With Ruth’s friend Debbie staying for the weekend we decided to head down to Portmeirion for some culture. This very strange mock Italian village lies just south of Porthmadog on the Dwyryd Estuary. We took the scenic route from Llandudno, through Snowdonia; the weather was perfect with clear blue sky and glorious sunshine. The mountains looked stunning and Debbie’s was thrilled by the scenery, a little different from home in Hertfordshire. We stopped of in Porthmadog so we could check the Cob Pools for any waders. This proved to be a good idea as one of the first birds we saw was a juvenile Little Stint. This tiny wader was bathing at the edge of the fast rising tide with Redshank towering above it. A gang of Black-tailed Godwits waded about and a Spotted Redshank was fast asleep in the water. As the tide rose up the legs of this elegant wader we waited for it to wake up so we could enjoy better views. Well eventually it did as the waters came up to its belly, the Spotted Redshank awoke, walked quickly a few yards to a sandbank and instantly went back to sleep. A Kingfisher called loudly and must have been very close but we missed it. A gang of newly arrived Eurasian Wigeon were on the pools by the sluice-gates along with plenty of Curlew and a few beautiful Lapwing rested in the autumn sun.
We then headed into Portmeirion and wandered around this very strange village, used for the set of the iconic TV series The Prisoner. Debbie and Ruth loved it and took in all the details of the architecture as Alan followed behind scanning the trees and adjacent estuary for any possible birds. Three Little Egrets were feeding in the tidal creeks but little else. It is a lovely place and well worth a visit, and of course very close to the pools at Porthmadog!