Day 1

to

Trip count

10 :o(

Saturday 16 August: To Porthmadog

When we go away with a caravan following us, we generally find the best time to travel is very early – but this year we compromised on leaving home at 6:30, just in time for the best birding breakfast in Gloucestershire - Bulley’s van in Gossington - how tempted was I to detour to Saul Wharf to see our latest visiting rarity? – slightly less tempted than Alli was determined I wasn’t! ;o).

Our first trip rule is that birds on route don't count until we are at least in the County of the trip (unless we don't see them again of course).  It was appropriate then that as we passed the county border into Gwynedd that a Buzzard was just hanging on an up wind just above the county sign.

There were a handful of Mute Swans on the Cob at Porthmadog as we drove past in a queue of traffic, but much more is bound to turn up when we have time to look more closely.

After the van was set up there was only a short window to see any birds before the rain set in . . . but managed an embarrassing number;

Swallows, Great Tit, Magpie and Jackdaw – around the campsite

Herring Gull and Pied Wagtail on the beach at Black Rock Sands with a Kestrel overhead  (surprised me too!)

House Sparrow . . . sheltering from the rain under the canopy of Tesco in Porthmadog with us.

Hopefully we’ll have better luck tomorrow!

Day 2

Trip count

32

Sunday 17 August: Getting into holiday mode

It wasn’t raining when I woke, so I decided to make my way down to the Cob.  Catching up with sleep?, birding mode?, call it what you will but I started adding to yesterday’s poor ranking immediately; Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Carrion Crow and a few repeats – before even leaving the camp site!  Into Porthmadog town, Robin and Collared Dove joined the list.

I decided to walk around the Cob pool then walk along the Sea wall – right choice! A Grey Seal was lazily floating on the Cob right under my nose.  My first scan revealed a single Canada Goose, Lapwing, Mallard, Oystercatchers, Black Headed Gulls and Black-tailed Godwits, Grey Heron, 2 Greenshank, a Rock Dove and a Blue Tit . . . then the skies opened!  By the time I’d found any sort of shelter everything I wore was dripping.  I had to move around to avoid standing in my own puddle!

As the rain slowed I had a quick look over the harbour where a bout 100 oystercatcher made that the bird de-jour but was just too wet to do anything more than drip back to the campsite for a change of clothes!

The nature of showers is that by the time we set out for the days activities, the skies were almost clear – making it criminal to not stop at the RSPB Glaslyn Osprey viewpoint (shhh it worked!).  As we all peered through the preset scopes we were lucky enough to see both the male and female Osprey and one of the two young all showing well but 1¼ miles in the distance.  The female bird still being around being the only good thing coming from this summers bad weather.

The low point of the day was arriving at the Foryd Bay hide, near to Caernarfon only to find that every window had been smashed inwards. A remote hide where some no brain had obviously had to travel just to break windows, and clearly not for the first time - no expletive would be appropriate to sum our group despair!  There was so much glass that it was easier to view the bay from the screen.  Added to our list were Little Egret, Shoveler, Cormorant, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Curlew with Nats and cam able to catch up on Oystercatcher and Collared Dove.

Day 3

Trip count

42

Monday 18 August

The day started with a stroll to Borth-y-Gest where the 100 or so Oystercatchers from the harbour were all feeding on the exposed sandbars but with nothing else of note here.   The return path was past Borth Parc LNR, where I added Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch and a Jay.

Out and about during the day we added House Martin, Starlings and a Gannet from Pwllheli

Then I made the most of a spare moment between the showers to pop back down to the Cob and managed to add Redshank from the dozens present and a Common Sandpiper.

Day 4

Trip count

54

Tuesday 19 August

I woke for a walk, listened to the rain and went back to sleep ;o)

Added a Rook at the Welsh Mountain zoo – well worth a visit!  Then just happened past Conwy RSPB on the way home . . .  wet, windy, productive . . . Teal, Gadwall, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Moorhen, Wren, Coot, Tufted Duck and Little Grebe added to the list as well as the obligatory Oystercatcher another Common Grebe and a Little Egret.

Back down the Vale of Conwy (A470) towards Llanrwst, Nats and I were both watching a Buzzard soaring (as well as the next corner) when we both simultaneously called “2 Swift” circling below.

Final tick for the day came from a quick trip to Black Rock Beach where a Rock Pipit bounced around a pool (by the way Cam now thinks he can drive – and the car is in one piece!).

Day 5

Trip count

62

Wednesday 20 August

A very early tick as a Tawny Owl started calling just outside the caravan at 2:30 this morning.

The day proper started with Cam and I walking around the Cob Pool trying to break his bogey on Common Sandpiper, no luck though despite looking behind and under every Black Tailed Godwit and Redshank.  The morning wasn’t wasted though as we watched with fascination as a Cormorant battled with a lively eel for a good 5 minutes before managing to swallow it!

We later explored south and tried a little sea watching at Tywyn - 2 Gannet on a very empty sea but 5 moulting Eider made up for it.

Walking along the Mwddach Trails found a single Greyalag Goose and 2 Mistle Thrush, the birder of the day and first lifer of the trip was a Tree Pipit in the Bushes - I refused to tick though until I got back to the camp site and checked in two field guides.

Before doing this though we stopped of at the reservoir at Coed y Rhygan where we added a Great Crested Grebe, a Goldfinch and 5 Meadow Pipit - which helped convince me further of the Tree Pipit ;o)

Day 6

Trip count

65

Thursday 21 August

A non-birding day – if there is such a thing!

From the Blaenau Ffestiniog railway carriage, a red headed Goosander and a Pheasant – but no clue as to the location.

Back to the car – via yet another loop of the Cob Pool and Cam finally made his Common Sandpiper, in fact 2 of them! and to help celebrate his 199^th bird - a Kingfisher made a fly-by calling as it went!

Day 7

Trip count

75

Friday 22 August

Breakfast in McDonalds – explains my physique? Maybe it’s contributed, but more importantly free internet access on the way to Angelsey.  One click on Birdguides and it was nearly a day trip back to Gloucestershire! 2 Lifers when I’m away – someone feed those birds or another week!

First stop, of course, was South Stack where an 1½ hours of sea watching and headland gave our list a predictable boost; Shelduck, 5 Chough, juvenile Stonechat, rafts of Kittiwake, Gannets, a steady northward flight of Manx Shearwater, as well as Fulmar, Raven, Great Black-Backed Gull and a Kestrel.

Then the annual holiday boat trip, an hour around Puffin Island from Beaumaris.  Grey Seal were the lure and we saw 3, but the extras were hundreds of cormorant with a small mix of Shag for good measure, then a pull into shore on the return trip to show us . . . more Oystercatcher (!!!) however amongst them were a couple of dozen Sandwich Terns, one of which gave a flyby of the boat.

Finally, I dropped the family on the beach at Newborough and took a stroll through the forest, mostly more Blue and Great Tits, hoards of Robins and Chaffinch but Goldcrest also put in an appearance.

Day 8

Trip count

75

Saturday 23 August

Shell Beach, otherwise known as Morfa Dyffrn sounds too good to be true; up to 300 types of sea shell washed up onto the sandy beach, hooked tidal estuary – it was too good to be true . . . a massive campsite where the scouse out-throw spend their time shoving their reluctant dogs and children into the estuary, half the bathers burying cigarette ends in the sand and the other half digging them up when their metal detectors find a coke ring pull!

The birds had more sense than us being far, far out to sea!

However, my scope took me out there too whilst the family hunted for shells – Black Headed and Herring Gulls feeding with a single ‘Commic’ Tern, a couple of dozen Manx Shearwater and 4 or 5 Gannets circling the bay, 8 Cormorants passing through and a single Great Crested Grebe.

Then the weather changed for the worse and we were forced to leave – phew!

Day 9

Trip count

83

Sunday 24 August

A trip down to Lake Vyrnwy – a 12 mile cycle route around a dammed reservoir with 3 RSPB hides.

En route Wheatear flew across the road above the Migneint

Yes, we did cycle around the lake and stopped at each hide, filling many of the woodland holes in our trip list;

From the Centaury Hide; a few Goldcrest, at least 7 Treecreeper, Long Tailed Tits, Coal Tits, 2 Reed Warbler displayed well, and a Wren.

The Lakeside was empty apart from 2 distant Great Crested Grebe.

Then the visitor centre hide – in the middle of the busy visitor area with feeders and visitor noses inches from their respective sides of the one way glass; more Coal Tits, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Pheasants bellow but also Nuthatches, a Siskin and a Marsh Tit.

But better than all that – in the RSPB shop I was able to buy a fresh new copy of my ‘RSPB Guide to British Birds’ field guide – 5 or 6 years after buying my first, very well travelled and exceedingly dog-eared old friend.

Day 10

Trip count

84

Monday 25 August

Bank Holiday Monday, so the weather is typically bad; overcast with a strong wind! - so headed down to the Cob to see if anything had blown in – nope, just the usual suspects Canada Geese, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Mute Swans.

Across the sea wall the wind was much stronger and I had to Kneel to see anything through my bins – worth it though 6 Little Egrets were popping up from the rhynes and 3 Skylark were pinned against the rock of the sea wall, occasionally trying their luck at flight only to dive back into shelter.

Day 11

Trip count

85

Tuesday 26 August

After the Bank Holiday crowds have headed home I took an afternoon ride along the Lleyn peninsular which had very few viewing points that were not still tourist laden.

My first attempt was from Abersoch harbour, reported as good for waders – specifically today the Herring Gull, Lesser and Great Black Backed Gulls! and offshore a single Gannet gliding around the bay.

Next stop from the headland above Llanbedrog a climb of 200 steps for half a dozen more Gannets, a handful of Cormorants and 2 Rooks, not to mention peace, quiet and plenty of fresh air ;o)

Finally a look around Pwllheli where 3 Common Tern were on buoys in the marina.

Day 12

Trip count

86

Wednesday 27 August

When we arrived at the site we noticed loads of empty feeders around the static vans so hung our own to a bush about 2 feet from the window to attract birds closer – this has steadily done the job with the first fill of seed lasting 3 days and the last about 3 hours!  As today was (yet) another wet and grey day we spent much of the afternoon around the caravan which gave me the chance to sit and watch the activity;

Grey Tit (& young), Blue Tit (& young), Greenfinches (& 2 youngsters that have entertained us all of our stay), Chaffinch, Robin and Coal Tit and, passing through the bush, a Chiffchaff.

Day 13

Trip count

88

Thursday 28 August

Our last full day gave us the excuse to drop back in on the RSPB Glaslyn Osprey viewpoint, low cloud only gave us views of just one bird - but all 4 are reportedly still present.

The evening gave the first combination of being dry with a high tide – crabbing time!  So while the kids spent an hour persuading over 100 crabs that sliced ham occurs naturally in the Porthmadog harbour, I slipped back to the Cob and watched the birds come to roust; Oystercatcher (this page really should have an Oystercatcher favicon), Cormorants, Black tailed Godwits, Lapwing and Redshank with the addition of 4 Red-breasted Merganser, then just as I was walking away a Sparrowhawk stormed into a bush (and 20 sparrows fled out)

Day 14

Trip count

88 + 1

Friday 29 August

A day of packing up ready to travel home overnight!

A Nuthatch joined the feeder list before it was packed away as a necessity for future years.

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As a footnote to my trip list – when we visited South Stack on day 7, Nats pulled a Peregrine Falcon from the cliff top, but at a time when no one was with her (much teasing of “stringing” and “blindness” followed from respective sides!) - but now added for completeness.

In Summary –

Holiday – Despite the wettest holiday weather we’ve endured for many a year, we’ve all had a great time and have had the chance to stop, recharge some batteries and reintroduce ourselves to each other once again ;o). 

It’s great to see Cam’s knowledge and interest in birds developing and Nats coming back into the fold. 

I think we’ve done this part of North Wales now . . . but may be tempted back to Anglesey. . .

Birds - As a county Gwynedd is certainly under reported on Birdguides and there are not many websites or blogs with current sightings (I’ve also only seen 2 other birders during my stay).  I’m convinced that there are not physically as many birds we see in Gloucester and Avon in a pure numbers sense - but there is a good selection of birds, around even in August, – they just have to be found!