Wales in springtime is special
.
I have been undertaking an annual visit in May for many years and here is a trip report for my short break this year.
9th May 2008
An early start from Essex saw me arrive in Snowdonia before 10 a.m.
My first stop was the Coed Hafod nature reserve, a typical Welsh woodland just north of Betws-y-Coed.
My target birds here were the “Welsh trio”, namely Common Redstart, Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher. During a short walk in the wood, I saw 2 singing males of both
Common Redstart and
Pied Flycatcher plus very close views of a pair of nesting
Wood Warblers plus an additional singing male.
Coed Hafod also produced 2 other summer visitors,
Blackcap and
Chiffchaff, a
Common Buzzard and the usual common woodland species.
After Coed Hafod, I traveled up a tortuous minor road west of Taly-y-Bont in the Conwy valley. A very steep and winding single track road climbs sharply upwards through woodland to emerge in an area of upland moorland and rough grassland.
My target birds here were Whinchat and Wheatear. I saw a fine male
Whinchat from the small car park at the end of the road but Wheatears were conspicuous by their absence. However, there was a supporting cast which included
Common Redstart and
Willow Warbler in the woodland and
Stonechat,
Linnet,
Skylark,
Meadow Pipit and a singing
Cuckoo on the higher ground.
A very good morning was followed by a trip to South Stack RSPB reserve on Holy Island, Anglesey.
This north west tip of Wales is a well known seabird colony and all my previous trips down the years have produced 1000s of cliff nesting seabirds. However, this year, surprisingly and disappointingly, the cliffs were barren.
Nonetheless my trip did produce 5
Chough (one of the special birds at this site), very small numbers of
Guillemots and
Razorbills and a single
Puffin on the sea plus
Kittiwakes,
Herring Gulls and
Lesser Black-backed Gulls around the cliffs and over the sea. The cliff top heath produced
Stonechat,
Wheatear,
Linnet,
Rock Pipit,
Meadow Pipit and
Swallow.
My 2008 trip to Wales was also significant as I was a “camping virgin”! I arrived at a wonderful camp site in Beddgelert in Snowdonia and the very simple erection of my new Outwell pop-up tent all went to plan. Oh well, put it down to experience!
What was not planned was the heavy rain and a huge thunderstorm in the middle of the night, the deflation of my camping bed and the challenges of packing up a pop-up tent the following morning!
10th May 2008
The birthday of my father who sadly died in 2005 …. he always found trips to Wales a perfect antidote to the pressures of work just as I do now.
Before traveling down in to mid-Wales, I visited the RSPB watchpoint in the Glaslyn valley near Porthmadog, the site of the only breeding pair of
Ospreys in Wales. The views here are very distant even through a telescope but nonetheless it is so exciting that these magnificent fish eating birds of prey seem to have established themselves in north west Wales.
From Porthmadog I traveled down to the RPSB reserve at Ynys-hir just south of Machynlleth. Ynys-hir has been one of my favourite RSPB reserves for many years and is a stunning location at the top of the Dyfi Estuary with the Cambrian Mountains as a backdrop. The diversity of habitat (Welsh oak woodland, wet grassland and saltmarsh) makes it a very special springtime location.
This year a sunny and warm afternoon at Ynys-hir produced the following summer visitors:
Common Redstart,
Pied Flycatcher,
Spotted Flycatcher,
Wood Warbler,
Garden Warbler,
Common Whitethroat,
Willow Warbler,
Chiffchaff,
Blackcap,
Sedge Warbler,
Cuckoo and
Swallow.
There were also good numbers of the commoner woodland birds including notably
Nuthatch,
Treecreeper,
Lesser Redpoll and
Great Spotted Woodpecker. The wetter areas and the estuary produced
Little Egret,
Oystercatcher,
Lapwing,
Mute Swan,
Greylag Goose,
Canada Goose,
Coot,
Mallard,
Shelduck and
Cormorant.
Unfortunately I did not see either Common Buzzard or Red Kite which I normally do here, nor did I see Osprey which apparently is being seen daily.
The warm weather tempted
Orange Tip,
Red Admiral and
Green-veined White butterflies out plus
Large Red Damselfly and of course there was the usual sight of
Grey Squirrels and
Siskins sharing the bird feeders by the visitor centre.
Following yet another thoroughly enjoyable walk around Ynys-hir, I traveled down to Pembrokeshire and my overnight camping stop near Marloes and just a few miles form the embarkation point for the island of Skomer.
The campsite location was wonderful, right on the cliff top by the Pembrokeshire coastal footpath. There was a constant fly-by of
Lesser Black-backed Gulls and
Herring Gulls with several
Gannets (presumably from the Grassholm breeding colony) easily seen offshore.
I also saw several
Common Whitethroats in the clifftop scrub and
Swallows and
House Martins were also seen regularly.
The highlights here though had to be the 2 or 3
Harbour Porpoises just offshore and the 1000s of seabirds including
Manx Shearwaters returning to Skomer as the sun went down and dusk fell.
The day concluded with a wonderful sunset over St Brides Bay. Thankfully my second night camping was less eventful than the first …. clearly I was getting used to it!
Sunset over St Brides Bay with Skomer to the left of the photo ....
11th May 2008
This was the day of my visit to Skomer which I had been looking forward to. Despite my numerous visits to Wales, I had never visited one of the best wildlife sites in the UK.
Skomer is the second largest island in Wales after Anglesey and is one of the most important wildlife sites in Europe. It lies just off the Pembrokeshire coast, separated from the mainland by the turbulent waters of the Jack Sound. The island measures 2 miles east to west and almost 1.5 miles north to south. The central ridge of the island reaches 260 feet high.
Skomer is owned by the Countryside Commission for Wales and leased by them to the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. For 9 months of the year, a warden lives on the island.
There is more information here ….
BBC - Hands on Nature - Skomer Island BBC - South West Wales Nature Walks - Skomer Island Walk BBC - South West Wales Nature Walks - Skomer Island Walk - Part 2 BBC - South West Wales Nature Walks - Skomer Island Walk - Part 3
Skomer views ....
Half a million seabirds nest on Skomer each year including 6000 pairs of Puffins and 150,000 pairs of Manx Shearwaters. The Skomer beaches are a year round home to one of the largest seal colonies in the south west (up to 200 Atlantic Grey Seals).
The “Dale Princess” departs from Martins Haven every day except Mondays from April to October and it takes just 15 minutes to cross to Skomer.
Having stayed overnight close by, I was ready for the first departure at 10 a.m. but when I arrived at 9.30 a.m. there was already an expectant queue at the slipway.
The crossing was very calm in warm and sunny weather and as we approached the island there were large numbers of seabirds in close proximity to the boat including
Puffins.
Puffins ....
Our group of 50 or so people was met by the Skomer warden who gave a brief introductory talk about the island, its wildlife and the routes you could take. It was accompanied by a fly past of a group of 18
Chough …. an excellent start to the day!
During a 5 hour stay and 4 mile walk on the island I saw the following:
Guillemot,
Razorbill,
Kittiwake,
Fulmar,
Gannet,
Curlew,
Oystercatcher,
Herring Gull,
Lesser Black-backed Gull,
Greater Black-backed Gull,
Raven,
Chough,
Wheatear,
Common Whitethroat,
Meadow Pipit,
Rock Pipit,
Dunnock and
Wren. In addition, I saw just a single
Atlantic Grey Seal and several
Small Copper and
Red Admiral butterflies.
Razorbill ....
Razorbill ....
Razorbill ....
Herring Gull ....
Lesser Black-backed Gull ....
Lesser Black-backed Gull ....
Wheatear ....
Raven ....
Bottle Nose Dolphin (distant view) ....
However, the highlights of the trip had to be the
Puffins (large numbers on the sea but exceptionally close up views to a few feet of some birds returning to their breeding burrows), 2 or 3
Bottle Nose Dolphins offshore and the colourful carpet of wild flowers including Bluebells.
I returned to the boat with aching limbs and sunburn but what a wonderful island and wildlife experience
A tip for other visitors …. you do not need to take too much equipment. I took my 500mm lens and tripod which I just did not need. My 80-400mm lens was more than sufficient and the added weight of the other equipment proved to be an unnecessary burden.
Puffin photos to follow ....
Richard