Undeterred by Storm Erik, 34 members of Rochdale Field Naturalists’ Society left a wet and windy Rochdale behind and travelled by coach to North Wales. The sun soon put in an appearance and by the time the group arrived at Conwy it was a bright and sunny, if somewhat blustery, day.
About a third of the party decided to spend the day exploring the Conwy RSPB nature reserve. This is an area of wetland on the east bank of the Conwy estuary created from material dug out during the construction of the A55 road tunnel under the river.
The remainder of the group continued on through the tunnel to the coast at Llanfairfechan. Here as soon as the coach pulled up members were rewarded with good views of a Dipper and Grey Wagtail in the stream at the side of the road. Once everyone was suitably booted and wrapped up against the wind they made their way down to the shoreline to scan the beach and sea for birds that were braving the elements too. There were several Turnstones scurrying around the pebbles on the beach as well as some Oystercatchers. Out at sea a number of Great-crested Grebes could be seen among the waves and with the aid of telescopes a smaller Slavonian Grebe was identified. The group then turned to walk westwards along the coastal path looking out over the Lavan Sands towards Anglesey, their final destination being Morfa Madryn nature reserve. Disappointingly few birds were to be seen on Conwy Bay but the salt marsh and pools of the nature reserve yielded good numbers of ducks and waders. These included many Wigeon, Shelduck, Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatchers. However the highlights were a small number of beautiful elegant Pintail and some very active female Red-breasted Mergansers busily diving for fish in one of the pools. People were also delighted to get good views of a couple of Greenshanks and a lone Ringed Plover. With the lessening wind now behind them the return walk to Llanfairfechan was very pleasant and people took time to appreciate the carpets of Snowdrops in the patches of woodland as well as spotting some early Primroses. A last look at the beach by the promenade added Common Gull to the day’s list and an increased number of Turnstones were taking advantage of the receding tide to forage for food.
The two parties were re-united at Conwy and compared their notes for the day. As expected many but not all of the birds seen on the bay were also seen on the RSPB reserve. Goldeneye which were absent from the sea were present on the reserve as were Shoveler and Tufted Duck. Smaller birds, noticeably absent from the exposed coastal woodland, were more numerous and good views were had of Goldcrest and Siskin. The Conwy group were also treated to the spectacle of over 200 calling Curlew flying in to roost as the incoming tide moved them off the coast.
Both parties agreed it had been a journey well worth making and timed to perfection as the first drops of rain hit the coach windows as the journey home began.
The group total was 61 species of birds seen (51 species at RSPB Conwy and 45 at Llanfairfechan)
Pam Crofts