An afternoon visit to Rainbow Bridge, Old Colwyn with Jason Atkinson produced distant but clear views of a Male and Female Surf Scoter amongst the many thousands of Common Scoter.
The light was good and the white head markings and bright orange bill showed up really well on the Male with the Female also beside him for good measure.
Also present:
A large gathering of Turnstones on the rocks 10+ Velvet Scoters 1 Red-throated Diver 2 Great-crested Grebes 1 Oystercatcher 1 Meadow Pipit 1 Chiffchaff (heard)
A great afternoon in lovely weather conditions
Mike Chorley said
Sun Mar 25 8:04 PM, 2012
World's End Area
This a.m. with messrs Ausberger, Rigby & Rayner.
Blackcock min. 22 Greyhen 2
Also:
Stonechat 2M1F Reedbunting M&F Phesant 1 Red-legged Partridge 3 on approach road, 1 heard at World's End Red Grouse 1
-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Sunday 25th of March 2012 08:44:47 PM
Raymond Ashcroft said
Fri Mar 23 3:17 PM, 2012
Thurs 22nd March - South Stacks RSPB
Plenty of Guillemots and Razorbills on the Cliff. Only one Puffin seen. Shag and 2 Ravens flew past cliffs.
In the Gorse - lots of Stonechat showing, plus a few Wheatear, Linnet and a single Yellow Wagtail
sid ashton said
Sat Mar 3 2:29 AM, 2012
Without being specific had good views of the Black Grouse on the moors above World's End this morning. There were three separate groups of 8,10 and 20+, the latter group being put up by an overflying police helicopter.
Also saw in the area:- Red Grouse, Great Grey Shrike, Raven, Buzzard, Crossbills, Dipper and Grey Wagtail. A nice mix of species for us.
Henry Cook said
Tue Feb 28 4:15 PM, 2012
The main Purple Sandpiper roost has moved westwards from the point in the last year or two. They are now a lot trickier to see. One or two still come to the point occasionally. Worth a look on your next trip! Henry.
Martyn Jones said
Tue Feb 28 8:34 AM, 2012
Thanks for your reply Henry, unfortunately I don't have any photographs or detailed descriptions of the LBJ's. They took us a little by surprise and so we had to check our book from memory and couldn't decide between the two. When they flew over we were actually looking for Purple Sandpipers on the shore but couldn't find any. Still, the Eider pair were a nice find.
The LBJ's didn't seem to be any real colour in them apart from brown streaks (no pink or reddish colours) but we didn't get a really good close look as they didn't hang about for long. I can live with them being Linnets as I haven't seen too many of them anyway and they definitely weren't sparrows! Cheers, Martyn.
Henry Cook said
Tue Feb 28 7:45 AM, 2012
Hi Martyn. You managed to get around many of the major sites there. Lots of good birds along the way too.
A small flock of Twite wouldn't be unheard of at Rhos-on-sea, but i've only had Linnets there myself this winter. I wouldn't wish to do you out of a lifer but if you've got photos or a detailed description then you might be able to confirm it.
Thanks. Henry.
Martyn Jones said
Mon Feb 27 1:54 PM, 2012
Sarah and I had a great mini-break to parts of North Wales and Anglesey this weekend (25-26 Feb), at times meeting up with members of the Leigh Ornithological Society. We visited the following places:
Spinnies Nature Reserve, Bangor - a great little place
2 Buzzards over as we drove towards Penrhyn Castle
Red-breasted Merganser (lifer), Shelduck, Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe and rafts of Wigeon on the estuary in front of the car park
A single lost Tundra Bean Goose (lifer) in a nearby field amongst a load of Greylags
Several Redshank in the same field
Two Little Egrets flew over the field
Snipe, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Mallard, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, and Great Tit from Kingfisher Hide (but no Kingfisher )
Much the same at the Bird Hide with the exception of Snipe and with better views of a Little Egret and at least 3 Grey Herons
Redshank on the edge of the water along the beach
Bangor Harbour Area - just a quick stop
Single Greenshank
Lots of Oystercatchers and Shelduck
Several Greater Black-backed and Herring Gulls
2 Mute Swans with 2 juveniles
Red Wharf Bay South Side, Anglesey - another quick stop
Lots of Curlew
Many Oystercatchers and Shelduck
Distant Gulls (various)
Point Lynas, Anglesey - a fabulous location
Male and female Stonechat (lifer) in gorse field on the approach road to the lighthouse
Kestrel on telephone wire
2 Shags (lifer) and a single Cormorant on the sea
Various Gulls, but mainly Herring and Black-backed Gulls
Holyhead Harbour, Anglesey - a very short morning walk
A Song Thrush and a Chaffinch singing away in trees
House Sparrows ging inside the ruined old 'house'
Lots of feral Pigeons in the old disused 'fort' building
Not much else about on the harbour
Penrhos Nature Reserve, Holyhead, Anglesey - a brief stop on the way to Conwy RSPB
Quite a few Bar tailed Godwits along the water's edge
Many Oystercatchers and Curlew on the mudflats along with some Shelduck and various Gulls
Conwy RSPB, North Wales - a good walk round which got better after a slow start
Water very low in front of the coffee shop and nothing much about
A pair of singing Dunnocks and a Robin in the Gorse along the paths but no Firecrest
Red-breasted Merganser, Little Egret, Lapwing, Moorhen, Canada Goose on the larger pool seen from Carneddau Hide
Many House Sparrows and Tits around the feeders near the gate to the car park
Two Buzzards over the picnic tables
At least 40-50 Curlew on the island in the larger pool (seen from viewpoint on the estuary)
At least 30-40 Redshank in the same place
A few Oystercatchers on the islands
Not many Canada Geese
A small group of Teal singing on the estuary along with 20-30 Shelduck and a raft of around 10-15 Wigeon
Around 20-25 Redshank on the shallow 'spit' on the estuary
Various distant Gulls on the river Conwy
A single Grey Heron over
Great Orme, Llandudno (free car park halfway up)
Lots of Jackdaw about
A single Carrion Crow bowing and cawing on the picnic tables
A small flock of Greenfinch around the Gorse bushes
Not much else, although the wind was making it quite cold
Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales
A beautiful pair of Eider Duck resting on one the rocky breakwaters
Many Turnstones around the same rocks
There were a few Oystercatchers about and a raft of 20-30 Wigeon whistling on the sea
2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Pied/White Wagtail and 2 Rock Pipits on another breakwater
Many distant Gulls on the golf course with a couple Coot on the ponds
A small flock of Twite (lifer) (or perhaps Linnet, we couldn't decide which) was also flying around the golf course entrance
A great end to a fabulous weekend with my dearly beloved, who is now gradually getting into this birding lark
Thus endeth my longest ever post to the forum so far - with a few others on the way, we saw a total of 56 species and 5 lifers (for me) over the short break.
-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Monday 27th of February 2012 04:34:30 PM
sid ashton said
Mon Feb 20 6:13 AM, 2012
Thwarted in our efforts by the snow this morning to get up the road to World's End and then to get to the Llandegla visitor centre John Barber, Paul Crawley (Frodsham birder) and I set off to Clocaenog Forest.
First stop was the monument at Pincyn Llys where we had great views of several groups of Crossbills as well as very distant views of a Goshawk and two others calling very close-by. There were more Crossbills present at Bod Petrual and in the car park at the foot of Craig Bron Bonag where, after that hard climb we found a female Bullfinch and a Great Grey Shrike to the north of the mast compound.
sid ashton said
Thu Feb 9 2:04 AM, 2012
With John Barber this morning finally managed to nail one of the Llandullas drake Surf Scoters. Although quite distant the light was excellent and we were able to pick up its distinguishing features as it swam around with a relatively small group of Common Scoter.
We also picked up a couple of Velvet Scoters as well as Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Great Crested Grebe and Sanderlings and Turnstones on the beach.
Still no sign of the Firecrests at Conwy RSPB.
Robert Adderley said
Wed Feb 8 1:56 AM, 2012
At least 1 drake Surf Scoter and 6 Velvet Scoters off Llandulas early pm in calm bright conditions.
sid ashton said
Sun Feb 5 5:17 AM, 2012
Some days are good and some days are not so good and today fell into the latter category for the Manx birder and myself. We set out in the hope of finding and photographing the long staying Firecrests at RSPB Conwy - but after two hours of distinctly low temperatures the best we could manage were several Robins and a female Bullfinch
Still there were always those Surf Scoters at Llandullas - some hope. Plenty of Common Scoters and 2 distant Velvets and then the rain came - some days are not so good .
Doc Brewster said
Sat Feb 4 10:39 PM, 2012
Hi Jonathan When I saw the 3 drake Surf Scoters a few weeks ago it was a similar story. Two of the drakes seemed to hang around together, wherever they were in the flock and were briefly joined by a third. But they seemed pretty aggressive to the third drake and chased it off whenever it got anywhere near them. Cheers Paul
Jonathan Platt said
Sun Jan 29 5:50 AM, 2012
Tony Mossman wrote:
Llandulas with a flat calm sea gave great but distant views of the Scoter flock with its accompanying Red Throated Divers, Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes, eventually 4 Velvet Scoters were seen in flight
There were three drake surf scoters off Llanddulas today too. I found a single drake around 2.00pm (we managed to get a couple from Wigan on to it) then my mate found three around 3.30pm. Two drakes seemed to be associating with a female scoter, if it was another surf we couldn't see any discernible head markings, though they were very distant. The third drake seemed a bit of a loner, indeed it disappeared later (we watched them for around 15mins), which tallies with my observations a couple of weeks ago. We had three sightings of velvets - a single flapping, two in flight, and finally at least three landing with a mass of common scoter.
Tony Mossman said
Sun Jan 29 2:43 AM, 2012
Day out with Holly Page and Dan Mossman. Stopped near Flint Castle hoping for Twite but none seen. Highlight here was a Song Thrush impersonating many other species and doing a fine job too! Among its repertoire was Buzzard and Teal, quite amusing. At Kinmel Bay 5 Snow Buntings were seen well and many Sanderlings scurrying along the tide line. Llandulas with a flat calm sea gave great but distant views of the Scoter flock with its accompanying Red Throated Divers, Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes, eventually 4 Velvet Scoters were seen in flight. Last stop Conwy for the firecrest, despite a few crest like squeaks we were unable to locate it/them, a good day out though in decent weather.
Denzil Nicklin said
Tue Jan 17 5:43 PM, 2012
Hi Sid
I have exactly the same problem as well,with birds often being far too distant to 'Call' confidently,but I suppose that's the added challenge that comes with seawatching. Nonetheless,yourself and John have seen some cracking birds again,and I really must try and get to see the Snow Buntings sometime.
Cheers Denzil
sid ashton said
Mon Jan 16 7:08 PM, 2012
A last minute decision found John Barber and myself at Llanddulas this morning looking at a very crowded seascape. In amongst the 1000s and 1000s of Common Scoter we searched for the illusive Surf Scoter. The main problem was distance, most of the the birds were out close to the wind turbines. I felt that we had brief head-on views of the two reported drakes and as I moved a little further down the beach John was happy with two "white neck patch" rear views. On my walk about a possible female was pointed out to me - dot watching is not easy - therefore I can't say positively that I have seen a Surf Scoter today.
However on the positive side we did see several Velvet Scoters as well as Red-throated Divers, Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe also 3 Whooper Swans flew in.
On the way home we called in at Rhyl marine lake where the long staying Great Northern Diver showed well and at Kinmel Bay 15 Snow Bunting fed on the rocky beach close to the big logs.
Denzil Nicklin said
Fri Jan 6 4:01 PM, 2012
Hi Henry
That is now a staggeringly good effort!! I have an ambition to 'Ton Up' in a single day,but sadly have never achieved it. I remember when I recorded the 82 species around Cheshire a couple of years ago in July,I started at 4.30am at Moore Nature Reserve,and then covered all the other sites that I mentioned before finishing at dusk,and due to covering them all on foot,I was absolutely shattered,and vowed that I would never try again! There is no doubt that you're right about not having to visit a multitude of sites to see good birds,or record very high quantities of species,it's all about timing and picking the right location.
Cheers Denzil
Henry Cook said
Wed Jan 4 4:17 PM, 2012
Hi Denzil.
We all went round as a group and agreed that at least 3 out of the 5 of us had to see each species. This meant sticking fairly close together whilst actively birding. As it was a bird race we weren't giving some birds the time of day they deserved but i've got the rest of the year for that.
For one site alone, seeing 81 species is very impressive and just shows that you don't have to drive miles and miles to see a good diversity of birds.
Henry.
Denzil Nicklin said
Wed Jan 4 3:57 PM, 2012
Henry Cook wrote..........recorded 104 species in the North Wales region
Hi Henry
104 species in a single day is incredible!! May I ask whether you all stayed together throughout the day,or did everyone go Birding at different locations,and then total up the amount of species seen. The best total that I have ever managed personally in a single day is 82 species,and I took in Moore Nature Reserve,Marbury Country Park,Anderton Nature Park and the local Flashes to get them. A good friend of mine at Frodsham Marsh opened up his 'Year List' there on the 1st of January last year with 81 species,which is the best single site total from a single visit that I've encountered so far,and he had loads of the common expected species missing that day too!
Cheers Denzil
-- Edited by Denzil Nicklin on Wednesday 4th of January 2012 04:03:34 PM
Henry Cook said
Tue Jan 3 10:52 AM, 2012
They were in bushes by the car park initially, but then flew to the marsh with Linnets. The saltmarsh at Flint on the Dee is also good for them.
Joe Wynn said
Tue Jan 3 10:21 AM, 2012
Henry Cook wrote:
Twite- Point of Ayr
Hi Henry, were the twite on the saltmash behind the spit or on the beach/ dunes around the lighthouse?
Henry Cook said
Mon Jan 2 10:59 PM, 2012
Recorded 104 species in the North Wales region yesterday with a team of Conwy birders. Highlights during a fairly soggy, breezy and cold day included:
Twite, Merlin, Woodcock and Water Rail - Point of Ayr Great Northern Diver - Rhyl Marine Lake 10 Snow Buntings, Sanderling - Kinmel Bay Marsh Tit - Bodelwyddan Castle Eider, Kittiwake - Rhos Point Firecrest - Conwy RSPB 4 Med Gulls, Barwit, Brent Goose, Slav Grebe - Penrhos Coastal Park 2 Black-throated Divers, Great Northern Diver, 2 Black Guillemots - Holyhead Harbour 2 Hen Harriers (males), 3 Water Pipits, Jack Snipe, Pintail - Malltreath Marsh
Surprising omissions included Great Spotted Woodpecker, Purple Sandpiper, Chough, Stonechat, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, all owls and Razorbill.
Ollie Wright said
Mon Jan 2 7:57 PM, 2012
Stayed at the Anglesey Outdoor Centre near Porth Dafarch for NY - managed to get in a few ambles around the area.
Porth Dafarch Beach and environs
Raven - constantly flying over Oystercatcher - a lot around, especially feeding in fields Lapwing - flock of around 200 seen flying together every day of the stay from Porth Dafarch Road Chough - pair flying over Porth Dafarch beach, to the apparent consternation of the Herring Gulls Curlew - lots. Largest group I saw was a flyover of eight. Separately, five landed in a farmers field very close to me, but took wing when I moved towards them to get a better look. Also, two feeding in horse paddock with Herring Gulls, Jackdaws and Starlings Buzzard - great views in flight and perched Meadow Pipit - individual feeding on Porth Dafarch Beach Kestrel (female)
Coastal path towards Treaddur Bay
Redshank - flock of c. 30 in flooded field Turnstone - group feeding with Oystercatchers in sheep field Curlew - two, one at top of hill in sheep field, another in flooded field
Then a very quick stop-off at a beach in Newborough - driving away, somewhat surprised to spot a Hooded Crow in a tree, a first for me since a childhood holiday in Scotland.
Pete Welch said
Fri Dec 30 10:03 PM, 2011
Thanks Nick - I may follow that up as its piqued my interest a bit! Peter
Nick Isherwood said
Fri Dec 30 9:05 PM, 2011
Pete Welch wrote:
Quick trip to the Rhyl area this morning found two SEO at Kinmel being territorial at first light [called in early to see if the bad weather yesterday had bought them out to hunt early which it seemed to have done], then the GND which showed very well until dog walkers turned up in force at which point it retired to the middle of the marine lake. Took some seed for the Snow Bunts at the logs on the beach and noticed someone has rung the majority of them - hopefully that's ringing as part of a scientific study...
A good morning and interesting to see the GND feeding on crabs every ten minutes or so.
Quick trip to the Rhyl area this morning found two SEO at Kinmel being territorial at first light [called in early to see if the bad weather yesterday had bought them out to hunt early which it seemed to have done], then the GND which showed very well until dog walkers turned up in force at which point it retired to the middle of the marine lake. Took some seed for the Snow Bunts at the logs on the beach and noticed someone has rung the majority of them - hopefully that's ringing as part of a scientific study...
A good morning and interesting to see the GND feeding on crabs every ten minutes or so.
Alex Jones said
Mon Dec 26 2:23 PM, 2011
An update of the Noth Wales area:
Rhos point is putting on a good show of Purple Sandpipers with atleast 23 counted within the last day or so.
GND still on marine lake, Rhyl
A count of up to 12 Snow Buntings at Kimmel Bay
3 Firecrests at Conwy
Spoonbill at Point of Ayr (Talacre) on 24th Dec
Approx 10,000 Common scoter with a small handful of Velvets at Llandulas
And for the people who would like to add a splash of exotic colour to their christmas, a Ring Necked Parakeet has set up home in the Deganwy area!
Cheers, Alex
Alex Jones said
Mon Dec 19 11:34 AM, 2011
This is a great forum. I'm from North Wales, and regulaly bird the North Wales area, so i'll look forward to contributing in the future.
Great Northern Diver showing very well on Rhyl Marine lake, as are a pair of short eared owls in a site not too far from there...
Holly Page said
Sun Dec 11 7:50 PM, 2011
Trip to RSPB Conwy this afternoon. Had several great views of firecrest (lifer ) along the path at the back below the main A55. Other sightings of note were a an unseasonable chiffchaff, pair of red breasted mergansers and a single redwing.
Patrick Earith said
Sat Dec 10 5:49 PM, 2011
A windy morning visit found just two Snow Buntings next to the logs in front of the raised platform at the end of the promenade (just where you said they'd be - thanks Pete!) Looking lovely in the low morning sun. An added bonus was a flock of eight Common Scoter, quite close in and four Goosander (1m, 3f/j) flying through.
Martyn Jones said
Sun Nov 27 10:27 PM, 2011
Sarah and I had a nice mini break in North Wales and Anglesey on this, the windiest weekend of the year. We saw the following birds:
Kimnel Bay (in a sandstorm) Snow Bunting (1) Dunlin (Still debating whether they were Sanderling) Redshank (4) Oystercatcher (lots) Cormorant (15) Common Gull (4) Herring Gull (lots) Greater Black-backed Gull (6)
Conwy RSPB at dusk Curlew (2 on estuary) Little Egret (2 on estuary) Teal Coot Moorhen Mallard Black-tailed Godwit (1) Blue Tit (1) Starlings (lots) Mute Swan (2 on estuary) Wild ponies (at least 6)
Cemlyn Bay (nearly dusk) Widgeon (small party of males and females walking up a high grassy bank) Coot (lots) Great Black-backed Gull 91) Herring Gull (lots) Mallard Oystercatcher (2) Unidentified white and black duck, possibly a mallard hybrid
Cemaes Bay (at dusk) Oystercatcher (3)
Mike Chorley said
Sun Nov 20 10:12 PM, 2011
A very depleted Oldham Birders trip today (Self & Mike Ausberger only - with assistance from the Not-So-Fat Controller at home)
The Scoter flock was too distant and the beach at Kinmel too disturbed, so we continued to Anglesey. Located the Lesser Yellowlegs at LLanfachraeth on the second attempt, had good views of Stonechat and the Red-necked Grebe at Llyn Penrhyn (R.S.P.B. Valley) and the Tundra Bean Goose at Llyn Corren.
As well as a fly-through of 15 Whimbrel heading S.W. our first visit to the Alaw produced a mystery wader. When I first saw it, partly concealed behind some rocks, from the head and beak I identified it as a Greenshank. However, when it flew off and landed near a Redshank it was clearly smaller. It had greenish legs, which seemed slightly out-of-proportion to its' body, a white inverted v up its' back and very clean neck and underparts, with just a small area of barring at the rear base of the neck, ending at about the point where the folded wing turns towards the tail. One of the other 3 birders present commented on long trailing legs and the lack of any wing bars. If it weren't for the bill I would have been happy to post that I'd seen a Marsh Sandpiper, especially after checking a couple of field guides. When two of the other three birders also returned they'd come to a similar conclusion. On our second visit Mike and I saw what was clearly a Greenshank, which was definately larger than the bird in question. (Again, there was a convenient Redshank for comparison). Any thoughts/info on size range of Greenshank or degree of curvature of Marsh Sandpiper bills most welcome.
Joe Wynn said
Sat Nov 19 6:19 PM, 2011
A whopping 10 snow bunting at Kimnel today (a group of 6 and a group of 4 which headed east early on), quite obliging and feeding by the usual feeding log, according to exif data on the camera about 7ft was the closest one. Also present were numerous dunlin, sanderling, ringed plover and 3 Goosander. A cracking day out!
Pete Welch said
Tue Nov 15 6:33 PM, 2011
Seven snow buntings this morning at Kinmel Bay - quite flighty and seemed to be some disputes within the flock - maybe three new birds joining the four that had been seen before had caused some trouble.
Then went to the Spinnies for three hours - its only a small reserve but I saw Kingfisher, eight Little Egret, Goldeneye, GSW, lots of Little Grebe, a Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, three Water Rail [early on only - including one swimming], mallard, large flock of Widgeon on the shore, all the common woodland species on the feeders [four feet from the hide windows] and lots of juvenile moorhen.
A good day out and better for the wallet than the seven hour drive I was thinking about to Northumberland for a certain wader
Joe Wynn said
Sun Oct 2 8:17 AM, 2011
OK fine, just gaining adult plumage!
Mark Rigby said
Sat Oct 1 11:18 PM, 2011
Joe Wynn wrote:
Dotterel still present by the cairn near the limestone pavement on the Great Orme, a cracking little bird, just beginning to get summer plumage.
I know we have had the hottest October on record (so far) but I think you are pushing it a bit there!
Joe Wynn said
Sat Oct 1 10:20 PM, 2011
Dotterel still present by the cairn near the limestone pavement on the Great Orme, a cracking little bird, just beginning to get summer plumage. 2 Wheatear as well in the same area.
Onto Kimnel Bay (Horton's Nose) for high tide. All waders right into the sun, driven there by the dogs I tried to get some shots, but no such luck Ah well, not the end off the world. Species present were:
Just back from a family holiday on Anglesey but managed to get a fair bit of birding done by getting up at the crack of dawn each day. The weather was fantastic and most of my efforts were centred around Point Lynas, Cemlyn and Dulas with quite a few short sea watches involved. These were the highlights:
Pomarine Skua - Cemlyn - new lifer for me!! Arctic Skua - Cemlyn and Point Lynas Great Skua - Point Lynas - seen mugging a Herring gull for a meal. The birds locked up in flight momentarily before the skua won. Peregrine - Dulas and Point Lynas Chough - Point Lynas and Cemlyn Black Tern - Point Lynas Red Throated Diver - Point Lynas and Cemlyn
Loads of the other usual species seen too.
A visit up to Hen Borth for the reported Richards Pipit and Lapland Buntings proved fruitless but it was nice to see good movements of Meadow Pipits coming through.
Charles Farrell said
Sun Sep 18 7:26 PM, 2011
I also made a trip to RSPB Conwy on Sat 17th, but while my sister and mum headed to the arts and craft shops I headed along the estuary before taking refuge in one of the hides when it really began to rain (and hail).
I tried to check the RSPB website from my iPad en-route, but somehow I couldn't reach the site. I negelected also to check the Birdguides website, so I had no idea of the poptential treats on offer.
I enjoyed watching the large numbers of Curlew and Oystercatcher, the Lapwings, Greenshank and Redshank ... and Dunlin, but the weather prevented me from making a proper tour of the reserve and hence from visiting the hides from which a series of other species (Curlew Sandpiper, Black Term, Spotted Redshank and Buff-Breasted Sandpiper) appear to have all been seen - any of which would have made a welcome addition to my yearlist.
Still this birding lark is not all about. seeing new species everytime you go out, is it? :)
Nick Isherwood said
Sun Sep 18 6:54 PM, 2011
A family day out today to Llandudno with the promise of a bit of birding thrown in.
First stop was to RSPB Conwy for the Buff Breasted Sandpiper. This was to settle a score from earlier in the year when I dipped five times on the Frodsham bird.
The bird was easily found with the help of several locals and visitors and gave excellent views down to about 40 yards from the Boardwalk screen. A really neat and dainty bird that looked stunning in the sunlight.
Next stop was the beach at Llandudno. Here I managed a single Great Crested Grebe and a juvenile Guillemot quite close in and also 8 Raven soaring high over the little Orme. Further out to sea there were really good numbers of Gannet fishing and the odd Guillemot flying past.
Last stop of the day was a trip up the Great Orme. Really good numbers of Raven up there with at least a dozen birds soaring above us on the limestone path. Also here was a Peregrine and a single Wheatear. One or two Rock Pipit also put in an appearance on the drive up there.
Matt Potter said
Thu Sep 15 10:01 AM, 2011
Pete Welch wrote:
Started my day with a walk up Moel Famou [twice - I'm in training for the Yorkshire Three Peaks ] and was pleased to see at least four Ravens [possibly six but it was a bit murky], the familiar Kestrels on the south side of the ridge and I heard crossbills and siskin in the forest section. I expected some viz mig of Meadow pipits having seen large flocks up there last autumn but there were only odd singles and couples today.
Good luck for the 3 Peaks! We do it every year! Not sure I can beat my record time again though!
Pete Welch said
Wed Sep 14 10:00 PM, 2011
Started my day with a walk up Moel Famou [twice - I'm in training for the Yorkshire Three Peaks ] and was pleased to see at least four Ravens [possibly six but it was a bit murky], the familiar Kestrels on the south side of the ridge and I heard crossbills and siskin in the forest section. I expected some viz mig of Meadow pipits having seen large flocks up there last autumn but there were only odd singles and couples today.
Tony Darby said
Mon Aug 29 6:32 PM, 2011
Lleyn Peninsula. Myself and a bunch of friends, including Mr Wilcox, go camping on the Llyn a couple of times every year. This is a fairly typical list of what you would expect to see on this particular cliff walk. 25 Aug. Traeth Penllech to Porth Towyn with Tim Wilcox and others: 1 Grey Wagtail 103 Linnets 5 Rock Pipits 6+Swallows 1 Curlew 8 Oystercatchers 1 Wheatear 2 Choughs 2 Cormorants 4+Herring Gulls 4 Great Black-backed Gulls 6 Sandwich Terns 2 Fulmars 4+Meadow Pipits 21 Pied Wagtails inc. a group of 16 in one small field 12 Shags inc. 5 juvs.- almost certainly some of the youngsters we saw at the nest sites earlier in the year 4 Kittiwakes 1 Turnstone Also many butterflies, wild flowers and Grey Seals Cheers Tony.
steven burke said
Sat Aug 27 10:24 PM, 2011
a trip to rspb conwy today a new place for me,after a 50min delay on the train i got there just before 10am and the weather was not looking good,but still had a good days birding. 58 species seen. also really good views off peregrine falcon attempting to catch a greenshank right in front off the screen on the boardwalk,flew around a few times also dangling its legs over the area the greenshank had dived under the water to get out off the way (and it did) peregrine eventually went away empty clawed. all other birds inc... 2 curlew sandpipers 3 greenshanks 1 common sandpiper 1 ruff ringed plovers/ dunlins/ black tailed godwits/ oystercatchers/ lapwings curlews/ redshanks/ little egrets and grey herons plenty off. 1 little grebe 1 goldeneye 2 tufted duck 1 pochard 3 gadwall 3 shellduck teals/ mallards/ coots/ moorhens/ cormorants/ mute swans. 2 peregrine falcons 2 buzzards 2 sparrowhawks 3 ravens, crows, jackdaws and magpies. herring/ b-h/l-b-b/g-b-b gulls. blackcaps/ chiffchaffs/ willow warblers/ sedge warblers/ reed buntings gold finches/ greenfinches/ feral pigeons/ wood pigeons blackbirds/ robins/ dunnocks/ house sparrows/ starlings/ pied wagtails blue/great & long tailed tits swifts/ swallows/ house & sand martins all whizzing around.
good day despite the delay and the rain.
Nick Isherwood said
Wed Aug 3 1:37 PM, 2011
I went out on a charter boat yesterday from Amlwch on what was a fishing trip and thought I'd bring my bins with me to see what was about. This turned out to be a really good idea as the fishing was rubbish but fortunately there were 1000's of birds around. We spent most of our time withing two miles out from Point Lynas. Here's a brief breakdown of what was seen:
Hundreds of Manx Shearwaters passing through and also in large mixed 'rafts' with Guillemots, Razorbills, Black Guillemots and Kittiwake. Couldn't pick out any of the scarcer Shearwaters though. Lots of Guillemots and Razorbills teaching their young how to fish. Several flocks of Common Scoter moving east to west throughout the day. Upto 10 Fulmar - several of which would sit on the water within feet of the boat. Several Gannets knocking around including juveniles too. 1 adult Little Gull - Knocking around with other gulls. 1 Great Skua - seen at a distance harrassing gulls. 1 Peregrine - seen right over the boat close to Point Lynas. 1 Dunlin - fly past out at sea.
Other sightings included quite a few pods of Harbour Porpoise, one pod of 4 actually surfaced by the boat within 15 feet and then turned and swam right beneath us. Best views I've ever had of these.
Also several seals around too.
Turned out to be a really good sea watch in very nice conditions.
JOHN TYMON said
Thu Jul 14 7:06 PM, 2011
3 rd day today at south stack and Cemlyn South stack Shag-12 apparently quite unusual here 1000+ Manx shearwaters about half a mile out to sea chough-6 raven-4 stonechat -5 puffin-6 plus all the usuals
Cemlyn still approx 3000+ sandwich terns,but quite a few juv now at sea lots of Arctic/common tern with juvs on beach a few ringed plovers plus the usuals around the area
when the premium bonds come up I am buying one of the houses at south stack
Jonathan Platt said
Thu Jul 14 12:16 PM, 2011
Had a look for nightjars somewhere west of Nilig last night. Heard flight calls early-ish but it was half an hour later before one appeared - just a single bird, close but brief views of what looked like a female. Didn't hear any birds churring.
Earlier, a grasshopper warbler was reeling, tawny owls calling and two late ravens flew over.
JOHN TYMON said
Thu Jul 14 6:46 AM, 2011
Joe Wynn wrote:
Cheers John, the weather looks pretty bleak but I don't think Chough mind a bit of rain!
The light was good and the white head markings and bright orange bill showed up really well on the Male with the Female also beside him for good measure.
Also present:
A large gathering of Turnstones on the rocks
10+ Velvet Scoters
1 Red-throated Diver
2 Great-crested Grebes
1 Oystercatcher
1 Meadow Pipit
1 Chiffchaff (heard)
A great afternoon in lovely weather conditions
This a.m. with messrs Ausberger, Rigby & Rayner.
Blackcock min. 22 Greyhen 2
Also:
Stonechat 2M1F
Reedbunting M&F
Phesant 1
Red-legged Partridge 3 on approach road, 1 heard at World's End
Red Grouse 1
Buzzard 1
Merlin 1
Kestrel 1
Peregrine 1
Sparrowhawk 1
Crossbill 2
Lesser Redpoll 3
Lots of Meadow Pipits
1 Paul Hammond
-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Sunday 25th of March 2012 08:44:47 PM
Plenty of Guillemots and Razorbills on the Cliff. Only one Puffin seen.
Shag and 2 Ravens flew past cliffs.
In the Gorse - lots of Stonechat showing, plus a few Wheatear, Linnet and a single Yellow Wagtail
Also saw in the area:- Red Grouse, Great Grey Shrike, Raven, Buzzard, Crossbills, Dipper and Grey Wagtail. A nice mix of species for us.
Henry.
The LBJ's didn't seem to be any real colour in them apart from brown streaks (no pink or reddish colours) but we didn't get a really good close look as they didn't hang about for long. I can live with them being Linnets as I haven't seen too many of them anyway and they definitely weren't sparrows! Cheers, Martyn.
You managed to get around many of the major sites there. Lots of good birds along the way too.
A small flock of Twite wouldn't be unheard of at Rhos-on-sea, but i've only had Linnets there myself this winter. I wouldn't wish to do you out of a lifer but if you've got photos or a detailed description then you might be able to confirm it.
Thanks.
Henry.
Spinnies Nature Reserve, Bangor - a great little place
Bangor Harbour Area - just a quick stop
Red Wharf Bay South Side, Anglesey - another quick stop
Point Lynas, Anglesey - a fabulous location
Holyhead Harbour, Anglesey - a very short morning walk
Penrhos Nature Reserve, Holyhead, Anglesey - a brief stop on the way to Conwy RSPB
Conwy RSPB, North Wales - a good walk round which got better after a slow start
Great Orme, Llandudno (free car park halfway up)
Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales
A great end to a fabulous weekend with my dearly beloved, who is now gradually getting into this birding lark
Thus endeth my longest ever post to the forum so far - with a few others on the way, we saw a total of 56 species and 5 lifers (for me) over the short break.
-- Edited by Martyn Jones on Monday 27th of February 2012 04:34:30 PM
First stop was the monument at Pincyn Llys where we had great views of several groups of Crossbills as well as very distant views of a Goshawk and two others calling very close-by. There were more Crossbills present at Bod Petrual and in the car park at the foot of Craig Bron Bonag where, after that hard climb we found a female Bullfinch and a Great Grey Shrike to the north of the mast compound.
We also picked up a couple of Velvet Scoters as well as Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Great Crested Grebe and Sanderlings and Turnstones on the beach.
Still no sign of the Firecrests at Conwy RSPB.
Still there were always those Surf Scoters at Llandullas - some hope. Plenty of Common Scoters and 2 distant Velvets and then the rain came - some days are not so good .
When I saw the 3 drake Surf Scoters a few weeks ago it was a similar story. Two of the drakes seemed to hang around together, wherever they were in the flock and were briefly joined by a third. But they seemed pretty aggressive to the third drake and chased it off whenever it got anywhere near them.
Cheers
Paul
There were three drake surf scoters off Llanddulas today too. I found a single drake around 2.00pm (we managed to get a couple from Wigan on to it) then my mate found three around 3.30pm. Two drakes seemed to be associating with a female scoter, if it was another surf we couldn't see any discernible head markings, though they were very distant. The third drake seemed a bit of a loner, indeed it disappeared later (we watched them for around 15mins), which tallies with my observations a couple of weeks ago. We had three sightings of velvets - a single flapping, two in flight, and finally at least three landing with a mass of common scoter.
I have exactly the same problem as well,with birds often being far too distant to 'Call' confidently,but I suppose that's the added challenge that comes with seawatching.
Nonetheless,yourself and John have seen some cracking birds again,and I really must try and get to see the Snow Buntings sometime.
Cheers Denzil
However on the positive side we did see several Velvet Scoters as well as Red-throated Divers, Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebe also 3 Whooper Swans flew in.
On the way home we called in at Rhyl marine lake where the long staying Great Northern Diver showed well and at Kinmel Bay 15 Snow Bunting fed on the rocky beach close to the big logs.
That is now a staggeringly good effort!!
I have an ambition to 'Ton Up' in a single day,but sadly have never achieved it.
I remember when I recorded the 82 species around Cheshire a couple of years ago in July,I started at 4.30am at Moore Nature Reserve,and then covered all the other sites that I mentioned before finishing at dusk,and due to covering them all on foot,I was absolutely shattered,and vowed that I would never try again!
There is no doubt that you're right about not having to visit a multitude of sites to see good birds,or record very high quantities of species,it's all about timing and picking the right location.
Cheers Denzil
We all went round as a group and agreed that at least 3 out of the 5 of us had to see each species. This meant sticking fairly close together whilst actively birding. As it was a bird race we weren't giving some birds the time of day they deserved but i've got the rest of the year for that.
For one site alone, seeing 81 species is very impressive and just shows that you don't have to drive miles and miles to see a good diversity of birds.
Henry.
Henry Cook wrote..........recorded 104 species in the North Wales region
Hi Henry
104 species in a single day is incredible!!
May I ask whether you all stayed together throughout the day,or did everyone go Birding at different locations,and then total up the amount of species seen.
The best total that I have ever managed personally in a single day is 82 species,and I took in Moore Nature Reserve,Marbury Country Park,Anderton Nature Park and the local Flashes to get them.
A good friend of mine at Frodsham Marsh opened up his 'Year List' there on the 1st of January last year with 81 species,which is the best single site total from a single visit that I've encountered so far,and he had loads of the common expected species missing that day too!
Cheers Denzil
-- Edited by Denzil Nicklin on Wednesday 4th of January 2012 04:03:34 PM
The saltmarsh at Flint on the Dee is also good for them.
Hi Henry, were the twite on the saltmash behind the spit or on the beach/ dunes around the lighthouse?
Twite, Merlin, Woodcock and Water Rail - Point of Ayr
Great Northern Diver - Rhyl Marine Lake
10 Snow Buntings, Sanderling - Kinmel Bay
Marsh Tit - Bodelwyddan Castle
Eider, Kittiwake - Rhos Point
Firecrest - Conwy RSPB
4 Med Gulls, Barwit, Brent Goose, Slav Grebe - Penrhos Coastal Park
2 Black-throated Divers, Great Northern Diver, 2 Black Guillemots - Holyhead Harbour
2 Hen Harriers (males), 3 Water Pipits, Jack Snipe, Pintail - Malltreath Marsh
Surprising omissions included Great Spotted Woodpecker, Purple Sandpiper, Chough, Stonechat, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, all owls and Razorbill.
Porth Dafarch Beach and environs
Raven - constantly flying over
Oystercatcher - a lot around, especially feeding in fields
Lapwing - flock of around 200 seen flying together every day of the stay from Porth Dafarch Road
Chough - pair flying over Porth Dafarch beach, to the apparent consternation of the Herring Gulls
Curlew - lots. Largest group I saw was a flyover of eight. Separately, five landed in a farmers field very close to me, but took wing when I moved towards them to get a better look. Also, two feeding in horse paddock with Herring Gulls, Jackdaws and Starlings
Buzzard - great views in flight and perched
Meadow Pipit - individual feeding on Porth Dafarch Beach
Kestrel (female)
Coastal path towards Treaddur Bay
Redshank - flock of c. 30 in flooded field
Turnstone - group feeding with Oystercatchers in sheep field
Curlew - two, one at top of hill in sheep field, another in flooded field
Then a very quick stop-off at a beach in Newborough - driving away, somewhat surprised to spot a Hooded Crow in a tree, a first for me since a childhood holiday in Scotland.
Pete. Check out this link.
Snow Buntings ringed at Kinmel Bay
A good morning and interesting to see the GND feeding on crabs every ten minutes or so.
Rhos point is putting on a good show of Purple Sandpipers with atleast 23 counted within the last day or so.
GND still on marine lake, Rhyl
A count of up to 12 Snow Buntings at Kimmel Bay
3 Firecrests at Conwy
Spoonbill at Point of Ayr (Talacre) on 24th Dec
Approx 10,000 Common scoter with a small handful of Velvets at Llandulas
And for the people who would like to add a splash of exotic colour to their christmas, a Ring Necked Parakeet has set up home in the Deganwy area!
Cheers, Alex
I do have a blog for any who are interested: http://birdingnorthwales.blogspot.com/
Many Thanks, Alex
Kimnel Bay (in a sandstorm)
Snow Bunting (1)
Dunlin (Still debating whether they were Sanderling)
Redshank (4)
Oystercatcher (lots)
Cormorant (15)
Common Gull (4)
Herring Gull (lots)
Greater Black-backed Gull (6)
Conwy RSPB at dusk
Curlew (2 on estuary)
Little Egret (2 on estuary)
Teal
Coot
Moorhen
Mallard
Black-tailed Godwit (1)
Blue Tit (1)
Starlings (lots)
Mute Swan (2 on estuary)
Wild ponies (at least 6)
Menai Straits
Ringed Plover (lots)
Turnstone (lots)
Redshank (1)
Mallard (6)
Rock Pipit (6)
Curlew (5 in nearby field)
Carrion Crows (lots)
Starlings (6)
Unidentified redhead duck
Malltraeth (from the Cob)
Pintail (32 both male and female)
Penrhos Nature Reserve, Holyhead
Brent Goose (13)
Curlew (4)
Greenshank (1)
Ringed Plover (2)
Unidentified white duck on pond, possibly hybrid
Cemlyn Bay (nearly dusk)
Widgeon (small party of males and females walking up a high grassy bank)
Coot (lots)
Great Black-backed Gull 91)
Herring Gull (lots)
Mallard
Oystercatcher (2)
Unidentified white and black duck, possibly a mallard hybrid
Cemaes Bay (at dusk)
Oystercatcher (3)
The Scoter flock was too distant and the beach at Kinmel too disturbed, so we continued to Anglesey. Located the Lesser Yellowlegs at LLanfachraeth on the second attempt, had good views of Stonechat and the Red-necked Grebe at Llyn Penrhyn (R.S.P.B. Valley) and the Tundra Bean Goose at Llyn Corren.
As well as a fly-through of 15 Whimbrel heading S.W. our first visit to the Alaw produced a mystery wader. When I first saw it, partly concealed behind some rocks, from the head and beak I identified it as a Greenshank. However, when it flew off and landed near a Redshank it was clearly smaller. It had greenish legs, which seemed slightly out-of-proportion to its' body, a white inverted v up its' back and very clean neck and underparts, with just a small area of barring at the rear base of the neck, ending at about the point where the folded wing turns towards the tail. One of the other 3 birders present commented on long trailing legs and the lack of any wing bars. If it weren't for the bill I would have been happy to post that I'd seen a Marsh Sandpiper, especially after checking a couple of field guides.
When two of the other three birders also returned they'd come to a similar conclusion. On our second visit Mike and I saw what was clearly a Greenshank, which was definately larger than the bird in question. (Again, there was a convenient Redshank for comparison). Any thoughts/info on size range of Greenshank or degree of curvature of Marsh Sandpiper bills most welcome.
Then went to the Spinnies for three hours - its only a small reserve but I saw Kingfisher, eight Little Egret, Goldeneye, GSW, lots of Little Grebe, a Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, three Water Rail [early on only - including one swimming], mallard, large flock of Widgeon on the shore, all the common woodland species on the feeders [four feet from the hide windows] and lots of juvenile moorhen.
A good day out and better for the wallet than the seven hour drive I was thinking about to Northumberland for a certain wader
I know we have had the hottest October on record (so far) but I think you are pushing it a bit there!
Onto Kimnel Bay (Horton's Nose) for high tide. All waders right into the sun, driven there by the dogs I tried to get some shots, but no such luck Ah well, not the end off the world. Species present were:
c.400 Ringed Plover
c.20 Sanderling
c.30 Dunlin
2 Wheatear
All in all, a very reasonable day out
Pomarine Skua - Cemlyn - new lifer for me!!
Arctic Skua - Cemlyn and Point Lynas
Great Skua - Point Lynas - seen mugging a Herring gull for a meal. The birds locked up in flight momentarily before the skua won.
Peregrine - Dulas and Point Lynas
Chough - Point Lynas and Cemlyn
Black Tern - Point Lynas
Red Throated Diver - Point Lynas and Cemlyn
Loads of the other usual species seen too.
A visit up to Hen Borth for the reported Richards Pipit and Lapland Buntings proved fruitless but it was nice to see good movements of Meadow Pipits coming through.
I tried to check the RSPB website from my iPad en-route, but somehow I couldn't reach the site. I negelected also to check the Birdguides website, so I had no idea of the poptential treats on offer.
I enjoyed watching the large numbers of Curlew and Oystercatcher, the Lapwings, Greenshank and Redshank ... and Dunlin, but the weather prevented me from making a proper tour of the reserve and hence from visiting the hides from which a series of other species (Curlew Sandpiper, Black Term, Spotted Redshank and Buff-Breasted Sandpiper) appear to have all been seen - any of which would have made a welcome addition to my yearlist.
Still this birding lark is not all about. seeing new species everytime you go out, is it? :)
First stop was to RSPB Conwy for the Buff Breasted Sandpiper. This was to settle a score from earlier in the year when I dipped five times on the Frodsham bird.
The bird was easily found with the help of several locals and visitors and gave excellent views down to about 40 yards from the Boardwalk screen. A really neat and dainty bird that looked stunning in the sunlight.
Next stop was the beach at Llandudno. Here I managed a single Great Crested Grebe and a juvenile Guillemot quite close in and also 8 Raven soaring high over the little Orme. Further out to sea there were really good numbers of Gannet fishing and the odd Guillemot flying past.
Last stop of the day was a trip up the Great Orme. Really good numbers of Raven up there with at least a dozen birds soaring above us on the limestone path. Also here was a Peregrine and a single Wheatear. One or two Rock Pipit also put in an appearance on the drive up there.
Good luck for the 3 Peaks! We do it every year! Not sure I can beat my record time again though!
Myself and a bunch of friends, including Mr Wilcox, go camping on the Llyn a couple of times every year. This is a fairly typical list of what you would expect to see on this particular cliff walk.
25 Aug. Traeth Penllech to Porth Towyn with Tim Wilcox and others:
1 Grey Wagtail
103 Linnets
5 Rock Pipits
6+Swallows
1 Curlew
8 Oystercatchers
1 Wheatear
2 Choughs
2 Cormorants
4+Herring Gulls
4 Great Black-backed Gulls
6 Sandwich Terns
2 Fulmars
4+Meadow Pipits
21 Pied Wagtails inc. a group of 16 in one small field
12 Shags inc. 5 juvs.- almost certainly some of the youngsters we saw at the nest sites
earlier in the year
4 Kittiwakes
1 Turnstone
Also many butterflies, wild flowers and Grey Seals
Cheers Tony.
58 species seen. also really good views off peregrine falcon attempting to catch a greenshank right in front off the screen on the boardwalk,flew around a few times also dangling its legs over the area the greenshank had dived under the water to get out off the way (and it did) peregrine eventually went away empty clawed.
all other birds inc...
2 curlew sandpipers
3 greenshanks
1 common sandpiper
1 ruff
ringed plovers/ dunlins/ black tailed godwits/ oystercatchers/ lapwings
curlews/ redshanks/ little egrets and grey herons plenty off.
1 little grebe
1 goldeneye
2 tufted duck
1 pochard
3 gadwall
3 shellduck
teals/ mallards/ coots/ moorhens/ cormorants/ mute swans.
2 peregrine falcons
2 buzzards
2 sparrowhawks
3 ravens, crows, jackdaws and magpies.
herring/ b-h/l-b-b/g-b-b gulls.
blackcaps/ chiffchaffs/ willow warblers/ sedge warblers/ reed buntings
gold finches/ greenfinches/ feral pigeons/ wood pigeons
blackbirds/ robins/ dunnocks/ house sparrows/ starlings/ pied wagtails
blue/great & long tailed tits
swifts/ swallows/ house & sand martins all whizzing around.
good day despite the delay and the rain.
Hundreds of Manx Shearwaters passing through and also in large mixed 'rafts' with Guillemots, Razorbills, Black Guillemots and Kittiwake. Couldn't pick out any of the scarcer Shearwaters though.
Lots of Guillemots and Razorbills teaching their young how to fish.
Several flocks of Common Scoter moving east to west throughout the day.
Upto 10 Fulmar - several of which would sit on the water within feet of the boat.
Several Gannets knocking around including juveniles too.
1 adult Little Gull - Knocking around with other gulls.
1 Great Skua - seen at a distance harrassing gulls.
1 Peregrine - seen right over the boat close to Point Lynas.
1 Dunlin - fly past out at sea.
Other sightings included quite a few pods of Harbour Porpoise, one pod of 4 actually surfaced by the boat within 15 feet and then turned and swam right beneath us. Best views I've ever had of these.
Also several seals around too.
Turned out to be a really good sea watch in very nice conditions.
South stack
Shag-12 apparently quite unusual here
1000+ Manx shearwaters about half a mile out to sea
chough-6
raven-4
stonechat -5
puffin-6
plus all the usuals
Cemlyn
still approx 3000+ sandwich terns,but quite a few juv now at sea
lots of Arctic/common tern with juvs on beach
a few ringed plovers
plus the usuals around the area
when the premium bonds come up I am buying one of the houses at south stack
Earlier, a grasshopper warbler was reeling, tawny owls calling and two late ravens flew over.
its always sunny at south stack