Wheatear

A very windy early afternoon saw me walking along Swansea seafront. Dodging the fallen trees, I saw a half-dozen Swallows flitting overhead, as well as a migrant Wheatear sheltering from the gales on a grass verge. It was quite approachable, but of course I don't have my big lens with me. I returned home to watch some snooker (can't miss Ronnie O'Sullivan!), and came out again later with my camera gear to see if the Wheatear was still around. I eventually located it a few hundred yards along the promenade, on the grass opposite St. Helen's. I tried a few shots with my 500mm lens attached to 1.4x and 1.7x converters, resting my camera on a beanbag on the ground for support:

I got a few strange looks from passing cyclists as I lay face down on the wet grass (but, with a face like mine, I get some strange looks at the best of times, so I'm quite used to it!):

It soon began raining, and got darker still, meaning I was down to a 1/2 second exposure at ISO 1600 (which is pushing it a bit on my 40D) for this shot:

I might head down to see if it's still there tomorrow, but my experience with Wheatears suggests they don't hang around long when passing through on migration, so I don't hold out much hope of it still being around.

Robin, with Tawny Owl Hooting in Background

I post this clip, not for its quality, but mainly to show Stifyn, whom I met in the park yesterday. I've heard the occasional Tawny Owl in Singleton Park over the last few years, and even saw one a couple of months back, but thought I was hearing things a week or so ago, when, on at least two successive days, I heard an owl hooting as early as 5.30 p.m. 

Anyway, here's conclusive proof that I've not gone (totally) mad. I was filming this Robin in the Ornamental Gardens area, on Wednesday, April 18th, when an owl hooted nearby. The 'too-whit, too-whoo' occurs after about 13-14 seconds:

Anyone else heard Tawny Owls hooting during daylight?

Spring Flowers

A few recent floral shots:-

Violet:

Primrose:

Three-cornered Leek:

Cuckoo Flower:

Blackthorn (I think):

Cherry blossom:

Daffodil:

Forget-me-not:

Stonechats

I came across this quite-approachable pair of Stonechats round at Bracelet Bay near Swansea last Wednesday afternoon. Of course, the more-boldly-marked bird is the male:-

A short video of the female:

Evening at Three Cliffs Bay

A few shots from a walk along Pennard Cliffs to Three Cliffs Bay on Saturday evening. Whilst heading towards the bay, I heard my second Chiffchaff of the year calling from a hedgerow (the first was at Rumney Great Wharf near Cardiff on Thursday). The sky was colouring up quite nicely; but, by the time I got in place for a picture, the colours were fading, and I had to make do with this shot:

Unlike on my previous visit, it was high tide, enabling a couple of long-exposures of the tide as it rushed in to the bay:

It was a clear and starry night, so I decided to stay around for a star-trail shot. It was a slightly unnerving experience sitting on the cliff-edge in almost total darkness for one hour waiting for the exposure to complete. As it turned out, the final image was a bit dark, so I've had to increase the exposure in post-processing, which has increased the noise somewhat:

I'll definitely be heading back there for more star-trails, as it's a fairly remote location, and so not so bedevilled by light pollution as the city.

Tame Squirrel Eating Nuts

Another little film from Sunday. This Grey Squirrel hopped on the table beside me to help himself to some peanuts. Watch how he comes right up to the camera and evens climbs onto it at the end:

European Robin Singing

A Robin softly singing in the local park, filmed this past Sunday: