Llyn Peninsula
On our fourth day we decided to drive around the Llyn Peninsula so we headed down the peninsula to Aberdaron. En route we saw a Rookery of around 40 birds and we also saw Magpies, Crows etc. From Aberdaron we drove up the hillside to the remote disused lifeguard station on the headland overlooking Bardsey Island. It was pretty wild and windy up there but we had a bit of a walk around. There were gulls and some smaller birds in the gorse but it was so windy they were lying low. The only birds that seemed to love it were the Swallows which were everywhere. On our way back down we saw a Buzzard and a Chough and also what turned out to be a Red Kite. At first we took it for a Buzzard because there was one in the sky at the same time but as it came closer the tail indicated that it was a Red Kite. As we watched it hovered in the air like bigger version of a Kestrel and then eventually landed behind a rock. We watched for a minute or so and eventually it emerged from behind the rock rising in the air with a snake hanging from one of its talons ! It flew away into the distance and we did not really expect to see it again after such a big meal had been caught.
Llyn Peninsula Bird List
(including birds seen around the environs of the site as well as the site itself.)
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Buzzard | 1 |
| Carrion Crow | 1 |
| Chough | 1 |
| House Sparrow | 1 |
| Jackdaw | 12 |
| Magpie | 2 |
| Red Kite | 1 |
| Rook | 40 |
| Swallow | 12 |
Map of the headland Llyn Peninsula
Cemlyn Bay
We drove back up to the top of the peninsula and I was keen to return to Cemlyn Bay where we had been on the 12th to see if I could get some photographs of the Terns using my new 500mm lens. As we got near the weather started to get a bit poor. We decided to park at the other end of the bay from where we had previously parked because it was a shorter walk along the shingle beach to the best vantage point. I took my tripod and put a teleconverter onto my 50mm lens to get the biggest throw I could but just as we arrived at the best point the rain started to come down. I covered my camera and lens as best I could and we waited for the rain to ease off so I could take some pictures. Whilst waiting we had a look round with our bins and we saw a few Dunlin bobbing around the lagoon. There were three types of Tern we had seen previously, Herring Gulls, Oystercatchers, Shelduck, Black-headed Gulls and hidden in among the Black-headed Gulls was a Mediterranean Gull which was a good tick and which someone else pointed out to us.
I spent quite some time trying to get good pictures with my new lens but, in truth, I got better pictures when we were last there with a shorter lens. It certainly reminded me that I have a lot to learn using that lens. In the end the light was failing and the rain wasn’t going to stop so we left for home. I was a little disappointed until I thought about the Red Kite, the Terns and the Med Gull and then I felt that we had had a good day all things considered.
Cemlyn Bay Bird List
(including birds seen around the environs of the site as well as the site itself.)
- Arctic Tern 200
- Chaffinch 1
- Common Tern 200
- Coot 6
- Curlew 1
- Dunlin 8
- Dunnock 1
- Goldfinch 6
- Great Black-headed Gull 20
- Herring Gull 30
- Mallard 4
- Mediterranean Gull 1
- Oystercatcher 6
- Pheasant 1
- Pied Wagtail 1
- Sandwich Tern 200
- Shelduck 2