Birding Group Visit to Wales 29th May 2012 : RSPB South Stack

Birding Group Visit to Wales 29th May 2012 : RSPB South Stack

By the time we had finished with the Fish Dock and Soldiers Point in Holyhead and got back on the South Stack Road it was already about 11am and about ten minutes after that we rolled into the car park at South Stack for a much needed cup of tea. The hotel we had stayed at in Holyhead (the Travel Inn) was primitive to say the least and did not do breakfast in any recognizable manner so we were glad of a cuppa. As soon as I looked towards the landward side of the rocks from the cafe I saw two Coughs hopping around the rocks – a perfect start to our day at South Stack. As soon as we were refreshed we set off down the track towards the observatory. From the cliff edge looking towards the lighthouse you could just make out with bins a few puffins floating on the water. Scouring the thousands of Common Guillemots it was possible to locate small numbers of Razorbills. They seemed to prefer to be less densely packed and their backs were much blacker than the dark grey-ish Guillemots. With the scope I even managed to find a couple of Fulmars on the cliff ledges. There were masses of Herring Gulls and at first we could hear Kittiwakes but could not locate the. In fact, as I later discovered, there is a hidden cove in the rock that the lighthouse stands on that they much prefer to anywhere else and this is where I eventually located a few but positive identification was only possible by looking at the leading edges of their wings as they landed in the crannies in the rock.

Of course as you descend the cliff going towards the bridge that leads to the lighthouse you end up looking back towards the cliffs under where the observatory is and these afford the best views with many more Puffins in their nest holes and thousands of Guillemots all massed on the rocks and, as you look out to sea, you can see large numbers of birds fishing from the surface. The day was fantastically warm and it was just perfect weather for a visit to the usually very exposed rocks. There was also the occasional sighting of a Cormorant or Shag but it wasn’t really possible to say which. We came back up the cliffs with frequent paused to catch out breaths disguised as stops to look a bit more at the Puffins.

After more tea Anne and I  walked uphill again to the furthest car park and we then ascended the path that takes you inland in a big circle that comes around back to the lower car park just above the main cafeteria parking. In all honesty this is a walk we would probably only do once and that was then because it was such a gloriously sunny day and the wind wasn’t too severe. We didn’t really see to much up there but it was an interesting walk and when we came back down again, in the meadow opposite the cafe we saw a pair of Linnets grazing. Perseverance eventually gave us lovely views of a male and a female. Late we would see a small flock in various bits of the surrounding terrain, sometimes even all collecting on the telegraph wires. Walking around we also saw White Wagtail and Wheatear and when we all collected back together for a circular walk along the cliffs we also saw Stonechat, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Goldfinch and, best of all, Rock Pipits – another first for me !  Again we had great views of two of the Choughs as they hovered on the wind at the cliff edges and a Fulmar flew past and swung around back in our direction. I only stopped looking when the bird was so close in my bins that it seemed sure to collide with me. Reason, of course would suggest otherwise, but I dropped my bins and watched ifly straight past me at close enough range ! Some of the group also said they saw Ravens and even Gannets but Anne and I dipped out on these, unfortunately.

By the time we had done all of this some of the group wanted to start back because they had a long journey back to Manchester. As for us, we were going to stay another day holing up overnight at the eponymous Bull Bay Hotel so we were not as pressed to ger on our way and we ambled around a little bit more before driving off to get settled into our hotel and have a bath and a meal. When the dust had settled on the trip the birds seen was collated and the total, between us all, came to eighty one species over the two days which we were all quite pleased with; particularly since it contained a lifer for all of us and even a couple of other birds were lifers for me. Black Guillemots, Rock Pipit, Fulmar and Red-breasted Merganser were my top birds over the two days but you can never fail to be amazed by the colonies of birds at South Stack. A curious note is however that, just as at Cemlyn Bay the previous year, bird numbers seemed to be slightly lower. Last year we visited Wales only a little earlier in May – perhaps a fortnight earlier – so I can’t see this as explaining these reduced numbers.

Bird Sightings : RSPB South Stack