The Gambia in Bangor

Tonight at Bangor Bird-group Alun Williams will be giving us a talk on Bird-watching in the Gambia. Its a great country with some cracking birds including the rather beautiful Egyptian Plover. Doors open at the Brambell building at 7pm tonight for a 7.30 kick off.

Waxwings and Black Redstarts

On Monday there were 2 Waxwings spotted by a student on Holyhead road between Upper Bangor and the Menai Bridge in a Rowan tree by a viewpoint overlooking the straight. There were also 2 Black Redstarts including a fine looking Male at South Stack down the steps by the bridge that goes onto South Stack Island.

Key invertebrate species and their habitats in North Wales

Dr Mike Howe (NRW) will be giving a talk tonight on key invertebrate species and their habitats in North Wales. It's the joint Bangor Birdgroup meeting with the North Wales Wildlife trust at the Brambell building at the University. Doors open at 7 for a 7.30 start. All welcome.

Crossbills and Waxwings

It was the wrong moment to encounter a problem with autofocus on camera lens when 2 male and 2 female Crossbills flew down from some larches to take grit on the entrance road to Llyn Brenig.  I've worked out what the problem was, so a valuable learning opportunity.  Got one reasonable photo, other two not so good but I thought I would include the two male birds - one of which was quite bulky.  10 Waxwings south of Glan Conwy earlier in the day.

RSPB Conwy sightings board

Best birds of early November were water pipit (Wednesday 9th), firecrest (most recently on Tuesday 8th), grey plover (Thursday 3rd-Sunday 6th), 5 rock pipits (6th), 2 greenshanks (Saturday 5th), whooper swan (1 on Thursday 3rd and 10 that stayed all day on Monday 31st) and two Mediterranean gulls on Wednesday 2nd. Two male Cetti's warblers have been singing, near The LookOut and Tal-y-fan Hide, though less vocal since the wet weather arrived. Chiffchaff and blackcap have been with us throughout the Autumn, and choughs are almost a daily occurrence, with a maximum of 7 flying over in one morning. The long-staying great white egret was last seen on Thursday 3rd.

More details on the reserve blog, plus news of habitat management work undertaken this week.

Sri Lanka comes to Bangor

I will be giving a talk at Bangor Birdgroup tonight about my trip to Sri Lanka this February just gone. Its in the Brambell building at the University, near the mini roundabout on Deiniol road just down from Bangor Station opposite Asda. Doors open at 7 for a 7.30 kick off. All welcome.

Anglesey News and Ringed Black headed Gull

This morning on the Range at South Stack there were 4 Lapland buntings feeding on the North End of the Range. They were quite flighty and vocal but when they touched down they were quite approachable.
Visible migration over South Stack Cafe between 9,30 and 10 am produced
Lapland Bunting 2
Reed Bunting 1
Chaffinch 454
Starling 580
Greenfinch 60
Goldfinch 25
Siskin 8
Meadow Pipit 35
Mistle Thrush 5
Merlin 1
Skylark 2
Redpoll 4
Linnet 6
At Llyn Llewennan there was a family party of 4 Greenland Whitefronted Geese with the large Canada Goose flock an there were 3 Whooper Swans on the lake with the Mute Swans. Also another Lapland bunting flew over here calling with a small flock of Skylarks.
At Penrhos Country Park Car Park at SH 275805 there was an adult Black headed Gull with a single metal ring on its left leg. Numerous photos allowed me to read it and it said
Vogeltrekstation
Arnheim-Holland
3. 589. 203

Mark Avery comes to Bangor Bird group this Wednesday

Tomorrow night Mark will talk about the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon in North America - formerly the most numerous bird on the planet, and about his campaign to ban driven grouse shooting.

Mark worked for the RSPB for 25 years and was the Conservation Director for 13 of them. He now writes columns for Birdwatch and British Wildlife and has written a number of books including A Message from Martha - the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon and its relevance today, Inglorious - conflict in the uplands and Remarkable Birds.

          Doors open at the Brambell Building at the University at 7pm for a 7.30 start