The prospect of a hot, sunny weekend took us away for a few days, to enjoy a wonderful time on Anglesey. The presence of a long-staying 'mega' rarity - an Elegant Tern at Cemlyn Bay, was the jewel in the crown which had to be seen. Cemlyn Bay with the sea to the left is a beautiful unspoilt location. We were seeing it in a heatwave with clear blue skies which made it particularly spectacular. Although many terns can be seen as you walk the shingle beach, it is the lagoon behind the beach which forms the breeding colony of Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns. The occasional Roseate Tern can drop in too. The wardens managing the site are recording figures of :- 4000 Sandwich Terns, 400 Arctic Terns and 400 Common Terns plus a Roseate and of course, the Elegant Tern. The magnificent Elegant Tern The Elegant Tern has a favourite perch where it is joined by a Sandwich Tern, the two seem very fond of each other! During frequent fly arounds, the Elegant Tern would land among other Sandwich and smaller terns. I didn't see a Roseate Tern, just getting close to the many Arctic Terns feeding their young on the beach was a great bonus. A Sandwich Tern carrying food into the colony. After a great time spent with the terns, we walked over to the sea and as evening progressed, large numbers of Manx Shearwaters could be seen passing southwards but far out. I haven't seen Manxies for quite some time and another nice bird for the year list were small numbers of Black Guillemots in the bay. A brilliant weekend in Anglesey, other birds seen included 3 Choughs inland, Buzzards and occasional Stonechats. Back-tracking in time a little, because our decision on Anglesey was 'last minute', I'm including Fridays' visit to Bempton and the return of Albert Ross! Yes, the Black-browed Albatross continues to make an appearance at Bempton Cliffs. On Friday, it went out to sea around lunchtime so we only had brief views during the morning. Bempton's other star birds put on a great show while the albatross is out of view.
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