I just got back from a trip to the island of Anglesey in Wales. This particular area has been on my list since 2014 but its remoteness had so far kept me from visiting. My main target was Newborough Forest, which is home to one of the largest Raven colonies in the world. Up to 2000 individuals have been counted here in Winter when their population apparently tends to increase.

Sadly this forest is located on a sort of a mini-island right on Llanddwyn beach. This means it is almost always exposed to Westerly winds coming from the Atlantic. When it's not too windy you can still hear the roar of the Irish Sea, so good conditions for recording are awfully rare. This, along with its remoteness, is one of the reasons I had avoided going to this place.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to stop worrying about the weather and drive to Newborough to scout the place for possible future trips. I found an Airbnb relatively close and made reservations for a whole weekend. I prepared my Double MS rig, my 633 recorder, my camera and long lenses and hoped for good weather.

Joined by my girlfriend, we hopped in the car and started driving at 5am on Friday. The weather was awful, with gale force winds and torrential rain for the better part of the journey. Storm Brian was just heading to Wales bringing wind speeds of over 70mph and sudden downpours.