Dotterel at Great Orme

Barry Quatermass

16 hours ago

2 min read

I’ve made several visits to the Great Orme at Llandudno over the years, always hoping that one day I might finally catch up with one of its most elusive visitors — the Dotterel. A few years ago I even travelled to the Yorkshire Moors with a friend when there was a chance of seeing them there, but despite the effort, I never managed to find one.

Cliffside view of a bay with a lone tree, long pier, rocky shore, green hills, and cloudy sky over calm water — Looking to Llandudno Pier

Seaside cemetery with weathered gravestones and an angel statue overlooking a blue ocean under cloudy sky. — Cemetery at St Tudno's Church - Great Orme

So, arriving on the Great Orme a few days ago, I wasn’t expecting miracles. The Orme is a wonderful place to spend a morning anyway, with its dramatic limestone cliffs, sweeping views across the sea and mountains, and that wonderful feeling of being somewhere quite wild despite being so close to Llandudno.

Then, almost unbelievably, there it was — a Dotterel.

A Dotterel standing in dry grass and tundra, alert and still, with a blurred rocky background. — Dotterel

Dotterel standing among pale rocks and dry grass in a rocky field, alert and still. — Dotterel

After all those years of looking, I was absolutely delighted. They are such a scarce bird in the UK that simply finding one feels like something of an achievement. What made the encounter even better was that this particular bird seemed completely unconcerned by my presence, allowing me to photograph it for much of the morning as it wandered around feeding. Needless to say, I wasn’t complaining!

Once I had reluctantly dragged myself away from the Dotterel, I found a Chough busy digging furiously into the short grass in search of worms. It was working so hard that I couldn’t resist spending some time photographing it too. In the mean time a Peregrine flew overhead, I had no choice but to fire off a set of quick burst shots.

Black bird with red leg bands stands in a grassy field, facing the camera with an alert stare. — Inquisitive Chough

Black bird with red beak and legs, banded ankles, pecking at grass in a field. — Searching for worms

There were plenty of other residents enjoying the Orme’s open grassland. I came across a small herd of Herdwick sheep, which seemed remarkably chilled out about the people wandering through their patch. They were clearly accustomed to visitors and barely seemed to notice me, allowing me to get some lovely portraits.

Two sheep graze on a rocky hillside, one black-and-white and one dark brown, with a calm blue sea or sky in the background. — Herdwicks eking out nourishment

Sleeping sheep with gray-white wool resting on rocky ground in a barren field, calm and peaceful. — Chilling Out

And then there were the goats. The Great Orme’s famous wild Kashmiri goats have been roaming freely here for more than 100 years, and they certainly look as though they own the place. Against the magnificent backdrop of the Orme, they made a wonderful final subject to round off what had turned into a very memorable morning.