Wales Day Out : Species Nos 197 – 200 : 30th December 2016

Wales Day Out : Species Nos 197 – 200 : 30th December 2016

Last week I happened to mention to Merynn that I was on 197 species in the UK for the year and that I would really like to get three more to get to the 200 mark by the end of the year. She volunteered that she would like to drive Anne and me over to Wales for the day which is where I thought I had the best chance. For some strange reason Merynn loves driving long distances !

Anyway, not having seen a Chough this year, that meant getting up at 6.15am and going to South Stack (for the most guaranteed chance) as early as possible without driving in the dark too much. We got there about 9.45am and, the café not being open yet, we went for a walk along the cliffs. In fact we needn’t have bothered because within 20 minutes we saw a couple of Chough rooting around on the ground – just under the car park at the café – bird 198

We had tried Caerhun for Hawfinch a couple of weeks ago without any luck so I suggested that this time we try Llanbedr-y-cennin. We parked up there and – incredibly – within five minutes we saw a male perched atop a tall tree posing against a blue sky for us. Another followed soon after. We were on a mission, however, at number 199, and keen for that 200th bird. (Although we parked near the pub, it is better to turn right at the pub and then right again and there is a little lay-by that is enough for a couple of cars. If you then walk uphill by the big house and downhill to the church. The Hawfinches are supposed to be around this area. If you see the notice board that mentions the Hawfinches you are in the right area.

I thought Llanddulas would be a good shot for possible Surf Scoter so we went there and then on to Pensarn. The latter had fewer Common Scoter but a bigger variety of birds on the water. No Surf Scoter though ! We talked to other birders and none of them had seen Surf Scoter either.

I suppose I would still have had one last day to go but I thought that we might as well go to St Asaph and try for the Black-throated Thrush – not really very confident that we would connect – as they say. We arrived there about 2.30pm (I think some reports suggest that it is more readily seen in the afternoons) We took the muddy river route (we should just have parked in the car park of the New Inn) and eventually came to the back of the field at the rear of the pub. Pretty soon we saw it in the tangle of branches in the big tree in the near corner of the field. Enough to “tick” but not really very satisfactory. Having got my 200th bird for the year (and a nice bird at that) I didn’t feel the need to move on anywhere so we spent a bit of time waiting for it to be more accommodating.

While we waited for better views we chatted to a few of the birders, some of whom had just come from Deeley where they got the Dusky Thrush and others who had driven up from Stow-on-the-Wold where they had seen the Blue Rock Thrush and some, indeed, who had seen all three rare thrushes in the one day. It made our outing seem quite modest !

Anyway we waited a bit and eventually it dropped to the ground in the paddock area with the burnt ground and old palette and stuff in. We moved round to the river side of the bigger field that contained the paddock and we got much better views. Eventually it flew up onto one of the posts and gave quite a show for a while before dropping back down onto the grass outside the paddock. Here it was pretty much in open view as it foraged (quite successfully it seemed) for worms. An interesting view followed as a Song Thrush appeared and a bit of a face-off ensued. It ended with both birds deciding not take exception to each other and they fed close to each other for a while. I was interested to note that the Song Thrush seemed to be significantly bigger which is not what the books say but I suppose there is a variation and perhaps sexual dimorphism was also a factor as the Black-throated Thrush is female.

Bird Sightings : RSPB South Stack

Bird Sightings : Llanbedr-y-Cennin

Bird Sightings : Llanddulas

Bird Sightings : Pensarn

Bird Sightings : St Asaph

Location of Hawfinches at Llanbedr-y-Cennin

Location of Black-throated Thrush at St Asaph