Headed up north this morning, on a freezing day with persistent rain showers and a biting SE wind, calling into the harbour for a brief look on the way. A single Grey Heron was again roosting above the nest at Pont Solomon while the tide was rapidly incoming pushing the waders really close to the Cob; these included 180 Dunlin, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 25 Redshank plus a few Oystercatcher and Curlew. Also, 10 Snipe and an adult LBB Gull were on the pool.
Later, I stopped off at Llanfairfechan mid-afternoon where a single Great Northern Diver, a couple of Red-throats and at least 40 Great Crested Grebe were noted. I reached Aber Ogwen just before dusk as the tide was dropping, revealing the vast expanse of Traeth Lafan. A smart Spotted Redshank and two Greenshank were notable while way offshore a group of seven Eider drifted past. Also enjoyed point blank views of a party of five Bullfinch feeding on dock seeds along the strand line. The males brought some much needed colour to the gloomy afternoon.
As I departed a party of 40 Greylag Goose headed over with the peaks of the Carneddau cloaked in low cloud and snow in the background. Unfortunately there was no Bean Goose with them - as reported here a few days previously. Does anyone have any more information on this bird?
The feeders by the hide were buzzing with activity (usual tits and finches) including a female Blackcap, while one of the distant Little Egrets on the estuary was sporting a whitish colour ring but was too far away to read. It was good to revisit sites I checked regularly some years ago, and despite the miserable weather some nice birds were seen.
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