Newborough Warren ?

[Morph]

I'm taking the wife to see her sister in Angelsey next weekend and as an excuse to get away I'm planning a few hours at Newborough Warren. The websites state that divers can been here, has anyone any tips on where is the best area to go for these and other birds, bearing in mind I have never been before and the only directions I've got is to turn left off the A4080 at Niwbwrch (hope I've spelt that right)

[diggleken]

Hi Morph,
Newborough is a great place, home of Charles Tunnicliffe, painter, naturalist and birder - the warren is mainly dunes and is brilliant for flowers in spring, and birds too, including malltreath sands area, and a big raven roost.
It can be a walk though, through the dunes.
The directions are right, but its signposted anyway, but you need a map I think!
Divers are probably best on the inland sea, the causeway and the harbour at Holyhead, if you can go that far, include south stack RSPB too of course, choughs and peregrines etc.
Cemlyn bay is good too, but best for breeding terns and good flowers later on in the year.
Hope this helps a little.
Cheers
Ken

[Morph]

Originally Posted by diggleken

Hi Morph,
Newborough is a great place, home of Charles Tunnicliffe, painter, naturalist and birder - the warren is mainly dunes and is brilliant for flowers in spring, and birds too, including malltreath sands area, and a big raven roost.
It can be a walk though, through the dunes.
The directions are right, but its signposted anyway, but you need a map I think!
Divers are probably best on the inland sea, the causeway and the harbour at Holyhead, if you can go that far, include south stack RSPB too of course, choughs and peregrines etc.
Cemlyn bay is good too, but best for breeding terns and good flowers later on in the year.
Hope this helps a little.
Cheers
Ken

Thanks Ken
Is the inland sea and the causeway at Newboro Warren, I'm mainly after the divers you see, but anyhting else is a bonus.
I've only ever been to Sth Stack years ago so I really don't know a great deal about Angelsey for birding

[The Woodman]

This probably isn't going to help you much with your birding but consider a walk to Llanddwyn Island 1500 metres north of the car park. It's a great viewpoint and you will get great views north into Malltraeth Bay where you might see divers.
The Island has some fantastic geology with much exposed Jasper on view especially at low tide. There are lizards on there.

[ChrisJB]

The harbour and inland sea is at Holyhead. It can be excellent for divers, with all three turning up sometimes. Newborough Warren also has an impressive Raven roost.

Regards, Chris

[diggleken]

And white-billed in the past!! (some call it yelow these days I believe).
There are some good places for Cetti's warblers near valley lakes too, later on.
Ken
edit - just a thought - if you have time, take a good look at the coast on your way there - there are some brilliant sea watching places which are also good for divers (scope needed of course), plus conwy RSPB and Penryn local nature reserve is terrific for estuary views.

[Morph]

Thank you all very much for your replies.
Just a few more questions where is the best vantage point to view the inland sea and how would I get to it, also does anyone know if Angelsey has a birdwatchers website/forum with latest sightings ?

[Morph]

Oooops just noticed I've been spelling Anglesey wrong very sorry hope I haven't offended anyone.

[PMG]

I vaguely recall turning left at a place called Foel and getting onto the river edge and seeing a great northern - its years back and it was a scoped view but I've never forgotten the associated thrill Use Google to find it as I can only see the signpost to it in my minds eye .......

Pauline

[Nightranger]

Originally Posted by Morph

Thanks Ken
Is the inland sea and the causeway at Newboro Warren, I'm mainly after the divers you see, but anyhting else is a bonus.
I've only ever been to Sth Stack years ago so I really don't know a great deal about Angelsey for birding

Hi Morph,

I know the area quite well (I went to UCNW Bangor and the family had a caravan at Tre-Arddur Bay) and you may have to work a little hard for divers at Newborough if only because of the low angle of viewing (often into the sun). A better place is from the roads passing through Llanfairfechan like the old A5, assuming you can find somewhere safe to park. The view is from quite a high angle and this can be useful because divers are often some distance out. All the same, Malltraeth Cob is a lovely place at this time of the year and we had a male hen harrier when we visited as students back in the late 80s. The new RSPB car park is easily reached, as it is on the road between Newborough and Malltraeth (Tunnicliffe's old home faces on to the estuary). Newborough Warren is a bit sparse during the winter and you will probably see most of the same species at the edge of the forest at Malltraeth. The Warren is a great for visiting in the summer with a family as it is larger and often less crowded than the more popular beaches at Tre-Arddur Bay or Benllech Bay. Don't forget to check out Holyhead Harbour because there are black guilemotts (slightly easier to reach but in a less picturesque location than the birds at fedr Fawr) visible for much of the year.