A lovely day and we headed for South Stack RSPB Reserve on Anglesey. Jo, Emily and Becky were all keen to see Puffins and with the weather good, hopes were high. Arriving at the reserve it was a perfect day, warm, sunny and calm. A short walk down to the cliff top soon had us staring at the bustling seabird colony. Thousands of Common Guillemots were crammed on the ledges and plenty of Razorbills were dotted around the cliffs. Fulmars and Kittiwakes wheeled below and Gannets swept by offshore. Then we spotted one, a Puffin! Bobbing about on the calm blue water, wonderful view. The girls were delighted, all three, and even managed to get some digi-scoped photos.
We walked along the cliff-top path enjoying the wonderful display of wildflowers and a Painted-lady Butterfly. Then we heard the distinctive call of Chough! Amazingly three birds were sat on the cliff just meters away, wow! What stunning views of these charismatic corvids, just sat preening in the sun.
After ice-creams at the South Stack Kitchen café we headed down to Holyhead Harbour. Here we met two other birders, they told us a sorry tale, no sign of any Black Guillemots. But Alan knew just where to look and literally seconds later we were watching five of these wonderful auks. We of course shared our birds with the other birders and all left very happy.
With Emily and Becky keen to get to a beach we headed for Cemlyn on the north coast of Anglesey. We made a quick stop to pick up a picnic lunch. Stopping on the bridge at Cemlyn Lagoon we set up the scopes to watch the tern colony while the girls were busy with lunch. A first-summer Mediterranean Gull was stood amongst Black-headed Gulls and Sandwich Terns. Plenty of Common and Arctic Terns were loafing on the rocks around the edges of the islands. Three dapper breeding plumaged Dunlin fed in the shallows and Ringed Plovers dashed around the shingle areas.
With the picnic demolished we knew we could delay the beach no longer. Armed with buckets, spades and fishing nets we headed for the coast. The tide was high so no real rock pools but the girls were very happy, fishing, collecting shells and making sand castles. We of course kept birding and enjoyed breeding plumaged Sanderling, close-up views of Whimbrel, and watched the comings and goings of terns constantly passing over. Offshore Gannets, Kittiwakes and Fulmars were moving in good numbers. Time had flown-by and we reluctantly headed back to Llandudno after a wonderful day out.