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!

Kittiwakes, etc.

Marram Grass growing in the dunes, with the late evening sun shining onto the beach beyond:

The Swansea to Cork ferry leaving Wales and heading off to Ireland at dusk:

A Herring Gull in flight:

I paid a visit to the Kittiwake colony on Mumbles Pier on Sunday. No sign of any hatchlings yet, but plenty of birds on eggs. A few pictures from the visit:

Here's a short video of some squabbling in the colony:

Fox Meets Cat

Not done much photography lately, but last night I looked out of my window after dark, and spotted this Fox investigating a cat outside a neighbour's house across the road. Neither seemed too bothered by the presence of the other, and both soon resumed their normal nighttime activities:

Yesterday's Wanderings

A few pictures from a walk around my local area yesterday, carrying nothing but my Canon 40D and a Tamron 90mm macro lens.

One of the commonest plants growing in the sandy soils bordering my local beach is the Burnet Rose. The typical plants have whitish-yellow flowers:

However, there is a large clump with these pinkish flowers, which is apparantly a rare variant:

This flower had attracted this green beetle (if anyone knows the species, please let me know):

Ox-eye Daisies were growing by the beach:

This tallish plant was growing en masse in the dunes at the top of the beach. (Is it Mouse-ear Hawkweed?):

Here's a close-up of one of the flower heads:

I walked up into Clyne Gardens, where these Orange Hawkweeds were growing in the wildflower meadow with their commoner cousins:

There was still plenty of Germander Speedwell in flower in the grassland:

This exotic primula:

had flowers quite similar to the native Red Campion:

Also growing in the wildflower area were these orchids (anyone know the species?):

No, not Niagara Falls, but part of a small waterfall that flows from a pond into a stream which runs through Clyne Gardens:

The brilliant blue of this iris caught my eye:

As did the striking colour combination of yellow primulas and blue irises:

I thought a 'Monet' treatment might suit the subject:

Back to the dunes, where I saw this broomrape species growing:

As I walked back through the suburban streets, I noticed the naturalised Red Valerian decorating the garden walls:

To end on a romantic note (!), this single red rose was drawing attention to itself in the Botanic Gardens of Singleton Park:

Kittiwakes

Yesterday, I went round to Mumbles Pier at the western end of Swansea Bay; to check on how the Kittiwake colony was getting on, and to see if my newly-purchased Canon 40D would fare any better on birds-in-flight than my previous efforts with the 7D. I certainly got more sharp flight shots than with the 7D (using a Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens), but I'm still not entirely happy with the percentage of sharp shots. Anyway, here are a few of the pictures:

This bird was bringing seaweed to its nest-site:

The town of Swansea can be seen in the background here:

Almost every possible nesting site seems to be occupied:

So much so, that this pair seem to have started a nest-site in isolation on the probably less-than-ideal sloping edge of the lifeboat station that adjoins the pier:

Perhaps one of this pioneering pair flying in front of the lifeboat station:

The following two shots show the potential dangers of the birds sharing their world with careless fishermen, who don't dispose of their used hooks and line responsibly (in previous years, I've seen birds with hooks stuck in their beaks):

Here's a shot of a bird tending to its eggs on the nest:

Finally, here are a couple of videos of the colony:

I hope to return to the colony later in the year, and document the chicks as they grow.