Waxwings and Raptors

Having got Christmas day out of the way and having another day together as a family but not wanting to be stuck indoors we ventured off firstly to see the Waxwings that had been around St Asaph in North Wales. Arriving at the village we soon saw a bunch of green clad people with large lenses so we new we were in the right spot.
Soon Waxwings were flying over our heads and dropping down from the trees by the river to feed in a small set of trees on the edge of the park, allowing for some great close up views even Gemma thought they were nice looking birds.

After getting our Waxwing fix we ventured off to try and see the Black Throat-ed Thrush this bird seems to keep doing a bunk and you just have to it seems stand staring at a bare Hawthorn bush in the hope it appears. After a quick look and having a five year old in tow we decided to move on to some where more child friendly in the shape of Burton Mere after a quick lunch time visit to Kinmel Bay to have our sandwiches. Around the beach we picked up Turnstone, Sanderling and Oystercatchcer.

Burton Mere didn't hold many birds to view from the visitor centre but it was warm and we could watch Shoveler feeding in the pools and Marsh Harrier drifting over the reed beds. Even a Sparrow Hawk was on show actually standing on the fringe of the reeds by the water edge before taking flight and putting all of the birds up in panic. After a quick walk around another raptor appeared in the trees just behind the toilets in the shape of a Merlin allowing for a few shots to be grabbed.