Fine habitats in close proximity with birds to match
Squeezed by the railway line and the North Wales Freeway, Llanfairfechan, with good access to the shore, is a prime location on Conway Bay; one well remembered as the winter home from March 1999 until April 2007 of a megararity, a Black Scoter from the Siberian tundra and Arctic New World. Close by is the saltmarsh of Glan y Mor Elias and a little further on the lagoons at Morfa Madryn combine as a Local Nature Reserve.
WHERE TO WATCH
1 Check the tide tables before setting out and aim to arrive about two hours before high water. Gannets, Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters and terns are regular on passage throughout the autumn, while winter residents include Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers and Black Guillemot. Grey Wagtails frequent the nearby stream outlet, where Dippers have also been recorded.
2
The coast path provides easy access close to the shore, and the small woodland seems ideal for migrant warblers and flycatchers so is always worthy of attention.
3 With high water now upon you it is time to scan the saltmarsh
at the Glan y Mor Elias section of the Local Nature Reserve, for gulls and waders, Grey Herons and Little Egrets; Kingfishers regularly winter on the creek while the high tide roost of Oystercatchers should not be overlooked.
4 Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Ringed Plovers breed at Morfa Madryn, also part of the Local Nature Reserve, with Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin and Grey Plover present from late summer onwards; Sanderling and Turnstone frequent the beach. Before departing on migration, Whimbrel and Sandwich Terns are likely while careful scrutiny of the gull flock usually reveals the presence of Mediterranean Gulls.