DIVER DIPPING...

With the taxpayers money still burning a hole in my pocket what better way to increase my carbon footprint than a jaunt down the North Wales coast to Angelsey. The predicted sunny weather was glorious but not the brass monkey like easterly that blew for most of the morning. In the serious wind chill (-20'c) the 5ft waves entered Holyhead Harbour from nearby Beddmanarch Bay making diver spotting impossible...bugger! dip the long staying (until today) Black throated Diver and the 2 Great northerns aswell rats arse as Mr Walters used to say. Did find single Black and Common Guillemots, Shag and RBMs surfing in the marina part of the harbour. As the tide came in 3 Purple Sandpipers appeared with several Rock Pipits and a couple of humungus sized ferries from the Emerald Isle. Time for a change of scenery and that most photoed of lighthouses South Stack. The resident Hooded Crow, 2 Chough and a male Peregrine all whapped in minutes and yes you quessed the bloody cafe was closed!! no nice cuppa in the still arctic like winds. Thank heavens for Ronald McDonald.
Out in nearby Beddmanarch Bay I managed to locate one of the six present Slav Grebes bobbing around with Goldeneye and RBMs. Not much else to report apart from the ever present Brent Geese (I think they're Grey-bellied types from Ireland?) on Nimrod Rocks. So I left Sir Ynis Mon thats Welsh you know and headed back along the A55 towards Blighty.

Joined the image gatherers in the hide at Aber Ogwen who in typical fashion had laid siege to the place so I set my scope up behind them (to their obvious annoyance...nice! take that David Bailey) and started gathering images myself. Two cracking Spot Reds a Little Egret and a group of Greenshanks were just 30m away but true to form the 'Baileys' were taking piccies of Chaffinches feeding on nuts hanging from a tree literally at arms length outside the hide window. Can't they do that at home?? anyway heres what the 'Baileys' missed...



Called in at Llanfairfechan enroute home but nowt on the choppy sea to add to the list. Behind the local toilet block (don't ask its not what you think) Dai the Dipper did his thing.
UK 2009 YL - 130