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| Aber Ogwen |
12th
March 2022
Weather: Overcast with sunny spells, mild
Twenty-seven
members and friends set off from Stockport for our trip to a number of sites on
the North Wales coast. The day started well for those who spotted a flock of 17
Whooper Swans flying over Stockport, as they awaited the coach. Passing
Frodsham and Helsby marshes on the M56 we picked up Shelduck and Buzzard for a
day’s list. Further into our journey, on the A55 adjacent to Holywell, 8 Little
Egrets sat in a field adjoining the road. From the A55 at Penmaenmawr we could
see Gannets diving for fish in the Conwy Bay and Fulmar were seen gliding by.
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| Little Egret (A Barrett) |
Our
first stop of the day was at Aber Ogwen, where we walked down the narrow road to
the Spinnies. Passing over the railway bridge we heard the distinctive song of
a Chiffchaff, the first of the year for many of the group. A Song Thrush was also
found in the wooded area. A couple of Greylag Geese flew over calling noisily and
a Buzzard drifted over. A call went out from group members and a fantastic Red
Kite flew close by in parallel with the road. A second distant bird was also
seen from the road.
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| Chaffinch (A Barrett) |
Many small birds were around the farm buildings with Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch and a few of the tit species added to the day’s list. Collared Dove was also recorded. At the Spinnies we found a Tawny Owl roosting in a box, with the top of its head visible until it got fed up with the crowd of onlookers and turned around so just its tail could be seen! Members of the group added Goldcrest, Siskin and Nuthatch to the list. A Little Egret was by the lake with a few Mallard and Moorhen also present. A few lucky people saw a Water Rail fly over one of the pools.
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| Dunnock (A Barrett) |
Moving over to view the estuary and the outflow to Afon Ogwen we identified a Little Grebe fishing in the waters with a large flock of the commoner gull species on the mud banks. Looking out over the estuary there were Curlew, Shelduck, Greylag Geese, Oystercatcher and Redshank in numbers. A handful of Greenshank were scattered around the channels with a few groups of Wigeon and the odd Little Egret present. The tide was out so the main channel was distant but we still managed to identify Great-crested Grebe, Goldeneye and a single Eider duck. Distant waders included Black-tailed Godwit, Knot and Dunlin.
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| Goosander (A Barrett) |
Our second stop of the day was at Llanfairfechan with many of the group taking the opportunity of the walk from the waste water treatment plant to the Boating Pool. With the tide being so far out there was a paucity of birds on the marsh area. Canada Geese, Little Egret and Lapwing were present at the Morfa Madryn nature reserve. Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Starling were also recorded. On the walk through the marshes a distant flock of Wigeon fed and there were Redshank and Teal in the channels. A Greenshank was also found.
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| Grey Wagtail (A Barrett) |
In the coniferous wooded area we heard singing Chiffchaff and a handful of Siskin were watched. On the Boating Pool a single Mute Swan was on the water, its mate was found in some adjacent bushes, guarding a newly constructed nest. Out on the Llanfairfechan shingle beach a single Turnstone was seen and when scoping out into Conwy Bay we had distant Common Scoter, Eider, Guillemot, Cormorant and Gannets. A walk up Afon Llanfairfechan produced good views of Grey Wagtail, a fine male bird flycatching above the stream. Many members connected with Dipper, with at least two birds being seen.
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| Mute Swan and nest |
Our last stop of the day was at the Conwy RSPB reserve. Shoveler, Gadwall, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Coot were quickly added to the day’s list. There were a couple of Black-tailed Godwit seen from one hide and from the Carneddau hide we watched a pair of Scaup, the male being a very smart bird. Goosander was also seen from this hide.
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| Siskin (A Barrett) |
A highlight for many was our first Sand Martin of the year, with at least 5 birds hawking for insects over the pools. Smaller birds around the reserve included Greenfinch and Chiffchaff. Out on the Conwy River a Red-Breasted Merganser was found. Across the River Conwy we could see the small heronry in the adjacent wooded hillside.
The day ended with 88 species recorded.
Birds seen;
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