Fantastic Birds On A North Wales Custom Day Trip For Two 5 March 2023
Fantastic Birds On A North Wales Custom Day Trip For Two 5 March 2023
Hawfinch are wonderful birds and we are very good at finding them! Photo by great friend Matt Latham.
As we have been crazy busy guiding trips it has been difficult to keep the blog updated so some quick-fire updates to follow…
We picked up and Mark and Katie from their home at 8am and headed south down the Conwy Valley on this Custom Day Trip. Mark and Katie had asked if we could look for three species they were particularly keen to see – Hawfinch, Goshawk and Crossbill – all tricky species to see! But we love a challenge.
At our first stop, after a bit of searching we had super views of both Dipper and Grey Wagtail on a fast-flowing stream.
At our second stop we got off to a wonderful start with two Hawfinches in the top of a bare tree! Wow! So very lucky to see these bull-necked, big billed, finches within minutes of getting out of the car. The Hawfinches flew left, and we scanned around trying to relocate them but no luck, a big female Peregrine powered over – always a thrill to see. We were about to leave when a large bird of prey came flying head on towards us, it was distant but looked interesting. Was it the Peregrine coming back? No, wing beats were to slow and deep, the bird came closer and amazingly Goshawk! This female bird came closer and closer and wowed us with her shear power what a bird! The hawk moved off and out of sight behind trees leaving us all elated, Hawfinch and Goshawk before 9.30am, mad!
We then headed into the hills stopping to admire the stunning scenery of snow-capped mountains and to admire stunning Red Kites in the sunshine.
At an upland conifer forest we watched two more Goshawks over the trees – what a thrill – and saw Crossbills! All boxes ticked on the wish list just fantastic. A big flock of Fieldfare were lovely to see in the bright sunshine and more Crossbills showed up along with Common Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. A café lunch went down very well while we watched a dazzling flock of Siskin at a feeder along with one Redpoll.
We then headed down to the coast and to Llanddulas beach where the good luck just kept on! We quickly located the two drake Surf Scoters offshore here along with five Velvet Scoters and enjoyed super views threw the top of the range telescopes.
At the nearby River Clwyd we soon found the hoped for Ruddy Shelduck, five of these rare ducks were feeding in a field. We also enjoyed super views of a gang of Goosander and an adult Yellow-legged Gull on the river.
A hot chocolate at nearby Kinmel Bay was very welcome but our amazing run of luck came to an end, no sign of the recent Snow Bunting. We did enjoy watching a lovely flock of Pale-bellied Brent Geese on the shore here before heading home.
What a fantastic Custom Tour For Two with so many wonderful birds enjoyed, stunning scenery and lovely company. We do hope Mark and Katie can join us again soon.
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.ukWe can then make all the arrangements for your perfect Birdwatching Trips tour.