A look at the weather forecast for the weekend showed that Sunday would be a washout (and it was) so my planned weekend on Anglesey in Wales became a day trip.
I am so pleased I made the effort as the sun shone all day.
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| South Stack Cliffs |
My first port of call was the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) car park at South Stack Cliffs.
The car park was packed so I drove up the hill to the cafe only just managing to find a space.
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| Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) |
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| The RSPB shop and cafe at South Stack. The little red car parked in front of the No Parking bollards is mine... |
The cafe was privately owned on my last visit in 2009 and discouraged people not using their facilities from parking.
The RSPB took it over last year, extended the building to include a shop selling bird related items from birdseed to books, binoculars and scopes.
The RSPB base was in Ellin's Tower on the edge of the cliffs and still has scopes set up for the public to view the breeding birds.
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| Guillemots breed on the cliff face on mass. |
I walked down the path to the edge of the cliffs to see the Guillemots.
They raise their young on the cliff face, laying a single pair shaped egg onto the rock.
The eggs of the Guillemots, don’t fall off rocky cliffs because their pear shape causes them to spin on the spot rather than roll, returning them to equilibrium.
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| Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) |
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| Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) |
I enjoyed seeing the Guillemots and also saw Razorbills, Puffins, lots of Herring Gulls plus Jackdaws and a Magpie... unfortunately no Choughs on this visit.
On my return through the heathland I had great views of Stonechats.
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| A view of the cafe from the road with the mountains of Snowdonia in the background. |
A nice few hours enjoying the wildlife of South Stack was made complete with really good lunch in the cafe.
A video clip of South Stack cliffs which should add some scale to the images.
I then made my way to Cemlyn Bay to see the noisy Sandwich Tern colony which will feature in my next post.
I then made my way to Cemlyn Bay to see the noisy Sandwich Tern colony which will feature in my next post.
Please click on the image below to see more birds from all over the world
20 comments:
the cliffs are amazing! lots of birds there too. (i like how you admit to parking by the NO PARKING signs...) :)
I love the cliffs and the birds living there - amazing how many of them! Great trip and thanks for a video.
Another great tour Andrew!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
HI Andrew...your cute...I like a person who can admit to going against the establishment!! "NO Parking".
What a beautiful place ...the Guillemots are amazing ...so many of them how interesting about there eggs!!
Lovely photos and video!!
Have a great begining to your week..Grace!
Anglesey is one of those places that is definitely on my to do list. It's just that little bit too far away for me to make it a day trip from South Wales, but a short break is definitely on the cards. Excellent photos.
WOW, great scenery and birds! Love the lighthouse too. Great photos and video.
I haven't been to Anglesey in years; and now I want to go!
Love the shot of all the Guillemots, and the video.
You didn't rush over to Hartlepool then this week :-)
Good that the RSPB takes over such sensitive birding places.
It sounds like a perfect day - blue sky, magnificent scenery, and all those birds breeding on the cliffs. Great photos.
Lovely scenic photos and a great capture of the gull in flight. It does look like a great day to be out.
OH a beautiful spot for a day trip..awesome landscape..and what great birds, cool fact about the Guillemot egg shape!
As you point out, the scale of the place is awe inspiring and the birding makes it that much more of a treasure. Incredible post Andrew and stirring photographs!
The egg shape is an amazing adaptation to life on the cliffs.
Great post! What lovely scenery and fantastic bird pics!
The video was awesome! I loved seeing the Gulls (?)flying around and the Stonechat.
How interesting that we are an ocean apart from each other and we both saw guillemots! However, you saw far more than I did!
Hi there - don’t really have any sea cliff areas like this close at hand. So it was nice to see some again.
I spent my last weekend birding in the UK at St. Bees head - up in Cumbria - great place - you should check it out if you have not already done so.
Cheers - Stewart M - Australia
Looks like an interesting place to explore -- thanks for sharing the video too!
Looks like such a beautiful place.
I enjoyed your photos and video. When you said the Guillemots breed in mass you weren't kidding. :)
Delightful post.
What a wonderful trip! The video makes the place come alive. Great post!
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