Surf Scoters in North Wales

There are usually small numbers of Surf Scoters in the Winter months amongst the 1000's of Common Scoters off the North Wales Coast between Colwyn Bay and Pensarn. There have been at least two males recently and it is always worth checking for Velvets, Long tailed Duck, Scaup or even rarer species.

To be fair they are usually pretty distant as shown in my 400mm shots below. However if it is flat calm and sunny you can get a fair but distant view through a telescope of this unusually but strikingly plumaged Sea-duck.

Working from East to West it is worth checking from the shore at the following sites 

1. Abergele/Pensarn...................................................

2. Llandulas ...............................................................

3. Station Road between Llandulas and Old Colwyn

4. Porth Eirias (Colwyn Bay).....................................

I have put some maps below in case any birders who aren't familiar to the area will have a better idea where to go.

Black-throated Diver, Llyn Llygerian, Anglesey

Have been hoping that this bird would stay.  Working week at this time of year is setting off in the dark and returning in the dark.  Got out in the rain this morning to see the bird, but went back this afternoon.  After a short wait the bird flew onto the small lake, but missed flight shots.  Cracking views thereafter.

Paul French Double Bill at Bangor Birdgroup this week

Paul French is the Chairman of the British Birds Rarities Committee, a Tour Leader for Sunbird Bird-tours and he is also an Associate Ecological Consultant at Stuart Thomas Ecology. This week Paul has kindly agreed to give us two separate talks over two nights at Bangor Birdgroup.

On Wednesday (31st Jan)  he will be talking about the Birds of Spurn Bird Observatory.

On Thursday (1st Feb)  he will be talking about the Birds of Japan.

So come along if you can, these should be two cracking talks!

At Bangor Birdgroup we meet on Wednesday nights in the University of Bangor Brambell Building, Deiniol road opposite Asda just down from the Train Station. Costs are £2 per meeting (non members), or even better join as a member. Membership costs are as follows- Waged = £15, £12 for concessions and £10 for students. Not bad for 24 talks!

Doors open at 7 for a 7.30 pm start. Talks last for around 1 hour. All members of the public are welcome. 

Steller's and White tailed Eagles

Hooded Cranes

Pallas's Warbler

Siberian Accentor

Siberian Accentor

Black throated Diver near Cemaes

This cracking Black throated Diver was found by David Wright near Cemaes this week on Llyn Llygeirian. If you want good views or photographs it's well worth a visit. If you stand on the south end of the causeway by the X mark, it can at times come to within a few meters. Occasionally it sometimes flies onto the larger side of the lake (but can still be close). There is limited parking for about 4 cars on the road where I have circled the letter P. If you do go please park sensibly to avoid any friction with the locals and good luck if you go.

Snow Goose near Cemaes (South of Porth Wen)

Brian Iddon spotted a Snow Goose among a flock of about 80 Greylags near Cemaes last week and Tony White managed to get this photo of the bird. The bird in Unringed so it could be a genuine vagrant, but they are common in UK wildfowl collections and there are free-flying  feral birds dotted around the UK. However, it's a nice looking bird and worth a look if you are in the area. The lay-by marked P on the map is the best place to look from. It was close to the road when Tony photographed it but it is usually further away in the direction of where X marks the spot. If it isn't visible from the road it may well be worth going on the minor road to the south looking back north in case the geese are in a dip or behind a hedge. Be aware there is also a White-ish Greylag with the flock as well sometimes.

North Carolina Pelagic Birding in Bangor

Local Birder Rhys Jones has always had a bit of a thing for seawatching. Last year he was lucky enough to get over to North Carolina to get out on a boat and do some Pelagic Birding - US style! So why not come along tomorrow to relive the birding experience with him.

At Bangor Birdgroup we meet on Wednesday nights in the University of Bangor Brambell Building, Deiniol road opposite Asda just down from the Train Station. Costs are £2 per meeting (non members), or even better join as a member. Membership costs are as follows- Waged = £15, £12 for concessions and £10 for students. Not bad for 24 talks!

Doors open at 7 for a 7.30 pm start. Talks last for around 1 hour. All members of the public are welcome. 

In search of the World's Ultimate Wildlife : Dan Brown in Bangor

North Wales's own Steve Backshall returns to Bangor Bird-group tomorrow night, Wednesday the 10th January. Dan Brown, son of Nigel Brown is a great Birder and all-round Ecologist, just like his Dad. He will be showing us some of the rather exciting things he and his wife Rachael got up-to on their honeymoon. They went in search of some of the World's Ultimate Wildlife, and they found it! Their travels took them from Sulawesi to the Serengeti, so please come along tomorrow and see some of the awesome things that they got up-to!

At Bangor Birdgroup we meet on Wednesday nights in the University of Bangor Brambell Building, Deiniol road opposite Asda just down from the Train Station. Costs are £2 per meeting (non members), or even better join as a member. Membership costs are as follows- Waged = £15, £12 for concessions and £10 for students. Not bad for 24 talks!

Doors open at 7 for a 7.30 pm start. Talks last for around 1 hour. All members of the public are welcome. 

Geoff Gibbs brings Trinidad and Tobago to Bangor

Geoff Gibbs kicks off the 2018 talks at Bangor Birdgroup this Wednesday. Come along to what will surely be a wonderful talk on Trinidad and Tobago, a place very close to Geoff's heart, a place where he has lived and has returned to on numerous occasions.

At Bangor Birdgroup we meet on Wednesday nights in the University of Bangor Brambell Building, Deiniol road opposite Asda just down from the Train Station. Costs are £2 per meeting (non members), or even better join as a member. Membership costs are as follows- Waged = £15, £12 for concessions and £10 for students. Not bad for 24 talks!

Doors open at 7 for a 7.30 pm start. Talks last for around 1 hour. All members of the public are welcome. 

Anglesey's Amazing Starling Roost at Parys Mountain

After a gentle paced spin around the Island today producing nothing too unusual of note bar a Great White Egret and Female Marsh Harrier at Llyn Llewenan, the days avian highlight was produced by the Common Starling. Back in November Nigel Brown was going on at Birdgroup about how good the Parys Mountain roost was. Today around mid-afternoon, Tony White mentioned it again just as we were passing through Llanerchymedd so we thought we would give it a go. Birds have been roosting in the general vicinity of Parys Mountain near Amlwch, but tonight we realized exactly where they are roosting., and we arrived just as the sun was setting over Llyn Alaw. If you look at this map we parked by the red X to look over the relatively new plantation at SH 442 894.
I don't think I have  ever seen so many Starlings coming into a roost. There were 100's of thousands of birds! There were constant steams of birds heading in to the backdrop of windmills, Parys Mountain and a half - decent Sunset. Whilst they weren't murmurating as such, seeing so many birds were phenomenal. If this was at Conwy RSPB, there would be over a hundred people watching on in awe. But as it was Amlwch, there was just Tony, Myself , the local farmer and 3 Buzzards after a bit of supper!
The almost hypnotic constant streaming of birds, the noise, the smell of guano reminiscent of a Seabird colony and the fact that you could walk through the middle of the roost as a public road bi-sects the small plantation, all added up to a truly unforgettable experience that I would highly recommend.
So if you are in the area, especially if there is a calm evening with a nice sunset, why not pop over to experience it yourself, in case they change roost sites as Starlings tend to do. You won't be disappointed!