This week, I decided to book a hotel in Trearddur Bay on Anglesey, taking advantage of the nice weather. On the way, I planned to do some sightseeing and birdwatching.
The first stop was Swallow Falls, located just outside Betws-y-Coed. I hadn't been back since I was a child.
Swallow Falls
Just up the road, I called in at the Ugly House tea room for some breakfast, and while talking to the ladies in the shop, they told me Pied flycatchers had bred in the wood behind the cafe.
I made are way into the woods after some breakfast, and I soon connected with three Pied flycatchers.
The wooded area behind the cafe
Pied Flycatcher
After jamming in on these little beauties, I headed up the A5 towards Bangor, driving through the Snowdonia national park.
Mountain views as I drove towards Bangor
Arriving on Anglesey, the weather was beautiful, so I decided the next place I would visit would be Plas Newydd house, which is owned by the National Trust and is a good site for Red squirrel.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plas_Newydd_(Anglesey)
Plas Newydd house
The house backs onto the Menai Straits and overlooks the Britannia Bridge
The house was amazing and the views of Snowdonia were stunning; they were very lucky people living in this house, a millionaire's dream. I had a good look around the gardens, but I had no luck finding the Red squirrels, but did get good views of numerous Small white butterflies.
Small White butterfly
Moving on towards Trearddur Bay, I called in at Aberffraw and Rhosnigr, where I had good views of Stonechat and Meadow brown butterflies.
Aberffraw
Rhosneigr
Stonechat
Meadow Brown
I arrived at my bed and breakfast just after five and chilled for a couple of hours.
Accommodation sorted
Early evening was spent at South Stacks RSPB, which is one of my favourite sites on Anglesey. There were hundreds of seabirds on the cliffs, Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins.
Razorbills and Guillimots
The cliffs at South Stacks, with the lighthouse in the distance covered in mist
Ellen's Tower
Walking around the cliffs, I also connected with several Stonechats, 2 Choughs, 6 Spotted Burnet moths and Painted Lady butterflies.
Stonchat
Two Choughs showed well
Painted Lady
Six Spotted Burnet
A great day finished off with a nice meal, a few beers and a cracking sunset.
A nice end to a cracking day
Waking up this morning to glorious sunshine, I chilled for the morning and then headed home, calling in at Gronant, to the Little tern colony. These little beauties travel all the way from West Africa to this site.
Little tern
There are 225 birds in the colony counted by the on-site warden, and it is well worth a visit for stunning views of this rare bird.
A great couple of days which were abruptly finished by typical British weather, I got absolutely soaked on the way back to the car, but hey, it was worth it!
