North Wales road trip - hunting Ospreys, aerobatic Choughs, prospecting Pied Flycatchers and wonderful scenery.

 After months of not being able to travel widely it felt like something of a novelty to load up the van and set off another road trip, my first since last November, and with restrictions on travelling out of England finally lifted North Wales was my destination and a rendezvous with my mate Mark who had set off the day before to explore some peat bog near Wrexham.

Lake Vrynwy, 20/04/21

Day1 Lake Vrynwy

Not so much a day but a convenient place to stop for the night and have a bit of an explore the next morning. Built in the 1880s to supply water to the city of Liverpool and set in upland Powys, the reservoir is surrounded by mixed conifers & deciduous trees and part of the surrounding area is also an RSPB reserve.

It was late when I arrived with only an hour or so of light left and in the gloom a couple of smallish ducks I was almost sure were Garganey were probably one of the same Mandarin Duck I saw the next day. No complaints though because the next morning I got a great shot of this spectacular duck that although not a true native bird is always a joy to see.

Mandarin Duck, Lake Vrynwy, 20/04/21

A lovely bright and sunny day and a beat around the RSPB visitor centre in the morning I picked up Siskin, Kingfisher, Goosander several Common Sandpiper and was convinced I heard a diver species the evening before - the RSPB guys weren't having it but after playing all the calls on Xeno Canto I was even more convinced I heard a Red Throated Diver.

Goosander, Lake Vrynwy, 20/04/21

Eventual destination for later in the day was another RSPB reserve - well known and used more than once as the base for BBC's Spring / Autumn Watch, Ynys Hir.

Above the River Vrynwy at Pont Llogel

On the way I stopped for breakfast on the outskirts of the Dyfnant Forest at Pont Llogel and a bit of up and down walking along the banks of the River Vynrwy. I was expecting a Dipper at any moment but it wasn't until I got back to the van that I caught up with one.

Dipper, Pont Llogel, 20/04/21

 Aberdyfi from Ynyslas sand dunes, 20/04/21

Finally caught up with Mark at the mouth of the Dyfi Estuary at the Ynyslas sand dunes, part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve. Some great birds about - Mark had already heard Grasshopper Warbler and had a close encounter with an Osprey over the beach, there were plenty of waders about including Whimbrel and some stunning Golden Plover huddled together amongst the rocks, a Red Kite and Ravens in the air and several hundred Manx Shearwaters offshore.

Whimbrel, Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Golden Plover, Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Golden Plover, Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Sanderling roosting, Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Manx Shearwater, Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Red Kite over Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Day 2 Ynys Hir

Ynys Hir, 21/04/21

Up at the crack of dawn for once - camped right next to one of Wales' best nature reserves does that for you😃. 550 hectares of mudflats, saltmarsh, hillside scrub and ancient woodland extending inland from the Dyfi estuary, Ynys Hir is a fabulous reserve and I gave it all a thorough going over. 

Pied Flycatcher, Ynys Hir, 21/04/24

The woodlands were alive with singing warblers first thing and by the end of the day I must have had 30+ each of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff and Blackcap, and after some patient waiting and hiding a tantalising first glimpse of a Pied Flycatcher was rewarded by some great close views, followed by a pair later on inspecting a nest box.

Pied Flycatcher, Ynys Hir, 21/04/24

What a cracker! I was well chuffed😁 A pair of displaying Tree Pipits, a pair of late Pink Footed Geese and Little Ringed Plover were the other birding highlights, and newly flowering Stitchwort added to the floral displays in the woodlands. 

Bluebells, Ynys Hir, 21/04/24

Stichwort, Ynys Hir, 21/04/24

Ynys Hir, 21/04/24

Redstart, nr Ynys Hir, 22/04/21

Our campsite just outside the reserve was pretty good too with at least one Redstart on adjoining woodland, more emerging wild flowers and an early Large Red Damselfly.

Mark had Wood Warblers in a nearby wooded ravine and with hindsight I should have made the effort to go to the same spot but was too knackered!

Redstart, nr Ynys Hir, 21/04/21

Bugle, nr Ynys Hir, 21/04/21

Dovey Estuary, 22/04/21

Days 3 - 5 Mawddach Estuary

Mawddach Estuary, 23/04/21

A wonderfully rustic and eco friendly 'wild campsite' on a wooded hillside was our base for the next 3 nights - no electric hook up but my leisure battery held up with help from a the boost of a drive to the base of iconic Cadair Idris.

The estuary itself extends 8 miles inland from the seaside towns of Barmouth and Fairborne to Dolgellau and there is a cycle trail that runs along the entire southern bank.

Mawddach Estuary, 23/04/21

Pied Flycatcher, Paenmanpool, 24/04/21

As you can see from the above pic of the estuary, the weather remains gloriously settled (apart from that pesky north westerly wind), in fact it remained that way for the entire break apart from the last day or so on Anglesey. There's another Redstart singing around the trees near our vehicles and not much further away another pair of Pied Flycatchers actively investigating a hole in a tree. We didn't linger.

Pied Flycatcher, Paenmanpool, 24/04/21

The estuary is is surrounded by various woodland trails that climb up the valley sides, much of it coniferous but steadily being replaced by native deciduous trees. Lots of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, and Blackcap but no more Wood Warblers and nothing more exotic than our first Cuckoo on the 23rd. 

Mawddach Estuary from the top of Coed y Gribin

2nd day we were there I decided to test my legs and climb the 500 foot hill overlooking the campsite. Stupidly steep, I had to use tree branches to haul myself up in parts, but I got to the top a lot easier than expected and was rewarded with some splendid views of the estuary and Cadair Idris. Have to say not many birds apart from Ravens, Blackcap and Willow Warbler. Plantwise, there was Bilberry at the top and from the ankle deep dead bracken I got bitten to bits on both legs!

Bilberry,Coed y Gribin, 23/04/21

Mawddach Estuary from the top of Coed y Gribin

Cadair Idris from the top of Coed y Gribin

Willow Warbler, Mawddach Estuary, 23/04/21

Our vehicles at Peanmanpool

A drive out to the base of Cadair Idris produced our first Wheatears of the trip but little else of note in the birding department, some splendid views though...... 

Looking north east from Cadair Idris, 24/04/21

Cadair Idris, 24/04/21

From coastal Snowdonia we headed north west for the Lleyn Peninsular, a longish drive with several stop offs including a breakfast break at Lleyn Trawsfynydd reservoir where I had a nice Red Breasted Merganser along with several other duck species, 5 Dunlin and 3 Common Sandpipers.

Red Breasted Merganser, Lleyn Trawsfynydd, 25/04/21

Lady's Smock (Cuckoo Flower), Lleyn Trawsfynydd, 25/04/21

Days 5 - 6 Llanllowan, Lleyn Peninsular

Northern Wheatears, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/03/21

Right on the tip of the Lleyn and with fine views of Bardsey Island, blue skies and an electric hook up - what's not to like😀. All hooked up, I took an afternoon stroll along the cliff tops and was straight into Wheatears - they seemed to be everywhere, I reckoned on 35 - 40 - some of which were clearly defending nest sites, others on passage? 

Either way I got some stonking pics!

Northern Wheatear, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/03/21

Northern Wheatears, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/03/21

Northern Wheatear, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/03/21

If the Wheatears were the most noticeable birds on the cliffs, the most spectacular were without doubt the handful of Choughs that graced the skies with their aerial displays and unmistakable calls. Rapidly in decline with only about 300 pairs left in the UK These were the first Choughs I'd seen in this country for 30 years! Never got a good sharp picture that the great views deserved but I was happy enough.

Displaying Choughs, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Chough, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Chough, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Common Fumitory, Lleyn Peninsular, 26/04/21

Other birds here included Manx Shearwater, Sandwich Tern, Guillemot, Shag, Rock Pipit and Stonechat, whilst on the ground there were some attractive displays of wild flowers including a plant I don't see very often in Yorkshire - Common Fumitory and a small delicate blue flower growing on the cliff tops that I'm yet to identify.

Sea Thrift, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Bladder Campion, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Unidentified, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Stonechat, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Aberdaron Bay from the top of Mynydd Maw

In other, less restrictive times, I would have considered a trip over to Bardsey Island to see the seabird colony and Red Squirrels - but of course no boat trips were running because of the pandemic; so views from afar had to do and a drive up to the top of Mynydd Maw before heading up to Anglesey gave a wonderful perspective this part of the Lleyn as well as a chance for a few self indulgent van pics🚙😁

Bardsey Island, 26/04/21

The van, Myndd Maw, 26/04/21

Still relatively new to me, the van is performing nicely, great to drive, goes anywhere and has everything inside I need.

Choughs, nr Rhos Fawr, 26/04/21

En route heading back up the Lleyn Peninsular I just followed my nose along the back roads. Had another Chough experience with 4 of them up in the air doing their Red Arrows impersonation and then a couple more harrying a hovering Buzzard.

Choughs & Common Buzzard, Lleyn Peninsular, 26/04/21

Distant Snowdonia from the Lleyn Peninsular, nr Rhos fawr

Sandwich Terns, Caernarfon Straits, 26/04/21

Having gone off on separate ways after we departed the tip of the Lleyn, we met up again at the mouth of the Caenarfon Straits just across the way from Anglesey with the Newborough Warren sand dunes in sight to the north. A trudge up the spit bordering Caenarfon airport to get closer to some distant possible Arctic Terns terns revealed them to be just Sandwich Terns. 

Not a lot else apart from 4 Red Breasted Mergansers flying right past me and out to sea, and a few nice displays of Field Pansy.

Red Breasted Mergansers, Caernarfon Straits, 26/04/21

Field Pansy, Caernarfon Straits, 26/04/21

Caernarfon from the mouth of the straits, 26/04/21

Days 7 & 8 Anglesey

Grey Heron, Malltraeth, 27/04/21

Just as we arrived on Anglesey and our campsite for 2 nights close to Newborough Warren and the Malltraeth Sands, the weather turned with increasing cloud cover, westerly winds and periodic rain showers. Made the best of it of course and although nothing spectacular there were plenty of wetland birds about - Grey Herons, Whimbrel, Sedge Warblers and in Newborough Warren tons of Blackcaps, Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroats, alas no Red Squirrels though.

Sedge Warbler, Malltraeth, 27/04/21

Whimbrel, Malltraeth, 27/04/21

Malltraeth Sands, 27/04/21

The next day Mark went off on his bike along the Malltraeth Trail and I drove around to the RSPB reserve of Cors Ddyga. A former coal mining area in the Victorian era, many of the drains and lagoons have been transformed by the RSPB into a thriving nature reserve.

Old mine workings and pit cottages, Cors Ddyga

Bog Asphodel, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Renowned for its assemblage of scarce wetland plants and water birds, I spent a good 4 - 5 hours there and covered just about all of it. Bog Asphodel was the only plant of note but I wasn't looking too hard, I was looking up more than I was looking down and got lucky with an Osprey hunting over one of the lagoons and also got my first Swift of the year.

Common Swift, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Osprey, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

I must have watched the Osprey for a good 30 minutes - I wasn't right on it so couldn't see it dive into the water but I got plenty of decent shots.

Osprey, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Osprey, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

As ever with RSPB reserves, the habitat creation and management is second to none - it reminded me a little of the Somerset Levels in miniature form.

RSPB Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Bitterns breed here but I heard no 'booming' birds - waders were in short supply apart from Lapwings, some of which had young already, and a single Ruff. Shoveler seemed to be the most obvious duck species and I had several views of a splendid male Marsh Harrier as it made repeated forays over the marshes and there were at least 2 Great White Egrets present, and Mark heard a Grasshopper Warbler here when he popped in on his way back to the campsite.

Lapwing, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Shovelers, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Ruff, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Great White Egret, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

Marsh Harrier, Cors Ddyga, 27/04/21

The next day brought rain and we decided not to do South Stack, cut our losses and call in at another RSPB reserve Conwy Bay on our way back to the mainland and then home. We had a couple more Swifts here and a new species for the trip, a singing Lesser Whitethroat.

RSPB Conwy Bay, 28/04/21

And then it was time to travel back to Yorkshire. Great trip, some mega birds; I regret not going to grab a Wood Warbler when I had the chance but otherwise well 'choughed' with how the trip went, the van was great and we ended up with a good bird species total - 125. Here's a few additional pics to round off - 

Dovey Estuary, 22/04/21

Coastline at the tip of the Lleyn & the islet Careg Ddu, 25/04/21

Campsite & our vehicles on the Lleyn, 25/04/21

Pair of Wheatears, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Wheatear, Lleyn Peninsular, 25/04/21

Guillemots, Lleyn Peninsular, 26/04/21

Ravens, Malltraeth, 27/04/21 

Meadow Pipit, Ynyslas, 20/04/21

Slender Speedwell, nr Ynys Hir, 21/04/21 

Raven, nr Tywyn, 22/04/21

MP gazing out to see, Dovey Estuary, 20/04/21

Our vehicles, campsite on Anglesey, 28/04/21