An Anniversary Present Custom Birdwatching Trips Tour 30 June 2023

The Great Orme at Llandudno really is great and has wonderful wildlife.

Gail and Phil have done lots of trips with us, it was Phil’s idea to run our brilliant Arctic Norway tour in April this year that was a huge success. It was lovely that they chose to have a Birdwatching Trips custom day out to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and luckily, we found a date to suit us all.

On the 30th June we meet Gail and Phil at Llandudno West Shore at 8.30am and the day got off to a great start. A Sandwich Tern flew along the beach, a Peregrine whizzed overhead and then soared over the nearby Great Orme where it was joined by a second bird.

Lovely views of Northern Fulmars were enjoyed on the cliffs of the Great Orme.

We drove a very short distance to the Great Orme and walked along the Marine Drive that allows stunning views across the north shore, the pier and the Little Orme. Northern Fulmars were on the cliffs above us, Black Guillemots were on the calm sea below, and a Rock Pipit showed well on the stonewall ahead of us. Then loud calls drew our attention to a family party of five Red-billed Chough swooping along the cliffs – wonderful. These five fantastic corvids showed off both in flight and on the cliffs – such characters! Further around the headland we enjoyed the seabird colony with hundreds of Common Guillemots, Razorbills, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Cormorants and Shags with two more Black Guillemots here on the sea. Two Manx Shearwaters flew west offshore, and another Peregrine cruised around the cliffs as Ravens flapped by. We also enjoyed seeing fragrant orchids and sundew plants on the cliffs.

Nice to see Common Sandpipers at RSPB Conwy in June.

Next, we headed to RSPB Conwy alongside the Conwy Estuary and walked down to the Benarth Hide. Lots to see here on the two lagoons, ducks included a brood of Tufted Duck and a brood of Gadwall along with a Pochard, six Teal – a good variety for mid-summer. Two Common Sandpipers were a surprise for late June and beautiful Northern Lapwings fed on the muddy areas and a huge Great Egret towered over the Little Egrets here. A cup of coffee and a cake went down well at the tearoom on the reserve.

We then headed south down the Conwy Valley and had a lovely walk by the Conwy River. At first it was rather slow for birds and there was no sign of the hoped for Common Redstarts sadly. But we kept looking and then saw a Red Kite soaring over the valley and while watching this beautiful raptor spotted a Hobby! At first this fast-moving bird of prey kept diving down behind trees, we kept watching and were rewarded with a second Hobby joining the first – wow! Both birds were hunting over the valley so perhaps a breeding pair? A family of Goosanders showed well on the river and as we walked back towards the car a gorgeous male Common Redstart! What a beautiful bird and luckily in the mood to pose, such a colourful bird.

It is fantastic that we have Ospreys now nesting close to home here in North Wales.

Gail had requested lunch be at Llanrwst at the tearoom by the bridge over the Conwy River and of course that was fine with us. We had a lovely long lunch outside enjoying traditional Welsh rarebit, sadly no room for the wonderful cakes, another time. We then headed for Llyn Brenig with the weather closing in around us. Luckily, we could still see the Ospreys at the lake, just, and enjoyed the views through the cameras at the North Wales Wildlife Trust viewpoint. We also had great views of Redpoll, Siskin, and Bullfinch here – only beautiful birds. The male Osprey flew from a dead tree near the nest and hovered over the grey waters of the lake, looking for a fish. We watched this super bird of prey searching for a meal, but it moved out of sight behind trees before it caught anything. Soon after the male flew in with a huge fish in his talons and landed in a dead tree near the nesting site. We waited a good while hoping he would bring the fish to the chicks but sadly, he just sat on it! Perhaps we was exhausted by the effort of carrying the huge payload back to the nest.

We then back to Llandudno and dropped Gail and Phil back at their car, a lovely day with so many great birds enjoyed, 82 species of birds! Huge thanks to Gail and Phil for their lovely company.

We run our Birdwatching Trips throughout the year a mix of set departure tours and custom-made trips perfect for you! To book your custom tour or any of our set departure trips please email us here….

info@birdwatchingtrips.co.uk

We can then make all the arrangements for your perfect Birdwatching Trips tour.