Birding Group Overnight Visit to North Wales and Anglesey 15-16 Jun 2026
Our annual overnight stay was a trip to Anglesey where we hoped to get as many cliff breeding birds as possible at RSPB South Stack. The weather turned out to be fine and the traffic wasn’t too bad, so we were hopeful for a great couple of days of birding.
Our plan was for the three carloads of people, seven of us in all, to meet at RSPB Conwy around 10:30 or so. En route, we had a Great White Egret fly over the car and a couple of Buzzards circled above us. We also got a nice flock of Linnets flying in front of the car.
At RSPB Conwy, we were a little disappointed to find that the water levels were very low throughout the reserve. They have had pumping problems that have added to the apparent low rainfall that naturally fills the lagoons. Warm weather evaporates what little water there is, so the reserve is not what it should be. There is still extensive work going on around the reserve and it is hoped that it will not be too long before the water can be returned to the lagoons which mostly look live meadows now. It seems to have been like this for at least a year now – maybe I am imagining it, but it seems like it might even have been a couple of years. In any case, we weren’t that interested in walking all the way around and just had a quick look at the nearest hides. Because the RSPB are no longer putting out food at their feeding stations between June and August, there weren’t any birds to be seen there either.
Anyway, we had a cup of tea and came to the collective decision that, in a break with our usual way of doing things, we would go to South Stack directly from Conwy and add Cemlyn Bay if we had time before checking into the Premier Inn at Holyhead. This had the advantage that the weather was going to be better this day that the next. Also, I mentioned to the group that we had made the mistake, on a solo visit we made previously, of going early in the morning of the second day of an overnighter to South Stack only to find it entirely shrouded in a sea ha that meant we could not see more than a foot in front of us. We agreed to go straight there from Conwy.
It was a good drive and we got there about mid-day. We took the path down to the tower from where we got good numbers of Guillemots and Razorbills as well as the usual Gulls. However, there were no Puffins and no Kittiwakes which was a disappointment. Some of the group took the walk uphill and then half way down to the lighthouse to see the rock outcrop from the other side in case Puffins could be seen from there; they couldn’t.
I stayed around the tower and scoped out to sea for a bit. I did manage to get a Rock Pipit and there were several Meadow Pipits and lots of Stonechats everywhere. As I walked along the cliff edge I spoke to a number of people but they hadn’t seen too much. Choughs were a bit scarce, though we had seen one briefly, from the tower position as it flew over the top of the hill. I did get a Raven in my scope in the fields over by the lower car park but no more Choughs.
I climbed back up the slope to the café (I’m getting too old for this) where I met up with the others who were having a break. I mentioned to them that I had spoken to a woman who told us that there had been a Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the shrubs opposite the lower car park (behind the gate with Lin Fawr (I think) on it. Needless to say, we couldn’t find it but we had a look in the fields on the cliff side of the car park and eventually got a few more Choughs in the field.
About 2:30pm we had done enough so we thought we could just fit in a trip to Cemlyn Bay before checking in to the hotel. It is always a bit out of the way getting there and back but is usually worth it. As we approached the car park we saw a nice family of Shelducks with five chicks in tow. Little Egret, Oystercatchers and Swallows were easily seen but, of course, the reason for going was to see the Terns. Fortunately for us there was a very friendly volunteer warden there who pointed out a pair of Med Gulls who we watched splashing around in the water amongst a group of Terns which were having a communal bathing frenzy – no doubt the Terns were happy to be out of the nest and getting cleaned up.
On the beach a group of Common Terns had a nursery where some young birds were being shown the ropes. Although there were good numbers of Common Terns there were even more Sandwich Terns which was very nice. There were even a pair of Arctic Terns showing well enough to see their distinctive colouring.
We had got to Cemlyn Bay a little before the others so we were done a little earlier. We started to walk back to the car park, so missed a Black Guillemot out by the power station. I had looked for just such a bird for quite some time when we first arrives so was bit peeved to miss it. Not to worry, we had high hopes for the fish docks at Holyhead tomorrow. For the moment we were happy to get back to the Premier Inn and get cleaned up before dinner. As we approached the hotel, we were a bit dismayed because it looked even more derelict than it had done on our previous visit and we were worried that we had mis-advised the group with our suggestion to stay there rather than the cheaper Travelodge! However, when we got inside the place it was as we expected and all was fine with our room. We checked in, showered and lay down for a bit.
We had arranged a 7pm dinner for the seven of us and we had all booked room, dinner and breakfast which for the two of us came to £190.98p – not cheap but about the going rate. Fortunately everyone seemed to enjoy their food (except one person who had the pizza) and I they all appreciated that we did not have to drive anywhere to eat. It saved on time and we could all leave whenever it suited us. In the end I think everyone thought it was a good idea to stay there and have the all-in deal, which was a bit of a relief.
The next morning the group wanted to go to RSPB Valley first off. However, we wanted to go to the fish docks to see the Black Guillemots which we did do eventually but it was touch and go as the whole opposite side of the docks, usually clearly visible, was obscured by anchored boats. At first I though t I was going to be out of luck as they birds were probably going to be between the boats and the dock, out of sight. Fortunately, one eventually flew straight in front of a red boat making it very visible. I later got a second bird on the water. One of the local fish folk got a bit narked because he had to squeeze past our parked car on the narrow road but, what they hey – it’s worth it.
We intended to catch up with the others at RSPB Valley which they have gone to many times but we have never. We had a bit of a job finding the place as it is a tiny, unsigned entrance, to a small car park. The fact that there was temporary traffic lights just at the entrance meant we missed it first time because we were looking out for traffic. We managed to turn back and happily spotted the Kingfisher blue of one of our group’s car which helped us locate it.
We walked up to the viewpoint of the reservoir on which there were a pair of Great Crested grebes and some Tufted Ducks. There were a number of birds in the brambles and gorse-like shrubs but they mainly seemed to be Dunnock and Wren. The best bids were actually the numerous House Martins that were nesting in the local army family accommodation blocks across the street – Valley is an air force base.
From Valley, we headed to Llanferfechan where we hoped to find Dippers in the usual spot. We parked up in the pay car park by the beach restaurant. There are public loos there but they cost 50p and only take cash. Fortunately for us someone came out and held the door open for us. By the time we returned to the car park, I think the same 50p must have served at least 20 people before someone couldn’t find a taker for the free loo. We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t get any Dippers. We did get a Grey Wagtail and there were juvenile Robins, Goldfinches, House Sparrows and other birds bathing in the stream.
We drove off to RSPB Conwy where we all met up again. We had a bit of a look round but apart from some singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs, there wasn’t a lot to see. The others were going to have more of a walk round but we were quite tired and happy to get home. I had been suffering a bit with shortage of breath over the two days and had found it all a bit challenging. We also wanted to check out somewhere we found in the Best Birdwatching guide for North Wales and which Anne comments upon every time we drive up to Anglesey and that is Bodelwyddan Castle. Anne really fancies it because it looks like such a posh spa-line place. I think the reality wasn’t quite what she hoped as it seemed to be Saga retirement place with most people in wheelchairs! Anyway there was supposed to be a walk through the woods to a hide so we thought we could recce it for the group and see if it was worth it. What I didn’t realise was that it was a long uphill path that seemed to go on forever. We did see a nice Jay on our way up there but when Anne went on ahead and phoned me up to tell me it wasn’t worth the effort, we turned back downhill. It was all a bit of a mistake; though perhaps in Spring it is better. However, it will never be less steep and I was just a bit done-in by the end and ready to call it a day and return home. We were lucky with the day as the weather was fine and the traffic wasn’t too bad either. We got home mid-afternoon and ready to sit in the garden with a beer.
In all, over the two days, we saw forty-six species with year ticks of Guillemot, Razorbill, Chough and Rock Pipit at RSPB South Stack, Arctic Tern and Sandwich Tern at Cemlyn Bay, all on the 15th June and Black Guillemot at the Fish Docks at Holyhead and Greenfinch at Llanferfechan both on 16 June 2026
| No | Species |
|---|---|
| 1 | Arctic Tern |
| 2 | Black Guillemot |
| 3 | Blackbird |
| 4 | Blackcap |
| 5 | Buzzard |
| 6 | Canada Goose |
| 7 | Carrion Crow |
| 8 | Chaffinch |
| 9 | Chiffchaff |
| 10 | Chough |
| 11 | Common Tern |
| 12 | Cormorant |
| 13 | Dunnock |
| 14 | Gadwall |
| 15 | Goldfinch |
| 16 | Great Black-backed Gull |
| 17 | Great Crested Grebe |
| 18 | Great White Egret |
| 19 | Greenfinch |
| 20 | Grey Wagtail |
| 21 | Greylag Goose |
| 22 | Guillemot |
| 23 | Herring Gull |
| 24 | House Martin |
| 25 | House Sparrow |
| 26 | Jackdaw |
| 27 | Jay |
| 28 | Lapwing |
| 29 | Linnet |
| 30 | Little Egret |
| 31 | Mallard |
| 32 | Meadow Pipit |
| 33 | Mediterranean Gull |
| 34 | Mute Swan |
| 35 | Oystercatcher |
| 36 | Raven |
| 37 | Razorbill |
| 38 | Robin |
| 39 | Rock Pipit |
| 40 | Sandwich Tern |
| 41 | Shelduck |
| 42 | Starling |
| 43 | Stonechat |
| 44 | Swallow |
| 45 | Tufted Duck |
| 46 | Wren |
| Species | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Guillemot | 15-Jun-26 | South Stack, Anglesey |
| Razorbill | 15-Jun-26 | South Stack, Anglesey |
| Chough | 15-Jun-26 | South Stack, Anglesey |
| Rock Pipit | 15-Jun-26 | South Stack, Anglesey |
| Arctic Tern | 16-Jun-26 | Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey |
| Sandwich Tern | 16-Jun-26 | Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey |
| Black Guillemot | 16-Jun-26 | Fish Docks, Holyhead, Anglesey |
| Greenfinch | 16-Jun-26 | Llanferfechan, North Wales |