Pwllheli Harbour recently

42 Black-tailed Godwits (fantastic wingbars in flights of up to 20 at a time) Most still present today.
2 Bar-tailed Godwits (stunning "silver" plumages) One present today
2 Greenshanks One present today
15 Knots (including two nice brick red individuals) Six present today
4 Sanderling (winter "white" versions) One present today found by chris65bill
4+ Common Sandpipers One present today
2 Curlew Sandpipers (one with a slight "peachy" wash) One present today
2 Kingfishers
approx 130 Ringed Plovers
100+ Dunlins (250 today)
200+ Redshanks
40+ Sandwich Terns (per davido who saw many more than i did!)
2 Goosanders
24 Teals
A Whinchat
A Redstart
A Green Sandpiper
A Little Stint
A few Turnstones
A Mediterranean Gull (I think Rhys had 2)
several Migrant Hawkers and, oddly, a female Beautiful Demoiselle!

Spotted Flycatchers and Green Sand

As I went to work on Tuesday morning I had a Spotted Flycatcher at the edge of a field just past the Cemaes Bay football pitch. It was a new bird for my "Cemaes list" but that evening when I went over to see David Wright on Bodafon mountain to see his Convulvulous Hawkmoth he told me there had been an influx that day on Bardsey and several other North Wales sites. Also the previous week on the 17th August I had a Green Sandpiper flying around a pool on the top of Parys Mountain, and 10 Snipe there the previous day.

RSPB Conwy sightings board

A little stint has been present since Sunday (and is still here today, 23rd); a curlew sandpiper was here yesterday (22nd); four black-tailed godwits have been feeding on the lagoon this week, and yesterday there were three bar-tailed godwits, two knots, 10 ringed plovers, whimbrel and greenshank, several of these having stayed over since Sunday.

A female/juvenile garganey was still present on the shallow lagoon this morning, having been reported sporadically over the last 10 days; and three black terns were present for a few hours on the island in front of Carneddau Hide last Friday (19th), the first here for several years (thanks to Henry Cook for the photo).

For other news, including a brief explanation of how the water levels are managed for autumn passage waders, please see Conwy reserve blog.

Heads up for Sooty Tern?

A possible Sooty tern (or perhaps Bridled?) was seen distantly off Hibre Island yesterday (as per birdguides) heading towards the point of Ayr. So check any Tern flocks on sandbanks in North Wales if there are any near you. Good luck.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull - all the way from Germany - 1170km on the clock

Went out to Penrhos Coastal Park / Beddmanarch Bay this afternoon to have a bit of a practice with a new camera and lens I have invested in.  There had been 3 Med Gulls reported from there during the week, so I thought it might offer a 'photo opportunity.

Quickly noticed a green darvic ringed juvenile, ASJZ which colour ringed site suggested was from Germany.  Thanks to a very quick response from Andreas at the Hamburg Med Gull team, I now know that this was ringed as a chick as recently as 10/06/16 at Leipzig.  It has now travelled 1170 km and is the 4th of 39 chicks ringed in Leipzig which has now been reported abroad.

Bird was a little distant at times, but still managed a number of reasonable flight shots and a few on the mud flats.  There is a good chance that there will be other colour ringed birds moving through our region at the moment.  It would be great to get a few more records noted.  So if you haven't got your Sunday morning sorted ....

Ban Driven Grouse Shooting-please sign

If you haven't yet, please consider signing the petition below which calls for a ban on Driven Grouse Shooting to be debated at Parliament.  It would be glorious to reach the 100K signature target on the #inglorious12th.  I don't know about you but I'd rather see our raptors back to the numbers they should be rather than shot and poisoned by the keepers doing dirty work for the elite...with no prosecutions.   The management of these moors is subsidised too, in part by taxpayers, paying the estates to manage the land for grouse so they can charge silly money for the wealthy to come and shoot. It stinks and we can call for it to be stopped:

 https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125003

GREAT WHITE EGRET STILL AT RSPB CONWY

Sheltering from the stiff breeze this afternoon between the islands by the shallow lagoon.