Welsh Mountaineering!

Welsh Mountaineering!

We arrived at the Great Orme at around 7:30am with Zak Spaull in hopes of seeing some rare butterflies. Firstly, we walked along Marine Drive, being guided by Zak, to try and find a rare orchid. As soon as we reached the spot, we noticed many of them marked by red flags. They were Dark Red Helleborines. Since it was a bit early for them, none of them were fully flowering, except for this one plant.

We then walked further up Marine Drive to see a plant endemic to the Orme. It was the Wild Cotoneaster. There were six individual plants located on the Orme, and this was one of them. They were special, but not beautiful.

Zak then pointed out another plant next to the Wild Cotoneaster. We both took a photo of it and Zak later told us it was a Welsh Hawkweed, one of the many rare hawkweeds found on the Orme.

Whilst looking at the plants, we noticed many Choughs, including four that landed right next to us! We also found our target butterfly, the Silver-studded Blue, in good numbers. We were told however that we would see many more on the limestone slopes further down.

On our way to the limestone slopes, we were fortunate to fins a huge patch of Viper's Bugloss, which is a wildflower, I had wanted to see this last year at Spurn but was unsuccessful, so I was very glad to see them here. 

Once we reached the limestone pavements, we noticed hundreds of Silver-studded Blues, all resting deep in the grass to stay out of the wind. Zak told us that he had thousands of them earlier in the year. The butterflies here were a special subspecies of Silver-studded Blue called Plebejus Argus ssp. Caernensis, which was endemic to the Great Orme; until it was translocated to nearby sites.

Zak then taught us how to handle the Silver-studded Blues, and it was surprisingly easy. We walked around for a bit, but couldn't find a singly butterfly with its wings open, because it was too cold for them to fly 

Zak then spotted a moth, which I had wanted to see for a while, a Cistus Forester. It was bright green and surprisingly small. We were very lucky to see this one, as it was incredibly windy.

On the other hand, because it was too windy for it to fly, we also managed to handle it, and it was just about the size of our fingertips. 

We then went to the Wildlife Trust site nearby to try and find Silky Wave and Brown Argus. Once there, we noticed lots of Pyramidal Orchids, along with a few Meadow Browns. I also spotted my first Ringlet of the year, however no Brown Argus.

But we did get a few Silver-studded Blues, including this beautiful male with its wings open. We also had a male Common Blue with its wings open, which allowed for a nice side by side comparison. I also saw my first Small Heath of the year.

We also saw a wave, which we thought was a Silky Wave. However, whilst editing my photos, I noticed the wave had two central, black dots. This meant that it was a Dwarf Cream Wave, not the rare Silky Wave, but still a new moth for me nonetheless.

We then went to the Little Orme, which was just a few minutes down the road, in hopes of seeing Bee Orchids. As soon as we arrived, we couldn't find any Bee Orchids, which lead us to believe the season for them was over. We did find a few more Silver-studded Blues, along with a Small Heath which permitted us to handle it. 

We also saw a nationally scarce plant, the Spiked Speadwell. Zak told us that earlier in the season they were much bigger and more magnificent plants, but only the small plants were left.

We then made a quick stop to RSPB Conwy to try and find Bee Orchids. Although we were unsuccessful, we did see a few Southern Marsh Orchids and Early Marsh Orchids, along with a family of Great Crested Grebes and a Common Sandpiper.

We then tried for a bird, which I have not managed to get a good view of nor a photo of, the Ring Ouzel. As soon as we arrived, we noticed many Swallows and House Martins feeding over a lake, as well as three flyover Goosander. We then did a steep hike up a mountain to try and find them. We were in an area famed for its botany so. along with the birds, we were hoping to see a few rare Alpine plants. The first Alpine plant we saw was the Parsley Fern. We then crossed a bridge which went over a small waterfall. Along the bank, Zak pointed out a Starry Saxifrage, a rare plant found in Snowdonia and Scotland. 

We continued hiking up the mountain, spotting many Meadows Pipits and a few Stonechats, as well as a surprise Tufted Duck. We also spotted another rare Alpine plant, the Mossy Saxifrage. There was quite a lot of it too, all over the rocky scree we were standing in. We also spotted a Roseroot growing out the side of a rock. Sadly, we were unsuccessful with Ring Ouzels. We then made our descent, spotting a Grey Wagtail and a hovering Kestrel.

As a last ditch effort to see them on their breeding grounds this year, we tried one last stop, just down the road from where we were. Upon arrival, we noticed a few Meadow Pipits. We also heard two flyover Redpoll.  As we were about to leave, I spotted a thrush fly in. When it landed, I noticed a white collar. It was a Ring Ouzel. It initially landed quite close, but then continued to feed higher up the mountain.

As we were watching the Ring Ouzel, a Wheatear came into view, providing a nice size comparison. The only other time I had seen a Ring Ouzel this year was when one flew over us at RSPB Geltsdale. It was identified by another birder we were with, but I was unable to confidently ID it myself. Satisfied with todays sighting, we made our way to one final destination, for one final target.

We arrived at an undisclosed site at around 8:30pm in hopes of seeing Nightjar. At first, all we noticed were a few Stonechats and a flock of Shelducks which flew overhead. Then, a light brown bird flew into view and landed on a rock. At first, we thought it was a Nightjar, but we then realised that it was a Tawny Owl! After waiting around for a bit, we finally managed to hear a Nightjar churring. We heard around four individual Nightjars churring throughout the night, but we didn't manage to see one. As it was getting very dark, and we had no torch, we called it a day and headed home.

Overall, a great day with a few new inverts and a bogey bird for the year list ticked off!