There and Back Again

Wednesday 18th-Thursday 19th September

It was a brief trip to collect stuff from my mother-in-law's. I tried for Leach's petrels at Rhos-on-Sea but failed. Next I called at Conwy RSPB and was told a little stint was on the reserve near one of the hides. I went to see. At first I could only see dunlin...

Dunlin Dunlin Little Stint

The stint was just emerging from behind some reeds: in the above picture some reeds are waving in front of the dunlin but are blurred out.

Little Stint

You can see the stint is much smaller than the dunlin and the white 'tramlines' are visible.

Little Stint Little Stint

A rabbit ran across in front of the hide.

Rabbit

I drove along Foryd Bay but there was little to see other than large numbers of distant, roosting oystercatchers. A curlew was beachcombing.

Curlew

Next I called at Porth Ysgaden on the Lleyn Peninsula to try another seawatch but things were dead there too. I crept up on a kestrel perched on the rocks but he saw me coming!

Kestrel

At Pwllheli Marina a rock pipit was working among the seaweed - proving very difficult to get close enough to photograph. Dark legs clearly visible.

Rock Pipit

On this picture you can see the bird is eating a tiny crab.

Rock Pipit

Journeying home next day, the weather was appalling. I stopped at Conwy RSPB to give the windscreen wipers a break! No sign of stint or a reported curlew sandpiper. A curlew was enjoying...

Bath Time!

Curlew Curlew Curlew

That's better!

Curlew

A wheatear landed briefly on the mud too. It looked exhausted - obviously why it was on the ropes!!

Wheatear

Ducks were flying along the Conwy estuary. Gadwall?

Gadwall

Mallard.

Mallard

Where's the Odeon?

I decided to go to Lincoln to visit Boultham Mere for the first time to see the blue-winged teals. Finding the way was fine until I reached the final 200m when instead of an Odeon cinema I came upon a Superbowl. I retraced my steps, double checked and ended up back at the Superbowl. Clearly Bird Guides' directions were out of date: the Odeon has gone and it's now a Superbowl. At the far end of the car park I found confirmation: a couple of cars with Bird Fair stickers!

The teal were nervous and never too close. I also saw bittern across the mere walking along the reed edge and a kingfisher going back and forth.

Here are the teal with just a smidgin of blue showing.

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal

Later, at North Cave I photographed this young little grebe after failing to find the cattle egret at Tetney Lock or the curlew sandpipers at North Cave. Oh well, 'twas one of those days!

Blue-winged Teal