Western Reef Heron in the shadow of Caernarfon castle

"The big one travels alone" they say, referring to the fact that very often true megas don't arrive with flocks of other birds at peak migration times, rather they're often alone, at unexpected times and often in unexpected places. I could cite many examples of megas appearing long after migration seems to have stopped, with June an exceptional month for this strange phenomenon. Black lark, Cretzchmar's bunting, great knot, black-winged pratincole, little bustard, Hudsonian whimbrel, Marmora's warbler, paddyfield warbler (Hilbre), river warbler (Wigan Flashes), African royal tern, short-toed eagle, white-tailed plover and spectacled warbler are just a few birds that I can think of which I have seen in June over the years, and there have been many others which I haven't bothered going for. I can now add western reef heron to that list.

Last Saturday news broke that a western reef heron had been found at Foryd Bay, just west of Caernarfon. It was a first for Britain and there was never any doubt that I would go for it, especially with it being in North Wales, but there was just one problem - I was in Slovenia at the time! I didn't get home until midnight on Monday and there was no chance of me going on Tuesday, so I just had to wait and hope that it would stay. It was still there on Tuesday evening so at 3:30 on Wednesday I was up and by 4:15 I was on the road.

I arrived at the hide at Foryd Bay just before 6:30 to find about 20 birders already on site. Not exactly the huge crowd that I had expected but I suppose most people who really wanted to see the bird would have already been, especially since it had been found at midday on Saturday, giving birders the opportunity to go Saturday afternoon or Sunday. At least it meant that the anticipated parking problems did not materialise. There had been no sightings up to that point so I had my breakfast and then had a 30 minute nap in the car. Wake me up when you find it guys!

By 8:30 there had still been no sightings and the first embers of doubt started to creep into my mind. Had it gone? Surely I couldn't be that unlucky? It wouldn't be the first time....

Suddenly I was awakened from my slumbers by a ping on my phone. A message informed me that the bird was in the harbour at Caernarfon. Everybody was now racing to their cars, a mass exodus from Foryd Bay was taking place! Relieved yet also a little disappointed, I followed.

Twelve minutes later we pulled onto a car park right alongside the castle and even more conveniently right alongside the harbour. There was already a group of 30 birders at the bottom of the car park peering through telescopes and more were arriving by the second. We were out of the car almost before the engine had stopped and joined the growing masses. 

And there it was. A gorgeous blue grey heron, about the same size as little egret, with full breeding plumes, a white throat and a large bill. It was on the opposite bank of the river about 75m away, with four little egrets and a couple of grey herons, and was feeding actively on what looked like shrimps.

I noticed that it's colour seemed to change in the bright sunlight depending on the birds position, sometimes it was slate grey bordering on black, at other times it would turn it's body and looked more smokey blue. I guess the fact that it was in pristine breeding plumage added to this effect, almost like the iridescent head of a breeding plumage male mallard. It really was a stunning bird and so much more than just a dark grey heron.

I took time to reflect on the disappointment that I alluded to earlier, which stemmed from the fact that the bird was now at Caernarfon and I wasn't going to see it at Foryd Bay, where I'd had such a fabulous experience in January when I managed to relocate the drake bufflehead. Amazingly the bufflehead was my only other UK lifer so far this year, and the synchronicity of the two events appealed to my OCD mind. Two unrelated occurrences at a site that I hadn't been to for years providing me with potentially my only two UK lifers of the year. What's not to like?

However, on reflection Caernarfon harbour was a much better place for me to see the bird. Due to the width of the estuary the bird could never be any further away than about 100m, and here it was, a jewel of a bird wading around in the mirror like water of the estuary with the sun behind us, occasionally disappearing behind moored boats and yachts, wading through mud and seaweed with the imposing Caernarfon castle as a backdrop. Truly a sight that will live long in the memory.

The bird was about the same size as little egret but with a heavier bill, especially at the base and it had yellow feet, just like little egret. This bird is thought to be the West African race gularis. I've seen the species previously in Kuwait and India where the race is schistacea.

We watched it for an hour and then moved on. Anglesey and South Stack were calling. We spent the rest of the day watching seabirds on the cliffs and on the sea. A great day!

Great to see it with breeding plumes.

Caernarfon castle, one of several built in Wales by Edward I in the 13th century.