May 15, 2011 archive

Wales Break Day 5 : RSPB Conwy : 15th May 2011

RSPB Conwy

We left Bodnant and decided to go back up to RSPB Conwy for a bite to eat and a last chance to view the lagoon from the panoramic cafe window. As we arrived it was pointed out to us that someone had just seen a Citrine Wagtail which is a reasonably rare bird to see in Britain. We spoke to the chap who had spotted it and he was as pleased as could be. He said it was the rarest bird he had ever spotted first (he said around 3 a year are spotted in the UK) and it set off a proper “twitch” with calls going out and carloads of twitchers and birders arriving non-stop so that the cafe was full of people trying to get a glimpse of the bird.

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Wales Break Day 5 : Bodnant Gardens : 15th May 2011

Bodnant Gardens

On our last day we travelled home but we wanted to go to Bodnant Gardens so we drove over to Bangor then down  to Betws-y-Coed then up the side of the River Conwy to Bodnant Gardens. The weather was a bit wet but it gave Anne the chance to see the Laburnum Grove in full bloom and we walked for about an hour around the gardens. Down by the little stream, just at the waterfall, we saw a Dipper flying around. It may even have been nesting in a gap in the stonework of the bridge where the water drops from the pond to the river.

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