A Curlew Sandpiper took on much-needed food at Gronant beach at the weekend, its plumage rich in brick-red tones moulting into grey-and-white winter dress. Assuming this individual made a breeding attempt this summer, it has travelled at least 4000km (2500 miles) in recent weeks – and probably much farther as birds rarely fly in a straight line. Curlew Sandpipers breed east of the Ural mountains and winter in southern Africa, so it has completed only one-third of its journey and still has 8000km (5000 miles) to go. Many of its brethren make a more direct overland crossing to east Africa, India or Australia, so a bird we see in North Wales connects us with almost every other part of the World. Curlew Sandpipers from other wintering grounds can mix with others when they get to the Arctic and end up in the wrong place, as reported in BirdNotes last summer when a bird ringed in India turned up in Wales. It highlights the importance of a global network of wetlands for these supreme travellers.
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The first of two young Ospreys at Llyn Brenig took its first flight last week, one of at least eight Welsh nests to raise chicks this year. Elsewhere, a pair at Cors Dyfi fledged three young and a pair at Pont Croesor are raising two chicks, but those at the original Glaslyn Valley nest failed this season, the first year since the site was occupied in 2004 that no chicks hatched. It was a season of highs and lows for the team at Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn Wildlife, described in their blog, but there is still plenty to see, including regular sightings of Hobbies that are probably nesting nearby, most likely in an old Carrion Crow nest.

Other recent sightings in the region include Quails near Bettisfield and Holt, Hooded Crows at RSPB South Stack and the Alaw estuary and Arctic Skuas passed Cemlyn.

North Wales Wildlife Trust is seeking views about changing the name of one of the most popular birdwatching sites on the coast, in line with its policy of using a site’s Welsh name. Leased from Penrhyn Estate since 1985, The Spinnies Aber Ogwen draws thousands of visitors every year, not least to see Kingfishers. Now the Trust proposes to rename the reserve Llyn Celanedd and has a public consultation underway until 6 August. You can read more here.

​The breeding season for Welsh birds is long. It started before Christmas, when the first Fulmars occupied favoured ledges on seacliffs. Through February, some Ravens and Grey Herons sat tight on nests, and young Crossbills fledged from nests by the end of March; small groups of Crossbills have been reported across the region recently, often a long way from their usual coniferous haunts.

Although most songbirds were nestbuilding in April and May, some have second or even third broods late into summer, hence hedgerow cutting restrictions remain until the end of August. Some waterbirds are hatching now: I saw broods of tiny Eider ducklings in the Menai Strait last week, and on freshwater pools, Tufted Ducks and Pochards hatch this month. I’ve seen House Martins feeding young at nests into October, while Woodpigeons and Collared Doves can nest in any month.

On Ynys Badrig, the only Gannet colony in North Wales is still in its early days of establishment. Scanning across the bay, among 200 adults, I counted at least 15 white, downy chicks that won’t fledge until late September. The accompanying Guillemots and Kittiwakes will long since have departed to sea by then. Male Gannets continue to furnish nests with seaweed through the summer, which helps to insulate eggs and chicks during bad weather.

Autumn migration is getting into gear: a flock of Whimbrels called as they flew towards Africa while I walked at Porth Swtan on Sunday, with a few Common Sandpipers heading in the same direction. Sandwich Terns from around the Irish Sea feed off the Welsh coast, roosting on the Clwyd estuary and Rhos Point. A Green Sandpiper was at RSPB Conwy and 11 Common Sandpipers at Porthmadog at the weekend, more than 500 Sand Martins fed over Gronant and Yellow Wagtails were seen there and near Llanfairfechan.

The United Nations’ Convention on Migratory Species has welcomed Welsh Government’s announcement that it will, with England and Wales, end the sale and use of lead shot and large-calibre ammunition for live quarry. Evidence from the Health and Safety Executive shows lead poses a risk to at least a million birds over the coming decades if usage continues at its current rate, while around 40,000 birds of prey such as red kites and white-tailed eagles are at risk from ingesting lead through carrion. Shooting organisations had committed to phasing out lead shot by 2025, but a Cambridge University study reported earlier this year that the initiative had failed.

A family of Spoonbills are testing their wings in the Dee estuary after three youngsters (nicknamed ‘teaspoons’) fledged from a nest at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands last week. It’s not the first time that Spoonbills have nested just across the Flintshire border, and up to 20 birds have gathered in the area in recent years. The latest report by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel documents around 70 breeding pairs of Spoonbill in Britain, a huge increase since regular breeding was established in 2010, but it remains a rare event in western counties and the species has yet to breed in Wales.

A few miles upriver, a ‘Channel Wagtail’ was at Saltney at the weekend. It’s the product of a mixed pairing of two races of the same species: a British Yellow Wagtail and a Blue-headed Wagtail, which occurs in mainland western and central Europe. The English name of this intergrade (to use the ornithological jargon) comes from northern France adjacent to the English Channel/La Manche, in which the two interbreed regularly.

Other exciting news released as the breeding season draws to a close comes from RSPB Ynys-hir on the Dyfi estuary, where four Spotted Crakes called earlier in the spring. Where Spoonbills are big and showy, Spotted Crakes are small and elusive, almost impossible to see in reedbeds. Only 25 singing males are typically found in Britain each year, but rarely in Wales. The birds’ presence was monitored using remote audio detectors, enabling wardens to focus their nocturnal counting effort.

Other recent records include Quails heard near Mynydd Bodafon and RSPB Lake Vyrnwy, and another was seen in Gronant dunes; Hooded Crows on the Alaw estuary, RSPB South Stack and between the two bridges on the Menai Strait; and a Turtle Dove was again at Traeth Bychan, near Moelfre. Roosts of Little Egrets are increasing as the summer proceeds, with at least 90 in trees on Cei Ballast, off Porthmadog, at the weekend.
 

Waders such as Redshanks and Curlews are starting to appear on our coasts in greater numbers. A count of 14 Common Sandpipers on the Menai Strait last week was notable, while the first Turnstone of autumn at Rhos Point is almost certainly a failed breeder. Ornithologists in Greenland report high predation of Turnstone eggs by Arctic Foxes, which indicates that it’s a ‘bust’ year for lemmings, rodents of the high north. When there are fewer lemmings, foxes turn to birds for their sustenance. The proportion of waders and geese flocks comprised of young birds in Europe and America this winter will provide a guide to breeding success in places that researchers rarely visit.

For these northern wetland birds, a network of sites to feed and rest outside the breeding season is critical. Many spend more than half their lives in northwest Europe. The British Trust for Ornithology recently reviewed the Wetland Bird Surveys for the UK’s Special Protection Areas, places that must be protected because of their importance. There are two SPAs in North Wales, and while most species are doing okay, Red Alerts have been issued for Grey Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit on the Dee estuary and Red-breasted Merganser at Traeth Lafan, the vast inter-tidal area at the east end of the Menai Strait. Numbers have fallen by more than half at these sites.

Alerts inform SPA condition assessments, a health-check published recently by Natural Resources Wales for its marine sites. It assessed the five species for which Traeth Lafan is designated and declared it in Unfavourable Condition for four, including Curlew and Oystercatcher. Human disturbance is identified as a major reason for failure, highlighting the reduction in numbers of both species since the Wales Coast Path was opened along the south side of the site. The question is what will NRW, responsible for both nature sites and managing the coast path, do about it…

An early autumn Little Stint has paused at Gronant, where a Caspian Gull was seen last week, and on Anglesey, a Quail has been calling near Cemaes in recent days.

I write from the highest altitude bird survey that I will ever do in Wales. Three teams of birdwatchers are scouring Eryri's Carneddau range in search of Dotterels. It's the second UK survey of these plovers, the first since 2011, and while we know that the chances of finding any are slim, we can't assume they are absent so have to climb to over 1000m (almost 3,500 feet) to be sure.

A handful of Dotterel records come from these mountains each year, most from observant hill walkers. These are usually birds resting on migration, heading for the higher hills of Scotland or Scandinavia. Dotterel has bred sporadically up here, with confirmed records from the 1950s to the ‘70s, but it's possible that breeding attempts pass unnoticed because only during a survey year is there a dedicated effort to check all the likely habitat.

Even if we do not see Dotterels today, we have already had some good sightings. A large flock of Choughs fed on the slopes of Foel Fras, birds that are one or two years old and have yet to be recruited into the breeding population. This socialisation period is valuable for young birds to find the best places to feed, where the grass is short and larvae and grubs are close to the surface.

Dozens of Swifts feed high above the summits, appropriately enough at the start of Swift Awareness Week. Are these local breeders or from farther away, or perhaps the midsummer wave of younger non-breeding birds that are touring Europe, checking out good places to try and breed next year?

Lots of butterflies are moving over the hills, the most surprising being a Purple Hairstreak at almost 700m and a very long way from an Oak tree.
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Scarce visitors to the region last week included an obliging Turtle Dove near Moelfre, a White Stork perched on a power pole near Caerwys and at least one Roseate Tern regularly attending the seabird colony on Cemlyn lagoon. A flock of 85 Mediterranean Gulls on Anglesey's Alaw estuary indicates post-breeding dispersal from colonies on the Channel coast or farther into mainland Europe.