Readers across North Wales have noticed Bullfinches more frequently in recent weeks. The bright red underparts of males and the glossy black cap of both sexes are obvious on winter days when trees are bare and the long winter has drained the colour from the countryside. Several people report Bullfinches visiting gardens for the first time in their memory, including one in Menai Bridge for the first time in 40 years. Others have seen them in unusual places, such as four feeding on Ash keys blown onto the pebble beach at Aber Ogwen, one of which is shown above.
Unlike in Scandinavia, Bullfinches in Britain are not migratory, although ringed birds have moved more than 100 miles on occasions. For the first few weeks of 2025, the reporting rate on BirdTrack (a measure of the frequency that birdwatchers encounter species) was way above average in Wales, although it returned to normal this month. The reporting rate in BTO’s Garden BirdWatch is also up: the highest rate for January in Wales since 2018 bucked a declining trend in recent years. Whether increased sightings translate into a larger population remains to be seen. The Welsh breeding population has been fairly stable over the last quarter century but fell by 25% in England. Small numbers of Bramblings are also moving into gardens as seed sources elsewhere run low: a feeding station above Caernarfon had 16 this week. Rarer visitors in the region include a well-watched Glossy Ibis at Rhuddlan nature reserve, Caspian Gull with several Water Pipits at Gronant and Snow Buntings on Yr Wyddfa’s Llanberis Path. At least 19 Hawfinches were around Caerhun church at the weekend, the largest count in the Conwy Valley for some years. A Red-necked Grebe remains on Anglesey’s Llyn Penrhyn, along with more than 50 Pochards that is a decent count in North Wales these days. Green-winged Teals remain at Glan-y-Môr Elias and the Conwy estuary, as do Black Redstarts at Kinmel Bay and the Great Orme, with another at RSPB South Stack. The Inland Sea hosts Slavonian and Black-necked Grebes as well as Scaup and Long-tailed Duck, six Jack Snipe were seen at Cors Geirch and 15 Purple Sandpipers in Cemlyn Bay.
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Gurgling calls of Fulmars, cackles of Herring Gulls and guttural sounds of Cormorants greeted me back on their Anglesey breeding sites at the weekend, the early signals of their high-rise cliff cities returning to life. They are among 29 species included in a Seabird Conservation Strategy out for consultation by Welsh Government. It shows where birds are vulnerable to human activities, including recreational disturbance, offshore wind turbines and fishing, including within the Special Protection Areas designated for some species off North Wales. The consultation closes on 14 February and RSPB Cymru is urging supporters to show their support for an effective seabird action plan by contacting the Deputy First Minister, in English neu Gymraeg.
Other signs of change were increased numbers of Eider and an impressive 175 Great Crested Grebes in Conwy Bay. A male Black Redstart continues to visit Great Orme copper mine, with a female at the north end of the headland and others at Aberdaron and Kinmel Bay. Bramblings have been reported from several places, including 10 in a garden near Caernarfon and seven at Llyn Brenig, but there could be many more across Clocaenog forest. Crossbills, already with nestlings to coincide with open pine cones, are widespread across forestry plantations. A Great Grey Shrike was reported in conifers between Bala and Lake Vyrnwy last week and Hawfinch flocks commute around Llanrwst and Caerhun. A couple of Slavonian Grebes are in Menai Strait while a dozen Great Northern Divers are in Caernarfon Bay. Large skeins of Pink-footed Geese over Rhyl on Saturday probably originated on the Dee estuary or the Lancashire Mosses. Long-stayers include Long-tailed Duck, Surf and Velvet Scoters off Old Colwyn/Llanddulas and Green-winged Teal at Glan-y-Môr Elias near Llanfairfechan. A Red-necked Grebe remains on Llyn Penrhyn, another on Llyn Tegid, where a male Ring-necked Duck displayed to a female Tufted Duck. Nine Mandarin Ducks brought a colourful touch of the exotic to Pont Croesor, where the first Glaslyn Osprey should arrive next month. A Chiffchaff singing in Bagillt signals longer days, even though the weather suggests that plenty of winter remains. Publication by the Welsh Ornithological Society of the birds recorded in Wales brings the national list to 460 species. The total was boosted by appearance of six never previously seen in Wales, including an unprecedented four types of songbird that crossed the Atlantic during ex-Hurricane Lee in September 2023.
The updated status reflects the changing abundance of several species in the last five years. Little Auk and Bewick's Swan, once annual visitors to Wales, are now considered scarce; just one Bewick’s Swan has been seen in Wales this winter, on the Dee estuary this week. Lesser Scaup, Black-winged Stilt and Caspian Gull are among the rare migrants that have become more common in recent years. Bittern and Marsh Harrier are now classed as regular breeders now they are established at several sites thanks to reedbed restoration projects. But Grey Partridge is now considered only an Occasional Breeder, although its true status is clouded by releases. Glossy Ibis is among several Mediterranean waterbirds that are now more frequent in Britain, with the first ever record of nesting in 2023, in Cambridgeshire. One in a pool next to Porthmadog Cob at the weekend was a good winter record for North Wales. A Red-necked Grebe on Llyn Tegid was almost 45 years to the day since the site’s first, while a Ring-necked Duck and Scaup are also on the lake. Other unusual sightings include a Surf Scoter off Colwyn Bay, Black Redstart on the Great Orme, Slavonian Grebes off Bangor Pier and Borth-y-gest, and a Little Gull passed Criccieth during Storm Éowyn. Eight Hawfinches winter at Coed Cilgroeslwyd near Ruthin and there are several more around Llanrwst. A Snow Goose on Llyn Coron is of unknown origin, but a leg-ring showed that a Ring-necked Parakeet in a Deganwy garden almost certainly escaped from an aviary. The Welsh List 2025 can be downloaded from the WOS website. It was standing room only in Bala last week for the launch of Stunned by Silence, a short film about Curlew conservation made by wildlife film-maker Malka Holmes. Springwatch’s Iolo Williams introduced the film, which he narrates in Cymraeg and English, followed by an opportunity to ask questions of Malka and Bethan Beech of Natural Resources Wales who advises on the recovery of breeding Curlew. The film is Malka’s love letter to Curlews, inspired by a poem composed by her late father, artist Clyde Holmes, at her childhood home in Cwm Hesgyn. Sadly, gone are the days anyone can hear Curlews regularly at Cwm Hesgyn in the moorlands of the Migneint.
Among others, the film features author Mary Colwell, musician David Gray, RSPB staff and farmers involved with Curlew conservation in North Wales. The ensuing discussion illustrated the hopes and desire of local people to save the cry of the Curlew. I’d encourage you to watch the seven-minute film and share it on social media to raise awareness about the plight of this long-legged wading bird, at real risk of extinction as a breeding species in Wales in the next decade. The premiere came in the same week as an important report from a Senedd Committee reviewing Welsh Government’s performance on halting and reversing the loss of nature by 2030. The suite of recommendations was welcomed by wildlife campaigners supporting the overriding message from Committee Chair Llyr Gruffydd MS who said “that making commitments is all well and good, but this needs to be followed by a clear plan, action delivery and be backed by appropriate investment. All are currently lacking.” The Curlews await better news… Rarest visitor this week was a Red-necked Grebe at RSPB Valley Wetlands. A Green-winged Teal was a good find on saltmarsh at Glan-y-Môr Elias near Llanfairfechan, and remarkably a second was found at RSPB Conwy. It is a scarce vagrant from North America, with just a handful of records in the last ten years. Like the previous sightings, both were males, distinguished by a vertical white line on the front edge of the flank, unlike the Eurasian Teal which has a horizontal line along the top edge. Black Redstarts are on the Great Orme and the beach at Kinmel Bay, with a Snow Bunting at the latter. Slavonian Grebes and a Long-tailed Duck are in Beddmanarch Bay, and up to four Velvet Scoters off Llanddulas. Llyn Tegid’s Ring-necked Duck was seen again and there were Firecrests near Llanfairfechan sewage works and Llyn Coed Parc Mawr. A survey found 26 Water Rails wintering at RSPB Conwy, the highest number ever. For more about Curlew conservation in North Wales, read my column from last October, and the Gylfinir Cymru partnership website – in English neu Gymraeg. A selection of other images from the film Stunned by Silence are shown below, courtesy of Greengage Films and Curlew Action. A flock of 30 Red Kites in central Anglesey last week must be the largest on the island in at least 250 years. In the modern era, they have only nested on Anglesey since 2020. While Red Kites continue to recover from near-extinction in Britain, their Europe-wide population remains suppressed by toxic ammunition used to shoot gamebirds and deer, as are other raptors such as Golden Eagle, White-tailed Eagle and Marsh Harrier according to a Cambridge University study.
While lead has long been banned in products such as petrol and paints because of human health risks, an estimated 7000 tonnes from shot and bullets is left in the countryside each year, contaminating soil and the food chain. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust estimates that up to 400,000 waterbirds suffer lead poisoning every winter in the UK. Shooting organisations committed to end the use of lead shot voluntarily by this year. Welsh Government is now considering recommendations from the Health & Safety Executive to restrict lead in ammunition used for killing game. Last week, wildlife organisations wrote to Wales’ Deputy First Minister calling for a transition to a full ban on lead in no more than 18 months. They are asking people to support a Britain-wide ban by emailing the UK Government. The sea off Llanddulas is winter home for thousands of seaducks, mostly Common Scoters but with several Surf and Velvet Scoters among them, and at least two Long-tailed Ducks. Another Long-tailed Duck was with three Velvet Scoters and 70 Red-throated Divers off Llanddona on Saturday, and a similar number of Red-throats were in Caernarfon Bay along with 21 Great Northern Divers. Underwatched Barmouth Bay hosts Slavonian Grebe and Great Northern Diver, while a Sandwich Tern, which should be wintering off southwest Africa, fished off Colwyn Bay’s Porth Eirias at the weekend. Horton’s Nose in Kinmel Bay continues to host Snow Bunting, Hooded Crow and Black Redstart, while two Snow Buntings remain on the Great Orme. Other Black Redstarts were at Pwllheli and Amlwch. Upland snow pushed thousands of Redwings into the valleys while hundreds of Lapwings and Golden Plovers on Anglesey have doubtless moved from snow-covered fields farther east. Frozen lakes elsewhere brought more than 50 Goosanders, a high count in North Wales, with over 200 Pintails to the Dee floodplain at Holt. A Firecrest was at Anglesey’s Llyn Parc Mawr, several Hawfinches at Coed Cilgroeslwyd and a Spotted Redshank at RSPB Conwy, while several Water Pipits and a Cattle Egret were at RSPB Cors Ddyga on Monday. Sunday’s blanketing of snow across much of North Wales was sufficiently short-lived that few movements of birds were evident, although some Redwings came into gardens in search of food. Larger Fieldfares have been scarce since the initial wave of migration from Scandinavia in November - check out the map below that shows how much scarcer they were in December 2024 compared to the previous year.
Small flocks of Meadow Pipits and Chaffinches were among other species that dropped from hills to coast in search of snow-free feeding areas. A flock of Bramblings in Gwydir Forest will have moved in from Scandinavia, while Pink-footed Geese inland from Abergele may have responded to frozen fields in Lancashire or the Dee Valley. Snow Buntings on the Great Orme and at Horton’s Nose nature reserve, Kinmel Bay, felt no such imperative to move, seeming content to spend the whole winter on the Welsh coast. A Common Sandpiper is also wintering, around Church Island on the Menai Strait, when most of its compatriots are somewhere south of the Sahara Desert. A Red-necked Grebe in Red Wharf Bay was the first in North Wales for several years, one of two dozen that occurred across Britain last week. Two Black-necked Grebes and three Slavonian Grebes were on the Inland Sea, with single Long-tailed Ducks there and off Benllech. Another Long-tailed Duck is off Llanddulas, with four each of Surf and Velvet Scoters among the rafts of seaduck. Slavonian Grebes and a Scaup were off Borth-y-gest. Hawfinches are around churchyards at Caerhun and Llanrwst, up to eight at the latter, with a small flock in Vale of Clwyd. Four Short-eared Owls and a Green Sandpiper were around Anglesey’s Alaw estuary, 20 Twite at Flint Castle, four Water Pipits in Foryd Bay and a Firecrest near Mochdre. Two Ruddy Shelducks on the Dee estuary and a Snow Goose near Morfa Dinlle probably have a feral or captive origin. New Year sees keen birders reset their birding clock to zero after totting up the totals for 2024. Some will count the number of species seen in their home county, others set no geographic limit. But as the birdwatching community increasingly highlights its own responsibilities for greenhouse gas emissions associated with travel, 2025 might be the time to concentrate on a local patch: anything from the daily dog walk to a local nature reserve. Another New Year’s Resolution could be to submit regular sightings to BirdTrack, an online recording system run by the British Trust for Ornithology, RSPB and Welsh Ornithological Society among others. Users maintain their records online and make them available to local recorders and for conservation purposes. I keep a list using the BirdTrack smartphone app every time I go birdwatching.
December ended with an unseasonal Ring Ouzel at Aber Falls, a species that should be feeding on Juniper berries in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. Mid-winter sightings are not unprecedented in their northwest Wales breeding area, but in the last quarter century, half a dozen in northern Eryri in early 2015 were the only records. A Great Grey Shrike hunted around clearfelled forestry at Rhyd Galed, east of Llyn Brenig over Christmas. Three Surf and seven Velvet Scoters were off Llanddulas, with Long-tailed Ducks here, at Benllech and Gronant. Black Redstarts were at Aberdaron, Kinmel Bay and Tonfanau, up to 30 Twite are at Flint Castle, with Water Pipits here, at Foryd Bay and Gronant. Snow Buntings remain on the Great Orme and at Kinmel Bay, with others at Penmon Point and Traeth Lligwy last week. The most remarkable news was a photo posted on social media of a Scops Owl near Beaumaris in mid-November. It is potentially the first in Wales since 1955. The pictured Golden Plover at Gronant won second prize in the Welsh Ornithological Society’s Young Photographer competition. Daniel Gorton, a Land & Wildlife Management student at Llysfasi College near Ruthin, also took first prize for an image of Waxwings taken last winter in Flintshire. It seems there will be no repeat of Waxwing flocks in North Wales this winter: just four were reported across the whole of Britain by the Birdguides news service in December. The Euro Bird Portal shows that few have left southern Scandinavia and Finland compared to the same time last year. This page was updated on 1 January 2025, as it originally suggested that Scops Owl would have been the first Welsh record. There have been two records in Pembrokeshire, but this would be the first in North Wales. It’s not surprising that Kingfishers are popular subjects for nature photographers: social media regularly features the blue and orange predator perched on an overhanging branch at The Spinnies, near Bangor, or Big Pool Wood, near Prestatyn. Both sites, managed by North Wales Wildlife Trust, have viewing hides overlooking ideal habitat.
It takes skill and patience to capture a good photograph of a perched Kingfisher, but its even harder to capture the moment that the bird leans forward, a fraction of a second before pushing off, maintaining its eyes squarely on whatever moves below as dinner. This week’s photo was highly commended in the Welsh Ornithological Society’s annual photo competition. It was taken by Alun Lambert, a regular visitor to Big Pool Wood from his home in west Cheshire. People who have never seen a Kingfisher may not realise that they are only the size of a Robin, just 16cm from bill tip to tail. Alun told me that getting this image relied on setting the camera to a fast shutter speed and he takes as many shots as he can in the time available. He says he deletes thousands of dark or blurry pictures for every handful that are light and sharp. BirdNotes will feature some of the other winning photos from the competition, taken in North Wales, in the coming weeks. Recent weather hasn’t favoured wildlife photography, with few scarce visitors seen in the run-up to Christmas. A flock of Twite fed on saltmarsh below Flint Castle, and there were Water Pipits there and on Y Foryd. A Bearded Tit is in reeds at Gronant, a Spotted Redshank was at RSPB Conwy and Snow Buntings on the Great Orme late last week. Storms pushed a Little Auk and Little Gull past Cemlyn Bay while unusual visitors to the Menai Strait included Black-necked Grebe off Aber Ogwen, Great Northern Diver in Bangor Harbour and a Black Guillemot at Menai Bridge. An unseasonal Swallow was seen at Penmon last week. Storm Darragh continued to dominate lives in North Wales for much of last week. Conifer plantations suffered particularly, with shallow rootplates pulled out of the sodden ground. Some native woodlands also took a hit, with large Oaks and Ash trees uprooted at some sites. It is hoped that woodland managers will minimise intervention, ensuring safety where there is public access but leaving fallen timber and upright snags to rot in situ. Dead and dying wood is a valuable part of healthy woodland ecosystems, and the holes in the canopy will enable plants and insects to flourish until new saplings take their place.
Gulls continued to take advantage of the glut of sealife washed ashore. Thousands were reported at several sites, and there must be more than 10,000 between Point of Ayr and the Little Orme. A beefy adult Glaucous Gull arrived at Gronant from northern latitudes, although a few birders queried whether it might contain some Herring Gull genes. Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls were among seabirds off Old Colwyn on Sunday with Velvet and a couple of Surf Scoters, and Eiders winter off Rhyl and Point of Ayr. Bearded Tits continue to be elusive at Gronant, but a couple of Cattle Egrets on the Alaw estuary last week were not seen again. Inland, a drake Ring-necked Duck on Llyn Tegid is likely to be one seen here in previous winters, while a Common Scoter on Llyn Celyn was presumably heading for Cardigan Bay before a premature landing. Up to half a dozen Hawfinches feed among Hornbeams at Bodnant Garden, with a couple more across the river at Caerhun and others at Llanrwst. Anglesey’s Inland Sea hosts a Black-necked Grebe, two Slavonian Grebes and a Long-tailed Duck, and is one of the few reliable sites for these three winter visitors to North Wales. A Snow Bunting has been popular at Kinmel Bay’s Horton’s Nose throughout the week, as were two on the Great Orme, while a Black Redstart winters at Llanbedrog Quarry. As North Wales tidied up after Storm Darragh at the weekend, birdwatchers looked to the north coast to see whether the forceful northerlies had brought any unusual seabirds. Thousands of gulls feasted on clams and starfish washed up by the huge waves along Colwyn Bay and Llandudno’s shoreline and a displaced Gannet was spotted over Bangor retail park in Caernarfon Road on Monday. Point Lynas recorded Black-throated, Red-throated and Great Northern Diver on Sunday morning, and 14 Black Guillemots, unusual here in winter. Many hoped that some Little Auks would be seen, as occurred in number on North Sea coasts but it was not to be. This diminutive seabird, half the size of a Puffin, breeds in the high Arctic no closer than Svalbard, but has become such a rare visitor to Wales that future sightings will require verification by the Welsh Birds Rarities Committee.
While some birdwatchers were facing into the teeth of the prolonged gale, those sitting comfortably in the observation hide at The Spinnies North Wales Wildlife Trust reserve found the bird of the weekend, a Great Grey Shrike. It is the first in the region this winter and caused the smaller birds on the feeders to flee, but eventually a group of embolded Chaffinches saw it off. The Shrike is another visitor that has proven hard to find in recent years, although one or two are seen around felled forestry in Mynydd Hiraethog each winter. Other sightings over the weekend included a handful of Hawfinches in Llanrwst, Water Pipit at RSPB Cors Ddyga and a Black Redstart in Aberdaron. Four Snow Buntings are on the Great Orme and another at Kinmel Bay’s Horton’s Nose. A Firecrest continues to overwinter in the old Llanbedrog quarry and a Whimbrel, which should be in west Africa, was on the Clwyd estuary. |
Bird notesA weekly update of bird sightings and news from North Wales, published in The Daily Post every Thursday. Archives
February 2025
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