious home cooked meal from my Dad’s better half was the highlight of the day.
Sunday 30th
We decided to go to the Point of Air today, mainly because despite numerous trips to Wales I’d never been! Not to hopeful being a month to late and no wind, felt the chances of much seabird action to be limited and so it proved!! The trip up was enlivened by taking a wrong turn and ending up being stopped by stewards from entering the World Rally Championships Welsh leg! I felt my KIA RIO could give em a run for their money but Margie weren’t keen and the Stewards were against it as well!! Back on track we arrived in good time, plenty of waders about, a brief view of a Merlin, an extended view of a Peregrine and a cooperative Kestrel about the best we could manage in the predictable absence of Petrels and Shearwaters!! Also, plenty of Goldfinches, Linnets and Pipits kept us interested in what was a very nice walk around! We adjourned to the Lola and Suggs Café for a very nice Egg and Bacon Bap,I bravely resisted the cakes, unfortunately my resistance didn’t last long as there was a bakers next door and I ended up buying a Brownie, a Carrot Cake and an Eccles Cake!! Though Margie stepped in and ate the Eccles!! Fully rested we headed along the coast towards Conwy,vague promises were made about going to the castle later and we headed to the RSPB reserve, news that the recent Hoopoe had been eaten by a Peregrine was disappointing (not least for the Hoopoe!) another nice walk, including bravely walking past untethered horses!!!plenty of Wildfowl,Herons and Waders but the only thing of interest was a Kingfisher that went past like a bullet!! Having put it off for as long as possible and in the full expectation it would be shut we headed for the Castle, Damn still open, fifteen quid later and we are in! In fairness as castles go this was a pretty good one and Health & Safety seemed not to have reached it as we could go to the top of all the towers!! While Margie walked around learning stuff and saying things like “this is interesting” (it never was!) I admired the views up and down the river and tried to get pics of the Jackdaws on my phone, and on the plus side finally got Margie pole dancing though need to work on the outfit!! luckily as the castle was closing we didn’t have time to look around the gift shop so managed not to pay a fiver for a pot of Jam with a fancy label on it!!
Monday 31st
With a very good weather forecast we decided to stay local and launch an assault on the north face of Cader Idris (the local mountain) .However before this we decided to look for the rumoured local Hawfinches armed with specific info, go to the churchyard, head to river ,trees on the left etc we set off, churchyard had loads of thrushes,Mistles,Song,Redwing,Fieldfare and Blackbirds but no Hawfinches, trees on the left had none ,nor by the river, we gave up, on the walk back a distant pine tree had a likely looking bird on top of it, examination of the pictures revealed Hawfinch!! (either that or I’ve photoshopped a Greenfinch amazingly!!!) Anyway on to Cader we set off full of optimism but it soon became apparent that the weaker member of the team wasn’t gonna make it, constant whinging, dragging of heels, complaining of aches and pains and the lack of Sherpas, Margie weren’t much better either!! We were however entertained by a huge flock of Thrushes, mainly fieldfare, which I spent an excellent couple of hours trying to get pictures of em!! Must have been at least 300 birds in the flock and even managed to find a Brambling when going through the pictures which I didn’t notice at the time!!! Great views of fantastic scenery even at the level we reached (about halfway up) wasn’t enough to drive us on and we retreated down the hill! We then drove further along the single track road to some nice lakes, the only bird of note was a Stonechat though more fantastic scenery all around was nice even in the face of having to reverse about 2 miles back down the road due to a large scaffolding lorry attempting the route!! On our way again down a steep road to Arthog before ending up at Fairbourne where a Steak baguette replenished us enough for a lovely walk along the beach, an Oystercatcher pretty much the only bird except for some very distant duck that might have been Scoters!! On the way back to base decided to try for the Hawfinches again no luck but the River produced good views of a Dipper, a nice finish to the day!!!!
Tuesday 1st
Back on the road today for a visit to the Llyn Penninsula, never been before, a pleasant drive only interrupted by the convoy system at an unpronounceable place near Portmadoc which took ages to get through, passing Criccieth the inevitable “oh look a castle” was skilfully batted away with “will do it on the way back”, we arrived at Porth Meudwy and walked down to the cove, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Robins everywhere, hitting the coast we headed North climbing the steep pathway to the top of the Cliffs more stunning views, a lone Raven cronked over, regular small groups of Meadow Pipits headed south, Stonechat appeared regularly, I finally heard a Chough calling ,the briefest of views as it flew below us , lots of interesting Fungi along the path, we rounded a corner to finally see two Chough feeding busily on the grass and we had great views for ten minutes before they realised we were there! We carried on around until we had views of Bardsey Island where I decided to do a quick Seawatch, a few Brents and some small parties of Guillemots the highlights, calling Choughs soon distracted me although these were more distant. Deciding to head back a movement caught the corner of my eye ,Merlin, which disappeared around a rise in the land, ”think that landed” I said, we crept around the path to see a beautiful Merlin perched on a fence post which amazingly posed for pics for a good minute before launching itself off the cliff, the Bird of the trip!!! The rest of the walk back was more of the same with a Buzzard flying along the Cliffs the main attraction. We arrived back in Criccieth and visited the castle, much less here than Conwy and as it was unmanned it was free!! Managed to drag ourselves away and visited the local Cadwaladers where a Waffle with Blueberries/Strawberries and Maple syrup was much appreciated, from the window an outstanding view across the bay where I noticed a flock of Ducks which on later examination with the scope turned out to be Common Scoters!!
Wednesday 2nd
Postponing our journey home in the face of another lovely forecast we decided to head south to RSPB Ynys Hir, I’ve visited quite a few times in the spring but never in the autumn, arriving late on account of stopping in Machynlleth for a full welsh breakfast, the visitor center feeders had good numbers of Coal Tits and an entertaining Nuthatch, walking around the reserve concentrating on the Saltmarsh we had a Red-breasted Goose in with the Barnacles and lots of Egrets the highlight though was a Red Kite which showed right over our heads in tandem with a Buzzard, a Peregrine also put in an appearance but we couldn’t find the reported Hen Harriers, a hornets nest was interesting and another spooky meeting with someone who played for Hadleigh cricket team!! Wherever we go we seem to meet people from Suffolk!! by now certain people were complaining of blisters so the afternoon was confined to a drive up the A44 in search of Red Kites,well we hit the jackpot at what I presume is a feeding centre hundreds of em flying all around watched til the light faded couple of Buzzards and a Raven in with em a truly spectacular sight!!! Dinner was a very nice welsh black rib eye and bread n butter pud at the George in Pemenpool! A fitting end to the trip
Thursday 3rd
Uneventful drive home the highlight 30 odd Red Kites along the M40
All in all a good trip with some good birds ,the autumn colours were probably the highlight after the Merlin!!
Pictures of the Welsh Birds here
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=6356FB2BA7828F28!7437&cid=6356FB2BA7828F28
Pictures of the Scenery here
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=6356FB2BA7828F28!7501&cid=6356FB2BA7828F28
cheers
Saturday 29th of October to Thursday 3rd of November
Based near Dolgellau
We arrived on the 29th after an uneventful drive , a small flock of Parakeets over the M25 about the best, to late really to do anything, but a quick trip down the river got us distant views of a Dipper . So, a delicious home cooked meal from my Dad’s better half was the highlight of the day.
Sunday 30th
We decided to go to the Point of Air today, mainly because despite numerous trips to Wales I’d never been! Not to hopeful being a month to late and no wind, felt the chances of much seabird action to be limited and so it proved!! The trip up was enlivened by taking a wrong turn and ending up being stopped by stewards from entering the World Rally Championships Welsh leg! I felt my KIA RIO could give em a run for their money but Margie weren’t keen and the Stewards were against it as well!! Back on track we arrived in good time, plenty of waders about, a brief view of a Merlin, an extended view of a Peregrine and a cooperative Kestrel about the best we could manage in the predictable absence of Petrels and Shearwaters!! Also, plenty of Goldfinches, Linnets and Pipits kept us interested in what was a very nice walk around! We adjourned to the Lola and Suggs Café for a very nice Egg and Bacon Bap,I bravely resisted the cakes, unfortunately my resistance didn’t last long as there was a bakers next door and I ended up buying a Brownie, a Carrot Cake and an Eccles Cake!! Though Margie stepped in and ate the Eccles!! Fully rested we headed along the coast towards Conwy,vague promises were made about going to the castle later and we headed to the RSPB reserve, news that the recent Hoopoe had been eaten by a Peregrine was disappointing (not least for the Hoopoe!) another nice walk, including bravely walking past untethered horses!!!plenty of Wildfowl,Herons and Waders but the only thing of interest was a Kingfisher that went past like a bullet!! Having put it off for as long as possible and in the full expectation it would be shut we headed for the Castle, Damn still open, fifteen quid later and we are in! In fairness as castles go this was a pretty good one and Health & Safety seemed not to have reached it as we could go to the top of all the towers!! While Margie walked around learning stuff and saying things like “this is interesting” (it never was!) I admired the views up and down the river and tried to get pics of the Jackdaws on my phone, and on the plus side finally got Margie pole dancing though need to work on the outfit!! luckily as the castle was closing we didn’t have time to look around the gift shop so managed not to pay a fiver for a pot of Jam with a fancy label on it!!
Monday 31st
With a very good weather forecast we decided to stay local and launch an assault on the north face of Cader Idris (the local mountain) .However before this we decided to look for the rumoured local Hawfinches armed with specific info, go to the churchyard, head to river ,trees on the left etc we set off, churchyard had loads of thrushes,Mistles,Song,Redwing,Fieldfare and Blackbirds but no Hawfinches, trees on the left had none ,nor by the river, we gave up, on the walk back a distant pine tree had a likely looking bird on top of it, examination of the pictures revealed Hawfinch!! (either that or I’ve photoshopped a Greenfinch amazingly!!!) Anyway on to Cader we set off full of optimism but it soon became apparent that the weaker member of the team wasn’t gonna make it, constant whinging, dragging of heels, complaining of aches and pains and the lack of Sherpas, Margie weren’t much better either!! We were however entertained by a huge flock of Thrushes, mainly fieldfare, which I spent an excellent couple of hours trying to get pictures of em!! Must have been at least 300 birds in the flock and even managed to find a Brambling when going through the pictures which I didn’t notice at the time!!! Great views of fantastic scenery even at the level we reached (about halfway up) wasn’t enough to drive us on and we retreated down the hill! We then drove further along the single track road to some nice lakes, the only bird of note was a Stonechat though more fantastic scenery all around was nice even in the face of having to reverse about 2 miles back down the road due to a large scaffolding lorry attempting the route!! On our way again down a steep road to Arthog before ending up at Fairbourne where a Steak baguette replenished us enough for a lovely walk along the beach, an Oystercatcher pretty much the only bird except for some very distant duck that might have been Scoters!! On the way back to base decided to try for the Hawfinches again no luck but the River produced good views of a Dipper, a nice finish to the day!!!!
Tuesday 1st
Back on the road today for a visit to the Llyn Penninsula, never been before, a pleasant drive only interrupted by the convoy system at an unpronounceable place near Portmadoc which took ages to get through, passing Criccieth the inevitable “oh look a castle” was skilfully batted away with “will do it on the way back”, we arrived at Porth Meudwy and walked down to the cove, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Robins everywhere, hitting the coast we headed North climbing the steep pathway to the top of the Cliffs more stunning views, a lone Raven cronked over, regular small groups of Meadow Pipits headed south, Stonechat appeared regularly, I finally heard a Chough calling ,the briefest of views as it flew below us , lots of interesting Fungi along the path, we rounded a corner to finally see two Chough feeding busily on the grass and we had great views for ten minutes before they realised we were there! We carried on around until we had views of Bardsey Island where I decided to do a quick Seawatch, a few Brents and some small parties of Guillemots the highlights, calling Choughs soon distracted me although these were more distant. Deciding to head back a movement caught the corner of my eye ,Merlin, which disappeared around a rise in the land, ”think that landed” I said, we crept around the path to see a beautiful Merlin perched on a fence post which amazingly posed for pics for a good minute before launching itself off the cliff, the Bird of the trip!!! The rest of the walk back was more of the same with a Buzzard flying along the Cliffs the main attraction. We arrived back in Criccieth and visited the castle, much less here than Conwy and as it was unmanned it was free!! Managed to drag ourselves away and visited the local Cadwaladers where a Waffle with Blueberries/Strawberries and Maple syrup was much appreciated, from the window an outstanding view across the bay where I noticed a flock of Ducks which on later examination with the scope turned out to be Common Scoters!!
Wednesday 2nd
Postponing our journey home in the face of another lovely forecast we decided to head south to RSPB Ynys Hir, I’ve visited quite a few times in the spring but never in the autumn, arriving late on account of stopping in Machynlleth for a full welsh breakfast, the visitor center feeders had good numbers of Coal Tits and an entertaining Nuthatch, walking around the reserve concentrating on the Saltmarsh we had a Red-breasted Goose in with the Barnacles and lots of Egrets the highlight though was a Red Kite which showed right over our heads in tandem with a Buzzard, a Peregrine also put in an appearance but we couldn’t find the reported Hen Harriers, a hornets nest was interesting and another spooky meeting with someone who played for Hadleigh cricket team!! Wherever we go we seem to meet people from Suffolk!! by now certain people were complaining of blisters so the afternoon was confined to a drive up the A44 in search of Red Kites,well we hit the jackpot at what I presume is a feeding centre hundreds of em flying all around watched til the light faded couple of Buzzards and a Raven in with em a truly spectacular sight!!! Dinner was a very nice welsh black rib eye and bread n butter pud at the George in Pemenpool! A fitting end to the trip
Thursday 3rd
Uneventful drive home the highlight 30 odd Red Kites along the M40
All in all a good trip with some good birds ,the autumn colours were probably the highlight after the Merlin!!
Pictures of the Welsh Birds here
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=6356FB2BA7828F28!7437&cid=6356FB2BA7828F28
Pictures of the Scenery here
https://onedrive.live.com/?id=6356FB2BA7828F28!7501&cid=6356FB2BA7828F28
cheers
