MALLTRAETH is one of the most famous birdwatching spots in Wales, largely thanks to the artworks of Charles Tunnicliffe RA OBE. He spent half of his long working life here and although some things have naturally changed since then, there are still many birds. The close proximity of Newborough Forest and Warren, with Llanddwyn Isle and its fine beaches provide a superb variety of both walks and birds. The simplest and most popular walk is the mile-long Cob embankment, where you can view some of the thousands of birds that winter or live full-time here, but sightings are often dependent upon the tide or weather. The Cob Pool can hold hundreds of birds or sometimes just a Heron and a few Coots, now increasingly wintering here. If the tide is rising, then there can be hundreds of duck like Wigeon, Pintail, Teal, Mallard and Shelduck feeding along the seaward side of the Cob, and hundreds of Gulls, and Waders like Curlew, Oyster Catcher, Redshank, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Dunlin, and Snipe also either on the Pool or shore. If the tide is out then the birds might well be spread over the three square miles of estuary, which with the Cob Pool and Warren is largely a National Nature Reserve. However, you can often see some Peregrine Falcon, Buzzard or Sparrowhawk in all their glory in fine formation flights-or, increasingly, cocklers 4-wheel drive bikes!
 There are many other diverse birds to be seen here on the river and bay, like the beautiful little Kingfisher, Dabchicks, Little Egrets, Canada and Greylag Geese, the new phenomena of wintering Black-tailed Godwits and a Common Sandpiper,or Greenshank, Red-breasted Mergansers, Goldeneye (and a regular male Smew these last winters, and escaped American Hooded Merganser!), Cormorants, Barn Owl, Pied Wagtails, Rock Pipit and many Ravens in glorious acrobatic flight. The walk along the forest edge (park at Newborough end of Cob), looking out over the saltmarsh will regularly turn up at least one tiny dashing Merlin, and possibly a Northern Harrier, but only occasionally a Shorteared Owl nowadays. Continuing on around to Llanddwyn Isle could add shoreline skulkers like the odd Shorelark or Snow Bunting with the Finches, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits, and Jay, Great-spotted Woodpecker, many Ravens, and various Tits and Goldcrest in the conifers. We have occasionally seen the awesome Goshawk here, and equally rare Red Squirrels are still rumoured, alongside regular forest specialities like Crossbill, Siskin and Redpoll. Offshore there are usually Grey Seals, Cormorants and Shags, the odd Great Northern or Red-throated Divers, plus Common Scoter, or a late Skua or Gannet. The rocky shores often have Turnstone and Purple Sandpiper. Lastly a complaint received. October's very rare and exhausted American visitor to South Stack, the Grey Catbird, was disgracefully scared from bush to bush by so-called bird lovers interested only in ticking it off - and not in its welfare or birdwatching's image.
Please keep any reports coming in at philip@snow.swinternet.co.uk or tel/fax 01407 840512.
| 
Article
