Western Reef Heron in the shadow of Conwy castle

Continuing it's tour of the castles of North Wales, the western reef heron showed nicely on the Conwy estuary today, though nowhere near as close as when it was at Caernarfon. It had a nice little fly around the castle before dropping down on the other side of the bridge.

I call myself a selective twitcher. What I mean by that is, I'll go for the right bird in the right location.  An adult dark morph western reef heron with breeding plumes in Caernarfon harbour ticks all of the boxes so I went. An adult dark morph western reef heron with breeding plumes on the Conwy estuary ticks all of the boxes so I went. This is the reason why I go twice or even three times to see the same bird. I'm going for the experience not just to see the bird. I love the scenery of these places, the dramatic castles, the history, the beautiful countryside, the sea air, the ice cream and the supporting cast of birds and other wildlife, in fact a combination of everything, it's just a great day out. If it was a white morph western reef heron or a juvenile I might not be so keen. If it was on the other side of the country I probably wouldn't go.

An adult dark morph western reef heron with breeding plumes at Hilbre Island really would be something special, so if it turns up there I'll be over in a shot.....

Conwy castle is perhaps more picturesque than Caernarfon, but militarily Caernarfon is usually considered the stronger and more militarily sophisticated.