Let me know when that tide's coming in won't you

Let me know when that tide's coming in won't you

Tuesday 29 May 2012

North Wales

At the weekend I went on a guided birding day in North Wales with Alan & Ruth from The Biggest Twitch. http://www.thebiggesttwitch.com I fully recommend a day or three with these guys. Great company, and I guarantee you won't miss a bird that may be nearby. We started off at Conwy RSPB reserve and made our way west right out to Anglesey and South Stack RSPB reserve.
Highlights of the day for me were some of the sea birds. Puffins, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets. Plus we had Ring Ouzel, Crossbill and some great raptors. Over 80 species in the day and 6 lifetime firsts for me.

This Sparrowhawk greeted us as we met in the car park. What a start to the day.

As it flew driectly overhead we could see it was carrying some prey in it's tallons.

A male Ring Ouzel. Best views I've had of one.

Black Guillemot on the sea at Holyhead. You can just see it's ridiculous red feet.

Doing a bit of cleaning.

A Herring Gull looking for some lunch. (Our lunch)

Waders coming in. A mix of Dunlin and Ringed Plover.

Dunlin and Ringed Plover on the beach.

The cliffs at South Stack. Loaded with Guillemots in this shot.

24 comments:

  1. Great post Adam. I met Alan and Ruth at last years birdfair and they were kind enough to take time out to answer loads of my question. Arnt the Black Guillemots superb....

    and yes we got the same Stonechats - probably just missed each other as well

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  2. Adam, what great shots...specially that of the Ringed Ouzel and the Herring Gull.Thanks for sharing!Have a great day!

    Shantana

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the shots showing the wingspans! actually, they're all great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. All great photos of so many interesting birds but the Sparrowhawk in-flight is spectacular.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great post and nice capture on the hawk.Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your Sparrow Hawk is called a Sharp Shinned Hawk where I live ... very nice shot, though not so nice for the prey :)
    I agree Alan and Ruth brought you good luck when it comes to bird watching. Great group of pictures ... many birds I have never seen. Thank you for sharing. I am a new follower so looking forward to future posts.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great outing, awesome birds and photos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow, that sounds like a very good day. I love the shot of the sparrowhawk. It is soo great. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks like you had a great day. I've been meaning to go on one of Alan and Ruth's trips for ages and judging by this I really should.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful birding weekend. Your flight shots are so good. (Well, all your pictures are, but I am particularly envious of the flight ones.) This looks like my kind of beach!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful shots of great clarity.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fascinating sights Adam, what a great show!

    ReplyDelete
  13. awesome captures adam, looks like a great day!!

    and how fun to have other bird enthusiasts to share the day with!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. oooohhhhh and the hawk shot was my favorite!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Awesome photos! The hawk is really cool, and your Plovers in-flight remind me a bit of our Kildeere here.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful shots!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wonderful bird shots! The first is incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  18. An awesome capture of the hawk!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great set pictures - I think you know you are going to have a good day when you get a decent bird in the car park!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

    ReplyDelete
  20. Many thanks for all your comments. Glad so many of you can enjoy these photos with me.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Awesome photos Adam. I especially like the Guillemots on the island and the in-flight shots of the Sparrowhawk.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy reading your comments as much as I enjoy taking the pictures. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post.