I took my mum out this afternoon and we ended up at the Spinnies (Aberogwen) reserve near Bangor. There are two hides, one by the road and one by the estuary – we tried the roadside hide first.
On arrival all seemed fairly peaceful. The ducks were bathing, the Moorhens were squabbling and an assortment of Tits and Finches were doing their best to empty the feeders. It was so calm that even a frog was aimlessly swimming across the pool, seeming to be in no hurry, just happy to bathe in the warmth of the sun. I christened “him” Freddy.
If your bath doesn’t come with a shower – make your own!
I decided to wander off to the other hide – mum stayed put (she is 86, after all). Again the birds were mainly on or around the feeders. I love Nuthatches, but this one wouldn’t land a branch, just the feeders.
After a while a gentleman in the hide with me asked “is that a Red Kite?” as a large bird flew away from us over the road. A quick and distant grab shot confirmed that it was indeed a Kite, possibly carrying nesting material.
I wandered back to the car and met up with mum again. “Did you see anything?” she asked. “A Red Kite” I answered. She said “Oh, I’m glad you saw it. It swooped down right in front of the hide and plucked something from the water. It was all over in a couple of seconds.”
Having looked the photo again, all I can say at this point is “RIP Freddy! What a way to go…”