Rhuddlan Castle from the road bridge over Afon Clwyd.
A pair of Goosander on the Afon Clwyd.
A few Great cormorantswaiting for the tide to go out.
Tufted duck, Mallard and Coot on Brickfield Pond.
A single Dunlin with Lapwing on the Rhyl "Marine Lake".
Dunlin with Lapwing on the Rhyl "Marine Lake".
Approaching the Foryd Road Bridge on the riverside path.
On Rhyl's Pont y Draig.
On Rhyl's Pont y Draig.
"Does anyone want their photo taken?"
Rhyl front from Horton's Nose.
The partially drained Marine lake at Rhyl from our lunch spot.
Wigeon on the ebbing Afon Clwyd
"Does anyone want their photo taken?"
Walk stats: Distance: 8.9 miles. Climb: 380'.
Time: hours 59 minutes. On the move walking average: 2.7 m.p.h. (2.9 m.p.h. on my nest GPS). Overall walk average: 2.2 m.p.h.
Group: Martyn, Roger and Margaret, Paul and Scrumble.
The first surprise today, was having Margaret S joining us on a walk, having last walked with the group in 1995!
The forecast for today, was sufficiently good to walk in shorts. in fact it was almost perfect weather for walking in that it wasn't to hot or cold, breezy at times on the way back and only a few spots of rain.
High tide today was around 11-20, sufficiently large to need a Nation Resources Wales employee to come out to check that the sluice gates were holding the rising tide back and the nearby caravan park wasn't in any danger of flooding.
As usual we made the short detour to visit the Brickfield Pond where at this time of the year invariably attracts a variety of Winter visiting birds. We weren't disappointed with several Goosanders showing well.
The second surprise of the day was to find Rhyl Marine Lake in the process of being drained for maintenance, but it did mean that more waders were taking advantage of the exposed area of the lake.
After crossing the Pont y Draig and visiting the the beach at Horton's Nose, we decided head back to the station at the Marine Lake for lunch.
Margaret provide us with delicious rich fruit, but I'm not sure our efforts so far justified the extra calories.
The return route was a little more direct, and once on the riverside tarmac path, Margaret decided to test her Nordic walking skills and soon disappeared into the distance.
We were back at the cars quite early, and I was even home early enough to watch the start of the West Indies V England ODI
Birds seen or heard today included: House sparrow, Carrion crow, Mallard, Teal, Great cormorant, Black headed gull, Herring gull, Jackdaw, Common starling, Canada goose, Eurasian curlew, Black-billed magpie, Goosander, Linnet, Common coot, Moorhen, Tufted duck, Wigeon, Common blackbird, Blue tit, Great ti, European robin, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Mute swan, Collared dove, Common redshank, Woodpigeon, Shelduck, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Dunlin and Little egret.
Overall a very enjoyable walk and even ending with clean boots - always a bonus.
After walk drinks were enjoyed at home watching the cricket.
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