Skomer Island

Last Wednesday, July 21st, I made my first visit for four or five years to Skomer Island, an island nature reserve off the western tip of Pembrokeshire. I made my way to the small cove of Martin's Haven, from where we made the fifteen-minute journey to the island:

Once ashore, and after the obligatory talk from the warden, I decided to head up towards the old farm buildings in the centre of the island, as there had been talk of owls (Little and Short-eared) being spotted in the fields around them. I didn't see any owls, but, after I had turned left by the buildings, I did manage this shot of one of the many Rabbits that make the island their home:

There was a small bird hide (blind) a little further along the path to my right, and I decided to have a quick look to see if anything was about. First thing I saw was this Oystercatcher foraging quietly on its own in the mud very close in front of the hide. There are thousands of Oystercatchers on my local beach, but they never come close enough for any portrait pictures, so this was an opportunity too good to miss. The bird was too close for my 500mm lens, so I switched to my 70-200mm. It was very difficult to make a decent exposure of this contrasty-plumaged bird in the bright sunlight, but I did my best with the help of a little fill-in flash:

There was a pool in front of the hide, which was mainly full of a large number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls, which breed on the island:

Here's one of this year's offspring:

And an adult feeding its hungry 'child':

I'd like to have stayed here a little longer, to try for some better shots of the Oystercatcher in more overcast light, but we only had four hours ashore, so it was time to head for my main target, Puffins, and their main breeding grounds at 'The Wick':

Here, the Puffins are very confiding, seemingly unconcerned about the groups of people watching them, and will often come within a couple of feet of viewers. It enabled me to get a few decent shots, both with my 500mm and 70-200mm lenses, sometimes using an extension tube to enable the lens to focus close enough on the tame Puffins:

After a while, it began raining, at first gently, but then increasingly hard, and continued for about half an hour. I had a waterproof jacket in my bag, but decided to drape it over my camera and lens, and let myself get soaked. The conditions enabled me to get a few unusual 'Puffin in rain' shots:

Headshots were easy on the approachable birds:

A couple perched on the cliff edge:

Wing-flapping:

I saw a few Puffins with sandeels, but was unable to get the classic shot with sandeels in a bird's beak as birds landing with sandeels invariably disappeared straight down their burrows before photos could be taken. I also failed to get any decent flight shots as my Sigma 500mm f/4.5 lens just wouldn't lock on properly (I will have to send it off for repair soon). Anyway, I was reasonably happy with the shots I'd taken, and began meandering back along the coastal path towards the last boat back at 4 p.m. Along the way, I spotted two Peregrine Falcons flying around the Mew Stone, a large offshore rock. I was about to take a photo of a perched bird, when, of course, it flew off! I took this shot, one of the many Lesser Black-backed Gull youngsters, on my way back to the landing stage:

On the boat back to the mainland, a group of Gannets, no doubt from the nearby colony of Grassholm, flew overhead, and I was able to take this shot:

I had an hour or so before I needed to head home, so I walked up onto the headland overlooking Skomer, an area known as the 'Deer Park' (there are no deer here!). I was rewarded with this view back across to the island:

The area was ideal habitat for Choughs, and sure enough there were several family groups flying around, stopping to feed on the short turf:

I headed back down to the car park, and had just packed most of my photo gear away, ready to leave, when I saw what looked like a small bird of prey approaching in level flight along the small country lane. At first I thought it might be a Kestrel, but as I looked with my binoculars as it flew very low overhead, I could see it was a stunning Peregrine! I cursed the fact that I had just put my big lens in my bag, as I could have got some great shots. Oh well!

I contented myself with this shot of St. Brides Bay, viewed across a golden cornfield, before heading for home:

It had been a long and tiring day; but a good one!

Three Cliffs Bay

Early on Monday evening, I headed out to Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower Peninsula. I caught the bus to Parkmill (I'm very green!), before following a small stream, the Pennard Pill, to the beach about half a mile away. The first part of the stream runs through woodland, and here I saw a family of Dippers and a Kingfisher. Moving out into the open valley, the mysterious ruin of Pennard Castle became visible on the cliff to my left:

Growing on the damp ground alongside the Pennard Pill were the native Meadowsweet:

and the introduced Himalayan Balsam:

Here's a view of the castle across the saltmarsh, which was swathed in Sea Lavender:

Turning around, I could see the distinctive cliffs that give the bay its name:

The tide was rising quickly, and had covered most of the sandy beach:

The shingle beach here that lies above the high tide always attracts Ringed Plovers in summer. I've never seen a nest, but I have seen young birds around, so they must manage to raise young successfully, despite the pressure of so many visitors. Today, I just saw this one bird, and took a few pictures from a distance (using a Canon 40D, Sigma 500mm lens, and a Soligor 1.7x converter) to avoid too much disturbance, before going on my way:

I then climbed up onto the cliffs on the eastern side of the bay. The sky was full of circling Swifts:

House Martins:

Swallows, and a handful of Sand Martins:

The spot where I was now sitting is usually a good spot for Rabbits, and I sat down hoping to get a few shots in the evening sunlight. After a longish wait, a Rabbit finally emerged, allowing me to take one shot, when suddenly a small aircraft buzzed low overhead and sent the Rabbit scuttling for cover. Typical! I was just about to leave, when a Rabbit came out, enabling me to get this shot:

The late evening sun was now catching the Three Cliffs:

And casting some lovely light onto the smaller Pobbles Bay next door:

My bus home was due at 9.30 p.m., so I took the path back alongside Pennard Golf Course, and headed back to the village of Southgate by Pennard Cliffs to await my transportation. It had been a lovely evening!

Ducks in the Rain

This evening, I went for a walk around Brynmill Park, Swansea, in the rain. The first thing I saw, as I arrived, was a brood of young Mallards on the lake. A single Lesser Black-backed Gull was dive-bombing them, trying to grab a youngster for his supper. He failed, the chicks managing to escape the marauding gull by diving into cover, and even by plunging underwater. The gull eventually gave up, and went and waited at the other end of the small lake:

Two broods of young Mallards continued to feed out in the open at the other end of the pond, perhaps too young to realise the potential danger:

The numerous apparantly-non-breeding birds spent their time upending:

and just loafing in the rain:

Besides the scruffy-looking Mallards, there were three or four Tufted Ducks floating around towards the middle of the pond. Much more usual to see them here in the Winter. Here's one of the males:

This flower was part of a large display of this species (whatever it is):

Park authorities seem a lot more aware of environmental issues these days, and there has been quite a lot of planting of native flora in and around the water, including this Purple Loosestrife:

Finally, a picture of a rather wet-looking Feral Pigeon:

Personally, after all the hot, dry, weather we've had, I was glad of the rain.

Tawny Owl

Last night, about 3 a.m., I got up to go to the toilet, and glanced out of the window to see if there were any Foxes roaming the neighbourhood. I was amazed to see what looked like an animal of some description perched on the roadsign across the road. As I began fumbling around for my camera, a car came around the corner, and the 'animal' flew up towards a nearby house. It was a Tawny Owl, and it had perched on someone's satellite dish(!):

Once the car had gone, the owl flew down onto the lawn below, presumably looking for worms or similar, only to fly up into a Silver Birch almost immediately as another car appeared. It then dropped onto the lawn again, only to be disturbed again, whereupon it flew up onto a roof, and then disappeared into the night.

A few minutes later, a Fox trotted past below my living room window. Amazing what goes on right under our noses when most people are asleep in their beds!

House Sparrows

Yesterday, Friday, I again walked round to Langland Bay on the Gower Peninsula. I soon saw a group of four Choughs, a hovering Kestrel or two, and a Grey Seal in the same bit of sea as two days ago. None were close enough for any decent pictures, so I began strolling along the coastal path towards the next beach, Caswell Bay. About a mile along the picturesque path, as Caswell was just within sight, I saw a couple of small brown birds fly down into a grassy area near the cliff edge. I thought they were probably Rock Pipits, which are quite common around here, but a closer look revealed them to be - House Sparrows! Quite odd, I thought, to see a flock of these quintessential urban birds in this rural location, at least a mile from the nearest buildings. What turned out to be a flock of half-a-dozen or more birds were quite tame, and came down to perch on Gorse bushes only a few metres from where I was now seated. I managed to get this picture of a male ballet-dancing on the breeze:

This cock landed close-by, and looked curiously in my direction:

The females were just as bold:

This hen bird had a bug of some description in her bill:

A male perched on the fence bordering the coastal path:

It was great to spend a little time with these often-overlooked birds, and in such a beautiful location. Perhaps we will only appreciate them when they are gone?

I then began the journey back to Langland Bay. As I neared Langland Point, I saw a family group of more-typical coastal birds - Rock Pipits. It was clear that parent birds were feeding their newly-fledged young. I didn't manage to capture this behaviour, but I did manage these two shots:

Langland Bay

On Wednesday, I visited Langland Bay, a cove with a sand and shingle beach on the south-east of the Gower Peninsula, not far from Swansea:

I walked round to the far side, past the famous beach huts, to Langland Point. I was hoping I might see some approachable Stonechats which I had seen here previously. Unfortunately, like many other local sites for this species this year, there were none to be seen. So, here are a couple of shots taken in the same place in the early Autumn of 2008:

I noticed a couple of Kestrels flying overhead, and climbed up a nearby hill to the edge of Langland Bay Golf Course where I had a better view of proceedings. Accompanied by a singing Whitethroat nearby, I was able to watch a family group of four Kestrels flying about and perching at various points along the ridge. A couple of times, two or more of the birds flew past quite close to me. Although my Canon 40D (I've virtually given up on the 7D) and Sigma 500mm f/4.5 struggled to lock on, I was able to get this picture:

From my clifftop vantage point, I could see a group of people gathered on the coastal path, looking at the sea below, some taking pictures. The object of their interest was clearly a Grey Seal bobbing just off shore. I decided to head down to see if I could get close enough for any pictures. As I clambered down to the shore, the seal popped up a couple of times to get a closer look at me, enabling me to get this shot:

I waited around a while to see if it would appear any closer, but it didn't. When I saw that a Seal (presumably the same one) had surfaced about a hundred yards away, I decided it was time to head for home, as the combination of lack of sleep and the hot weather was making me feel a bit faint!