This male Goshawk flew over the Farm this morning.
From 7.45am to 9am, I spent the time checking the birdlife from the Farm and yet again, there was a nice surprise in store for me when a male Goshawk was circling around the Farm and spooking all the Wood Pigeons here. Again, it was overcast this morning, but virtually no wind and more importantly, dry!
Wern Fawr Manor Farm:
Above, the probable November Moth and below, the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly from last night.
There was yet again a good variety of birds to be seen here this morning as I spent over an hour checking what was flying over and in the garden too. Last night, we had an excellent meal in the Ship pub in Llanbedrog and while in the pub, I found my first probable November Moth in the Gents loos! Yep, a dodgy place to find a moth, but I couldn't resist getting a photo of the said moth, which was my first for the year. The only problem with this species is that it is difficult, without dissection of the poor creature, to tell it apart from the very similar Pale November Moth and Autumnal Moth; but for now, I shall go for November Moth for simplicity.
Above, Redwing in the trees. It was just a shame it was overcast. Below, the male Goshawk flying over.
Above and below, the Redwing in the field opposite the Cottage.
Later in the evening, our Russell told us that he had a big moth on his window cill and so checking it out, it actually transpired to be a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly! What makes it more remarkable is that I have only seen just two this year and this was a fine specimen and probably looking for somewhere to hibernate for the winter? I quickly potted it and released it early this morning within the garden.
Above, Long-tailed Tits close to the Kitchen door.
Bird of the morning had to go down to the male Goshawk that made three sorties around the Farm and in turn, scattering the hundreds of Wood Pigeons around the area. Redwings were abundant too with at least 70+ in the area, with parties of them flying over the farm. A flock of 20+ took to the field opposite to hunt for worms (see film footage) and showed particularly well instead of being silhouettes up in the trees. As there is no noise pollution here on the Farm, I could clearly hear the wingbeats of the Wood Pigeons flying over. Fantastic.
Redwing in the field beside the Cottage. Around 20 birds were present in this field.
Other notable birds included at least three Jays in the area and the Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen again in the trees on the edge of the woodland. A pair of Nuthatches flew over and I was pretty sure a Treecreeper flew over the garden, but I couldn't locate where it landed. A pair of Siskins flew over as did all the common finches and the Bullfinches were heard, but not seen, again. The Long-tailed Tit flock (all ten of them) came through the garden and showed well as did a few Goldcrest and finally, the Grey Wagtail flew in and landed on the Farmhouse roof.
Above, one of the Pied Wagtails rested on the roof of our Cottage and below, I found a small clump of Egghead Mottlegill toadstools growing in the field opposite our Cottage.
The coastal footpath of Porthdinllaen:
The stunning views from the Ty Coch Inn.
On our last day here in North Wales, we took the drive north to the village of Morfa Nefyn, which isn't too far away and then drove through the Golf Course road north to the little hamlet of Porthdinllaen. This overlooks the Irish Sea and even the lighthouse of South Stack could be seen shining its light from Anglesey! Because it is half-term, the area was packed with kids with their parents, taking their dogs out for a walk on the sandy beach here; all enjoying drinks and food from the nearby Ty Coch Inn. Of course, who could not resist their lovely meals as we tucked into a nice big plate of Nachos with all the trimmings!
Above, more stunning views from the same Inn and below, my dogs Ted and Buddy enjoying a paddle with Russ.
Above, an adult Mediterranean Gull flying over the bay and below, one of the many Shags present.
Back to nature and I kept an eye out for anything of note that included a good number of Shags on the very calm sea and rocks and small numbers of both Turnstone (around 20+ birds) and Oystercatchers (8 birds feeding on the shoreline). I found a ‘white-winged’ Gull flying across the bay in front of the pub. That set the pulse racing a bit, but I eventually deduced it was an adult Mediterranean Gull in winter plumage.
Above, the RNLI Station and below, at least 7 Shags on the rocks with a Great Black-backed Gull overhead.
Russ and I took a stroll along the footpath around the headland that took us to the RNLI Porthdinllaen where we kept to the coastal path by the Golf Course. From here, a male Stonechat was seen flitting about by the brambles and the Green and we had to keep an eye out for any passing Golf Balls as some guys were teeing off further to the north! A few Robins, Blackbirds and a Meadow Pipit were seen along the walk back to the pub where we picked up Becky again and then made our way back to the car. This coastal path most certainly could turn up a good rarity and probably has in the past.
The male Stonechat on the Coastal Path by the Golf Course.
I have to say, to round off our trip here to this part of North Wales, we have been extremely lucky with the weather and though overcast nearly everyday, it has been dry and very still with very little wind throughout the week. The Farm has produced some superb sightings and I for one would most certainly like to try this place again; maybe in the Spring time when all the migrants are back.
No comments:
Post a Comment