ACRE NOOK AND LAPWING HALL SIGHTINGS JUNE

Acre Nook Sand Quarry bird sightings:

By the middle of the month, the water level is now high with good numbers of gulls returning to the site. Black headed numbers have reached 40, Lesser black backed 13, Great Black backed 32 and Herring gull 16 on the 23rd.14 Curlew were seen on the 23rd, along with 2 juvenile Mandarin ducks, 34 Lapwing, 26 Shelduck, and 10 Oystercatchers were also present.

 With all the rain that fell in June, the quarry is now filling up

 Two juvenile Mandarin Ducks showed well on the 23rd

 Shelduck now have young

Gull numbers have now increased 

On the 24th, a pair of Bullfinches were present around the entrance to the quarry. A Green Sandpiper was seen on the 28th along with 42 Curlew. On the 30th, a Black tailed godwit was present along with a Shoveler.

 Green Sandpiper

 Curlew

Black Tailed Godwit

Shoveler

Lapwing Hall Pool bird sightings:

The Long-tailed duck, which was found on the 10th, hung around till the 18th before departing. A single Pochard and a Wigeon remained throughout the whole month. Sand martins remain in good numbers along with Swallows. A Yellowhammer was calling on the 23rd, along with the resident Tree sparrows, which are now feeding young. 4 Meadow Brown butterflies were seen on the 25th along the pool path.

 Wigeon

 Juvenile Swallows have now fled the nest

 Sand Martin

Meadow Brown

BUTTERFLY DAY OUT

With the birds drying up, I had a day out and visited Shropshire to a butterfly site at Prees Heath Common. This is the last sanctuary for the Silver-studded blue butterfly in the Midlands. The reserve is on a large common that had been a World War 2 airfield. The silver-studded blues were in good numbers as we walked around the common.

Silver studded blues

Other species of butterfly were seen as we walked around the common, and a cracking Green woodpecker showed well for a few minutes before a dog walker flushed it.

Painted Lady

Ringlet

Speckled wood

After a good walk around the site and a bit of lunch, I moved on to Eyarth rocks near Ruthin in Denbighshire, which is being carefully managed to sustain North Wales' strongest populations of the threatened Pearl-bordered fritillary. After one hell of a hike up a mountain, I eventually found the site, which was well overgrown. I did connect with a Dark green fritillary and gave it a good hour searching around, but couldn't connect with any Pearl bordered fritillary, and then the weather started to deteriorate, so I called it a day.

 Dark green fritillary

LONG TAILED DUCK-LAPWING HALL POOL

I looked at my phone at 3.10pm whilst at work, and Birdguides had put out a drake Long-tailed duck on Lapwing Hall pool. My break wasn't until 4.00pm, but after a quick word with my boss, I was off.

I arrived on site in pouring rain and soon picked up the bird happily swimming around in the centre of the pool.

                                                               

Long-tailed duck

This is the third record of a Long-tailed duck I have seen in the area. The last one was present on Catchpenny Pool from 14/11/2004 until 22/02/05 and was a drake bird, and my first was seen again on Catchpenny Pool on 12/05/1995 and was also a drake.

Another great bird for the area, and nice to see other birders now visiting and hopefully other birds will now be found. Whilst photographing the Long-tailed duck, a party of newly fledged Blue tits visited a reed bed where I was standing.

NORTH WALES BREAK

Taking advantage of a spell of fine weather this week, I booked a short stay in Trearddur Bay on Anglesey, planning to combine sightseeing with some relaxed birdwatching en route.

My first stop was Swallow Falls, just outside Betws-y-Coed, a place I hadn’t visited since childhood. The falls were as impressive as I remembered, and a fitting start to the trip.

 Swallow Falls

A short drive up the road brought me to the Ugly House Tea Room for breakfast. While chatting with the staff, I was told that Pied Flycatchers had bred in the woodland behind the café. After breakfast, I headed into the trees and soon connected with three Pied Flycatchers, a pleasing bonus and a reminder of how productive these mature Welsh woodlands can be.

The wooded area behind the cafe

Pied Flycatcher

Continuing along the A5 towards Bangor, I drove through Snowdonia National Park, enjoying spectacular mountain scenery in the clear conditions.

 Mountain views as I drove towards Bangor

On reaching Anglesey in glorious sunshine, I decided to visit Plas Newydd, the National Trust property overlooking the Menai Strait and Britannia Bridge. Renowned as a site for Red squirrels, I spent time exploring the gardens, though the squirrels eluded me. However, the house itself was stunning, with sweeping views back towards Snowdonia, and I enjoyed a good number of Small White butterflies in the grounds.

 Plas Newydd house

The house backs onto the Menai Straits and overlooks the Britannia Bridge

Pressing on towards Trearddur Bay, I made brief stops at Aberffraw and Rhosneigr, both of which produced Stonechats and several Meadow Brown butterflies, adding nicely to the day list.

Small White butterfly

  Aberffraw

  Rhosneigr

 Stonechat

Meadow Brown

I arrived at my accommodation shortly after five and spent a couple of hours relaxing before heading out again in the early evening to South Stack RSPB, one of my favourite sites on the island. The cliffs were alive with seabirds: Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins packed the ledges, while the lighthouse and Ellen’s Tower sat atmospheric in the mist offshore.

Accommodation sorted

 Razorbills and Guillimots

  The cliffs at South Stacks, with the lighthouse in the distance covered in mist

Ellen's Tower

A walk along the clifftops also produced several Stonechats, two Choughs, six Six-spotted Burnet moths and Painted Lady butterflies. It was a classic South Stack evening, rich in both birds and atmosphere.

 Stonchat

 Two Choughs showed well 

Painted Lady

Six Spotted Burnet

The day was rounded off perfectly with a good meal, a few beers and a cracking sunset over the Irish Sea.

A nice end to a cracking day

The following morning dawned bright and sunny. After a relaxed start, I began the journey home, calling in at Gronant to visit the Little Tern colony. These remarkable birds migrate all the way from West Africa to breed here, and the colony — 225 birds according to the on-site warden — offered stunning, close views of this scarce species.

Little tern

Although the trip ended with a soaking from typical British weather on the walk back to the car, it did nothing to detract from what had been a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days.