Bee-eaters

2 Bee-eaters were over the Great Orme this morning at 8.20 am and then these or another 2 birds were over Mariandyrys near Llandonna at 3pm (per Robin Sandham, Twitter).

A good time to visit South Stack and Porth Diana

As spring migration has finished the breeding season is in full swing and it's also a good time for flowers at the moment. The endemic South Stack Spatulate fleawort is showing well near Ellen's tower and so are the nationally rare and highly localised Spotted Rockrose. For the Rockrose Porth Diana near Trearddur Bay is a good spot to see it, but parking can be a bit of a challenge so it may be easier to walk to the site from the nearest public car-park. The two maps at the end of this post show where Porth Diana is and where the best spot to look for them at South Stack is. Silver studded blues are also out at present. Below are some of the photos I took last weekend from that neck of the woods.

South Stack Spatulate Fleawort

The Peregrine chicks have now fledged. This one landed very close
 to us allowing the kids naked eye views which was nice.

Spotted Rockrose

South Stack

Walking up the lighthouse.

Close views of Razorbill on the bridge to SS Island

Watching a gull egg hatch

Hatching Lesser black backed Gull

Rock rose at South Stack

NWWT Porth Diana Rockrose reserve

Anglesey Nightjars?

There was a report from a visiting birder this time last year of a churing Nightjar in Newborough forest, from a camp-site on the East of the forest. If any birders or moth-ers are in the area at the mo, any news either way would be appreciated.

Quail on Anglesey

News has just come in from a visiting birder who had a calling Quail at Llandaniel Fab last week. The bird was reported from Tyn y Coed and the grid reference for that area is SH 488 697. It could still be there?

RSPB Conwy sightings board

Autumn migration is just starting to pick up here, with green sandpiper daily this week, a growing number of redshanks, and an avocet reported on the estuary, upstream of the reserve yesterday.

Lots of young birds around, including several broods of tufted ducks and a brood of common sandpipers.  Read more about what's around on the Conwy reserve blog.

The Bardsey Cretzschmar's Bunting

Last Wednesday Elfyn Lewis found Wales's first Cretzschmars Bunting on Bardsey. After initially giving everyone the run-around it finally localised to the Lighthouse compound and is now regularly coming to seed. I went over to this great little Island last week on Friday after work. However a no-show followed by another reappearance on Sunday meant a second trip in one weekend was needed to finally nail this mega! Apparently Lee Evans is now organising the bookings for anyone hoping to twitch this bird, on behalf of Bardsey Bird Obs and Colin the boatman. What a lovely little Island. Thanks to all the Obs staff and Colin the Star-boatman :-)

The Bardsey Bunting

One I prepared earlier (Lesbos 2014)

SHR

The Twitch

Bunt n Thrift digiscope videograb

400mm

The Lighthouse

Eddie Urbanski

Mid-summer Fieldfare at South Stack!

Ken had a Fieldfare at South Stack today. Not quite what he expected in June!

Red Kites

There's a few hundred migrant Red Kites in Cornwall today. There's also been reports of several birds in Anglesey today at Swtan and Cemlyn , so eyes to the sky!  There's also been 5 Barnacle geese and a male Common Scoter at Cemlyn today.

RSPB Conwy sightings board

Still a few passage migrants around this week (redstart, black-tailed godwit), there are chicks and fledglings all over the place (including our first little grebe chicks for several years), the first bee orchids are in flower, stoat family showing well today and the first three damselfly species are on the wing.  I love this time of year.

We have Binocular and Telescope Open Days here this weekend, so why not pop down and see the latest in our range?

More info on this week's wildlife sightings on our blog.

Red Kites over Wylfa

Yesterday Brian Iddon had two red kites over Wylfa around lunchtime.

The Rhosneigr (Trewan Common) Snow Goose and hybrids.

Below are shots of one apparent Snow Goose and 4 presumed Snow x Greylag hybrids. The hybrids had excessive dark feathers in the wing and one had brown on the neck.




 

Another Corncrake!

I've just had another report of another Corncrake. This one at Penmon priory that may still be there. So if your in the area it would be worth checking out ( and check for Green Woodpeckers whilst you're at it).

More Snow Goose records

In response to Steve's request for other snow Goose sighting: As mentioned in an earlier post, I had a Snow Goose  at Carmel head on the 9th May, initially found by my wife linda. I  looked for it the following day but it could not be relocated

Snow Geese and Ruff

Chris Lane the tern warden reported three Snow Geese and a Ruff near RSPB Valley today. They were at Tyn Llidiart near Llyn Traffwll at SH 329 749. The Snow Geese were with Greylags and distant but Chris said he could see the black primaries, pointing to Snow Geese rather than white Greylags. Does anyone else know of any feral Snow Geese in North Wales or could these be true vagrants as there have been westerly gales and North American thrushes turning up on the west coast of the UK recently!