Birds, Seals & Beatles

Three birds in shot

Penny Lane is in my eyes and my ears

Sunset at Parkgate

Conwy Valley Hawfinch

After the gloom lifted

Hawfinch high & handsome

Harry taking the Captain walks

Harry

Angel Bay Seals

Fantastic views

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Rose-coloured Starling

Rose-coloured Starling

I take Mrs D to some lovely spaces

Female Scaup

Black Redstart

Great Orme 

We were lucky to have a return visit to North Wales for a bit of complimentary five star luxury so we decided to take in Liverpool on the way. We have been wanting to do a tour of the Beatles landmarks for a long time so we booked Fab4 Taxi tour company. This three hour tour was amazing from start to finish taking in the iconic Penny Lane, Strawberry fields and many more. 

After leaving Liverpool with the light faded we stopped at Parkgate on the Wirral the weather was too windy for Owls but we still recorded a Great White Egret, 6 Marsh Harriers & 3 Little Egret. 

Saturday started very gloomy so we decided to head down the Conwy Valley to try for Hawfinches. Thankfully some local intelligence took us to a great location where they had been seen in recent days. It was just the case of finding them. As we walked along the river we found a cracking male that sat above us busy feeding. After watching a Treecreeper at close quarters we then found another four Hawfinches perched together very high in the company of some Greenfinches.

On the way back up the valley we scanned RSPB Conwy but we couldn't find anything different to what you would expect. Out on the river there were Redshanks, Shelduck and a pair of Great Crested Grebe.

Given our location we had arranged to meet up with Mr & Mrs C & their lovely Labradoodle Harry. We met at Angel Bay where we took in the seal colony and also watched 2 Fulmers flying around the cliffs in glorious sunshine. We headed into Rhos for a coffee noting Dunlin, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Oycstercatchers on the beach. 

As Harry headed for home, I treated Mrs D to an hour among the dustbins & back streets of Llandundo looking for a mankie Starling. The locals were very friendly considering all these strangers were walking around their local streets. We both got a quick glimpse of the bird before it looked flight to fly a few streets aways. Mrs D opted to walk into town whilst I hung on hoping the bird would return for a better view. And……..wow did the bird return and showed amazingly well posing on a garden wall just 12 feet away from me. It may have only been a juvenile but it was great to see this species so well. We then walked the Great Orme which was very quiet before heading back to the hotel for a great night of amazing food & wine. 

The weather the previous day was a bit of a shock and we probably had used up all our good weather tokens. It was dreary from the moment we walked out the hotel and didn't improve all day. As we headed for home we noted female/1W Black Redstart at Kinmel Bay and a female Scaup at Brickfields Pond in a residential area of Rhyl.

Bristol Rose-coloured Starling

Nice capture from local birder Lee Gardiner (with thanks)

 Can you spot the bird here ?

Peek-a-boo

Area I saw the bird either stationary or in flight

With an additional day off this week I opted to head down to Bishopston, Bristol to try and catch up with the reported Rose-coloured Starling as I'd never seen this species before. Thanks to advice from local birder Lee Gardiner (@urban_birding) I found the area shown on the above map after two slight hold ups with the local recycling service that completely blocked the streets I was going down as they were so narrow.

I've never a great fan of birding around houses but the local residents seemed very friendly and were quite intrigued to ask me about what the bird watchers had been doing by their local church. 

After a couple of laps of the area I returned to my start point on the church park where the bird was last seen and as if by magic the Rosie came in and landed on the top right hand edge of the bush. Accompanied by a number of House Sparrows the Starling was keeping his head down, no doubt to avoid the local Sparrowhawk doing the rounds. 

When another birder arrived the bird did take flight and did treat us to some great views and you could really see his salmon pink colouring. Despite our patience and checking among the Starling flocks we didn't manage to locate the bird again.

If you are heading down I'd suggest you start your search in the region of 

St Bonaventures Parish Club and Church, the gardens that back on to the car park is where we saw the bird for a prolonged period.