December 2021

Me & Dad popped to Slimbridge WWT for a couple of hours. In the Rushy Pen were 5 Bewick's Swans, Pintails, Avocet, Lapwing & Common Teal. Also a Female Mallard with a white neck patch. A Water Rail was briefly seen from the Willow Hide. Five more Bewick's Swans were from the Robbie Garnett Hide. A few Pintails flew in & landed on the Tack Piece along with Common Teals. The Ross's Goose showed well from the Kingfisher Hide with Barnacle Geese, albeit rather distant. A Male Pheasant walked past the feeding station. There was also a Robin, Great & Blue Tits around the feeders. A few Greylag Geese were in front of the Van de Bovenkamp Hide. At least 200 Golden Plovers were present in the field with Lapwings, before flying back to the estuary. The immature Spoonbill, which had been present for a couple of months showed distantly from Kingfisher and Van de Bovenkamp Hide. We had a sightly better view of it from the Ziess Hide. A single Euraisan White-fronted Goose made a fly past. A few more flew over with some Greylags. Another Water Rail showed very well below the hide. We managed to see the Adult Common Gull on the South Lake, before heading home.

Pintail [Males]

Water Rail [Adult]

Pintail [Female]

Lapwing [Adult]

Mallard [Female]

Water Rail [Adult]

Bewick’s Swan [Juvenile]

European Spoonbill [Immature]

Bewick’s Swan [Juvenile]

Pintail [Male]

Golden Plovers & Lapwings

Water Rail [Adult]

Common Gull [Adult Winter]

Monday 13th December 2021

Me & Dad travelled up from Bristol to the Prince's Arms Hotel at Trefriw in the lovely Conwy Valley, where we met our tour guides Alan Davies, Ruth Miller & Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams.

The 5 day tour got off to a very good start with a sighting of 2 Common Kingfishers on the river Conwy from our hotel bedroom window.

After lunch, we set northward to the town of Llandudno, where a Snow Bunting had been sighted on the beach 800m south of West Shore Beach Cafe. We had a thorough search around the entire area, but no sign of the bird. We did see Reed Bunting, Stonechat and Rock Pipit on the way. The rain started coming in from the west & we had to abandon our quest. By about 3:00 in the afternoon, the weather had taken the turn for the worst, so the decision was made to head back to the hotel & do Conwy RSPB on Tuesday.

North Wales Birdwatching Tour
13th-17th December 2021

Conwy Valley

Llandundo sea wall & the Great Orme

Tuesday 14th December 2021

After breakfast, we headed up the Conwy valley and had stunning views over the river where we saw Shelduck, Lapwing, Curlew, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Common Buzzard, Wigeon, Pied Wagtail, Redwing & Mistle Thrushes.

We continued our journey & had a brief stop in Llandudno. Above the town, were the famous Kashmiri Goats. At the Great Orme, we were treated to excellent views of the local Peregrine Falcons flying around the cliffs, also several Fulmars flying overhead & perched on the cliffs. There were a couple more Kashmiri Goats clambering around the rocks above the road. A Male Stonechat showed very well perched on the 30MPH sign. It then came on the wall along the road, having caught a Caterpillar of Ruby Tiger Moth. The Peregrine Falcons still continued to soar around the cliffs near where they nested in the Spring. The Grey Seals were resting on the beach below the cliffs & a Common Raven flew past the headland. Other species seen were Red-throated Diver, Common Guillemot, Rock Pipit, Curlew, Redshank, Shag & Turnstone. On the way back five Chough flew over.

Conwy Valley early morning

Blackbird [Male]

Chaffinch [Male]

We popped along to Conwy RSPB for a quick look around the reserve. Two Feral Pigeons & a Water Rail were briefly seen underneath the feeders. From the hide we saw Common Pochard, Gadwall, Common Teal & Greater Scaup with Tufted Ducks. A pair of Bullfinches were feeding on the buds in a tree near the hide. We also saw two Goldcrest on the way back.

Kashmiri Goats

Kashmiri Goat

Fulmar [Adult]

Fulmar [Adult]

Peregrine Falcon [Adult]

Stonechat [Male]

Peregrine Falcon [Adult]

Raven [Adult]

Grey Seal [Juvenile]

Grey Seals

After lunch we head to our final port of call for the day at Aberowgen. A few birds included Blue, Great & Coal Tit plus a Nuthatch were feeding on the feeders near the hide. While I was keeping an eye out for the Kingfisher, the others were looking at the birds on the estuary side of the hide. These included Oystercatchers, Dunlins, Common Redshanks, Great White Egret, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eider, Great Crested Grebe, Greenshank, Red-breasted Merganser and a solitary Brent Goose. We managed to see the Female Kingfisher perched on a stump, before flying over to the estuary. This individual did a little a bit of fishing in the creek before disappearing back up river. Also a Grey Heron & Little Egret were fishing nearby.

Feral Pigeon [Adult]

Nuthatch [Adult]

Bullfinch [Female]

Little Egret [Adult Winter]

Grey Heron [Adult]

Kingfisher [Female]

Wednesday 15th December 2021

After breakfast, we headed east along Colwyn Bay to Pensarn Beach for a bit of seawatching. Loads of Common Scoters were flying past at a distant & simply resting on the sea. Another Red-throated Diver was also far at sea. Loads of Herring Gulls were present in the area. We then headed to Burton Marsh in Cheshire. A good number of birds were seen here. Pink-footed Geese, Greylag Geese, Mute Swan, Common Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Peregrine Falcon, Marsh Harriers, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Great White Egret & Cetti's Warbler. We moved to Parkgate Marsh/Grayton Sands RSPB, where a Wren perched on a wall breifly near the car park. A Barn Owl made an appearance hunting over the marsh as the light started to fade. Our final port of call for the day was Neston Marsh. A couple of Pink-footed Geese flew over the marsh. Final star species of the day were at least 3 Short-eared Owls. It was getting quite dark by now, so we heaed back to our hotel for dinner.

Wren [Adult]

Burton Marsh

Herring Gull [Juvenile]

Pink-footed Geese

Barn Owl [Adult]

Neston Marsh

Thursday 16th December 2021

After Breakfast, we headed to the Isle of Anglesey for a full days birding. We crossed the Menai Strait over Britannia Bridge, which also carries the North Wales Coast Mainline to Holyhead on it's lower deck. We started in Valley, where a Mediterranean Gull was seen in a flooded field with other Gulls, Black-tailed Godwits, some Wigeon & Dunlin. After crossing the causeway, we turned off the main road to Holyhead for a bit of birdwatching at the Penrhos Coastal Park. The area of Beddmanarch Bay is particularly favoured by the Pale-bellied Brent Geese.
These birds winter in Northumberland, Dumfries & Galloway, Ireland & some in Wales. As their name suggests, they have a paler belly than the familiar Dark-bellied form, which winters in Southern & Eastern England. A Great Northern Diver was seen distantly from the car park. And a couple of Moorhens & Mallards were on small pond.

Pale-bellied Brent Geese

Pale-bellied Brent Geese

Pale-bellied Brent Goose [Adult]

Moorhen [Adult]

Our next stop was at South Stack RSPB to look for the Choughs. We didn't have any close views, even though we saw a couple distantly in flight. A Common Raven was performing a display flight. A few Meadow Pipits over the path landed out of sight. A unexpected bonus of a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins were swimming below the cliffs.

Bottlenose Dolphins

We headed to Holyhead Harbour to look for Black Guillemots. At least 4 showed very well in the harbour at midday. Most of the birds had moulted into Winter Plumage, but the indivdiual we had a close view of, was still in the progress of moulting from Summer-Winter Plumage.
After lunch at the Catch 22 Cafe in Valley, we spent the rest of the day watching the Red Squirrels at a special site where food is put down for them. We also saw a very nice Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Jay.

Black Guillemot [Adult Winter]

Treecreeper [Adult]

Red Squirrels

Friday 17th December 2021

Our final day in North Wales. After breakfast we had another look along the Conwy valley.

We then went to Llyn Brenig to look for the Great Grey Shrike. We saw a couple of Bramblings down by the feeders, before they flew off. The Great Grey Shrike showed very well at a distance in a clearfell. Heading back to the hotel along the Conwy valley we finally found Dipper and Grey Wagtail. Near the hotel we found a Hawfinch. It was feeding on the Yew berries. At times it was hidden behind the branches but showed reasonably well through the telescope. Afterwards we headed back for lunch. A Jay was seen on one of the feeders. After lunch, we said goodbye to our guides & headed back home.

On our way from Bridgnorth, I spotted the Steam in Lights Excursions heading south Standard 4 75069 was on the rear of the train.

Brambling [Male Winter]

River Conwy

Herring Gull [Adult Winter]

Me with Alan Davies, Ruth Miller & Iolo Williams

Jay [Adult]

We had an very enjoyable 5 day birding in North Wales.
A huge thanks to Alan Davies, Ruth Miller & Iolo Williams for their excellent guiding.
Thanks also to Janice, Richard, Jenny & David for their company.

Mediterranean Gull

December 2021