Snowy forest birding
A trip to the Clocaenog Forest in the uplands of North Wales was a bit of a shock, it was snow free and relatively mild on the coast, a different world up in the forest! It was bitter cold and a fresh snow fall had returned the landscape to a winter look that we had thought we had seen the back of.
We parked in the snow amongst the pines and immediately heard birds calling. A bit of “pishing” and in came a gang of Coal Tits and it was good to see a Goldcrest amongst them, this tiny bird has really suffered in recent hard weather with numbers at an all time low. Another call drew our attention and we were surprised to see a lovely male crossbill sat on top of pine above us. The call was very different to the usual “chupp, chupp” that we are familiar with, so was this a different species? Parrot Crossbill perhaps? We quickly had the bird in the scope and the views were brilliant against the blue sky. The structure and plumage of the bird was spot on for Common Crossbill but the call very different. Then a gang of Common Crossbills flew in and landed nearby all calling away with normal “chupp, chupp” calls. The first bird kept separate from the flock and continued with its odd call before flying off alone, all very odd. But the views of the Common Crossbills had been brilliant and we learn more about the variation in their calls.
We walked up hill towards the mast and enjoyed more Common Crossbills as we climbed up above the tree line. The views from the hill top were stunning a vast panorama of snowy forest and distant snow clad peaks. Just one thing missing – birds. It was silent and bitter cold at the top. We scanned hard hoping to find a Great Grey Shrike that had been seen in the area in late 2010. Nothing moved in the forest, and we began to loose the feeling in our fingers and toes. We stomped around and rubbed our hands to ward off frost bite! Then just as we were about to throw in the towel and head back to a warm car, up popped the Great Grey Shrike! This handsome grey, black and white hunter was sat right on top of a small bush, distant but clear, in the scope. Job done we hurried back down and broke out the flasks of hot chocolate, ahhh!
A short distance to the north the pine trees gave way to rolling heather moorland and here we enjoyed immediate good luck with great views of a pair of Red Grouse without leaving the warmth of the car. The male grouse even displaying, rising steeply from the heather calling loudly “go-back, go-back” before dropping down and sitting up in full view in the snow, just brilliant!
A flock of Chaffinches in a nearby hamlet had three fine orange breasted Bramblings amongst them, a handsome finch and a winter visitor to the UK. A gorgeous Red Kite drifted almost overhead in the sunshine and we must have seen dozens of Common Buzzards in the uplands here.
If you would like to join us for the very best in birding drop us an email at info@thebiggesttwitch.com for details of our forth coming trips, we know you will have great fun and great birds!