Day Three Of Gentle Birdwatching Here In North Wales Local This Time
Day Three Of Gentle Birdwatching Here In North Wales Local This Time
Wonderful views of Fulmars here in Llandudno got day three off to a great start!
Day three of “gentle birdwatching” here in North Wales and we picked up our friend at 9.15am from her Llandudno hotel, seeing a Chough fly over the car-park. A few minutes later we were on the Great Orme scanning the sea we soon saw Fulmars flying above us and Red-throated Divers and Shags on the water. Turning to watch the Fulmars flying back and forth to the cliffs just above us we saw two Peregrine Falcons flying along the cliffs – wonderful birds. The first bird was carrying prey with the second bird, the male of our resident pair, close behind. Both falcons landed on the cliff but out sight though we did see the male in flight again, calling loudly presumably asking the female to share breakfast? We made another stop further around the headland and saw a third Peregrine here and were very surprised to see three Pale-bellied Brent Geese flying west past the headland rare birds here.
Lapwing were just one of over 70 species of birds enjoyed at a very gentle pace.
We then headed down to nearby RSPB Conwy where we enjoyed plenty of birds on the lagoons and in the scrub along the trails. On the deeper lagoon we watched Red-breasted Mergansers, Goldeneye, Pochard and Tufted Duck all diving for food. Waders here included Common Redshank, Lapwing, Curlew and Common Snipe and with the Leica telescopes we enjoyed super views. A Cetti’s Warbler sang but in typical style for this bird remained unseen deep in the reeds. It was lovely to watch Siskins feeding in the alder trees these small finches have been scarce in the area recently.
Great views of Mistle Thrushes in the Conwy Valley - so lucky to have so many species here.
We then headed south down the Conwy valley where we enjoyed views of Red Kite and Mistle Thrush amongst others but we could not find a Dipper on this occasion despite checking some perfect habitat, but was a lovely walk by the fast flowing stream and waterfalls. We enjoyed our café lunch in the market town of Llanrwst by the River Conwy.
Next stop was in the Gwydir Forest where we enjoyed watching some woodland birds including a vocal pair of Nuthatches and several Coal Tits. The scenic drive through Snowdonia was not at its best due to the very low cloud but it was still dramatic.
Back on the coast at Aber Ogwen there were huge numbers of birds on the estuary and it was a case of where to look next! We found a gang of six Greenshank by the river channel so nice to see so many in December. Bar-tailed Godwits were feeding on the advancing tide along with masses of Dunlin, hundreds of Oystercatchers and lots of Curlew and Redshank. It was a wonderful sight to see so many birds in one view.
Back to the hotel in Llandudno at 4.30pm a really relaxing “gentle birdwatching” day and we all really enjoyed it. Birds really are very good for us indeed and after three days of enjoying wonderful birds are lovely friend felt so much better. Come and join us for “gentle birdwatching” if you need to escape the pressures of this hectic crazy world we know you will really benefit from the experience. Just drop us a line and we can make all the arrangements.
Come and join us for a “Tour for Two” – very small group just two guests with two guides, tailor made itinerary, low risk in these COVID-19 times and of course lots of birds and an excellent chance of enjoying them all. Do drop us a line and we can make all the arrangements be it a day trip, two days, three day or as long a tour as you wish. Our recent Tours for Two have visited the Highlands of Scotland, North Wales, Norfolk and the Yorkshire coast and we are planning many more! Let us know where you would like to go and we can put together a proposal perfect for you.
We are so lucky to have so many species and habitats within easy reach here in North Wales we would love you to join us for one of our Best of North Wales Birdwatching Trips days out. We expect to enjoy a lot of birds during these relaxed pace tours and we can tailor make the day to suit you.
We would love you to join us on our Birdwatching Trips in the future just drop us a line to arrange a custom tour and please see our tours pages for set departure trips. If you have any questions at all please fire away here….
info@birdwatchingtrips.co.ukWe look forward to enjoying wonderful birds in beautiful places with you soon!