Saturday, September 18, 2010

Mumbles

Yesterday, I made the short rip round to Mumbles, a small settlement at the far western end of Swansea Bay. I had heard that Grey Seals had been seen hauling themselves up onto rocks at Limeslade Bay, so this was my first port of call:


Unfortunately, there were no seals to be seen, so I walked only a few yards to the adjacent bay, Bracelet Bay:


This is a good spot for Black-headed Gulls and the mucher rarer Mediterranean Gulls. Here is a juvenile Mediterranean Gull:


Note that the Med. Gull has a much thicker and more downturned bill than the more slender beak of this adult Black-headed Gull:


I then made a brief visit to Mumbles Pier:


There were very few birds remaining at the Kittiwake colony, this juvenile being the most confiding:


It seemed to spend most of its time alternately preening:


and resting:


and occasionally calling:



This adult bird was the only other Kittiwake on this once-crowded ledge:


This pair of pigeons had taken over the area vacated by Kittiwakes:


I walked along to the end of the pier, where the only other people were a few fishermen, and spotted this auk floating below on the sea (Is it a juvenile Razorbill?):


As I was leaving, I spotted this Great Black-backed Gull perched atop a post. I had to stop for a few pictures, as I hadn't photographed this species satisfactorily before, always finding them a bit skittish:


I was surprised how close this bird allowed me to approach:


4 comments:

  1. Superb set of images i really like the Kittiwake and the Razorbill

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  2. Great post Jeremy and some super shots. I don't know the area at all but I like the look of it. Somewhere called Bracelet Bay just has to be nice!

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  3. Great serie, the Kittiwake protrait is perfect ;)

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  4. The Kittiwake is gorgeous... He is just doing his every day routines while you photograph..Great post Jeremy! I enjoyed the reading and set of wonderful photos. cheers

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