Thirty five members of the Nottingham RSPB group set off on the annual birding weekend in glorious weather. This year's destination was Llandudno but, as usual, species lists were being compiled from the time of departure. Soon after departure a buzzard was seen. Of course we expected to see many examples of this bird of prey and, in fact, succeeded in seeing examples in every county we travelled through. This is testimony to their revival following the crash due to pesticide ingestion in the sixties.

Our first reserve was to be the RSPB reserve at Conwy but before we got there, Dave Goodwin and I were fortunate enough to see a hobby performing its high speed aerial ballet over the Flint countryside.

At Conwy the entrance barrier proved too narrow to admit our coach so we got out and walked the short distance to the Visitor's Centre. For those of you who have not visited this reserve, it consists of a series of open stretches of fresh water surrounded by bushes, low trees and reed beds. It is bounded on one side by the Conwy estuary, which provides salt water habitats attractive to wading birds. One of the more elusive warblers, the lesser whitethroat, was seen almost immediately, and there were several more on the reserve. Other warblers were in evidence as was the common sandpiper, another summer visitor.

For the reserve wardens one of the most interesting birds was the gadwall, common enough in the Nottingham area but rarer in this part of North Wales.

Having looked at the fresh water areas we turned our attention to the estuary. Here we met an old friend, Stuart Taylor, now one of the wardens at Lake Vwrnwy. He had seen ringed plover, dunlin and black tailed godwit on the sandbanks. Of special interest was a little ringed plover on the salt marsh, a bird more associated with fresh water habitats.

When the group met up before we left some had seen whimbrel, goosander, whinchat and, hidden by bushes at the side of the main road, a spotted flycatcher.

Herring Gull

The short trip to Llandudno brought us to the Ambassador Hotel, our base for the next few days. After unpacking, birders can't wait to be out birding, and though the predominant species were jackdaw and herring gull, one group saw some turnstone from the pier.

A good dinner and a short walk to a local pub rounded off a very enjoyable first day when almost seventy species had been seen in total.

We could not believe our luck when the following day dawned clear and sunny. This was the day we were due to visit Ynys Hir reserve, between Machynlleth and Aberystwyth and we set off after breakfast.

Dipper

The roads of the area are not designed for speed, so we beautiful countryside, passing Llanrwst, Betws-y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog and adding wheatear, dipper and grey wagtail to our list.

We arrived at Ynys Fur almost at midday. Everyone has his or her favourite reserve but for me, in the spring, Ynys Hir takes the prize. The oak woods are stuffed with warblers and pied flycatchers while the fields, pools and the shoreline of the Dyfi estuary provide a great range of different habitats.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

We set off through the woods and hadn't walked twenty yards before we saw a pied flycatcher on top of a nest box. One of the features of the reserve is that many of the nest boxes are only a few feet from the ground. From the number that we saw being used by flycatchers this is a successful strategy. Soon we added redstart and a very obliging wood warbler to our list while other species noted included tree creeper and greater spotted woodpecker. The lesser spotted woodpecker evaded us, as did a small party of redpoll that were heard but not seen.

Nuthatch (and Great Tit)

Out in the open country two barnacle geese were among a group of canadas and both stonechat and whinchat were reported but for many close views of a small party of ravens were the highlight of this part of the reserve. Little egret had been seen on the estuary but by now we realised that time was short so we had to make our way reluctantly to the coach. This did not prevent us from adding nuthatch and garden warbler to a list that had grown to over a hundred species in the first two days of the weekend. Rob, our driver, excelled himself on the way back, dropping us off at the hotel just ten minutes before dinner.

For some of us the day was not over and after dinner we went down to West Shore then along the face of the Orme and through Haulfre Gardens searching for more species. We saw another raven and a rock that bore a remarkable resemblance to a second one. A relaxing pint and a recap of the days events rounded a fantastic days birding.

What a difference a day makes. The following day was cloudy, cold and damp for the visits to South Stack and Cemlyn Bay. Nowadays the roads are good all the way to Holyhead so we were soon disembarking in the South Stack cafe car park.

What a contrast with Ynys Hir. A few windswept trees and acres of heather running down to the cliff edge. The colours were sensational. Carpets of spring squill with its blue flowers mingled with the pink of thrift and the yellow vetch.

Chough

Of course it was the birds we had come to see and we were soon gazing on the ranks of cliff nesting guillemots and razorbills. There were small numbers of fulmars and kittiwakes but the big disappointment was that it took some time to locate a puffin. Out at sea gannets were passing and then a chough appeared. This crow with its black plumage, sick1e shaped red bill and red legs, is a superb sight at it floats past on the wind. Surprisingly, most of the birds seen were silent, the call from which they get their name being absent. Like Victorian children they were seen and not heard.

A walk at the edge of the cliffs produced the dark legged rock pipit and another wheatear but all too soon it was time to move on to Cemlyn Bay. On our last visit the coach got as far as the Wylfa turning and the phrase "You'll never get a coach down there!" had its first outing. Rob is made of sterner stuff and negotiated the narrow road until we reached a farm close to the Bay. We got off and walked the last couple of hundred yards to the National Trust reserve. Cemlyn Bay has a long shingle bank that separates the pool from the open sea. It was cold and windy. Shingle is not the favourite surface for walking but we struggled along, seeing widgeon on the way to the tern colony. One of the wardens was there and told us that there were about a thousand sandwich terns there, along with smaller numbers of common and arctic terns and black headed gulls. The contrast the black caps of the sandwich terns and the brown heads of the so-called black headed gulls was very clear. Sadly, no roseate terns were present.

Some of us decided to brave the wind and do a bit of sea watching from further round the bay. Gannets were plunging into the rough water, and shags and cormorants flew past. At last patience was rewarded when some of us saw a manx shearwater and, a little later, a red throated diver. After a while we turned back and a white wagtail was seen. This is a sub species of the pied wagtail, was an interesting find despite not adding to the trip list.

The shingle bank being avoided we returned to the coach, which Rob had succeeded in driving to the car park, by the road. The return tip to Llandudno was soon made and another excellent dinner rounded off the day.

Well, not quite, for that evening we were entertained by a man playing the electric organ and by Barry showing how to balance a fifty pence piece on the edge of a crisp twenty pound note. This trick brought forth the observation that "You couldn't balance it on a floppy one!" How true.

The following morning saw an improvement in the weather and our departure. On the way home we were due to have a break at Loggerheads Country Park near Mold. This vas a new venue for the group, one chosen by Janet Goodwin, and it proved to be an excellent choice. The Park is a wooded gorge of the River Alyn, to the right of which rises a high limestone cliff. We set off along the picturesquely named Devils Gorge, having already seen nuthatch on the feeders by the visitor centre. Juvenile dippers and grey wagtails were spotted and other items of interest were the clumps of archangel, looking like dead nettles with pale lemon flowers, and a female cockchafer, which obligingly sat still to have its photo taken.

After exploring the Gorge we climbed the steep path until we were almost in the tree canopy. A tantalising view of a possible goshawk excited interest and we had good views of a buzzard perched on top of a large spruce. A pair of bullfinch, the first of the trip, flew through.

Charcoal Kiln

In a clearing we came across a group of people at a couple of charcoal kilns, circular constructions with conical tops. It was fascinating to see them in action and a pleasure to find an old craft still being pursued.

Our ramble finally, at a height of over eight hundred feet, brought us to an open space, an airy limestone platform covered with short turf and providing breathtaking views over the surrounding countryside. We could see the visitor centre, several hundred feet below. On such a clear day we could see the surrounding hills, dominated by the bulk of Moel Fammau. Our vantage point proved as excellent raptor watch point. It was lovely to see buzzards, sparrowhawk, peregrine, kestrel and ravens all in the air at the same time, as well as distant views of another possible goshawk. Then we came down to the visitor centre we found that some of the group had been lucky enough to see a goshawk at close range as it flew over the tree tops nearby. A sighting of a spotted flycatcher at the edge of the car park and a willow tit on the feeders capped a very good day and we climbed hack on to the coach having seen a total of a hundred and nineteen species over the four days.

The journey to Nottingham was uneventful and it only remains for me to thank Dave and Jan for organising another super holiday. Thanks must also go to Rob, our driver, and Jill for negotiating the narrow roads so well. Rob's day was complete when he won the sweepstake on the number of species seen. Already I know Dave and Jan will be planning for next year and I'm sure they will have no difficulty filling the coach.