Wildlife - Rhos-On-Sea Golf Club

An early morning visit on 23rd June 2015 found that there were around 25 SWIFT, accompanied by single figure numbers of HOUSE MARTIN and SWALLOW; all were feeding on a mass of midges and flying insects over the ponds and the Afon Ganol. All three species are likely to be nesting at nearby locations.

The ponds on the golf course and the Afon Ganol are home to excellent numbers of MOORHEN, possibly up to as many as 20, including at least 4 pairs seen with young or where young could be heard. There were also 2 COOT; with a single bird on each of the two main lakes. Only one fully grown juvenile Moorhen was seen and surprisingly no young Coot were observed; possibly suggesting that the survival rates of young for these two species is not that great?

The most southerly and also the largest of the ponds has a really nice area of reedbed habitat. This has attracted at least 5 REED WARBLER and 3 SEDGE WARBLER. Two pairs of Reed Warbler were feeding young, with another male singing close by. One pair of Sedge Warbler were also feeding young, again with another male singing nearby. For both of these species these will be the first broods of the summer and they may well try for a second set of eggs, circumstances permitting.

Also in this vicinity there were 1, possibly 2 male REED BUNTING singing. Without this very attractive area of reedbed and for what is a relatively scarce and specialised habitat it is much less likely that any of the three above mentioned species would be present on the golf course. Also on the ponds there were 2 LITTLE EGRET AND 1 GREY HERON. Also present were over 20 MALLARD. including one female with 3 small ducklings and another female with at least 5 almost fully-grown ducklings.

On the golf course itself, flocks of over 40 STARLING were seen and a total of 50 or more JACKDAW. many of the latter feeding young. Both may have bred on nearby housing. with some of the Jackdaws possibly coming from slightly further afield?

Approximately a dozen PIED WAGTAIL were feeding on the short grassland on the golf course, including a male feeding two recently fledged young. HOUSE SPARROW, WOODPIGEON. GOLDFINCH, DUNNOCK and WREN were either seen or heard too.

A BLACKCAP was heard singing from the vegetation along the drain on the eastern edge of the golf course, adjacent to Llandrillo College. A male WHITETHROAT was also singing from there too. Earlier in the year (11th May 2015) the habitat along the aforementioned drain on the eastern side of the golf course held 2 singing CHIFFCHAFF, one singing WILLOW WARBLER and a family party of GREENFINCH. Commoner species also noted on that date included, ROBIN, SONG THRUSH. MAGPIE, CARRION CROW, COLLARED DOVE, CHAFFINCH and BLACKBIRD.