Very cold but tonnes of birds!

It was a must to get out in this cold weather to see what had been forced into North Wales. Unlike the rest of Wales, we missed out on the snow with just a very l
ight dusting keeping fields and farmland green for birds still to find food.

 It was clear of how much this was affecting the birds with hundreds of thrushes around the River Clwyd today. 5 species were easily spotted in the fields with Redwings outnumbering. Healthy numbers of both Song Thrushes and Fieldfares were present along with small numbers of Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes.

 

Lapwings were also a big feature with movement all around North Wales. There were large numbers everywhere around the Rhyl and Abergele area with most fields holding small flocks. In terms of the Clwyd, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were also taking advantage. I found two Waxwings on the Kinmel Bay side which I'll never get tired of seeing.
 

 

The River itself was also very busy with birds. A record 8 Little Grebes were present along with 5 Goldeneye, a Gooseander and over 300 Wigeon. Small numbers of Teal were about and a Grey Heron was sheltering away from the cold. Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatchers were about and a lone Grey Plover guarded the near edge. I managed to pick out 2 Pink Footed Geese amongst the Greylag Geese that were there. Small numbers of Canada Geese were present too!
 

Pink Footed Geese in Norfolk

 I moved on to St. George where a Marsh Tit was a cool find but my real reason for going up there was for a potential Brambling. I had no luck in that department but there were certainly plenty of other finches, tits and thrushes to divert my attention upon. A Nuthatch put in a brief show too also adding to my yearlist.