A day spent on Anglesey and North Wales, Highlights

Holyhead Harbour
Black Guillemot 1 m distantly flying across the harbour

South Stack RSPB
Chough 8
Fulmar 1
Kittiwake 42
Manx Shearwater 12
Puffin 6
Gannet 8
Razorbill and Guillemot in their 100's
Stonechat 8 several young fledgling
Linnet

Cemlyn NR
Sandwich Tern 8, A catastrofic failed breading season, No birds seen returning with sand eels
Common Tern 6
Black headed Gull 8
Black Guillemot 2

Gronnant
Little Tern c60
Sandwich Tern 5
Ringed Plover 14
Stonechat 10
Linnet 6
Sedge Warbler 2

Monday late afternoon through to early this afternon spent in Anglesey, mostly in and around Rhosneigr, as well as a day on Holy Island; highlights:

Rhosneigr (including Llyn Maelog):

Waders, other than the ubiquitous oystercatchers (a couple of growing chicks, too), were in low numbers, and mostly seen singularly.

Chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, sedge warbler, reed warbler, Cetti's warbler, linnet, reed bunting, sand martin (numbers seemed down on last year, with one of the colonies seeming to have only one active nest; lots last year), house martin, swallow, stonechat, meadow pipit, rock pipit, pied wagtail, skylark, etc.
Swift
Gadwall
Red-breasted merganser
Ringed plover
Sanderling
Redshank
Curlew (maybe a whimbrel too; looked possible at a fair distance, but I wouldn't put money on it).
Herring gull
Lesser black-backed gull
Great black-backed gull
Manx shearwater
Shag
Cormorant
Gannet
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Buzzard

Offshore (at high tide) is a tern colony of hundreds of commics. None were playing this year, perhaps the high winds kept them offshore for some reason, so no chance of any species ID, but I did speak to the RSPB guy who looks out for it, and he said there's roughly 700 birds, all commic, with the large majority being Arctic.

Holy Island:

4 black guillemot at Holyhead Old Harbour, just outside the station (a first for me, and one of two I was particularly hoping to see this holiday).

South Stack (a good six hours, having an awful lot of fun):

Whitethroat, linnet, greenfinch, swallow, stonechat, meadow pipit, rock pipit, skylark.
6+ chough
2 raven
c6 puffin
2,500+ guillemot
500+ razorbill
10-15+ kittiwake
200+ herring hull (including a few fluffball chicks)
30+ lesser-black-backed gull
8+ great black-backed gull (one chick)
6 fulmar
1 cormorant
2 gannet offshore

4+ chough around the mountain, too.

North Stack:

2 rock pipit
2 chough
c40 guillemot
67+ razorbill
100+ herring gull
5 lesser black-backed gull
3 great black-backed gull offshore
28+ Manx shearwater offshore (and this was the other one)
9 fulmar
7 shag (including well grown chicks on two nests)
23 cormorant (including well grown chicks on four nests)
8+ gannet offshore

2 lesser redpoll at Breakwater Country Park; a new Anglesey bird for me, also here chiffchaff, willow warbler, whitethroat and numerous stonechat, including at least one fledgling.

Some great other wildlife as well, for the relevant thread.

Highlights of the High Peak RSPB group trip to Anglesey today in very strong winds:

South Stack: 2 Puffin, 2 Kittiwake, Peregrine Falcon, 2 Chough, 3 Raven, many Manx Shearwater, Gannet,  Guillemot and Razorbill, Rock Pipit, Stonechat.

Cemlyn Bay: 4 Black Guillemot, 2 Arctic Tern, 4 Common Tern, 2 Red Breasted Merganser, Kittiwake, Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover, many close in Manx Shearwater. 

Return journey saw a Barnacle Goose at Conwy RSPB and a Red Kite East of St Asaph

To catch a fish you must think like a fish, to catch a rare bird on Anglesey you must think like Mark Sutton. It seemed inconceivable that the Staffordshire birder could sustain his recent run, but he did just that. He will soon be taking orders.

This weeks giant was a Red-backed Shrike, a stunning adult male. It is not in quite the same league as some recent fare, but as the islands first adult male since July 1991, it is a fair effort. He saw it for three seconds on Saturday evening in strong wind and driving rain, but it had the good grace to hang around for a steady stream of birders on Sunday. The birding pages described the location as Penrhos CP, but you wouldnt get much change from an hour if you walked from there to its actual location on the opposite shore near Llanfwrog. I have carried out numerous winter WeBS counts on this section, lashed by wind and rain; I had not noticed its potential for Mediterranean visitors.

Elsewhere, the year moves steadily by. Small wader passage is not yet finished: I had double figure counts of Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Sanderling on the less-frequented eastern end of Silver Bay. There were also a few Turnstones, including some striking summer-plumaged males. Just like the changing colours of the headlands flowering plants, warbler song marks the passage of the seasons. We started in March with Chiffchaff, then came Willow Warbler with support from Blackcap, now Whitethroat holds sway, with a backing of Sedge Warbler. Soon it will fall quiet. My nearby Grasshopper Warbler was reeling again on Friday night, which suggests residency, and perhaps breeding. It has been a quiet year for Lesser Whitethroat, but I heard one on the A5025 just south of Llanynghenedl, while cycling on Sunday.

Cemlyn had attracted a Little Stint on Sunday morning. I couldnt find it in the afternoon, though three Sanderling were roosting on an islet off the trwyn. Arctic Tern numbers are low this year, which means that Roseate Tern sightings have also been few. There were many auks offshore, and a few Gannets, and I saw my first Manx Shearwaters of the year.

Spring 2017 has been bountiful on the Isle of Anglesey, especially for regular Staffordshire-based visitor, Mark Sutton. Over the past four weekends he has put together a catalogue of finds that reads like the 'Hastings rarities', though each bird was twitchable to the fortunate few in this under-watched county.

He kicked off with the islands third ever Broad-billed Sandpiper at Beddmanarch Bay on the evening of 1st May. It was still around the following day, and later turned up on the Isle of Man. His next two-day special was a male Red-footed Falcon, also a third for Anglesey, on the Alaw estuary, about ¾ mile south of Llanfachraeth on the evening of 6th May. I managed to connect with it , before it departed late the following morning. The following weekend he found a Bea-eater at Cemlyn and on the weekend just passed he added a Spoonbill on the SW corner of the Inland Sea (still present today), and a Quail on the Alaw estuary, which stayed overnight into Saturday. Not content with the above, he has ticked off Anglesey scarcities like Spotted Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Wood Warbler and Osprey on his regular beat between Carmel Head and Cemlyn in the north west of the island.

A visiting couple from Altrincham pulled up to admire Whimbrel in a sheep field at Rhydwyn on 6th May, and found themselves looking at seven Dotterel. Sadly, in what has been a poor spring for this bird, I couldnt locate them later that evening.

I, also a visitor, have had my own high points. There is just one reasonable body of fresh water in my adopted home parish of Rhoscolyn. It is usually good for Gadwall and Little Grebe, and I have once seen Scaup there, but on 6th May I found a pair of feeding Garganey (there were three males at Malltraeth Marsh RSPB on the same day). Later in the evening I picked out a Little Stint (my first spring bird on the island) feeding with c150 Dunlin from Four Mile Bridge. I was pleased, the following day, to find a Garden Warbler at Valley Doors.

Malltraeth Marsh is getting better by the year as management of the flooded fields yields its dividends. The breeding Lapwings have been joined briefly by Wood Sandpiper, Whinchat and Yellow Wagtail.

Wader passage, now coming to a close, has been strong on my Silver Bay patch. Whimbrel, down to two this weekend, have been everywhere; my best count was 33. Sanderling passage peaked this weekend with 18 on the beach yesterday morning, with double figure counts of Ringed Plover and Dunlin also recorded. Turnstones, in fine summer plumage, have also been passing through in lower numbers. Sandwich, Arctic and Common Terns are all back fishing in the bay, and Gannets are offshore in small numbers, one small flock of Common Scoter passed through, though Manxies have yet to appear. A single skua on 7th May was too distant for identification.

Rhoscolyn has also done well for visiting passerines, with maximum daily counts of four Grasshopper Warblers (one of them 30 yards from my door), 10+ Sedge Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Reed Warblers, and higher numbers of the more abundant species. Perhaps the strangest sighting of all, on 7th May, was a massive count of 51 Wheatear, with six White Wagtails, in one small ploughed field just above the headland.

An excellent trip to Morfa Madryn with Rob Creek yesterday to see a new bird for both of us, Citrine Wagtail. We had to wait over an hour for a conclusive sighting, with a pair of Yellow Wagtail present to complicate matters, but eventually a bird showing lots of white on wings and tail dropped into view and we ended up seeing the bird feeding on the ground for several minutes. It had been variously described as male and female on Birdguides, but in prime breeding season it surely couldn't have been a male, with their distinctive all-yellow head. The key separation notes from the Yellow Wags were the grey crown, nape and back and 2 white wing bars, and very bright white primary fringes and outer tail feathers. The bird bobbed its long tail constantly, another difference and much more reminiscent of Pied Wagtail. All in all a cracking sighting.

Morfa Madryn is a lovely spot as many will know; along with the usual shoreline birds we were entertained by 2 male Whinchats on the saltmarsh, a borderline psychotic Sedge Warbler singing with immense gusto right by the viewing area and at least 2 singing Garden Warblers in the trees and bushes behind us. No sign of the reported Wood Sandpiper, but we didn't mind that!

Anglesey Sat 15th - Mon 17th Apr

Spent the weekend at Trearddur Bay to celebrate a big family birthday, but birding opportunities were pretty much limited to the headland around the Bay itself and the area around the Inland Sea.

Sat 15th:
A pair of House Martins collecting mud from the beach and attempting to start a nest on the Sea Shanty Cafe, but a Jackdaw kept interfering with their efforts. Also 2 Swallows and a Pied Wagtail.

Sun 16th:
A few Oystercatchers and a Whimbrel in Treaddur Bay. A few Swallows and singing Willow Warblers, but otherwise it was just the resident birds. although Stonechats were not seen, I could hear them calling in the fields.

Late afternoon I walked to 4-mile Bridge. Plenty of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Linnet and Dunnock in the roadside bushes. On the inland sea, 2 pairs of Red-breasted Merganser and 16 Pale-bellied Brent Geese were the only birds out of the ordinary for me. Mon 17th Morning walk around the west side of the Inland Sea produced only a couple of singing Goldcrest and a Great Black-backed Gull in the way of anything new. Finally a quick visit to South Stack produced 5 Chough c7 Fulmar c30 Razorbill 1 Raven 3 Stonechat 1 singing Skylark Meadow pipit in the fields and a small number of Swallow over. The cliffs seemed to be largely occupied by Herring Gulls, though I could see a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls around and 3 pairs of Fulmar nesting higher up the cliffs. Others reported Gannet and Manx Shearwater further out, Guillemot and a single Puffin but with the view of the birds often obscured by selfie-stick waving tourists posing on the cliff edge, I gave up after a while. 6 new year ticks, but its mid-April and I still have so many species to catch up with.

-- Edited by Charles Farrell on Monday 17th of April 2017 05:07:56 PM

Near Bala today - an ascent and traverse of Arenig Fawr.

Highlight of the climb - 2 gorgeous male Ring Ouzels! First time in 45 years of hillwalking that I've seen TWO of them, and only the 4th and 5th I've ever seen.
They were in typical Ouzel territories, well below the summit ridge, on broken, rocky ground.

Also - 2 lovely male Wheatear, my first of the year, loads of Meadow Pipits, a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, a pair of Raven, a Sparrowhawk, a Buzzard, 2 Canada Geese, 3 Great Black Backed Gulls, 7 Herring Gulls, a male and a female Stonechat, a male Reed Bunting, some Chaffinch, Pied Wagtails plus the more usual Robins etc.

Very satisfying trip as so often I walk the hills and see very little in the way of birds other than meadow pipits!

Highlights of a few days on Anglesey this  week.

Newborough forest and Llanddwyn Island: 3 Crossbill, 30 Siskin, 7 Sandwich Tern, 4 Stonechat, Gannet, 3 Razorbill, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff, 4 Swallow 

Trearddur Bay: 4 Chough, 3 Purple Sandpiper, Red Throated Diver,  Wheatear, 7 Stonechat, 40 Linnet, 7 Guillemot, Willow Warbler, 5 Swallow 

Four Mile Bridge: 21 Little Egret, 30 Sandwich Tern, Black Tailed Godwit, 6 Red Breasted Merganser, 15 Swallow, 4 Sand Martin 

South Stack: many Razorbill, Guillemot and Gannet, Peregrine Falcon, 2 Stonechat, 8 Manx Shearwater

Cemlyn: 20 Sandwich Tern, 3 Black Guillemot, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 40 Golden Plover, 2 White Wagtail 

Puffin Island: 3 Puffin, 45 Eider, 4 Swallow, 30 Guillemot. 

-- Edited by Chris Harper on Saturday 8th of April 2017 01:50:33 PM

There were a few portents of the return of spring on Anglesey over an unsettled weekend. A male Wheatear on the headland at Silver Bay was the earliest that I have seen on the island. Chiffchaff seem early too, and are back in reasonable force: three at Silver Bay and two by Valley Doors on Saturday, three on a walk along the clifftops between Lligwy and Traeth yr Ora yesterday.

Personal highlight was the addition of two new species to my life patch list, which moves up to 128. Taking five years to find my first Moorhen may seem like modest success, but suitable habitat is scarce; remarkably I found another the following day. Given their regularity at other nearby sites, it is even more surprising that it has taken this long to find a Great Northern Diver: there was one close offshore, from the headland, on Sunday's stormy seas.

There are still plenty of Brent Geese around, I counted 60 in the mouth of the Cymyran yesterday, though Wigeon have moved elsewhere. Waders included 22 Turnstones (an increase) and a small mixed flock of Ringed Plover and Dunlin. Curlew and Redshank were each down to one. There were c20 Pintail on the Inland Sea on Saturday morning, viewed from the Anchorage Hotel.

 

 

Black Grouse & Anglesey 12/3/2017

    A nice trip to the principality to see some birds that, sadly we dont get to see very often, which is a good enough excuse to visit Wales. We met in Norden at 6am with myself, Steve & Chris Brown with Chris driving. There was a feel of spring in the air as we gained height towards World`s End, we were hoping to get some pictures of the lekking Black Grouse. We first saw a distant couple of males but, as we reached a pull in around 14 male Black Grouse were all doing their posturing, displaying etc, only problem was a car was stopped right in the middle of the road! We headed along the single track road and watched from the car as another 20 male birds were displaying. Raven, Peregrine, Meadow Pipit & Stonechat also observed. As we headed back downhill around 6 more birds were seen and a few pictures taken. Great birds to watch and in a really good place.

    The long drive to Anglesey was brightened up with lots of Daffodils in full bloom along the roads, very nice. We reached Holyhead Harbour and soon managed to watch a single Black Guillemot. The tide was very high and we remarked that we had never seen it that high before. We headed up to South Stack with its impressive seabird colony, Guillemot, Razorbill and Herring Gull. We were a bit early for Kittiwake and Puffin but a few Sand Martin heading north made up for that. The local Chough flock also put on a good display for us, Steve searched in vain for a Rock Pipit and we all missed a Hooded Crow that had been seen in the area.

   We called in at Penrhos, but could not find a Slavonian Grebe that had been seen earlier in the day, next stop was the Spinnies or Aber Ogwen. We managed to see a Greenshank in the tidal pools along with Redshank, Teal, Shelduck and lots of Oystercatchers. Got home by 6pm after a good trip out.

Dave O.

Mid morning visit to Old Colwyn for high tide and stayed until 2.30ish.

Birds of note...
- Glaucous Gull 1 juv with small group of Common Scoters
(Didn't expect to see this at all)
- Great Black-backed Gull 1
- Common Scoter 1000's
- Velvet Scoter 2 drakes
- No sign of Surf Scoter despite thorough search
- Red Throated Diver 2
- Long-tailed Duck 1 (female type?)
- Scaup 4 (inc 2 drakes)
- Great Crested Grebe 1
- Shag 2
- Cormorants
- Turnstone 7

Further to my note from Friday, there follows a belated weekend note for anyone planning half term break on Anglesey.

After an unproductive circuit of my Silver Bay patch, followed by an unsuccessful check for Glaucous Gull at Holyhead fish quay, my first stop on Saturday morning was Malltraeth Marsh, Pentre Berw. This site requires patience and some leg work, but it can be very rewarding. On arrival, a local had seen both Marsh Harrier and Merlin. I had no luck with either of these, but managed my first Black-tailed Godwits of the year, along with many hundreds of Wigeon and large numbers of Lapwing and Teal. There were a small numbers of winter thrushes along the Cefni, along with a few pairs of Stonechat. This is a good site during spring passage.

I headed on to the estuary mouth at Malltraeth, but didnt spend long there in a cold wind. There were the usual high numbers of Redshank and Pintail out on the estuary, and Golden Plover on the cob pool, also a Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit on the river, viewed from the road.

I drove back along lane that runs parallel to the Cefni, turning north just past Pont Marquis. Five Cattle Egrets were found in a roadside field near here in December, though reports have been sporadic since. The first couple of fields drew a blank, but 400 yards up the road I could see white blobs two fields back. There are few parking opportunities, but I managed to stop in the middle of the road for long enough to get positive scope views of three of the birds: two Little Egrets and a Cattle Egret. The remainder of the birds were obscured by hedge and cattle.

A brief late afternoon stop at windy, wet, and misty, South Stack, produced three Fulmars back on the ledges, though the Guillemots had disappeared for the day.

I finished back at Holyhead fish quay, where a Great Northern Diver on the sea was compensation for the missing Glaucous Gull.

Sunday started with a dog walk along the southern shore of the Inland Sea, starting at Four Mile Bridge and taking in Ynys Leurad. It was on good form, with a fine variety of waders, including Greenshank, Knot and Grey Plover. There were double figures of Red-breasted Merganser and Goldeneye. I also managed to pick out the long-staying Black-necked Grebe, though couldnt find the Long-tailed Duck or small raft of Scaup that is still around. Two Mediterranean Gulls were in the channel by the bridge.

I followed this with a cycle ride that started well with Barn Owl (undisclosed site). The Hooded Crow was still on wires by the chapel at Llanfachraeth. Just up the road, on the Alaw, a single Greenshank flew over. On the other side of the track, on the blind side of the clapper bridge, I flushed a wintering Green Sandpiper.

Llyn Llywenan held many common ducks and twenty or so Mute Swans, but no sign of Whoopers. A pair of Goosander was a good find in these parts. I congratulated myself on a pair of Linnets in the hedgerow south of the lake - my first of the year. By the end of the day, I had seen separate flocks of 30+, followed by 60+ and then 15, all at Silver Bay. There were six Snipe on the headland here.

Total species count for my long weekend on the island was an impressive 94. I added Common Scoter at Colwyn Bay on the way home.

Worlds End

I arrived on site at 7.10am, In previous years the first Lek to the right of the first left hand bend had held the greatest number of birds, This morning no birds at all, Swiftly moving on Windows down periodically stopping I could hear the birds hissing and bubbling sounds but couldn't see any, Eventually came across a Lek which contained 20 Blackcock and a smaller one of 6, Great spectacle, Also plenty of Red Grouse heard and 3 seen.

World's End

10.00amish

Despite late arrival in site, active and very vocal Black Grouse lek still in full swing. 7 males . A further solitary cock much closer to road. A female distantly perched up on a tree.
Single male Red Grouse also seen very close to road; calling.


.

Sunday 12th Feb.

Old Colwyn high tide 11.35am.

- 1 drake Surf Scoter
- 500+ Common Scoter
- 2 Cormorant

I located the corking Surf Scoter fairly close in but just my luck the swell was massive and it was constantly in and out of view so I just couldn't get a photo as hard as I tried.
Further up the promenade, the waves were crashing right over the whole driveway and I'd been there less than 15 minutes when Conwy Council vans turned up and the guys told me they were closing it off and locking the barriers for safety reasons.
Lots of debris (branches, wood, bric a brac etc) was being thrown up onto the promenade.

Was going on patch today BUT....... a sunny, windless day seemed too good to miss to go look for seabirds off the North Wales coast, something I love to do. So off I headed the short distance to Old Colwyn, following a report of a Surf Scoter offshore still early this morning.

Initially I was the only birder but eventually 4 of us over the morning had a go at grilling the scoter flocks. I had my Swarovski STX95, so plenty of power, 70x at the top end, and a mate was using a Zeiss Diascope with 75x at the top end, so we were well equipped! Unfortunately, even with that arsenal of firepower we all failed. A total watch of about 2 hours failed to produce a Surf Scoter amongst the thousands of Common Scoters. I was pleased to find a drake and 3 female Scaup out in the flock which were feeding with a Long-tailed Duck, probably harder to pick out than a Surf Scoter! The Scaup were a welcome year tick too and a self-found one at that Over 10 Red-throated Divers were seen, some pretty close in and showing well. Red-breasted Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes were on the sea and Turnstones and Redshanks on the outfall rocks.

Next birding stop was the Little Orme where numerous Fulmars were now claing nesting ledges on the cliffs and showing very well. A pair of Ravens were skydancing in a spectacular display too. At the end I did another lengthy seawatch which paid dividends with two Great Northern Divers, several flypast auks, including both Guillemots and Razorbills. A long way offshore I picked up two, small and very buoyant gulls, almost looking tern-like, zooming up I could see that they were adult Kittiwakes, another yeartick! Lots of Shags and Cormorants were also seen as well as the commoner gull species.

As is usual with me I was on limited time so I headed home mid-afternoon, but it was a great day in the sun and definitely the correct decision with me being back to work tomorrow!!

Good mornings birding at LLanfairfechan. Sadly no Slavonian Grebes but loads of Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-throated Divers, Common Scoters and two Long-tailed Ducks. Quick visit to the salt marsh pools just to the west produced all the expected birds. Nothing unusual but a really nice site and somewhere to revisit.

Long tailed Duck (4) still present - all morning - Trearddur Bay, Anglesey.

Photos attached, birds distant and I've lost a bit of clarity trying to downsize, which I think I have done successfully. Apologies, Ian, if I haven't!

No thrush at St Asaphs for me today, no one had seen it by the time I left at 1300.

Got some good shots of a dipper in the river though.

Went on to Kinmel Bay at high tide. One sanderling was the only bird seen on a walk along the beach, but there were 3 moterised paragliders in the car park waiting for the water to drop.
I can only assume they cleared all the wildlife earlier on the rising tide.

Perhaps things will improve when winter really bites.

st asaph

I arrived at 11.10am & was watching the black-throated thrush within minutes when it was feeding in the field next to the new inn pub, good views, but they got better as the day went on. I also seen it on the opposite side of the river in full view on the pitch but failed to get any photos, but the best views were later in the afternoon when it was located just yards away from us & gave fantastic views as it fed on the path
nice to see many familiar faces & yes stuart it is becoming a bit of a habit of lately
other birds around...

1 dipper
2 nuthatch
1 treecreeper
1 great spotted woodpecker
1 buzzard
plenty of blackbirds, redwings, song thrushes, few mistle thrushes.

Much the same as Mark really re the Black-throated Thrush!! Had a spare day after getting back from S.Wales & wanted to blow the cobwebs away so headed to St Asaph. My wait was a tad shorter than Marks and I was relieved to get those first views, in flight and then perched albeit amongst a tangle of branches. I stayed a while longer after Mark had departed and he will not be surprised that the bird showed much better later. It was on a path in the open on the far side of the river & perched up in a Yew in full view. Later if flew into the chapel garden and showed really well, but to only 6 of us who had gone in that direction after the throng had split up to re-find the bird (small size pic attached). I managed a few record shots and was back home by 3.30pm.

-- Edited by Doc Brewster on Friday 30th of December 2016 05:44:43 PM

My best shot of the female Black Throated Thrush in St Asaph this morning. Showed well for 20 minutes just behind the New Inn pub from 11.45-12.05. 

Also Little Egret over.

Decided on an afternoon visit to St Asaph as the Black-throated Thrush has been regularly reported later in the day, and I wasn't disappointed. Had really good views of the bird at about 15.30, feeding on the ground in the field behind the New Inn, on the opposite side of the river to the football pitch. I watched the bird for about 15 minutes along with good sized group of birders. Nice to meet Manchester birders Tony Broom and Mike Cooper.