sounds like a great trip some of my favourite birding places and happy birthday melanie 5 hawfinch what a great prezzy and wouldnt mind a few of those slavs thrown in as well
Thanks Gary,the whole weekend was fabulous,nothing could've spoilt it even when the howling wind and rain took a hold on Saturday.l kicked it all off with a brand new,'stonking' pair of Zeiss bin's so l was delighted so many birds were around.......
Gary Gorner said
Sun Jan 18 10:19 PM, 2009
sounds like a great trip some of my favourite birding places and happy birthday melanie 5 hawfinch what a great prezzy and wouldnt mind a few of those slavs thrown in as well
Simon Warford said
Sun Jan 18 7:31 PM, 2009
17th & 18th Jan for Melanie's birthday, main sightings as follows-
Llanbedr-y-cennin - 5 Hawfinch Spinnies - 1 Spotted Redshank, 5 Greenshank, 5 Little Egrets, 20+ RB Mergs, 300+ Wigeon, 10+ Goldeneye. Inland Sea - G N Diver, Slavonian Grebe, 2 Scaup (ad female+1st winter male), 50+ R B Mergs, 25+ Goldeneye, 400 Wigeon, 30+ pale bellied Brent Geese, 2 Little Egrets. South Stack - 2 Chough, 10+ Kittiwakes offshore. Holyhead Harbour - Black Guillemot, 3 Shags. Beddmanarch Bay - Slavonian Grebe, 15 R B Mergs, 20+ Goldeneye, 40+ Pale bellied Brent Geese. Rhos-on-sea - 16 Purple Sandpipers+50 Turnstone at high tide. Llanfairfechan - 2 R T Divers.
Where have all the birders gone? we saw 1 other birder in 2 full days birding! Or perhaps no one else was crazy enough to be out in such strong winds.
-- Edited by Simon Warford at 20:01, 2009-01-18
sid ashton said
Fri Oct 17 6:38 PM, 2008
Hi Steve
I believe that the Range is the area of land to your right after coming out of Holyhead about a half mile past the road leading up to South Stack.
P.S - Just checked on Google maps - it's not labelled but now I remember - you go round a couple of bends and there is a track down to a car park - when you get down there the lighthouse will be to your right. There's lots of low bushes and scrubby stuff.
Sid A
-- Edited by sid ashton at 19:07, 2008-10-17
Steve Scrimgeour said
Fri Oct 17 2:00 PM, 2008
Hi need some help...
Birdguides is showing a Lapland Bunting at approx 1239 on The Range RSPB on Anglesey.
Not heard of there before any ideas, as am heading down there for a week with her indoors and the kids, might check it out.
Henry Cook said
Sun Sep 28 9:18 AM, 2008
RADDE'S WARBLER up on the orme this morning showing on and off in Hawthorns behind the cemetary which is on the east side of the orme above the scenic drive. Only an hours drive from Manc, much closer than that wretched east coast, go for it! Thanks. Henry.
Gary Gorner said
Thu Jul 31 12:56 PM, 2008
Hi HENRY we informed one of the rspb guys in the shop he was the one who had to come searching for us as we didnt realise they lock the car park at 5.30pm. The black guillimots i have seen twice once in the harbour, and this year infront of the little island with all the gulls on.
Henry Cook said
Wed Jul 30 2:22 PM, 2008
Hey Gary. Redstart at Conwy RSPB is a good record, did you tell anyone at the VC about it? Also, i've not had Black Guillemot before at Molfre, whereabouts were they? The terns at Cemlyn retuned but in very low numbers, still, there's been a few sightings of Roseates this year, I missed 4 of them by 20 minutes on my last visit according to the warden! Thanks. Henry.
Gary Gorner said
Wed Jul 30 12:01 PM, 2008
23-07-08 to 27-07-08 conway rspb redstart female,200+curlew,4 little egret,4 heron,30+oystercatchers,30+redshanks,loads of hirundines,family of 4 buzzards.
lanfairfechan morfa madryn-good gull,oystercatcher and mixed tern roost,dipper on stream,common sandpiper,1 greenshank,1 fem wheatear and loads of grey wags.
south stack-rock pipit,2 chough,2 stonechat,15+puffin,kittiwakes,fulmars,guilimots, razorbills,meadow pipit,4 linets.
aber falls-very quiet but managed 4 siskin,coaltit,great tit and blue tit.2 buzzards and 1 redstart fem.
valley wetlands-mainly coot here but 4 great crested grebe and 4 little grebe.2 warblers singing but not id.
molfre-two black guillimots,a few cormerants and the usual gulls.
red warf bay-50+ oystercatchers,15 curlew and 1 buzzard.
cemlyn- artic and common terns,7 dunlin,1 little stint,4 ringed plover,1 heron,2 turnstone.sandwich terns all flown the coop.
birds very low in numbers but we are in the dead zone.
Mike Chorley said
Thu Jul 3 12:22 AM, 2008
I have to confess to being guilty of 'losing' a bird rather as Ian describes, although in this case it was down to another bird. Many years ago I was at Thurstaston outfall for the then regular glaucous gull, which we found fairly easily. One of the young lads with us was convinced that he'd found a whimbrel in with the curlew, which would have been a second lifer for him that day. His dad was equally convinced that he hadn't. The argument only ended when someone else turned up, asked about the gull, we said "it's there,oh-it WAS there" and got a black look for not knowing when it had left nor in which direction! A lesson well -learned by all.
Ian McKerchar said
Wed Jul 2 11:04 PM, 2008
Steve Collins wrote:
It didn't stop me looking for it on sunday at Pensarn where I was confident that I might find it, which is where pagers hold you back as Ian says. Cheers Steve
Infact Steve, that wasn't what I meant , it's not the pagers that hold you back when you see negative news but the often lazy attitude of birders who don't want to hang around and have to find it ourselves (we've a l done it!), it's my opinion that pagers have little if no drawbacks, they make us aware of what's about so we can go and find our own somewhere else, if you're like me it lets you know where the crowds are so I can go in the opposite direction and it assists us either way if we've decided on going to see something in particular or are in a certain area and want to know what we could see if we so desire.
I'll get Birdnet's number up (if you're on Tom, put it here and I can move it elsewhere after) or alternatively just text me and I'll forward it ctraight on for you no worries.
Steve Collins said
Wed Jul 2 8:54 PM, 2008
Birdguides phone and text number now on my mobile. Won't let another one slip by! If there are any other numbers which can be used I'll put them on my phone. Ironically it was me that picked up the roseate tern at high tide on the saturday night! It was on the local website by Marc Hughes in the morning that it had flown out towards the sea at 7.30 am and could well come back at the evening high tide. I was surprised that there was only 2 of us there for the hour and a half around high tide and I only know of one other who saw it after we left. John Roberts, who was there when I got there, confirmed it and phoned the finder who reckoned it was the same bird, adult with both legs ringed. John then phoned it in! (so I was relying on someone else). See what you mean Mike, without that there's no info. I suppose when I go birding I go where birds have been seen at some stage, rather than updates which is where the pagers have the benefit. I looked for the Glaucous Gull on the saturday at Llandulas on the way for the Roseate tern but didn't see it. It didn't stop me looking for it on sunday at Pensarn where I was confident that I might find it, which is where pagers hold you back as Ian says. I sometimes wonder about the source of some of the info. I mentioned on the local site about not finding it on the saturday (hardly an extensive search -I was only there 10 minutes!) and then seeing it on the Sunday ( first bird I saw on the beach) with the same info. Could be that info is transferred, with all good intention, but might mislead. Moral of the story is- I'll now put the info on Cheers Steve
Simon Warford said
Wed Jul 2 6:16 PM, 2008
eh up Riggers/Mr Chorley I do believe "the diary" is no longer and has been replaced by a super snazzy notebook!!
Ian McKerchar said
Tue Jul 1 11:53 PM, 2008
You are of course right Mike that pagers and the likes are only as good as the information they are provided with (see my plea on the sightings page with it's regard) and whilst they are a superb addition to the modern day birder's armoury (not just twitchers ) we sometimes rely too heavily on news from rare and scarce sites. How many times have you seen a group of twichers/birders staring at the exact bush, patch of land or bit of beach in your case, where the bird was last seen, most often bloody ages ago, only to be refound by someone else further along where no one else was looking (usually someone who appreciates that birds have wings, legs and the ability to wander). Or to hear the dreaded 'no sign..' of your target bird but when you get there everyone's so busy gasing and making such a racket that it could be on the end of their flippin Swaro and they wouldn't notice. Of course, if you're making a fair trek to get there then you'll rightly take into account recent news (at nearly £1.20 a litre, you betcha!) but for birds that are on your route or in your area it's always worth a look, especially if you manage to find it when everyone else has given up or can't find it for themselves, it's even better than just turning up, getting shown it and then buggering off again. Ah, how I don't miss twitching
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar at 23:54, 2008-07-01
Mike Chorley said
Tue Jul 1 10:21 PM, 2008
Steve Collins wrote: I didn't realise pagers gave daily reports of the same bird
Sometimes hourly,Steve, if it is rare enough, or newly arrived. That way if it flies off, or gets eaten by the lighthouse keepers' cat (!) anyone on their way gets to know quickly and can amend their plans. That's why the destinations for Oldham Birders trips only get confirmed at about 8 p.m. on a Saturday night (and sometimes changed en route Sunday morning)
Obviously these systems are only as good as the info they receive. In this case the news from those looking for the bird on Saturday was 'not seen'. So when we missed the tern (which had been on for Sat. evening) none of us thought to look for the gull Obviously neither did anyone else who could have posted news 'on the spot'. Often the case once a bird gets to be regarded as 'established'
Melanie Beckford said
Mon Jun 30 11:03 PM, 2008
Mark Rigby wrote:
My Chough impressions are actually better than the real thingDid you not see me getting mobbed by Mrs Chough
was she the one waving the club around??
Mark Rigby said
Mon Jun 30 10:33 PM, 2008
My Chough impressions are actually better than the real thingDid you not see me getting mobbed by Mrs Chough
Melanie Beckford said
Mon Jun 30 10:27 PM, 2008
ok l will and will you sort out your Chough impression?? or at least work on it hmmm?:weirdface
Steve Collins said
Mon Jun 30 10:16 PM, 2008
I think anyone with a pager Mike had already seen it as it's been on the local website and Birdguides all week. I havn't got a pager myself and just follow the reports. I didn't realise pagers gave daily reports of the same bird. There were no other birders around that I could see looking for it or anything else, and it would seem that it was apparantly old news, and just a bird waiting to be seen. There was nobody local that I knew to tell that hadn't seen it but I put it on the local website when I got home. I know one or two people like myself spend time regularly out of the county ( I'm in North Wales a lot) and very willing to pass on anything we know about localy, so perhaps if groups are planning bird days out of the county, put it on the website before you go! I know I've got at least one of your party's phone number and I could have sent a text no problem Steve
Mike Chorley said
Mon Jun 30 9:51 PM, 2008
Mark Rigby said
Mon Jun 30 7:46 PM, 2008
It was an (L) of a day-good birds and even better company for a change(only joking Mr Chorley)
Highlight of the day was Squadron Leader Warfy taking us on a circular tour of Gronant dunes
If you ever get lost, keep the vegetation to your left hand side and follow your nose-unfortunatley, that only applies to a maze and not sand dunes!!!!!
OH and Melanie sort your diary out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-- Edited by Mark Rigby at 20:45, 2008-06-30
Melanie Beckford said
Mon Jun 30 12:06 AM, 2008
Sunday.....all day 7 am...ish 7pm Brilliant day out,as you may have already gathered from Mikes post,it's true the weather started off badly but it got better as the day wore on.I was in fabulous birding company as Riggers,Mike and Warfy took me under their wing (excuse the pun) so nowt was gonna get past me with these experienced eyes on them. Many 'Lifers' (L) for me throughout the whole day and l was delighted to see every one of them...Chough,Little Egret, Rock Pipit and Black Guillemot,the places we visited were great and lots of other birds were seen including Raven and Peregrine at South Stack which is a wonderful place.We ended the day at Gronant for the Little Tern (L) colony,a beautiful bird and Warfy and l got some close up views as we ventured on the beach..... thanks for the invite lads and very kind of Riggers(L) to bomb it,ahem...... drive us,all over safely and Mike(L) for the info on the flowers we saw,great to meet you both
Mike Chorley said
Sun Jun 29 11:54 PM, 2008
Steve Collins wrote:
Pity I didn't know you were around as the Glaucous Gull was showing close to the car park at Pensarn this morning and behaving for photos (giving me some ID practice for Audenshaw!). I managed to see the Roseate Tern on Saturday night and got a distant photo just making out the red legs and black bill among the Sandwich Terns. I'll send the photos in. The warblers were singing well at Conwy RSPB today with Reed and Sedge in good voice when the sun came out but best for me was a Lesser Whitethroat which I always seem to have trouble finding! Steve
Obviously no one with a pager saw it, as there were no reports all day
Steve Collins said
Sun Jun 29 10:40 PM, 2008
Pity I didn't know you were around as the Glaucous Gull was showing close to the car park at Pensarn this morning and behaving for photos (giving me some ID practice for Audenshaw!). I managed to see the Roseate Tern on Saturday night and got a distant photo just making out the red legs and black bill among the Sandwich Terns. I'll send the photos in. The warblers were singing well at Conwy RSPB today with Reed and Sedge in good voice when the sun came out but best for me was a Lesser Whitethroat which I always seem to have trouble finding! Steve
Mike Chorley said
Sun Jun 29 9:11 PM, 2008
Over-the-border excursion for the 'Oldham Five' plus Warfy & Me(L)(L)(L)anie. No sign of the Roseate among the Sandwich Terns at Clwyd Bank but plenty of common river birds and the first of many Buzzards. On to a rather soggy Fedw Fawr where the damp conditions probably helped to push several Manx Shearwaters closer in, just beyond the Black Guillemots and other auks. A Rock Pipit feeding on the falling tide was joined by a male Stonechat The weather improved by the time we reached South Stack with a stong westerlies giving good uplift to Chough, Raven & Peregrine. Melanie was particularly pleased with the close views given by a pair of the first on the outer path. Good numbers of Kittiwake and the commoner auks, but only a small number of Puffins. Low water at Aber Ogwen but Warfy managed to find a couple of Whimbrel on the vast expanse of mud, and Melanie was able to find some Goosander to make up for the ones that snuck out of sight at Clwyd Bank. Also Kingfisher and diving Mallard Finished the day at Gronant with good views of Little Terns. A good day out with a total of 72 species seen between us. Nice to meet you Me(L)(L)(L)anie and see Warfy again
Henry Cook said
Sun Jun 1 10:19 AM, 2008
A great reason to visit the reserve as it happens! Alan used to be warden at the reserve but has quit the job and gone birding around the world for the year to try and break the world record of birds seen in a single year. It's a great story and he writes a blog of the travels and birds seen at - www.thebiggesttwitch.com Well worth checking out. Thanks. Henry.
Gary Marland said
Sun Jun 1 12:01 AM, 2008
'Best Bridwatching Sites in North Wales' by Alan Davies and Owen Roberts
is available from these suppliers
Subbuteo Natural History Books Online NHBS Environment Bookstore Wilkinson Cameras
according to their web sites.
I wasn't sure about the acceptability of posting links to the web sites but they are easy to find.
HTH
Gary
Tim Wilcox said
Sat May 31 10:14 PM, 2008
There is an excellent new book just published called 'Best Bridwatching Sites in North Wales' by Alan Davies and Owen Roberts which my mate Tony picked up for me from Conwy RSPB. Davies is the site manager at Conwy. It gives you target birds for each site with an estimated percentage success rate, birds by season, other common species, and a map of the site showing where the target birds are likely to be found together with all the usual access details. It has a rather flimsy cover for £15.95, despite being sponsored by Swarovski Optik, but I reckon it is one of the best 'where to watch birds' I have come across. It doesn't seem to be generally available on the net so I would recommend getting hold of one at Conwy RSPB if you are going that way.
Henry Cook said
Fri May 30 7:17 PM, 2008
and an Iccy on the Lleyn today. Bardsey is undoubtedly the rarity hotspot in North Wales but requires a bit of pre-planning and booking, well worth it though. Thanks. Henry.
Mark Rigby said
Fri May 30 8:51 AM, 2008
fedw fawr further west along the coast from Penmon Point is "the" place for Black Guillemot. Its a bit of a pain to find but the views are great! also a very good place for Rock Pipit.
Tim Wilcox said
Fri May 30 2:56 AM, 2008
Just been there myself last weekend. Anyone going should also follow the A5025 to Amlwich, turn off at Tregele for Cemlyn Bay and visit the spectacular tern colony on the lagoon viewed from the beach. Very nice dedicated wardens there too. On the other side at Penmon Point breeding plumage Eiders are visible on Puffin Island but Black Guillemots are not as nailed on as the guide books tell you. Holyhead harbour is indeed now the place for them.
If you are on the Llyn Peninsula I can recommend Porth Ysgaden for seawatching and the Osprey watch near Porthmadog. Never have made it to Bardsey though.
Ian Campbell said
Mon May 26 7:55 PM, 2008
Went to South stack yesterday, saw Choughs and was surpised to see adult Gannets, plus all other expected birds and watched wardens tearing their hair out at 2 rock climbers who were down amongst the nesting birds. Black Guillemot seen in the holyhead marina, probably taking shelter from the horrendous sea. This morning went to RSPB Valley, all the usual water/reedbed birds plus Stonechat and Cuckoo, never been before, a really nice place. Cheers Ian
Gary Gorner said
Mon May 19 10:33 PM, 2008
Tony Coatsworth wrote:
I'll be at South Stack on Thursday.
Did you see Black Guillemot in Hoyhead Harbour ?
didnt get down to the harbour tony i got them last year in molfre harbour though.i do tend to miss quite a few birds that a more experienced birder wouldnt miss.still finding my feet and getting lost quite abit.thanks for the tip .
Ian Campbell said
Mon May 19 7:11 PM, 2008
I'll be at South Stack on Sunday and Monday, but viewed from the sea. Really looking forward to it, last time I was there was 19 years ago. Cheers Ian
Tony Coatsworth said
Mon May 19 5:07 PM, 2008
I'll be at South Stack on Thursday.
Did you see Black Guillemot in Hoyhead Harbour ?
Gary Gorner said
Mon May 19 10:36 AM, 2008
highlights of a 5 day trip climbed snowdon a first for mewell knackered in 75deg heat. unfortunately no ring oozies,but loads of stonechat,wheatear and skylarks. called at inner marsh farm and got the whiskered tern lifer
all the usual stuff at southstack, chough,rock pippit,rock dove,wheatear,linnet,stonechat,8 puffins,razorbills,guillimots and 5 gannets.great watching aprox 5 porpois jumping in the channel by the lighthouse.a few common lizards that kept mrs g on her toes
cemlyn had about 20 sandwich turns,8 common,2 ringed plover,4 oystercatchers. i was told the numbers at roost for the sand turns is approx 100 birds with as many black headed gulls.
spinnies had 4 little egrets and 2 redshank otherwise it was very quiet.
morfa madryn had about 4 pairs of sedge warblers,2 ringed plover,4 oysters,canada geese with 8 chicks,4 mute swans.lapwings not doing very well 4 eggs destroyed in one nest by a crow.
llanfairfechan also very quiet but did manage 8 ringed plover,36 oysters,2 greatcrested grebe,2 mergansers.
called at a place called penschant for pied,spotted flycatcher and redstart and dipped on all 3.did manage a couple of cuckoos and great spotted pecker,willow warbers and chifchaff. abber falls walked 3 hours up to top reservoir no redstarts or ring ouz again the mountains were alive with wheatear and stonechats ,well i did try hard
-- Edited by Gary Gorner at 10:40, 2008-05-19
Gary Gorner said
Tue Aug 7 5:22 PM, 2007
sorry messed up cemmlyn on the east coast not the west.
Gary Gorner said
Tue Aug 7 5:21 PM, 2007
Gary wrote:
I think with this post i will tell you about some of the great places i visited for birding around north wales and Anglesey,starting with the latter.Cemlyn on Anglesey is a brilliant spot on the east coast with waders in abundance dunlin,turnstone,sanderling, oyster catchers,redshank,curlew,ringed and little ringed plover.unfortunately all the sandwich terns had gone to pastures new.Many smaller birds about include Wheatear,stonechat,meadow pipit,linnet and gold finches. South stack rspb reseve is a must and my favourite spot here you get all the above plus chough,peregrine,gannet,guillimot ,rasorbill,puffin,kittiwake,fulmers although many of the birds had migrated but a few straglers still feeding young.Another good spot to go is just north of Beaumaris two small bays with plovers dunlin,sanderling and curlews which seemed plentifull everywhere i visited. Just off the island north of Bangor a place nown as the spinnies great for redshank,mergansers i counted at least 30,mute swan 100,little egret 30,great crested grebe, hundreds of oysters and curlew .Great to here all the birds in tranquilL, peace not car or human in sight ,the sound of the birds reminded me of winter when the waders are at their maximum numbers.Going further North i walked from LLANFAIRFECHAN south to a reserve called Morfa Madryn the walk takes about one hour total but is a must .This was my first visit here but it certainly wont be my last .Many of the above birds here plus some very good hides, huge flocks of oysters and gulls with over 100 sandwich terns amongst them.Down at the hides there were sedge warblers,finches,and great close up views of wood warbler,pied wags , wheatear,redshank,greenshank and commonsandpiper. I paid a visit to Abber falls i was told this place is full of redstarts but i only managed a quick flyby of one near the roman bridge.great spot here where the stream runs through, it was the middle of the afternoon and some kind of small bats were hunting in full sun above the little cottage.i continued up the single lane track up the mountains to the top carpark and was rewarded with close up views of buzzard,linnets,meadow pipit and yellowhammer. Cant finish without mentioning the conway rspb reserve.Pretty quiet around the reserve.A few reed warblers and a willow warbler was all i could muster but the little egrets are cretainly increasing in numbers i counted 17.Out on the estuary a flock of about 100 curlew and 1 wimbrel all on its lonesome ah.oyters ,gulls and herons also plentifull. Still loads of places to visit but they will have to wait another day.
Gary Gorner said
Fri Aug 3 1:51 PM, 2007
congrats hope you managed to stay awake to read it all
Henry Cook said
Thu Aug 2 9:18 AM, 2007
All that in one day Gary?! Sounds like a bird race I did recently.
Gary Gorner said
Wed Aug 1 9:41 PM, 2007
I think with this post i will tell you about some of the great places i visited for birding around north wales and Anglesey,starting with the latter.Cemlyn on Anglesey is a brilliant spot on the west coast with waders in abundance dunlin,turnstone,sanderling, oyster catchers,redshank,curlew,ringed and little ringed plover.unfortunately all the sandwich terns had gone to pastures new.Many smaller birds about include Wheatear,stonechat,meadow pipit,linnet and gold finches.
South stack rspb reseve is a must and my favourite spot here you get all the above plus chough,peregrine,gannet,guillimot ,rasorbill,puffin,kittiwake,fulmers although many of the birds had migrated but a few straglers still feeding young.Another good spot to go is just north of Beaumaris two small bays with plovers dunlin,sanderling and curlews which seemed plentifull everywhere i visited.
Just off the island north of Bangor a place nown as the spinnies great for redshank,mergansers i counted at least 30,mute swan 100,little egret 30,great crested grebe, hundreds of oysters and curlew .Great to here all the birds in tranquilL, peace not car or human in sight ,the sound of the birds reminded me of winter when the waders are at their maximum numbers.Going further North i walked from LLANFAIRFECHAN south to a reserve called Morfa Madryn the walk takes about one hour total but is a must .This was my first visit here but it certainly wont be my last .Many of the above birds here plus some very good hides, huge flocks of oysters and gulls with over 100 sandwich terns amongst them.Down at the hides there were sedge warblers,finches,and great close up views of wood warbler,pied wags , wheatear,redshank,greenshank and commonsandpiper.
I paid a visit to Abber falls i was told this place is full of redstarts but i only managed a quick flyby of one near the roman bridge.great spot here where the stream runs through, it was the middle of the afternoon and some kind of small bats were hunting in full sun above the little cottage.i continued up the single lane track up the mountains to the top carpark and was rewarded with close up views of buzzard,linnets,meadow pipit and yellowhammer.
Cant finish without mentioning the conway rspb reserve.Pretty quiet around the reserve.A few reed warblers and a willow warbler was all i could muster but the little egrets are cretainly increasing in numbers i counted 17.Out on the estuary a flock of about 100 curlew and 1 wimbrel all on its lonesome ah.oyters ,gulls and herons also plentifull.
Still loads of places to visit but they will have to wait another day.
Llanbedr-y-cennin - 5 Hawfinch
Spinnies - 1 Spotted Redshank, 5 Greenshank, 5 Little Egrets, 20+ RB Mergs, 300+ Wigeon, 10+ Goldeneye.
Inland Sea - G N Diver, Slavonian Grebe, 2 Scaup (ad female+1st winter male), 50+ R B Mergs, 25+ Goldeneye, 400 Wigeon, 30+ pale bellied Brent Geese, 2 Little Egrets.
South Stack - 2 Chough, 10+ Kittiwakes offshore.
Holyhead Harbour - Black Guillemot, 3 Shags.
Beddmanarch Bay - Slavonian Grebe, 15 R B Mergs, 20+ Goldeneye, 40+ Pale bellied Brent Geese.
Rhos-on-sea - 16 Purple Sandpipers+50 Turnstone at high tide.
Llanfairfechan - 2 R T Divers.
Where have all the birders gone? we saw 1 other birder in 2 full days birding! Or perhaps no one else was crazy enough to be out in such strong winds.
-- Edited by Simon Warford at 20:01, 2009-01-18
I believe that the Range is the area of land to your right after coming out of Holyhead about a half mile past the road leading up to South Stack.
P.S - Just checked on Google maps - it's not labelled but now I remember - you go round a couple of bends and there is a track down to a car park - when you get down there the lighthouse will be to your right. There's lots of low bushes and scrubby stuff.
Sid A
-- Edited by sid ashton at 19:07, 2008-10-17
Hi need some help...
Birdguides is showing a Lapland Bunting at approx 1239 on The Range RSPB on Anglesey.
Not heard of there before any ideas, as am heading down there for a week with her indoors and the kids, might check it out.
Thanks. Henry.
The black guillimots i have seen twice once in the harbour, and this year infront of the little island with all the gulls on.
Redstart at Conwy RSPB is a good record, did you tell anyone at the VC about it?
Also, i've not had Black Guillemot before at Molfre, whereabouts were they?
The terns at Cemlyn retuned but in very low numbers, still, there's been a few sightings of Roseates this year, I missed 4 of them by 20 minutes on my last visit according to the warden!
Thanks. Henry.
conway rspb redstart female,200+curlew,4 little egret,4 heron,30+oystercatchers,30+redshanks,loads of hirundines,family of 4 buzzards.
lanfairfechan morfa madryn-good gull,oystercatcher and mixed tern roost,dipper on stream,common sandpiper,1 greenshank,1 fem wheatear and loads of grey wags.
south stack-rock pipit,2 chough,2 stonechat,15+puffin,kittiwakes,fulmars,guilimots, razorbills,meadow pipit,4 linets.
aber falls-very quiet but managed 4 siskin,coaltit,great tit and blue tit.2 buzzards and 1 redstart fem.
valley wetlands-mainly coot here but 4 great crested grebe and 4 little grebe.2 warblers singing but not id.
molfre-two black guillimots,a few cormerants and the usual gulls.
red warf bay-50+ oystercatchers,15 curlew and 1 buzzard.
cemlyn- artic and common terns,7 dunlin,1 little stint,4 ringed plover,1 heron,2 turnstone.sandwich terns all flown the coop.
birds very low in numbers but we are in the dead zone.
Infact Steve, that wasn't what I meant
I'll get Birdnet's number up (if you're on Tom, put it here and I can move it elsewhere after) or alternatively just text me and I'll forward it ctraight on for you no worries.
Ironically it was me that picked up the roseate tern at high tide on the saturday night! It was on the local website by Marc Hughes in the morning that it had flown out towards the sea at 7.30 am and could well come back at the evening high tide. I was surprised that there was only 2 of us there for the hour and a half around high tide and I only know of one other who saw it after we left.
John Roberts, who was there when I got there, confirmed it and phoned the finder who reckoned it was the same bird, adult with both legs ringed. John then phoned it in! (so I was relying on someone else
I suppose when I go birding I go where birds have been seen at some stage, rather than updates which is where the pagers have the benefit.
I looked for the Glaucous Gull on the saturday at Llandulas on the way for the Roseate tern but didn't see it. It didn't stop me looking for it on sunday at Pensarn where I was confident that I might find it, which is where pagers hold you back as Ian says.
I sometimes wonder about the source of some of the info. I mentioned on the local site about not finding it on the saturday (hardly an extensive search -I was only there 10 minutes!) and then seeing it on the Sunday ( first bird I saw on the beach) with the same info. Could be that info is transferred, with all good intention, but might mislead.
Moral of the story is- I'll now put the info on
Cheers
Steve
-- Edited by Ian McKerchar at 23:54, 2008-07-01
was she the one waving the club around??
There were no other birders around that I could see looking for it or anything else, and it would seem that it was apparantly old news, and just a bird waiting to be seen. There was nobody local that I knew to tell that hadn't seen it but I put it on the local website when I got home.
I know one or two people like myself spend time regularly out of the county ( I'm in North Wales a lot) and very willing to pass on anything we know about localy, so perhaps if groups are planning bird days out of the county, put it on the website before you go! I know I've got at least one of your party's phone number and I could have sent a text no problem
Steve
Highlight of the day was Squadron Leader Warfy taking us on a circular tour of Gronant dunes
If you ever get lost, keep the vegetation to your left hand side and follow your nose-unfortunatley, that only applies to a maze and not sand dunes!!!!!
OH and Melanie sort your diary out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-- Edited by Mark Rigby at 20:45, 2008-06-30
Brilliant day out,as you may have already gathered from Mikes post,it's true the weather started off badly but it got better as the day wore on.I was in fabulous birding company as Riggers,Mike and Warfy
Many 'Lifers' (L) for me throughout the whole day and l was delighted to see every one of them...Chough,Little Egret, Rock Pipit and Black Guillemot,the places we visited were great and lots of other birds were seen including Raven and Peregrine at South Stack which is a wonderful place.We ended the day at Gronant for the Little Tern (L) colony,a beautiful bird and Warfy and l got some close up views as we ventured on the beach.....
thanks for the invite lads and very kind of Riggers(L) to bomb it,ahem...... drive us,all over safely and Mike(L) for the info on the flowers we saw,great to meet you both
Obviously no one with a pager saw it, as there were no reports all day
I managed to see the Roseate Tern on Saturday night and got a distant photo just making out the red legs and black bill among the Sandwich Terns. I'll send the photos in.
The warblers were singing well at Conwy RSPB today with Reed and Sedge in good voice when the sun came out but best for me was a Lesser Whitethroat which I always seem to have trouble finding!
Steve
The weather improved by the time we reached South Stack with a stong westerlies giving good uplift to Chough, Raven & Peregrine. Melanie was particularly pleased with the close views given by a pair of the first on the outer path. Good numbers of Kittiwake and the commoner auks, but only a small number of Puffins.
Low water at Aber Ogwen but Warfy managed to find a couple of Whimbrel on the vast expanse of mud, and Melanie was able to find some Goosander to make up for the ones that snuck out of sight at Clwyd Bank. Also Kingfisher and diving Mallard
Finished the day at Gronant with good views of Little Terns. A good day out with a total of 72 species seen between us. Nice to meet you Me(L)(L)(L)anie and see Warfy again
Alan used to be warden at the reserve but has quit the job and gone birding around the world for the year to try and break the world record of birds seen in a single year.
It's a great story and he writes a blog of the travels and birds seen at -
www.thebiggesttwitch.com
Well worth checking out.
Thanks. Henry.
is available from these suppliers
Subbuteo Natural History Books Online
NHBS Environment Bookstore
Wilkinson Cameras
according to their web sites.
I wasn't sure about the acceptability of posting links to the web sites but they are easy to find.
HTH
Gary
Thanks. Henry.
If you are on the Llyn Peninsula I can recommend Porth Ysgaden for seawatching and the Osprey watch near Porthmadog. Never have made it to Bardsey though.
Cheers Ian
didnt get down to the harbour tony i got them last year in molfre harbour though.i do tend to miss quite a few birds that a more experienced birder wouldnt miss.still finding my feet and getting lost quite abit.
Cheers Ian
Did you see Black Guillemot in Hoyhead Harbour ?
unfortunately no ring oozies,but loads of stonechat,wheatear and skylarks.
called at inner marsh farm and got the whiskered tern lifer
all the usual stuff at southstack, chough,rock pippit,rock dove,wheatear,linnet,stonechat,8 puffins,razorbills,guillimots and 5 gannets.great watching aprox 5 porpois jumping in the channel by the lighthouse.a few common lizards that kept mrs g on her toes
cemlyn had about 20 sandwich turns,8 common,2 ringed plover,4 oystercatchers. i was told the numbers at roost for the sand turns is approx 100 birds with as many black headed gulls.
spinnies had 4 little egrets and 2 redshank otherwise it was very quiet.
morfa madryn had about 4 pairs of sedge warblers,2 ringed plover,4 oysters,canada geese with 8 chicks,4 mute swans.lapwings not doing very well 4 eggs destroyed in one nest by a crow.
llanfairfechan also very quiet but did manage 8 ringed plover,36 oysters,2 greatcrested grebe,2 mergansers.
called at a place called penschant for pied,spotted flycatcher and redstart and dipped on all 3.did manage a couple of cuckoos and great spotted pecker,willow warbers and chifchaff.
abber falls walked 3 hours up to top reservoir no redstarts or ring ouz again the mountains were alive with wheatear and stonechats ,well i did try hard
-- Edited by Gary Gorner at 10:40, 2008-05-19