Newborough Forest

Day two in North Wales and a family day enjoying the sun, sea and sand of Newborough. Gannets fished offshore, while the occasional Grayling fluttered past along the sand. Many more were seen on short dog-walks in the dunes...

Another good day for butterflies in the warm sun. During the day we had 8 sightings of Dark Green Fritillary and 3 of Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, several Ringlet and numerous Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper and Large Whites. Another new trip tick was a Small Heath by the car park...

An interesting surprise, also near the car park, was a Hooded Crow (or as near a pure one as you maybe find here). Birds have been in the area for a few years now, hybridising with Carrion Crow. This was one of those instances - the Hooded Crow was with a fully black Carrion Crow and another bird with pale grey only on the back...