Thanks
Trevor, only one day got ruined by the weather, which by this years standards I think is a bleeding miracle!
Thanks
Dave, it is a very beautiful part of the world, this hobby of ours does have a habit of taking us to places like this
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
.
Thanks
Neil, it was your trip that sowed the seed for my trip, although eight years is an embarrassingly long time to get my act together and do it, can’t even blame Covid for that length of time!
![Embarassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon_redface.gif)
Turns out I was dangerously close to stumbling across 'Invalids Way' but turned back before I saw anything
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
.
Thanks
Goldie, the colonial roosting was one of the highlights of seeing that species there
Thanks
Wurzel, plenty more to come yet!
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June 2024
Wednesday 12th,
Wales day 3. A slight change of scenery today, although still rugged and windy. Todays target was the SPBF over on Holy Island of the coast of Anglesey. The train journey was pleasant, going through some very picturesque countryside and the walk from Holyhead station to South Stack, even though it was along a main road wasn’t too painful either. I did ponder about taking a short cut along some foot paths but this was around the time of Micheal Mosley’s unfortunate accident so I decided against it, I wasn’t sure about what sort of terrain I’d find myself navigating and my dodgy knee was playing up..
It had been mostly cloudy until shortly after arriving when a large portion of Blue sky arrived and hung around for a few hours, perfect timing… to find virtually no butterflies of any description
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
. I was there for over three hours and covered a fair bit of ground but only came away with a Common Blue and a couple of Meadow Brown, none of whom were willing to sit for their pictures.
Birdlife rescued the day. There were decent amounts of Guillemot with a smattering of Razorbill mixed in with them.
![IMG_1081.JPG (331.87 KiB) Viewed 191 times Thousands of Guillemot](./files/thumb_13753_74df1c6c648ab9d0c80440f2f39acc78)
- Thousands of Guillemot
![IMG_1085.JPG (288.38 KiB) Viewed 191 times a few Razorbill.](./files/thumb_13753_70b6642d26b99935dd1bcaa9a10f7940)
- a few Razorbill.
Every now and again a Kittiwake would appear
![IMG_1231.JPG (81.34 KiB) Viewed 191 times 'Wingtips dipped in ink' = Kittiwake](./files/thumb_13753_35344e641541a01519f1087bd93e7a5d)
- 'Wingtips dipped in ink' = Kittiwake
And a family of Chough were a noisy accompaniment to the afternoon.
![IMG_1088.JPG (179.28 KiB) Viewed 191 times Adult Chough with 2 juveniles in tow](./files/thumb_13753_7b6994eb33d0210cedb8272ef3284170)
- Adult Chough with 2 juveniles in tow
![IMG_1097.JPG (268.55 KiB) Viewed 191 times Juvenile Chough](./files/thumb_13753_8d5a03ae5b254b9da7fb22a10cad4e44)
- Juvenile Chough
A little something for the botanists, Sheep's-bit was common (and would have looked even nicer with a few Fritillaries decorating it) and I found lots of Navelwort growing from the stonewalls of the nearby Ironage ruins of the Tŷ Mawr Hut Circles
![IMG_1057.JPG (229.49 KiB) Viewed 191 times Sheep's-bit](./files/thumb_13753_d4ad5b5a7589d817ab87c4f2efdaacd7)
- Sheep's-bit
![IMG_1249.JPG (334.61 KiB) Viewed 191 times Navelwort](./files/thumb_13753_8591acb046d83e26f66e7cf297b8a7c5)
- Navelwort
A large parasitoid wasp did pose which I think is
Podalonia hirsuta, which uses large hairless caterpillars to feed it’s youngsters.
Like the previous day, I returned to Llandudno with enough daylight left to say hello to the Blues before they all settled down for the night, I was far from bored from seeing them yet!