Laughing Gull

Over the years I have seen a number of rare birds in Britain including three American Laughing Gulls; two adults in Norfolk in the nineties and a second summer bird in North Wales ten years ago. So I was unlikely to travel very far to see another one, that is unless one turned up near my home, and that is exactly what happened a few weeks ago!
I live three miles from New Brighton on the Wirral, so when a group of visiting birders from Manchester found a Laughing Gull on the marine lake in the resort I dashed to the site at the first available opportunity. For the first few days the bird was quite mobile and when I arrived it was feeding near the lighthouse on the incoming tide at a distance of over half a mile away. Luckily it took to roosting on a pontoon on the marine lake that is regularly used by wading birds as a safe place to rest over the high tides.
Birders often talk about the tameness of a bird (especially gulls) by saying "it was coming to bread". Well there was plenty of bread on offer on the pontoon, but some enterprising individuals had sprinkled a few shrimps on the wooden platform and these tasty morsels proved irresistible to the vagrant gull. At times it came closer than any other bird on the lake, providing birders and photographers with unrivalled views.
Now I know that gulls are not every wildlife-watchers cup-of-tea, but I have to confess to being a bit of a larophile (lover of gulls!). So that even in its drab first winter plumage I found it to be an immensely interesting bird. The adult birds with their black hoods and dark grey backs and wings are most attractive. Hopefully this bird, which still exhibits some brown juvenile feathering, will stick around and develop more of a black hood. It is still present three weeks after being found.
Another popular bird that frequents the pontoon at this time of the year is the Purple Sandpiper. This scarce dumpy wader is found on rocky coasts and is something of a speciality on the Wirral, with birds regularly spending the winter on the northern coast and on Hilbre Island in the mouth of the River Dee. There were at least a dozen of these roosting on the pontoon when I was photographing the  Laughing Gull. Also present was a solitary ghostly-white Sanderling. All in all it was an excellent morning spent close to home.

Purple Sandpiper

Sanderling

Redshanks and Turnstones



Cormorant



First-winter plumaged Herring Gull

 

Snowdonia

Snowdonia in North Wales is a region I visit on a regular basis, not just for the stunning scenery and exhilarating walks, but also for some fabulous wildlife. An additional bonus at this time of year is the presence of snow on some of the higher peaks which makes the region eminently attractive for landscape photographers. I have to admit to just snapping the scenery as I concentrate my photography mainly on the wildlife, but the images are quite pleasing nevertheless.
Last Sunday dawned with a thick fog shrouding the fields around my home on the Wirral, but the forecast was for sunny spells, so I set off early for the Welsh hills. The sun didn't break through the clouds and mist until I was well into the Snowdonia National Park. My first stop was at a layby in the Nant Ffrancon valley, were that scarce relative of the Blackbird, the migratory Ring Ouzel had been seen over the previous few weeks. I don't know whether these birds were very early returning migrants hoping to set up territories before their rivals, or if they had overwintered in the valley for the same reason. But a number of birds had been seen the previous day. A small group of birdwatchers had gathered at the layby and one even pointed out a nearby rock where he had seen a Ring Ouzel perched the previous day, but during my stay at the site the target birds were not seen. But it was a great spot for admiring the surrounding snow-clad hills, with views up to the Ogwen Valley and the Devil's Kitchen.
But the short winter daylight hours were ticking away and I, along with my friend Jane, fancied a short walk up Mount Snowdon itself. We drove to Capel Curig and stopped to take more scenic photographs, and admire a small flock of ducks diving on the lake. They were mainly Tufted Ducks, but also present were a few Goldeneye and a "redheaded" Goosander; the Barracuda of the bird world.
We drove on to Llanberis, where I took some shots of some confiding Jackdaws before we set off up the Llanberis footpath. We only planned to walk as far as the snowline which last weekend was about two thirds of the way up the mountain. It was a very pleasant walk; the route known as the "tourists path" up Snowdon was not very busy and the views were stunning. It even felt pleasantly warm at times in the February sunshine. We stopped for a picnic, but could not entice the local Ravens very close. These beautiful crows are intelligent but wary of people. We also encountered a few Herring Gulls near the snack bar part way up the mountain. Although this was closed, these large gulls obviously associate people with an easy meal, and perched on the roof of the building where they could scan the area for any scraps. Interestingly, I observed one gull eating the snow, probably as a source of water to wash down some scavenged food item.
We reached the snowline at about 2pm, which gave us some time to admire the views and take more photos before returning to LLanberis for a very welcome hot cup of coffee.



Nant Ffrancon minus the Ring Ouzels



The Snowdon "Horseshoe" from Capel Curig

Jackdaw at Llanberis

Snowdon's Ravens

Herring Gull dining on snow

 

Tryfan

After an easy 5 mile run in the Cheshire countryside (where I saw my first Willow Warbler of the year) this morning, I decided to walk up Tryfan in Snowdonia; this is my way of taking things easy in the run up to the London Marathon! This is a grade 1 scramble and apart from a brief walk up stone steps near the A5 it was hands on all the way to the top. Despite the sunshine there was an icy wind blowing near the summit with snow and ice on the rocks so extreme caution was needed. The panoramic views on the entire route were stunning, and the scrambling was most enjoyable. Tryfan is 3010 feet above sea-level which makes it the fifteenth highest mountain in Wales. It was a great day out and one I intend to repeat very soon.

Me, on the rocky outcrop known as "the canon", about

half way up Tryfan's north ridge.

The view from the summit looking towards Y Gribin.

My picnic guest, not far from the summit, overlooking Llyn

Bochlwyd, also known as "Australia Lake" because of its

shape.