Day 1 of Wales

We (Dad and me) set off at 10:30, heading for Anglesey, Wales.

During the car journey we spotted a great deal of bird life- high up on the moors the distinctive shapes of Red Grouse caught our eyes, Swallows, one of my faviourite signs of Spring, danced joyfully over the patchwork of varying shades of green field., Buzzards rising and circling on the thermal currents...

How can anybody call dandelions weeds? Rounabouts and moterway verges covered in the flowers rivalled the oil seed rape for yellow beauty.

It was nice to see 2 Jays while in the car, a bird I rarely see. Unfortanately we didnt see any Kestrels. Im 14, and have probably only been able to ID Kestrels for 6 years at the most, but have still noticed a drastic decline in the Wind hover. A long car journey isnt a long car journey without the familiar site of a Kestrel, hovering at the side of the road :(

On the road we made an unscheduled visit to RSPB Conwy. RSPB Cymru celebrates its 100th birthday this year, the RSPB has been working in Wales for 100 years! It was nice to go to Wales for the first time during this anniversary. The backdrop at Conwy is Snowdon, it looked amazing! At Conwy we saw Lapwings, a Little egret, Oystercatchers, my first Sedge Warblers of the year, my first Sand Martins of the year and a lovely Vole scurrying in and around a compost heap! On the estuary we also saw more Shelducks than i have ever seen, ever!

Then we arrived in Anglesey and before we went to the hotel, we stopped off at NWWT's Cemlyn in the hope of seeing our first Sandwich Terns!

We walked by the sea along a pebble ridge which took us to the colony. WOW- the area was teeming with Sandwich Terns! They are considerably bigger than Common Terns and are beautiful! Persil White bellies contrasting nicely with their black cap and beak. I call Terns "Swallows of the sea"- they have wonderful forked tails and sharp, pointed wings- perfect for an acrobatic life out at sea and in the air. They were constantly calling to each other, some of them carrying fish.

Sandwich Terns are now lifers for me and they easily made todays Blip! At Cemlyn we also saw Oystercatchers, Redshanks, Mallards and gulls.

What a great day.. South Stack tomorrow!!