Back to back birding!
Two days enjoying the best of Mid and North Wales Birdwatching
A very early start from home meant that we were down on the beach in mid Wales bright and early. We watched the spectacle of Manx Shearwaters, Gannets and Sandwich Terns passing just offshore at Borth as we tucked into hot coffee and biscuits. Then we moved on to the sandy beach at Ynyslas on the Dyfi Estuary. Again, we had the beach all to ourselves, well apart from the masses of waders, terns, and gulls along the shoreline, plus a Peregrine surveying the scene from a sandbar.
Early birders watching the waders
Is Alan feeling a bit inadequate?!
Then we visited the prom at Aberystwyth where Mediterranean Gulls loafed on the rocks near the pier, while Rock Pipits pottered amongst the rock pools.
The prom at Aberystwyth
Next stop, a Red Kite feeding station. Arriving in good time there was time to feed the inner birder and check out a few of the other locals before the kite show started.
Nuthatch comes in close
Then the real spectacle began as hundreds of Red Kites came in to enjoy the free meal. We watched enthralled as the birds swooped in to grab the meat. Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch?!
And then on to another raptor fest as we called in at the Dyfi Osprey Project, just in time to see Monty bring in a trout for Glesni and the youngsters who devoured it with relish!
What a day!
And our back-to-back birding didn't stop there, as we met up again with Alison and Nigel for a second day's custom guided birdwatching in North Wales. Unfortunately the weather didn't co-operate, in fact it was absolutely pouring! But we weren't going to let a bit of rain get in the way, so we togged up in waterproofs and headed out to enjoy the birds. An excellent start with a visit to RSPB Conwy where we found a Curlew Sandpiper with a flock of Dunlin, as well as many other waders including Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwits,Whimbrel, Curlew, Redshank, Common Snipe and many more. In fact we saw over 60 species of bird during our visit, plus a lightning-fast stoat, all despite the heavy rain.
Soggy Common Sandpiper
And this Grey Heron looked even wetter!
We called in at the North Wales WT Reserve at Aber Ogwen and enjoyed great views of masses of birds all feeding well on the dropping tide, as well as birds visiting the feeders and pool.
Then on to Bangor, where we enjoyed wonderful looks at a flock of Turnstones on the legs of Bangor Pier, and Alison spotted a Kingfisher perched on the pier, what an unexpected bonus!
At the end of our two days back-to-back birding in Mid and North Wales, we'd all enjoyed wonderful looks at an amazing array of birds and had proven that you shouldn't let a little bit of rain spoil your birdwatching day! Just add waterproofs....
If you'd like to join us for one of our set departure guided birdwatching daytrips, or would prefer to have a custom birdwatching day tailored just to suit you, simply contact us on
info@thebiggesttwitch.com for a great day and lots of wonderful birds! We look forward to hearing from you.