Top 5 places to go birding in Wales

Wales offers some incredible birdwatching opportunities, thanks to its varied landscapes and rich biodiversity. Here are five of the top places to go birding in Wales:

1. Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

• Why we love it: Pembrokeshire is a birdwatching paradise with diverse habitats, including cliffs, woodlands, and wetlands. The coast is particularly famous for its seabird colonies and the islands are home to some of the richest breeding densities of seabirds in the UK.
• Look out for: Puffins, razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, and choughs.
• Our top picks to visit: Skomer Island (for puffins), Ramsey Island, and the coastal path around St David’s Head are great places to start. In Autumn, be sure to take a visit to St Govan's Head.
• Best time to visit: Spring and early summer for seabird colonies, and winter for watching wildfowl and waders.

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2. RSPB South Stack Cliffs, Anglesey

• Why we love it: This is one of the best places for seabird watching in North Wales. The cliffs are home to a variety of seabirds, and the RSPB reserve offers excellent views mixed with a good bit of history around the lighthouse.
• Look out for: Puffins, razorbills, guillemots, peregrine falcons, and choughs.
• Our top picks to visit: The cliffs around South Stack, with dedicated viewing areas and trails. Ellin's Tower is a great spot to take a break and look out to sea.
• Best time to visit: Spring to early summer for seabirds and peregrine falcons, and autumn for migration.

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3. Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli)

• Why we love it: This small island off the Llyn Peninsula is a designated nature reserve, renowned for its diverse birdlife and its role as a migration hotspot. It is steeped in history, and the team at Bardsey Bird Obs are filled with information of the island.
• Look out for: Migrating birds, particularly warblers, and seabirds. Autumn and Spring often turn up unusual birds including Pallas' Warbler, Song Sparrow and Black and White Warbler in previous years.
• Our top picks to visit: The island’s coastlines and grassy areas are perfect for spotting a wide range of species, especially during migration. It's a small island so a trip to Solfach beach is only a doddle from the Bird Observatory.
• Best time to visit: Spring and autumn for migration, and late spring to early summer for seabird colonies.

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4. WWT Llanelli, Carmarthenshire

• Why we love it: This wetland reserve offers a diverse habitat for both migratory and resident birds. It’s perfect for spotting waterfowl and wading birds.
• Look out for: Bitterns, kingfishers, marsh harriers, and a wide variety of wildfowl (e.g., teal, wigeon, and lapwings). You can also spot breeding Mediterranean Gulls in the Black-headed Gull colonies and Spoonbills are often seen sifting through the saltmarsh mud.
• Our top picks to visit: The reserve’s hides and boardwalks are great for getting close to wetland birds. We particularly love the reserve with its endless reedbed corridors bursting to life during the summer months.
• Best time to visit: Autumn and winter for migrating waterfowl and wintering birds, and spring for breeding species.

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5. World's End, Wrexham

• Why we love it: World’s End is a dramatic, elevated spot in the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), offering sweeping views over the surrounding valleys and hills. It's particularly well-known for its rocky escarpments and heathland, as well as its accessibility from the nearby towns.
• Look out for: Peregrine falcons, kestrels, buzzards, ravens, black grouse and red grouse. The heathland and cliffs also support meadow pipits, stonechats, and skylarks. In winter, you can spot hen harriers and owls hunting in the area.
• Our top picks to visit: The cliffs and rocky outcrops along the ridge are great for spotting raptors like peregrines and kestrels. The heathland around the area also attracts a wide variety of smaller species but the standout area is the very top of the hills near the road where the eerie dawn calls of lekking black grouse are evident in the heathland clearings below.
• Best time to visit: Year-round, with spring and summer being ideal for spotting breeding birds, and autumn and winter being great for watching raptor. For the best grouse experience, late-spring is ideal and pre-dawn is the optimum time.

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