Photos:
Church Bay and view over sea towards Holy Mountain and North Stack from Church Bay
15th September
A day out with Karen and a few good birds along the way. Early afternoon we stopped at Cemlyn. A couple of Choughs flew past – interesting! I say interesting because I had a discussion about the spread of Choughs with the RSPB warden who had told me about the Buff-breasted Sandpipers yesterday. I specifically asked him how far the Choughs moved away from South Stack – around the corner at Breakwater CP was the furthest I had seen them. His response was that they don’t seem to move away from that area at all. A couple of Black-tailed Godwits also flew over and on the approach road was a brown mass which turned out to be around 150 House Sparrows feeding on spilled grain. Oh and a Raven flew over.
Next we headed round to Church Bay. In a gateway by the road we disturbed a Buzzard which took flight while clutching a still struggling rabbit. Down by the beach there were plenty of Swallows. Sometimes they are relatively easy to count – I’ve noticed that when a raptor appears or in a thunder storm hirundines will sometimes form a tight ball of a flock. Around 110 did today when a Sparrowhawk flew over us. Two Ravens were messing around on the hillside.
Last stop on this little tour was Borthwen Beach. This is a perfect, secluded little sandy beach which is well off the tourist track. We used to regularly stay in a cottage which overlooks the bay. Near the entrance to the beach is a stand of reeds and this always used to contain a flock of House Sparrows – they are still here! The beach was quiet (Karen learned to identify Oystercatchers by call several years ago from a very noisy pair on this beach) with 20 or so Pied Wagtails flitting about. A flock of 110 Linnets appeared on the telephone wires nearby.
A day out with Karen and a few good birds along the way. Early afternoon we stopped at Cemlyn. A couple of Choughs flew past – interesting! I say interesting because I had a discussion about the spread of Choughs with the RSPB warden who had told me about the Buff-breasted Sandpipers yesterday. I specifically asked him how far the Choughs moved away from South Stack – around the corner at Breakwater CP was the furthest I had seen them. His response was that they don’t seem to move away from that area at all. A couple of Black-tailed Godwits also flew over and on the approach road was a brown mass which turned out to be around 150 House Sparrows feeding on spilled grain. Oh and a Raven flew over.
Next we headed round to Church Bay. In a gateway by the road we disturbed a Buzzard which took flight while clutching a still struggling rabbit. Down by the beach there were plenty of Swallows. Sometimes they are relatively easy to count – I’ve noticed that when a raptor appears or in a thunder storm hirundines will sometimes form a tight ball of a flock. Around 110 did today when a Sparrowhawk flew over us. Two Ravens were messing around on the hillside.
Last stop on this little tour was Borthwen Beach. This is a perfect, secluded little sandy beach which is well off the tourist track. We used to regularly stay in a cottage which overlooks the bay. Near the entrance to the beach is a stand of reeds and this always used to contain a flock of House Sparrows – they are still here! The beach was quiet (Karen learned to identify Oystercatchers by call several years ago from a very noisy pair on this beach) with 20 or so Pied Wagtails flitting about. A flock of 110 Linnets appeared on the telephone wires nearby.
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