5 hours of walking from my house today produced a couple of nice surprises. I walked from my house in Llandudno Junction down to Conwy RSPB, new birds to my foot-it list were a Redwing and a Snipe. Yesterday, I managed Firecrest and 3 Lesser Redpolls.
The walk down the estuary towards Conwy itself had 4 Cormorants and 7 Ringed Plovers. The cob near Deganwy had 4 Rock Pipits feeding on the mud. I walked home from there to have a quick bit of breakfast.
After a short rest I walked up to Marl Hall Woods. The main part of the woods held GS Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Coal Tit and Goldcrest. As I walked out the other end of the woods towards Glanwyddan Lane 2 Mistle Thrushed flew over. Perhaps the biggest surprise I had was a Red-legged Partridge that I flushed. I had no idea they were in the area. A few Stock Doves fed in the fields too.
From there I walked through the smaller outer woods of Marl Hall Woods, flushing a Woodcock and a Pheasant. I thought Woodcock would be trickier.
I decided to carry on round the roads towards Bryn Pydew through Cystennin Road. Inthe fields around Llandrillo College I watched a female Merlin chasing a Skylark for ten minutes. Brilliant sight, the Skylark survived. My legs were like jelly when I made it back home.
After the monster walk I noticed that Bullfinches in particular are commoner than in recent winters. I must have seen over 30 individuals today. Notable absentees include Jay and Fieldfare. I now have 70 of my 94 target. Partridge and Merlin are a nice un-predicted bonus. 100 species seems a bit more do-able now in January. Lets see what tomorrow holds.
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