Newborough Warren
On our third day we wanted to look at Newborough Warren on Anglesey which had a good write-up in “Where To Watch Birds in Britain” by Simon Harrap and Nigel Redman. We drove to Maltraeth where we had some breakfast and a look around the estuary and Maltraeth Pool but there really wasn’t that much to see there and it was windy and wet so we decided to go on to Newborough Forest where we had a four mile walk. We intended to try to get to the estuary but there were extensive reed beds and the tide was out so the whole idea turned out to be at least mistimed of not misconceived. The forest is largely Corsican Pine and whilst you could hear some birdsong in the canopy, the canopy was so high up it was pretty much impossible to see anything. We did manage to spot a Willow Warbler and a Chaffinch and we did hear a Pheasant and a Chiffchaff.
Newborough Warren Bird List
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Chaffinch | 1 |
| Chiffchaff | 1 |
| Curlew | 1 |
| Pheasant | 1 |
| Song Thrush | 1 |
| Willow Warbler | 1 |
Penmon Point
Another place we wanted to go to was Puffin Island off the north coast of Anglesey but the wind meant that there were no boat trips sailing so we decided to drive out to Penmon point which is the nearest piece of land to the island. You have to pay to get to the end of the point as it is privately owned but it is only a couple of pounds and it is worth not having to make the long walk up to the headland. When you do get there there is a good cafe with loos so we refreshed ourselves and then went to the edge of the headland to see if we could see anything on Puffin Island. There were a lot of gulls but we couldn’t see any Puffins – although there were ground holes that looked like Puffin nest holes but even with a scope we couldn’t really see well enough.
On the other hand there were plenty of birds around on the rocks and on the water. We saw a Gannet at close range and an Eider Duck and a Sandwich Tern. There were lots of Cormorants on the water and on the rocks and in the garden next to the cafe there was a Greenfinch and a Pied Wagtail. This site was well worth visiting and I would have stayed longer but time was getting on and the rain was starting to get heavier. The bird list for both places was as follows :
Penmon Point Bird List
(including birds seen around the environs of the site as well as the site itself.)
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Blackbird | 2 |
| Buzzard | 1 |
| Carrion Crow | 1 |
| Collared Dove | 1 |
| Cormorant | 8 |
| Eider | 1 |
| Gannet | 1 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 2 |
| Greenfinch | 1 |
| Greylag Goose | 1 |
| Herring Gull | 6 |
| House Sparrow | 2 |
| Jackdaw | 4 |
| Magpie | 2 |
| Mute Swan | 1 |
| Oystercatcher | 1 |
| Pied Wagtail | 1 |
| Rook | 1 |
| Sandwich Tern | 1 |
| Starling | 4 |
| Swallow | 10 |
| Swift | 10 |
Location of Penmon Point / Puffin Island