Hobby and Pintail

Richard Birch had a Hobby at Malltraeth Marsh RSPB reserve on Sunday. I had 2 Pintail at Llyn Cefni on monday (yesterday) - Richard wins!

Great White Egret at Cemlyn yesterday!

One of my wife's Facebook friends took a picture of a Great White Egret on the lagoon at Cemlyn yesterday. I was there last night and never saw it. But then again I was only there for a few minutes as Sion (my son) threw up on arrival and I had to head straight back home, so I'm sure it could  still be there somewhere! It was seen at c.1.50pm

                            Here's one of  Allison Parry's photo - nice shot Alison.

Dawn Balmer comes to Bangor birdgroup to talk about The Bird Atlas : Beyond the maps.

Dawn from the BTO is coming up from Thetford to Bangor on Wednesday to give her talk on the Bird Atlas : Beyond the maps. Why not come along to see her kick off the new season of great talks and have a get together with other like minded people.

Hope to see you there if you can make it :-)

Grey Phalarope at Madryn

Grey Phalarope again at Morfa Madryn on saltmarsh infront of railway cottage 15:00 over high tide. Bird flew in today over high tide, and flew out yest on falling tide so high tide is definitely best although it must be on one of the pools or lagoons to the west for the rest of the time. Typically very confiding!

Look what's coming very soon to Bangor!

Just to let everyone know that Bangor Birdgroup starts back this coming Wednesday on the 1st October at the Brambell building rear entrance at 7pm. This week's talk is from Dawn Balmer from the BTO, coming up to talk about the Bird Atlas : Beyond the maps. Also if you have a look at the good selection of talks we have this year it's well worth becoming a member. Also if you join on Wednesday you can pre-book your ticket for the following week to see Iolo Williams talking about Welsh Wildlife. Otherwise tickets will be sold on the night (£5) on a first come first served basis and you may be turned away if we reach maximum capacity. So please come early. We look forward to seeing you there :-)

Bangor Bird-group programme 2014-15 (*) = Joint meeting with the NWWT Arfon branch

1^st Oct. Dawn Balmer (BTO) Bird Atlas: Beyond the maps.

8^th Oct. Iolo Williams (Ornithologist,Naturalist and TV Wildlife presenter–

Welsh Wildlife. - All ticket event.

15^th Oct. Nia Jones (NWWT) Nautilus Live: Accounts of Deep Sea Exploration

(Caribbean).

22^nd Oct. Thomas Pennant – the man who knew everybody by Goronwy

Wynne (NWWT Vice-President). Pennant lived in Flintshire and wrote

about his travels in Wales between 1773 and 1776. (*)

29^th Oct. Ian Spence The Brazilian Pantanal.

5^th Nov. Dan Brown The Arctic Wildlife of Svalbard.

12^th Nov. Paul Rodgers Tunnicliffe’s Anglesey.

19^th Nov. Stephen Culley: My family and other animals on Lesbos (Greece).

26^th Nov. Conserving marine mammals in Wales by Peter Evans. Peter lives on

Anglesey and is Director of the Sea Watch Foundation which he

established in 1991. (*)

3^rd Dec. Marc Hughes - Malawi (Culture, Education, Birds and Crocs).

10^th Dec. Christmas Party and Quiz. (Good food, good company, good quiz ;-)

7^th Jan. Kelvin Jones (BTO) Turkish delight : Ringing birds in Turkey.

14^th Jan. Julian Hughes (RSPB) Bird conservation in Wales:

What the future holds.

21^st Jan. Rhion Pritchard: Bird watching in Sichuan, China.

28^th Jan. USA deserts - more than just cowboys! Mountain ecologist Barbara

Jones will tell us about the ecology, wildlife and history of

North American deserts. (*)

4^th Feb Richard Dobbins (South Walian Birding: Skokholm to the Teifi).

11^th Feb Alan and Ruth (The Biggest Twitch) Birding in New Zealand.

18^th Feb Ron Evans: Iceland (Bird watching and Photography).

25^th Feb The Menai Strait: Underwater Wildlife and Marine Conservation.

Speaker Paul Kay is a very experienced photographer of marine life. (*)

26^th Feb Mark Cocker : Birds and People (venue/arrangements to be confirmed).

4^th Mar Niall Hatch (Birdwatch Ireland) Bird conservation in Ireland.

11^th Mar Kane Brides (WWT) A wild goose chase: on a mission to save the

World’s most endangered goose (the Red breasted Goose).

18^th Mar Stephen Culley: In search of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Wildlife of

the Russian Far East.

25^th Mar Richard Birch : Birdwatching in Australia (Video).

Usual rates Annual subscription £15, concession £12, Students £10 or £2 for non members per meeting.

YBW at Holyhead plus more

Andrew Clarke found a Yellow browed Warbler along the approach track to Soldiers Point at Holyhead this morning.

There was no sign of the RN Phalarope at Madryn after being reported on Weds and Thurs.

RSPB Conwy held onto 2 Cetti's Warbler, Garganey and 2 Pintail today with 2 Curlew Sands around over a high tide yesterday and a female Scaup about too.

Hobby at Plas Newydd

A visiting birder, John E Wakeling recently reported an adult Hobby at Plas Newydd. He saw it on the morning of the 10th  September and watched it take a House Martin over the embankment at the back of the house on the Menai Straight side of the building. Good record John! Many thanks.

Anglesey Today

This is one of three Curlew Sands at Malltraeth estuary today. There was a Great White Egret yesterday on the Braint estuary. Also yesterday there was a Dipper on Pentraeth Stream by the Sewerage works (first in 11 years here). There was also a PB Brent in Red Warf Bay today and a Kingfisher in Cemaes Bay this afternoon whist I was rockpooling with the kids.

Ring Ouzels and Green Woodpecker

Richard Birch was in Penrhyn Quarry Bethesda yesterday and he had a flock of 5 Ring Ouzels and a Green Woodpecker.

Pec Sand at Morfa Madryn

Reported early pm viewable from bench looking over looking lagoon. Found by Bill Myerscough.  probably the bird MIke D had flying west over the Great Orme on 15th.

Yellow Browed Warbler at Lligwy a week ago

Belated news.

On Sunday the 7th at 2005 pm a visiting birder was talking a walk from Ligwy beach car-park towards Dullus Bay. Along the coastal walk he was near the  the Lookout box on brick columns when he had a Yellow browed Warbler.

Hobby and Malltraeth news

Thanks to Ian Hawkins for today's news!

Hi Steve,

I saw a hobby on my way in to work yesterday (15^th) flying over fields between Llandanniel Fab and Llangaffo at SH 475690. We have also had a report of one at the swallow roost at Malltraeth on 2^nd Sept. So, there is the possibility that it is regularly at the roost.

Also red kite flying over the reserve and along the Berw ridge on 12^th and 13^th (Jim’s records again)

Cheers

Ian

Eddie Urbanski

He had a Redwing and a Spotted Fly in his garden on the Lleyn at the same time on Saturday. Nice one Eddie! So Eddie wins the prize for the first Redwing of the winter in North Wales :-)

Llanlleianna on friday

On Friday evening I did Llanbadrig head then the circulat walk from the church to Llanlleanna back to the road, to the "vinyard" then back to the church. I never found a Wryneck. I had at 1 Wheatear, a Stonechat, 100+ Swallows roosting at the marsh and a Water Rail squeeled in response to me flushing a pheasant (made me jump). I will check there next spring in case they bred there. If so like on Puffin Island this year its a breeding site not picked up in the atlas.

RSPB Conwy

Plenty of waders at Conwy still today: little stint (up to six this week), two spotted redshanks and two curlew sandpipers. Also today, plenty of black-tailed godwits, single greenshank and knot, and increasing numbers of snipe and wigeon.

Star bird today was a Cetti's warbler, a great find by Rob Sandham picked up on call. No sign later in the day, but could well still be here. It had the decency to land in both the Caernarfonshire and Denbighshire parts of the reserve. Our first for several years, Rob managed a quick snap on his iPhone, which was impressive since it didn't stop still for more than a nano-second.

Malltraeth - estuary and cob pool: Curlew Sand (8), Little Stint (1), Greenshank (4), Black-tailed Godwit (5)

Wader Mix at Malltraeth

I was at Malltraeth Cob Pool at dawn this morning, very picturesque as the sun rose over the marshlands. As the mist cleared a wide variety of waders could be seen. There was a single Little Stint, five Curlew Sandpipers, one Ruff, 110 Dunlin, three Greenshank, at least 100 Redshank, eight Black-tailed Godwit, one Knot, 40 Golden Plover, 4 Ringed Plover, 20 Lapwing and 20 Snipe. Wildfowl present included small numbers of Wigeon, Pintail and Teal. A Kingfisher was on the River Cefni ( two on Tuesday). A Yellow Wagtail flew over the Cob and Water Rail squealed from the fringes of the pool.
Conditions are ideal there at the moment, the tidal gates seem to have become 'stuck' and there is always plenty of mud. As the tides decrease in height next week, more mud will be exposed and could well be worth a visit. Levels are also dropping on Cefni Reservoir at the Bodffordd end, and some mud is being exposed.

Cattle Egret in Flints and other bits

The Cattle Egret was found on 5th and stayed briefly before relocating to BMW and on occasions straying back into Flints at Shotwick fields.  This is a county first.

The Great White Egret was still on Llyn Tegid/Bala today (9th).

A juv Curlew Sand was on the River Clwyd at Rhyl this afternoon (9th) and Bardsey still held a Wryneck and a Turtle Dove was new in today also.

Yesterday there was 8 Curlew Sands at Malltraeth cob pool and there was a male Redstart on the Great Orme gunsite.

Otherwise the east coast is getting all the glory with the SE and E airflow so get the car running!

It's all kicking off...................................

Bardsey is always the local Barometer as to what birds are in North Wales. A small offshore island with a few keen birders will always pick up more birds than the rest of North Wales due to Geography and concentrated local expertise. The nearby Wirral has also had good stuff recently. However, similar stuff will also be out there in a Neighbourhood near you! WE just need to find it.
On Bardsey on the first there was a flyover Red throated Pipit, Pied Fly and a Tree Pipit. There on the 2nd there was a LT Duck, Redstart and Whinchat and on Anglesey there were 4 Curlew Sands on Malltraeth Cob (Alaw Est will be good now too). On the 3rd there was a Rosefinch at Porth Meudwy and an Ortolan on Bardsey. Yesterday on Bardsey was Mega! Singing Greenish and Marsh Warblers! Ortolan Bunting, Wryneck, Firecrest, 2 Pied Flys, 4 Whinchats, and a Wood Warbler!
Today there were 2 Wrynecks on Bardsey, One at the Farm and 1 on the Hillside. There were also 2 Pied Flys, Marsh WArbler and Ortolan again!
Dotterel may be around as there was one last weekend and at the start of the week on the Orme. Cemlyn, Mynachdy, Carmel Head  and the Range are always also worth a look for this species. Plus they can turn up Buff breasted Sands this time of year.
There's been a Kingfisher at Cemlyn since Sunday, plus up-to 3 Black-wits, 1 Greenshank, Little Stint and Curlew Sand, plus 5 Sanderling and 5 Wigeon  last Sunday. Wheatears and Warblers are still moving through and the Mandarin was still at Cemlyn a week last Wednesday. Thanks Alan, Eddie,Tony and BG.



ps. Don't forget Ken had a Melodious Warbler at South Stack Plantation last week.

Great White Egret on the Menai Straight

Hi Steve

Great White Egret on the Menai Strait below the Faenol estate, Felinheli, this morning, then flew over the Strait into your patch, landing on the shore somewhere below Llanedwen Church.

Rhion

Welsh Ornithological Society conference, Saturday 8 November

A quick plug to mention that the WOS conference returns to North Wales this autumn, in partnership with BTO Cymru and RSPB Cymru.  Tickets are now on sale for the event, which is at Ysgol Brynhyfryd, Ruthin, from http://www.birdsinwales.org.uk/activities/conference.htm.

Speakers include:

• The BTO's Dawn Balmer, who organised the 2007-11 Atlas of Breeding and Wintering Birds, will reflect on what the results mean for Wales, and how it should guide our monitoring, research and conservation in the coming years.
• Skokholm Bird Observatory, the very first UK bird observatory, has recently been reinstated after almost three decades. Former WOS President, David Saunders, will take us back in time to the pioneer years of this special Pembrokeshire island.
• Upland bird habitats have suffered more than a century of damage and deterioration from intensive agriculture and forestry in Wales. RSPB Cymru'sStephen Bladwell will report on the trials and tribulations of restoring North Wales' moors for black grouse, curlew and other iconic species.
• Pied Flycatchers are one of Wales' classic woodland species, and the subject of a long-term study in Denbighshire by Pete Coffey of Merseyside Ringing Group, one of WOS affiliate groups.
• BirdTrack has proved a popular way for birdwatchers to record their sightings online, and even in the field with a smartphone. Nick Moran, scheme organiser, will show us what its data is showing, why higher participation in Wales will help our knowledge, plus some of the plans for the future.
• RSPB Cymru's Arfon Williams will round off the day with some thoughts on the future of bird conservation in Wales.

In addition, WOS President Iolo Williams will present the WOS Lifetime Achievement Awards and the 2014 Student Research Award, there will be information stands from RSPB Cymru and BTO Cymru, and Subbuteo Natural History Books will have a wide range of quality wildlife books.