Autumn in the Clyne Valley, Swansea

Video of an Autumn walk in a local woodland in Swansea, Wales:

Carrion Crow

As any bird-lover will know, crows must be among the most intelligent of birds. My local crows clearly remember me from feeding them in the past; and, even if they haven't seen me for several weeks, fly straight down to me whenever I walk past, obviously seeing me as a good source of food. I usually manage to find a few crumbs to spare for them, and on this occasion one came close enough for me to film it:

Carrion Crow

I must have once fed some Carrion Crows on my regular walks along Swansea seafront; and now, whenever I walk a particular stretch of the coast path, several crows fly up to me as soon as I appear, clearly hoping for more food, and obviously able to distinguish me from other passers-by (mind you, a face like mine, once seen, is not easily forgotten!).

Today, I took advantage of the crows' familiarity by taking a few shots with my 'big gun':

Nictitating membrane down on this one's eye:

Inspecting me closely as I lay on the ground to steady my lens and get a low, intimate shooting angle:

Maybe not the most 'glamorous' birds, but I like them!

Carrion Crow in Flight

I took these crow shots as I walked along Swansea beach on Monday, just before the sun went over the horizon, its last rays lighting up the birds' dark plumage:

Carrion Crow

Not done much bird photography of late, but I did manage a few shots of this Carrion Crow as it devoured a Mussel on the beach recently:

Recent Bird Shots

A few avian shots from the last few days.

Coal Tit:

Male Chaffinch:

Nuthatch:

A couple of days ago, I walked along the coastal path from Langland Bay to Caswell Bay, hoping to see Choughs. There were none there, although I did hear my first spring migrant of the year - a singing Chiffchaff. I had to content myself with photographing the Feral Pigeons as they flew past:

Carrion Crows seem to always appear when I walk along Swansea seafront. I'm sure they can pick me out from other people, and zero in on me as a potential source of food. Here's one who suddenly appeared when he saw me eating my sandwiches:

Today was a beautiful, almost summery, day, and I went down to the park for a bit in late afternoon to see what was about. No sooner had I sat down to eat my sandwiches (food again!), than I heard a strange squawk from above. I looked up to see the lonely male Ring-necked Parakeet, exactly where I saw him about a year ago when I first started this blog: 

He was clearly getting into the breeding mood, and was peering down towards this nest hole which has been commandeered by a pair of Jackdaws:

Unfortunately for him, the nearest female is probably hundreds of miles away!



Birds in Flight

Not satisfied with the autofocus on my 7D and 40D, I splashed out recently on a secondhand Canon 1D Mark III. On Saturday, I went out for a stroll down to the beach to try it our for the first time. This Common Gull flew closer when I threw some bread down on the sand:

On the nearby golf course, Carrion Crows also couldn't resist the lure of breadcrumbs:

Further along the beach, this Curlew flew past, and the camera locked on quite nicely, even with a 1.4x converter attached:

Sunday was nice and bright, so I decided to head round to Bracelet Bay, which is known for its population of Mediterranean Gulls:

After a few shots, I climbed up onto the headland overlooking Mumbles lighthouse. A Buzzard soon drifted very close overhead, allowing me to take a few framefilling shots. The light was in the wrong direction, but I did my best:

The sun was now very low in the sky, and I clambered down for a few more gull shots. Mingling with the Med. Gulls were the similar-looking Black-headed Gulls, and they made for lovely subjects themselves in the buttery late afternoon sunshine:

I have to say I am pretty impressed with this camera, and you may well see my 7D and / or 40D up for sale on ebay very shortly!

Snow in Swansea

We don't get much snow here in Swansea; and, when we do, it usually melts pretty quickly. However, we had some snow a couple of days ago, and the cold weather has meant it is still lying quite thickly. I went out for a walk on Friday afternoon, and took a few pictures.

Singleton Park looked picturesque under the snowfall, and many were out enjoying the conditions:

The beach was clothed in a white blanket (for those who don't know, the large, white tower in the city centre is the Meridian Tower):

This fellow wasn't going to let the snow-covered golf course stop him:

I paused to throw down some breadcrumbs, and was soon surrounded by a group of hungry Carrion Crows:

As well as this Magpie:

Under a group of pine trees, was a small area of snow-free ground, which was being taken advantage of by this single Redwing. It was so intent on finding food, that it seemed oblivious to me as I sneaked up to it for a picture:

As I reached the area where the River Clyne flows into the sea, some sunset colours began to appear in the sky over the city:

As dusk fell, I took this shot looking across to Mumbles Lighthouse:



On Saturday, I went out again.

The nearby village of Mumbles was, like everything else, covered in snow:

The sky turned pink over the Port Talbot Steelworks across the bay:

As the sun went down, the moon rose:

Springtime!

The sun shone, the birds sang, the flowers bloomed, and for the first time this year I felt overdressed, as I headed down to the local golf course late this afternoon, hoping the Wheatears of yesterday would still be there. Of course, they weren't! Never mind, and I contented myself with a couple of shots of the local Carrion Crows:

Some of the crowds of daffodils growing on the course were already showing signs of withering, but I found some still in their prime, and used the Sigma 500mm f/4.5, coupled with an extension tube, as a makeshift macro lens for these two shots:

I then hurried home to watch the U.S. Masters golf. A man has to have his priorities right!