First Fieldfare of the season & a trip to Aberdaron.

Wednesday 30th October 2024.

A Grey Wagtail on the stream at Aberdaron this afternoon.

There was a lot of bird activity going on around the Farm this morning despite it being very overcast throughout the day. I got lucky when I found my first Fieldfares of the season to the west of the Farm high up in the trees and was also rewarded with a female Brambling in the opposite direction. Sad to say, it was not a great day for photography because of the light, but I managed some record shots of the mentioned birds. After a superb breakfast at the Beach Cafe in Llanbedrog, we went to Aberdaron, which was much further west along the Peninsula.

Wern Fawr Manor Farm:

One of four Fieldfare's that flew away from the Farm early this morning. OK, not the best of photos, but it was my first of the season.

I spent a good hour by the back kitchen door checking the birdlife here again and as mentioned earlier, I eventually saw the Fieldfares that were perched out of view in a tree to the west of the Cottage. I heard their distinctive calls first and quickly grabbed my camera, eventually they all flew out. However, the light was poor and all I could manage was a record shot of one of the four birds that flew off west. All five common thrushes were seen this morning in around a ten minute slot that included several flocks of Redwings, a Song Thrush, two Mistle Thrushes and a Blackbird!

Above, a male Goldcrest came out of hiding in the garden and above, several large flocks of Jackdaws flew over.

Regarding finches, Chaffinches and Goldfinches flew over every now and then and were joined by a male Bullfinch that flew over and landed in the woods to the north; but continued calling even though it was out of view. It is so quiet here that I am lucky to have no noise of any traffic at all! Wonderful. However, when I went indoors to make some toast, I came out to the call of a Brambling nearby and I saw the bird high up in one of the nearby trees and quickly rushed back in to grab my camera again. So that's SIX species of finch I have had on the Farm so far.

Above, a noisy Jay was nearby in trees and below, one of the flock of ten Long-tailed Tits in the garden.

Above, one of the many Redwings seen this morning and below, the female Brambling high up in the same tree.

Other birds noted included a flock of 10 Long-tailed Tits in the garden; a Jay, 2 Nuthatches and 2 Grey Wagtails. A large flock of around 70+ Jackdaws flew overhead and a Raven could be heard ‘cronking’ somewhere in the distance. Again, not a bad morning to start the day. What must it be like here in the Spring?

Aberdaron, Llyn Peninsula:

The islands of Great Seagull Island (left) and Little Seagull Island (right) in Aberdaron Bay.

The drive down to Aberdaron from Llanbedrog beach took around 25 minutes, but following the damn Sat Nav, we would have been a bit earlier on arrival, but nonetheless, we saw two perched Common Buzzards, each on a telegraph pole and a female Stonechat on the way. After parking in the large car park within the village, we made our way with the dogs to the beach itself though the birdlife here was again very limited.

Above and below, the Rock Pipit seen by the stream at the Car Park within the village.

Above and below, up to four Oystercatchers were on the beach.

Above, a single adult Shag swam near the loafing Gulls on the sea and below, a late flowering Thrift plant growing near the Churchyard.

Above and below, the Grey Wagtail on the stream by the Car Park.

Up to 4 Oystercatchers were searching for food along the sandy shoreline while both Rock Pipit and Grey Wagtail were noted by the stream near the main Car Park and both birds showing very well at times. Aberdaron Bay was very calm and one could see the two islands of Ynys Gwylan-fawr (Great Seagull Island in English) and Ynys Gwylan-bach (Little Seagull Island in English), which, incidentally, did have a few Gulls on there. There was a fairly large contingent of Gulls on the shoreline that were occasionally flushed by the dogs running there, but all were either Black-headed or Herring Gulls. Cormorants were fishing well offshore with some coming in a bit closer and a single adult Shag fished near the Gulls that were loafing on the sea. While we sat by the old St. Hywyn's Church, I watched a male Chaffinch flying low over the sea having, what I assume, a visit to one of the islands. It actually landed on the beach and then on the roof of the Church before heading off north! Making our way to the neighbouring pub for a drink, a Grey Heron flew high over heading westbound and while I was enjoying a Hot Chocolate (I was driving!), at least four Curlew flew high over heading west. Back at the Car Park, both the Grey Wagtail and Rock Pipit gave great views by the stream as I neared my car to round off a nice trip to this lovely little coastal village. On the way back to the Cottage, a Fieldfare flew up and landed on a bush by the roadside!

Our Russell walking the dogs on the beach.

Stop press: I spent around 30 minutes looking out across the Farm from the Kitchen door and I was rewarded this evening with sightings of both Tawny Owl and a Woodcock! The Tawny Owl simply glided overhead and into the woodland behind the main Farm, while the Woodcock flew over my head and headed off east over the fields and out of view. This place is simply getting better and better with some amazing sightings already during my stay here. A few late thrushes buzzed through overhead in the gloom as well.