Well the last few weeks have been busy - a day off was spent in North Wales. We had hopes of grey wagtails and maybe even a kingfisher. However a walk up the valley at Coed Aber yielded very few birds, just a few blue and long-tailed tits, and a buzzard high overhead. Nonetheless the scenery was stunning, and gave a wonderful view of the waterfall - the pattern of the trees was somehow other-worldly. A grand walk.
Beautiful, but as we descended back to the car the rain began to set in - time to rapidly escape to the (relative) warmth of the cafe at the RSPB reserve at Conwy. After a very tasty (if slightly dear) plate of welsh rarebit and a large mug of tea, we explored the reserve, watching the Teal and Pochard. Hiding beside one pool we found this chap hunched up, waiting for lunch to come swimming by.
As we enter one hide we're treated to a swim past by a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers; here's the male, a very delicate looking bird - the photo doesn't really do justice to the colours. The female is a duller colour, but just as delicate in shape. These are divers, and on a still day they can be tracked by the stream of bubbles.
Right by the entrance is a sparrow house with style - I'd love to have one of these in the garden, thought the neighbours may disagree!
The following weekend brought a trip to Astbury Country Park, near Congleton, to try and find a visitor that had been reported for last couple of weeks - a Slavonian Grebe. As we walked around the mere, binoculars in hand, we kept being stopped by locals - "Are you here to see the Grebe? It's just round that corner"... It took us ages to get there because of the number of times we were stopped! Still, it was good to see so many non-birding locals taking an interest in what was happening in their neck of the woods - perhaps some of them will have had the seed sown... Anyway, we eventually rounded the corner and met the Slav. Really quite a small and delicate bird, also a diver, but the colour was unmistakeably - again, the photo doesn't do justice to this silver-grey/white bird, with it's vivid red eye.
One of the benefits of modern technology is abundant reports of interesting bird - a big thank you to all those who post on BirdForum.net and and DeeEstuary.co.uk! This last weekend brought another trip for a relative rarity, this time to Flint Castle on a hunt for a flock of Twite. The day started well with a fly-by from a Raven, but then brought frustration; a noisy series of passes by a flock of small birds going up and down the salt marsh, wheeling around. Almost certainly the reported Twite, but they were too distant to be seen clearly, and were reluctant to settle for more than a moment or two.
Gradually the flock came closer, and more could tantalising be seen; the alternating flash of almost white underneath, and a brown on top, longish tails with a distinct 'v' at the end. A delight in aerobatics, but still too fast to see clearly. Attempts to get a photo were frustrating, to say the least.
Then finally they settled on the top of some small trees, and there was a chance to grab some shots. Still from a distance, not wanting to set them off again. Only later, zooming the pictures, do we see a little pink patch on the base of the back. Yup, some very flitey Twite!
Just as we are about to head off, we see a little bird land on a patch of sand (right behind a group of birders watching the twite) - finally we get a glimpse of a delightful bird that we've been hunting for the last few months; while not rare, the Grey Wagtail is not seen as often as it's more common relative, the Pied Wagtail. We perhaps should not have been surprised, wagtails often being seen on beaches, and on their urban equivalent - car parks! A real pleasure to see, bringing smiles all round.
Now, where's that Kingfisher ?!?!
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