Friday 23 August 2019

Gronant - June 2019


Having a couple of days on the road up to North Wales with work left me in a position to finally pay a visit to Gronant to see the little tern colony, and snaffle an all-round lifer. 

On arrival I nearly went wrong, but I’m glad I did because I saw a couple of painted lady butterflies along a path which I shouldn’t have taken, and I think it’s the first time I’ve knowingly seen this species. It was great to see them, and it blows my mind that they migrate to us from North Africa. The site was covered in orchids, and I could have spent a good while having a look around, but time was against me.  I retraced my steps and set off once more for the tern viewing platform.

The site was alive with other birds, like stonechats and their offspring, and a very wary heron that kept taking off as soon as it saw me on my way around to the colony viewpoint. I passed an area that was enclosed for natterjack toads, and if I’d had time I would have liked to see if I could see any.

Just as the tern project’s blog had warned, there was a bit of flooding on site from the recent run of bad weather, but luckily it had subsided somewhat, and I didn’t have to jump far to clear the water besieging the boardwalk. On arrival at the top of the platform I instantly saw the terns flying in from the sea and up the beach carrying food for their chicks. The colony itself is fenced in to protect the terns, and policed by a team of volunteers. I stayed well clear of the colony, but hopped down the dune on to the beach, and took some flight photos of the terns as they flew past. Not an easy one with a dodgy 300mm lens, but managed a few passable shots.

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