Ladybower and Derwent Reservoirs

My family decided today they were going to Ladybower Reser to cycle round the reser to test out their new tandem. I decided to tag along as I could wander around and hopefully see some good birds, with a goshawk still a possibility.

It was not goshawk that got me today though. It was another bird of prey. As we were driving along Ladybower having just come down the valley on onto the side of the reser I spotted a large bird in the sky. I my verbal thought process went something like this; 'seems like there are plenty of large birds around today, (Only bird in the sky) looks like a raptor or a gull... its a raptor... nope its a gull... S*it, its an Osprey. Dad pull over, just pull in here, now' or something like that. 

It was a very low flying bird, but was almost directly above us, so a much better view of the underwings than the bird at Spurn. Sadly due to camera faults I could not nail the shot which the experience required to full show how close and well showing this bird was. It even crossed our minds that it might try to catch a fish, but sadly not, and it began to circle higher and higher until it drifted over the crest of the hill on the NE side. It was, simply, unbelievable! 

-Osprey

Absolutely buzzing from that experience I set off for a wander round Derwent Reservoir. Keeping an eye on the sky and the other for anything else around. There were a few Common Buzzards and Kestrels but the sky was reasonably quiet over the course of the day, the standard having been set so high so early on.

The woods still had plenty to provide though. As I was walking along I picked up on a trilling call from the woods. Once I had noticed it I listened more closely and realised that it was a Wood Warbler, the species I had suspected it might be. Unfortunately it was in a fenced off paddock, so had to wait until nobody was around before trying to locate the bird.

Once I was onto it, it required little difficulty to track down as its song flight was very distinct and the call loud. The only downside was that it tended to stay high up in the trees, which was a bit disappointing but since I remained plagued by camera errors it mattered little, so I was able to sit back and watch the bird sing and descend, a real nice surprise for the day.

-Wood Warbler

As I carried on up there remained good numbers of species. They were mostly commoner species but the highlights included 4 fledgling Treecreepers chasing each other round, and a Common Sandpiper on the shore of the reser. 

I had planned to go all the way round Derwent until I reached the Dam of Howden and realised this was not an option. I took a moment here to have a breather and some lunch, but as I stopped I heard my second Wood Warbler of the day trilling from the woods. This one was not fenced off so I rushed up to try and get to grips with it.

This individual was far more mobile, and remained high up, but was a more constant singer than the first bird. I tried to take some sound recordings but failed, and only managed one record shot. Considering it was a lifer not 2 months ago, to see 2 in one day was pretty special.

-Second Wood Warbler

That was the icing on the cake for an awesome day. I headed a little further up the side of Howden to where the path curved round and I had a good view of the surrounding environment to scan for raptors. I only had Common Buzzard but was treated when this rather funky longhorn beetle flew in at my feet. A quick check of the book informs me this is a 'Rhagium bifasciatum' but please correct me if I'm wrong.

-Rhagium bifasciatum 

I say Common Buzzard was the only raptor, this was not true. whilst scanning I picked out a couple of young Kestrels on the dam wall, and when I got closer to have a look I could see there were 3 well developed young kestrels looking very nice all sat out preening. Its obviously been a good year for them.

-Kestrel Fledglings

I caught my parents as I was here, and as they were cycling back and I was not I decided to make a move. I did not get much else on the way back but it had already been such a super day, I was more than thrilled.

Species List:

Ladybower and Derwent Reservoirs: Osprey, Common Buzzard, Jay, Swallow, Mallard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Kestrel, Grey Heron, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon, Wood Warbler, Great Tit, Pied Wagtail, Swift, Siskin, Treecreeper, Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Wren, Chaffinch, Long-Tailed Tit, Common Sandpiper, Grey Wagtail, Cormorant, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Spotted Flycatcher, Curlew,

Endcliffe Park Wood

So today was my last full day in Sheffield, but I had arranged to see many people to say goodbye. However, I had the afternoon to myself so decided to go for a walk in Endcliffe Park Wood up to where I thought I had heard garden warbler before.

Starting in Endcliffe Park, along the edge of the top pond there was a very bold family of moorhens, 1 adult with 5 well grown juveniles. I was sat on the bank and they would come within 2 feet of me, I could have reached out and touch them if I had wanted. I tried some photos but the light was quite poor and the birds, ridiculas though it sounds, were too close, but I got a few decent snaps.

-Moorhen Chick

I continued up and in Whiteley Woods I got a bird that I really had not expected to find. It was a Dipper, only my second this year. It was not really hunting but just casually resting on the side of the river. I tried to get some photos but it was far too dark. I did get a great view of the bird though, and it did not seem to bothered by me being there.

I carried on up past Forge Dam where there was not much besides the Mallards, Moorhens and Woodpigeons. I did not spend much time there, but I did find a few nuthatches, maybe a family but difficult to tell, in the woods behind the dam.

When I passed the dam things began to get interesting. First I heard what I thought was a green woodpecker, but as it continued I realised that was not the case and that it was a bird of prey. I began to try and find it but it flew off before I could find it. I moved out into the open to see if I could relocate it, and had some success. At first I spotted 2 Sparrowhawks flying over a tree in the distance, which I figured must have been the source of the call. These birds were then joined by a Buzzard, but as I looked through the bins I observed the buzzard was being heavily mobbed by another smaller bird. I had a quick glance through my photos and noted that it was not a swift but a falcon, and due to its small size I wondered if it was a hobby.

I lost the bird behind the trees and when they re-appeared only the buzzard was there. The buzzard however soon became 2 buzzards as they soared in the air around. They even landed in some of the trees but they were some way away, and too far for a photo.

Back at the flat I checked the photos of the small falcon and it is a Kestrel, as indicated by the dark boundary between the primaries and the secondaries on the upper wing. It was exciting but sadly not what I had hoped.

-Kestrel and Buzzard

-Buzzard

I continued a little way until I reached where I thought I had heard the warblers previously. I heard a similar call and tracked down the bird making it, finally getting eyes on it, only for it to show itself as a male Blackcap, a stunning bird in its own right, but sadly not the bird I had hoped for. I think from this discovery that I need to work on my calls between these two species.

The walk on the way back did not yield much, Jay in the distance and another Blackcap, as well as the usual Robins and Blackbirds. I had a good time but did not get the warblers I had hoped. It started to rain on the way back so I made my way back quickly due to the fact I was very unprepared for such a turn in the weather.

Species List:

Endcliffe Park Wood: Kestrel, Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Woodpigeon, Jay, Robin, Blackbird, Moorhen, Mallard, Blackcap, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Grey Wagtail, Dipper, Nuthatch, Dunnock, Great Tit, Feral Pigeon, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, 

Exploring the moors via Ogden Golf Course

So today I decided to wander up to the moors, a lovely walk over some beautiful uplands, with hope of seeing some moorland birds. I set off walking, did not stop at soil hell, and then wandered down to Ogden, where I decided to wander up by the golf course as I have a good record that way with stonechat.

The Reser was very quiet, with a few woodland birds in the trees near the edge of the moors all that was offered, though I did not hang around to thoroughly check it out. The golf course was also pretty quiet, though I got to watch a pair of Grouse stealthily cross the bridleway, which was nice, as well as spotting a Weasel hunting through the long grass. There were also ample Meadow Pipits and Skylarks, as well as a Stunning Male Reed Bunting. Overall it was very good, and were it not for the wing the weather would have been outstanding.

I had a quick look at Cold Edge dams before moving onto the moors, but there was nothing that I could see, only a couple of Lapwings and a Curlew in a neighboring field. Either way it set it up nicely for my final destination, with many moorland birds still potentially on offer. 

I arrived and set off down the southern bank. When I arrived, however, I was shocked to read a sign saying that the grounds around the reser were private and that there was no public access. This made things more difficult, so I stuck at the gate a while, wondering if the boaters on the reser at the time would care if I jumped their gate. While I was wondering these things I noticed a large falcon flying across the sky towards me. My instincts told me that it was so large it must be a Peregrine, but I was unwilling to stick my neck out and say that it was for definite. However, back at home after looking at the photos it is pretty clear that it is indeed a Peregrine, and a rather stunning individual too, judging by what I can see of the eye mask. I have a few shots, as it was quite happy to circle above me and the reser.

-Peregrine

I decided to go back up and see if the path was closed off at the other side of the reser, and if not I would just walk that way round. On the way walking along the road I was scouting the wall tops to see what was about, and as it happens I finally got a Red-Legged Partridge for the year, resting atop a wall. It ducked off the wall though pretty quick, almost as soon as I had seen it, so I was unable to get any photos, which I was a bit disappointed about. Further wall viewing found me a Wheatear, which I was very pleased to find, my first in Calderdale this year.

I carried on the walk along the road, keeping an eye out for anything. I spotted at least 3 kestrels along the walk, bringing my falcon total for the day up to 2. I was able to get stunning views of some of them too, as they circled and hovered around the road.

-Kestrel

Among the kestrels was a slightly smaller falcon. I am no pro, but these bird seemed very much to be like a Merlin. At the time I was unsure, so I tried to grab as many photos as I could, but as yesterday there was an issue with it being mainly a silhouette. I still managed some decent photos, and I also got decent views of the bird as it hung in the wind above me. I was silently convinced that I had found only my second ever merlin, but did not want to send it round or cheer in case I was wrong. After hanging in the air for about 5 mins, the bird dropped down, harassing a definite kestrel which had been resting. I followed the bird until it dropped near a flock of canadas on the bank, but could not find it with the scope. I ate lunch there waiting for it to pop back up, but it did not while I was there waiting. 

Back home I had analysed all the photos I have and it seems that I was right. All the photos show heavy barring under the wing and the photo directly below clearly shows a barred tail with no black band at the end. So that would all suggest, added to the fact that it was a smaller bird, that I had indeed found only my second ever merlin, and this time I got better views too, rather than it whizzing past on a  beach.

I guess I can start celebrating now...

-Merlin

After waiting for a little while I decided to carry on the walk. The North side was not private, as I had suspected, so only the south side of the path is blocked - standard. Around the pools there were good numbers of birds, including a pair of Redshank, Curlew, Lapwing and a pair of Oystercatcher, along with the Canada Geese. I was well pleased with that.

The western bank offered little, though there were plenty of Canada Geese grazing, as well as a flyby Pied Wagtail. Once I was off I immediately spotted a pair of Sand Martins flying towards me. They flew off over the reser but I was unable to follow them. I then arrived at the point where the gate was. Its ludicrous that only one side of the path round the reser was closed. With this in mind I jumped the gate.

Just over the gate I finally spotted a Stonechat. Its orange breast jumped at me immediately, and I knew I had found one. I tried to get some photos, but it took off as soon as I got the camera ready, which I did not expect as I was not close to the bird. Either way, when I looked at the photo the shape of the beak and the white on the rump told me that I had mis-identified the bird and that it was actually a wheatear. However, touching the photo up at home and it became clear that I had been right all along, and that I had found my first stonechat of the year.

-Stonechat

Walking back up to the road I stumbled across my second Hirundine of the day when a swallow flew past me. The day list was looking pretty impressive now though. Its just a pity I was unable to add much on the way back, with only Curlew and Sparrowhawk on the golf course. The sparrowhawk is my 6th raptor of the holiday, which has only been 6 days. It should be the holiday of raptors given this rate.

Ogden was also quiet, the only additions being a pair of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls that had dropped in while I was on the tops.

On the way back I decided to call in at soil hill for a brief visit. There was not much about, but I managed my first Wheatear on soil hill for the year, which I was pretty pleased about.

And that just about covers it all, what was a pretty impressive walk bird-wise and a lovely walk otherwise. To see 3 falcon species is an impressive turnout, especially for me, and I can home filled with doubt, but after the photo analysis I was well pleased with how the day had gone. Follows are the species list for the day.

Species Lists: 
The Moors: Starling, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Kestrel, Pied Wagtail, Jackdaw, Meadow Pipit, Red Grouse, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Skylark, Wheatear, Sand Martin, Swallow, Red-Legged Partridge, Peregrine, Merlin, Canada Goose, Lapwing, Stonechat, Graylag Goose,

Ogden/Golf Course: Sparrowhawk, Curlew, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Reed Bunting, Red Grouse, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Mallard, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Canada Goose,

Soil Hill: Wheatear, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Mallard,

Anglers CP

So in order to try to gain extra species in my quest for 100 today I headed to Anglers CP, for the first time properly since before I was with my family and without any proper kit. It has its great reputation and as such I was optimistic of pulling up a few species today, as well as spotting some other great stuff.

The site was great, I arrived at half 10 to Wigeon, Tufted Duck and Goldeneye on the lake and Black Headed Gulls in the sky. I had a wander down to the hide and watched from there for a while. There was stuff about; Lapwing, Redshank, Common Snipe, Gadwall and Shoveler. The snipe were giving especially good views as they probed along the shoreline.

After spending a while there I decided to head towards Wintersett Reservoir to see if there was anything on there. On the way I passed the feeding station which had good numbers of tree sparrow among other more regular garden birds.

On Wintersett there was not a lot. There were other birders there too and they also commented on how quiet it was. There were Great Crested Grebe, Coots and Black-Headed Gulls, but the highlight was a lovely male Reed Bunting that flew across the front of us.

After that I headed back to the hide for lunch. There were some other guys there too, and while we were all watching the snipe one commented on a jack snipe flying in. I spent a good few hours examining the snipe, a group of around 10, throughout the day, and I can safely say there was no jack snipe in that group. If there was one there it was very well hidden, which of course they have the potential to do.

There was smashing views of a Kestrel though, as it hunted right outside the hide. It had been loitering round all morning but now it was very close and really easy to photograph.

-Kestrel

-Snipe

After a stay in the hide I decided to head off back to the top. On the way I still failed to spot any year ticks, though I did spot a Common Buzzard and juvenile Herring Gulls overhead. It was when I saw the buzzard that I decided to stay a little longer, as the weather was picking up and I thought I should give the site a bit more time.

I decided to watch the farmland for a bit, but only managed Lapwing, Carrion Crow and Magpie for my effort. I did though, to my frustration, hear a green woodpecker. Having not seen one yet this year I could have badly done with that be it failed to show up, only mocking me from over the hills.

I decided to head back to the hide to give it another shot. On the way I spotted a Comma Butterfly resting on a sapling. This is probably the earliest I have ever recorded this species, and it added to the Peacock butterfly that I had seen earlier in the day, bringing my butterfly species list up to 2 for the day.

Back in the hide little had changed. There were more Canada Geese around, and more Oystercatchers too. There were also 2 Lesser Black-Backed Gulls on the rocks, another nice addition to my day list. In my time I decided to watch the snipe for a while, since I love snipe and was still not convinced about the apparent jack snipe earlier.

-Snipe, along with Shoveler and Canada Geese

It was while I was watching the snipe that I heard a tremendous racket from the Black-Headed Gulls and looked up to see that the Lesser Black-Backed's had taken off. But one of the LBBG's was not quite what it seemed, for when I saw it now in this new light it was clear that it was in fact a Yellow-Legged Gull.

I had heard rumour that there was one loitering around the site for a while, but since I had not found it or any other large gull for the morning I figured it must be old news, since it has not been on bird guides for a while. However here it was in front of me, and all the characters seemed right, paler, yellow legs. The only thing that made me doubt what seemed pretty obvious was the fact that it was so close to the LBBG, as in they were calling in sync, preening each other and even passing each other sticks. That is not normal between species. However, from what I have gathered from my research it seems that these 2 birds seem to like each other, so that seems to settle it then that I have indeed found my only second ever Yellow Legged Gull

Of course the first time I saw this bird it was at Burnsal Bridge and the sheep scared it away before I had properly checked it out. That was also the at a time before I knew of the existence of Caspian Gulls, so really that was a very dubious record, so to catch up with this confiding individual, and manage to get some record shots at the same time was very pleasing.

-LBBG and Yellow Legged Gull

-Yellow Legged Gull

If I had decided to leave I would never have seen this bird, so I was pleased I stayed. It was nice to finally catch up with one again, and made for an outstanding day.

So, crunch time. I only managed one tick today, meaning I have to muster 4 in 2 days. Its do-able, but we will have to see how it goes. The matter of the green woodpecker is very frustrating but we will get over it. Now all that needs to be said is what a great day I had at Anglers.

Species List: Robin, Long-Tailed Tit, Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Starling, Jackdaw, Goldeneye, Woodpigeon, Redshank, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Common Snipe, Black-Headed Gull, Cormorant, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Shoveler, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Tree Sparrow, Blackbird, Common Buzzard, Herring Gull, Bullfinch, Yellow Legged Gull, Greenfinch

soil hill

Had a quick walk round the top at around 2.00 today. Sadly there was not much going on; 5 lapwings on the top which took off and headed off towards Denholm and a kestrel hunting.

-Kestrel

-Lapwings

Soil Hill again

Well, this is awkward because as I am writing about this trip to soil hill a whole three months after the actual trip due to card reader problems. I am racking my brains and am struggling to remember what really happened, and where it all fits in with regard to the photos. There were plenty of skylarks, obviously, and I remember trying to stalk one on the top near to the ruined outhouse. I also remember descending the slope and that the only thing at the bottom was a kestrel on the wire. I can also remember that as I was leaving there was a skylark on the wall, which descended into the field, allowing me to sneak up on it, getting some reasonable photos. Besides that, I can't remember anything exciting happening, so you can make that bit up to make it more exciting if you like, here's a run down of all the photos in apparent chronological order... 

-Skylark on the top

-Kestrel

-Various skylarks

Soil hill

Its been a while, but today was so nice outside it would have been crazy not to go up t' hill. Clear, cloudless Sky's, no wind, what more could you want. To be honest there was not much going on up on the hill, but what there was, was pretty special. There were about three skylarks singing, and two more not singing, as well as a couple of linnets and a kestrel perched on the mast. I got quite close to the kestrel, but it saw me the same moment I saw it, so my great view was very brief.

-Skylark

-Kestrel

Kestrel

Four posts in four days! that only happens during holidays, and certainly not during peak revision time. But it would seem not, as when I glance out of the window there always seems to be something going on. From my bedroom window I have been watching a local juvenile kestrel for a few days now, but today I managed to get the best view yet. At first it was on a telegraph pole in a field some way away, and I was unable to tell if it was the kestrel or the sparrowhawk. It started hunting, dropping down and then flying back up. the second time it did this it flew back up the wall directly opposite our house, and then dropped down onto the road. It was much closer now and I was able to get a pretty good view. It then cleared off, but it was nice to see it again; a productive break from work...

Soil Hill

Maybe there's a reason I don't go up as much as I should. It was a nice day and I had nothing planned so I headed for soil hill. It was lovely at the top; nice sunshine, calm, but a distinct lack of birds. It took me 20 minuets before I found my first bird meadow pipit.
  Since there was so little to write about, I will post a complete list of the birds seen on the hill today:
-1 meadow pipit
-1 common gull (south)
-2 black-headed gulls (south)
-3 partridges flushed (Red legged?)
-1 carrion crow spotted in the distance
-1 Kestrel
It was nice to see the kestrel as it was hovering further down the hill and so was on a par with me at the top. Otherwise, all the other birds were flushed or flyovers.

Aberystwyth Uni open day

Nothing particularly natural about the open day itself, but driving there, some four hours, and back, five hours due to a crash on the main road, we drove through some truly lovely scenery  and with it came some smashing views of birds. In particular on the way back we saw well over 100 red kites, some really close to the car. At one point, there were around 30 circling over one small area of forestry. Other birds we saw included buzzards quite close and kestrels, as well as a few jays flying over the motorway, as you regularly see during long journeys.

Angelsey day 1

And so the Angelsey holiday starts. It started quite warm, but not regularly sunny and slightly breezy. Ideal conditions then, according to my dad to go to South Stack RSPB, Angelseys top nature reserve. When we arrived it had certainly brightened up a bit, but still not full on sunshine. We spent about 10mins in the cafe, before I left my family to enjoy their cuppa and I went off to go and hopefully see some wildlife. I set off down the stairs from the top car park down to the lighthouse. If you know anything about angelsey birdwatching then you would know that South Stack is well known for its choughs. It seemed almost guaranteed that I would see one, though I knew from experience that it was not always like that.

  As descended the short but slightly overgrown staircase towards the light and the first bird I saw of the day was a small wren singing from the top of a bramble stem.

-Wren
When I reached the bottom of the stairs and reached the edge of the cliff overlooking the main lighthouse I saw my first choughs. They were some way away climbing up a rock face, and hidden from view for most of their foray. Luckily I managed a few photos and then looked out for any closer or other birds.

-Cough
I was thrilled to see my first ever chough. the other birds on the cliffs were guillemots and razorbills. Of course, choughs are not the only speciality of South Stack, and another is the Silver-Studded Blue Butterfly, which is probably rarer than the choughs, though it does just look like another blue butterfly. Need less to say, I was well on the lookout for one. I had no joy on the cliff top, but one chap I spoke to said that he had seen them on the heathland on the other side of the road away from the cliffs, so I left to go and see if I could see any up there.
  I walked up to the heath, but was lost not long after. I wandered around many paths looking for the butterflies but in vain. However, I eventually found a concrete path, and following this path led me straight to them. At first I was dubious, after all, all blue butterflies with the exception of holly blue look the same, so I began to wonder if these were actually common blues, but eventually I decided that they were probably silver studded when there began to be loads of them. At one point I had around 5 in front of me. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many rare, pretty and first time butterflies, and they were a treat to see. I ended up taking loads of photos, so that eventually they were more that record shots. It was curious that they all seemed to within 10 meters of path, before there were none, and none after neither. But where they were, there were loads.

-Silver Studded Blue
So I left the moors absolutely buzzing with two awesome new species and it was not even lunchtime. Now I decided to go back to the cliff top moors and see what was around up there and hopefully see more choughs at closer quarters. But instead of walking along the cliff top path, I decided to walk through the heathland path to see what heathland insects and birds were around.
  I was rewarded with close encounters with a stonechat which clearly had a nest somewhere around because the adults both had something in their beak when I saw them. I got great views of both the male and the female.

-Female Stonechat

-Male Stonechat
Further along the path and I added another cracking new species to my ever growing list for the site. And it was a more curious animal. They were big green beetles called rose chaffers, which were really obvious when they sat on the white flowers gathering the pollen, and that's the only place where I saw them. I was impressed by them to say the least but there only seemed to be one on each white flower, though a plant with two flowers would have two quite close to each other.

-Rose Chaffer
I reached the end of the heathland path and arrived at the lower car park. I set off down the alternative path towards the cliff edge for the way back and to see if I could see any choughs. When I reached the cliff face I immediately saw a group of around 5 choughs flying about, some playing in the wind, some rooting in the cliff side, where there were grassy bits. They were great to watch, and when the wind picked up they would fly up to where i was standing and fly alongside me. Luckily, I had carried the scope all the way round the reserve for no reason, until now, and I was able to get great views of the choughs as they rooted in the cliff side.

-Chough
But there were not only choughs on the corvid front. As I was watching the choughs, a pair of ravens flew over, giving me another great species to the list for the day. They moved off pretty quick, further up the coast, but they were still great to see.

-Raven
the ravens were just fly-bys though so my attention quickly returned to the choughs, that were flying to and fro across where I was standing, allowing me to get great views of them up close.

-Chough
Sadly though I then got a text telling me that lunch was at the car, so that it was time, for the present, to leave my chough watching point and head back to the car. This time I walked back along the cliff edge, rather than through the moors, to see what birds were around in this bit. I saw a kestrel hunting over the moors and a pied wagtail on the cliff edge. 













-Kestrel

-Pied Wagtail
When I reached the lighthouse I spotted a meadow pipit with a caterpillar in its beak in the scrub, it was perched out in the open and was not very shy, I took a few photos, but left pretty quick, in case I was putting it off its nest which it seemed to have.

-Meadow Pipitwalking back up to the car park involved going up a path through the heath and on the way I found some more lovely rose chaffers, that allowed me to get some more photos. It was quite difficult to tell what was beetle head and what was flower, their heads were so covered in pollen.

-Rose ChafferAfter lunch I headed back to where the choughs had been and was delighted to see that there were still plenty of them there. The wind had picked up considerably, so they choughs were flying higher than they had been before and so were flying above me rather than on a par with me. It also meant that they were landing on the cliff ledge next to the path. On the way there I saw a pair only about a meter away from me, rooting in the dirt on the sea side of the path. I was cautious to try and take a photo, but to draw my camera up might spook them. They didn't even flinch until the camera snapped, and then they were gone in a flash, but it was still a great view to have had.

-Chough
There were other birds that I could see from my vantage point though, including linnet and stonechat that were looking for insects of the top of the cliff.

-StonechatMy mum and dad joined me at my vantage point, and after they had looked at the choughs, my dad said that he would quite like to see the butterflies, so I took him to where they were. The weather had deteriorated since I was there, so I didn't know what to expect but we found a few, and so I took some more photos.

-Silver Studded Blue 
We continued to explore the moors for a bit to see if we could find anything else. From our vantage point above the reserve, we could see a large flock of choughs moving off onto the neighbouring farmland.














-Choughs
We found a stile that would lead us on a short path back to the visitor centre. We were just about to go through the stile when I spotted a common darter dragonfly land of the gorse nearby. I couldn't believe it, as there was very little fresh water nearby, though there was a lake over the hill, when I had looked there before there was nothing on it except for a herring gull. The dragonfly appeared to be trying to oviposit on the gorse, which is not a good idea, though it probably wasn't, though what it was doing is beyond me.

-Common DarterWe headed back down to the view point to see what seabirds where around since they were something I had overlooked due to the wealth of none seabirds around. There were plenty of auks and the odd gannet flying past, plus rafts of auks on the sea. One guillemot had a fish in its mouth that made it look like a white beak stripe. There were also the odd chough that flew past, giving us another great view of these birds.

-Gannet

-Chough

-Auk raft-Guillemots and razorbills
when we turned back to go up the stairs to the car park, I saw the meadow pipit again, further away from me than last time, but still a great view of a bird you can't normally get close to.

-Meadow PipitAfter that we left South Stack, and it left me very impressed. after all I had seen loads of unusual wildlife, and felt great for doing so.
  The afternoon then fell way short. We couldn't decide what to do, so after a walk round holyhead, we decided to go to the holyhead brakwater country park, and it had a lake. Nothing really happened there, I walked round the lake while my family stayed i the car. The only thing I saw was is funnel web spider.

-Spider
After our rather pointless hour not knowing what to do it holyhead we went to a beach at Rosneiger, which is a town on the west coast of angelsey, but quite a way from holyhead. The beach we went to was further down from the town, hence there was quite a bit of wildlife.
  When we pulled up we had to go through the dunes to get to the beach. On the beach there were quite a few black headed gulls, and at the front, hiding amongst them there was a sandwhich tern. The gulls all scattered as we got closer, but the tern was more reluctant to fly than the gulls, so I was able to get a photo of it without the gulls in the way.














-Sandwhich ternThere were quite a few waders on the beach too, besides your usual oystercatchers. But most of them were flybys that we didn't really get a good view of.

-Turnstones

-Redshank

-Juv Starling (Not a wader!)

-Curlew

There were quite a few rockpools on the beach, so we took the opportunity to go rockpooling, or at least my dad and brother did, I just walked along the rocks to see what I could find. I saw quite a few fish in the pools with out catching them, but my dad and brother also caught some great fish, so below is a compilation of all the fish that I saw and they caught that afternoon.

-Stickleback or wrasse

-Massive shannys

-Shanny in my dads Hand

-ShannyBut it was not just the fish. There were also some awesome spider crabs in some of the bigger pools that we were able to fish out and have a closer look at.

-Spider CrabOn the way back to the car I found some lovely purple orchids in the dunes, though I don't know what kind they are. I know that they fit into the category and not common spotted, which adds to their interest.

-Orchid Sp.

So our first day on Angelsey comes to an end. Its been an incredible first day, and I have seen loads of awesome species including 3 that were new, and a new bird, which is something of a rarity these days.