Newborough Warren and Ynys Llanddwyn

16 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by theresagreen in Nature, nature photography

Tags

brent goose, canada goose, mistle thrush, Newborough Warren and Llandwyn Island, oyster catcher

My dad made the journey from Leicester to visit me this weekend and we decided to visit a place that is very special to both of us and evokes many happy memories of holidays spent with him and my sisters on the Isle of Anglesey.

When we first used to spend days at Newborough Warren and Llanddwyn Island, the area was much less visited than it is now and there were many occasions when we hardly saw another person there. To reach the beach there was just a very rough track through the then forestry commission owned pine woodland and you just parked at the end of it. Now the entrance to the forest has a barrier which costs £3 to pass through in a car, the track is tarmacked and there is a designated carpark with toilets and picnic areas. It is still a magical place, with history, myth and legend as well as wild beauty and if you ever get to visit this area, especially outside the summer months, it is a place to put at the top end of your must-explore list.

Newborough Warren and Llanddwyn Island (Ynys Llanddwyn) are situated near the southern entrance to the Menai Strait. The areas are national nature reserves holding a diversity of habitat including dunes, mudflats and saltmarshes that support a wide range of plants and invertebrates.

The view across the dunes to Llanddwyn Island. The sand dunes around this area are known as being the largest in Wales and are amongst the finest in Europe.

Our visit this weekend was brief as my dad is no longer able to walk far and it was too cold for sitting around on the beach. Back in the day he would have walked us the length of the beach, which is about a mile long, through the nature reserve on the headland to reach the lighthouse, where we may have had a bit of a picnic before exploring the beach on the other side of the headland and walking back again.

The view across Llanddwyn beach and the Menai Strait to the mountains of Snowdonia

Llanddwyn beach

When you arrive at the beach you are confronted by this wonderful expanse of golden sandy beach and by a stretch of sea that is generally tranquil and often lake-like, but yet you can hear the sound of surf. That was always a big part of the magic for me; as on the other side of the headland you discover the source of the noise as here big foamy waves come roaring in to the beach.

Geese on the sea edge may be Canada geese or possibly pale-breasted Brent geese; both species occur here on Anglesey

The forest area has red squirrels and is locally famed for its roosting ravens. The cliffs around the island support a wide variety of nesting seabirds, including cormorants, shags and oystercatchers. Ynys yr Adar (Bird Rock), a small islet off the tip of Llanddwyn, throngs during the spring with one percent of the total British breeding population of cormorants. Waders such as turnstones and sandpipers are found along the coast and terns can be seen fishing in the bay. Today I had to content myself with those birds I could see easily from the beach in front of the carpark and at a distance away. There were mainly oystercatchers and gulls with one or two curlew, but there were also a number of large birds that I first thought were shelduck but decided upon geese. I didn’t have binoculars with me and the light was poor, so I was relying heavily on the camera lens to help me out with a good enough shot to identify the species; Canada, Greylag and Brent Geese are all a possibility.

Oystercatchers from behind

Mistle thrush from the front holding something in its bill

Sitting at a picnic table close to the carpark I watched a largish bird balance quite precariously on a short branch low on a pine tree before venturing down to hunt in the grassy area below. It was a mistle thrush, which despite its size was very well camouflaged in low light and against a background strewn with dry grass and twigs.

On the forest edge a Mistle Thrush ventured out to hunt

As I said earlier this was just a very brief look at a beautiful and complex area, but now I’ve reacquainted myself with it I intend to return very soon for a proper exploration.

Other claims to fame:

CD album cover shot of Manic Street Preacher's 'This is my truth, tell me yours' was taken here

In 2004, Llanddwyn Island was used as a filming location in Demi Moore’s romantic thriller Half Light. Tŵr Mawr was used as a lighthouse which plays a key role in the film. CGI was used to create the effect of a real light on top of the lighthouse.

Bryn Terfel filmed his video for Cavatina (arranged by Chris Hazell) on Llanddwyn Island “a very beautiful romantic place” (Bryn on BBC Breakfast)

In 2009, a scene for the Hollywood blockbuster Clash of the Titans was filmed at Llanddwyn.

New Year catch up part 11

22 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by theresagreen in bird behaviour, birds of the seashore, Nature, nature photography, Rhos-on-Sea, wading birds

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

curlew camouflage, oyster catcher, redshank, Turnstone

The variety of wading bird species regularly foraging on the seashores of Rhos-on-Sea and Colwyn Bay remains pretty much the same as reported in the late summer/autumn of last year; i.e in the main, curlew, oystercatcher, redshank and turnstone. The numbers of individuals of some species has decreased, but there are still plenty to be seen and in respect of studying the birds more closely, I find that less is more. With fewer numbers to distract my attention I concentrate more on watching individual birds and pick up on aspects of their behaviour, the way they move, how they feed and such like. I seem to find this the most effective way to assimilate information about a species and how I learn to identify them more quickly in different settings by means of what practised birdwatchers call the bird´s ´giss´ (general impression size and shape).

Oystercatchers are resident here and there are always plentiful numbers to be seen and heard in a variety of places along the seashore. They are very distinctive in their appearance and its long orange bill make it unlikely to be confused with any other large pied wader .

Oystercatcher- Haematopus ostralegus

Two oystercatchers (one ringed) and a redshank also with a leg-ring

Oystercatchers flying along the sea edge with wind turbines in the background

Curlews are best seen once the tide is quite well out as they arrive to forage around the exposed rocks and shallow pools. Despite their size and bulk, their cryptic camouflage is so effective that they can be difficult to pick out against the background of rocks, particularly those that host colonies of periwinkles. Once you have spotted one, more seem to magically appear, rather like those 3D pictures that were fashionable a few years ago that required your eyes to go slightly out of of focus before the image was revealed.

At low tide curlews are perfectly camouflaged against the rocks studded with periwinkles

Curlew-Numenius arquata

There is plenty of space here and the birds range widely across it. Often they may be spotted foraging independently and sometimes in small groups of two or three. I have only once witnessed an altercation between two individuals when one decided to oust the other from what was clearly a prime pool.

A skirmish between two curlew resulted in a great view of the bird's outstretched wings

Turnstones waiting for the tide to turn take the opportunity to rest quietly on the big rocks of the breakwater, springing into action as soon as the first strip of the shoreline is revealed by the retreating water.

Turnstones resting and preening in the winter sunshine waiting for the tide to turn

The particular spot I photographed the birds in is a favourite roosting spot quite close to the edge of the promenade, but they are not in the least perturbed by passing people or dogs. They know exactly when the water will begin to retreat and some of the birds move nearer to the sea edge to wait despite being splashed by waves.