Birding Group Wales Trip 4th-5th June 2018

The birding group overnigh trip was to RSPB South Stack so, as usual, we all met up at RSPB Conwy around 10:30 to make our plan. Our plan was, naturally, our usual one. We had a quick look around RSPB Conwy before heading off for the Spinnies at Aberogwen near Tal y Bont. En route we got Red Kite and at Conwy we got our very first House Martins of the year which is quite extraordinary and suggests something is not quite right with the House Martin Population this year as it is quite something to see Swifts before House Martins !

The Little Egret and Grey Heron colony over by the castle was interesting but there wasn’t much around at Conwy so we headed for The Spinnies. When we got to the car park the tide was way out which was a shame because the birds were so far out. However, by the time we had had our sandwiches more birds were coming into view and as we walked the beach toward the sea hide we started to see wuite large numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers – another year tick – and lots of Mute Swans and Shelduck. A few Shoveler and a Little Egret were seen and a few Oystercatchers. In the hide facing the woods we got a Nuthatch but, again, it was generally quiet in the woods.

From The Spinnies we went on to Cemlyn Bay where we were amazed to find very many fewer Terns than we were expecting. We spoke to a coupleof wardens there and they told us that they had had a problem with predation by, of all things, Otters! They had erected an electric fence but numbers were now much reduced. They said that they didn’t think that the predation alone explained the low numbers but many of them had probably decided to move on somewhere else to breed. Despite the low numbers we still got year tick Arctic and Sandwich Terns and even got another year tick in the form of a Black Guillemot swimming around the bay. There were lots of Dunlin and a several Ringed Plovers.

A walk around the rocks on the edge of thebay brought many more Dunlin and RInged Plover so despite the poor Tern showing we still has a good visit to a reliable site.

After we left Cemlyn Bay we headed off to the Travelodge via the Fish Docks where we saw three Black Guillemots and then, after checking in, went straight out for a couple of pints at a “characterful” pub nearby before going to the usual hotel restaurant we go to where the food was awful.

On day two it was off to RSPB South Stack. Our group seems to be incapable of acting like a group so we all made our ways there in dribs and drabs and largely went around the site in small groups. This was always going to be a good day for year ticks and we had them in good numbers with hoards of Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes There were also several Gannets and Fulmars and early on we saw three Choughs and a Stonechat – all of these year ticks. We also got Meadow Pipit and Linnet.

The group decided that some of them wanted to go for a walk and others wanted to go to Gronant Dunes to see the Little Tern Colony. We were among the latter, thinking that Gronant was most of the way home so it was as well to do some mileage first. It was a lovely day when we got there and discovered that they have built a new hide that sits just above the Little Tern colony. You have to be a member but that only costs £5 a year. However, I don’t think all of our group thought that worth while so we just stayed at the old shelter for the wardens and still got good views of lots of Little Terns.

Just as nice was the walk through the dunes and tracked between the wetter parts of the site which were teeming with Stonechats and Skylarks. We also got Kestrel, Reed Bunting, House Martins and Swallows. It was a delightful visit and rounded off our birding day nicely. From here it was straight home with only a week to go before our holiday in Scotland.

Bird Sightings : North Wales 4th – 5th June 2018