It dawned on me a couple of days ago that it had been almost a year since we had put our bicycles in the garage just after moving into the new house, and there they had remained ever since. This was clearly not acceptable as I love cycling and have some of the best cycle paths in the country pretty much at my doorstep. A quick clean of the bikes and a blast of air for the tyres was all that was needed before we headed for the Millennium coastal path that runs through Llanelli. Our plan was to cycle from Burry Port to Sandy Water Park and back again as this would allow us to use one of the only free car parks along the path.

P1050726 - Burry Port Lighthouse

The tide was on its way in but a small area of mud was still uncovered in the back basin at Burry Port which provided ample feeding opportunities for a group of thirty or so Redshanks. I was able to sneak up relatively close to the group allowing me to get my best photograph to date of this species. Unfortunately it was rather dark which is something that super-zoom bridge cameras are not that fond of. As a result the picture is rather grainy but nothing can distract from the colour of those legs!

P1050720 - Redshank at Burry Port

A little further along and a flash of blue alerted us to the presence of a Kingfisher on the pool next to the skate park. It must be the only thing getting to fish those waters at the moment as the majority of the fishing platforms seemed to be floating in the middle of the pond. The rest of the route involved regular sightings of Magpie and Swallowas well as three Grey Herons that took flight from the large lake next to the water treatment works. A family of Mute Swans were also feeding there. I was hoping that Sandy Water Park would offer up some more Mediterranean Gulls but there were none to be found. This could have had something to do with the vast flocks of Gulls that were floating in the sheltered waters just off the coast. It must have just been too nice an evening to force them up onto the grass. A quick check back at Burry Port before we headed home showed that the Sandwich Terns from a couple of days ago were still present.

P1050739 - Sandwich Terns at Burry Port

It wasn’t only the wildlife that was proving a distraction as the the RNLI were out putting one of their boats through its paces. The lighting was lovely for these shots and the lighthouse at the entrance to Burry Port provided a superb background.

P1050730 - RNLI training at Burry Port
P1050733 - RNLI training at Burry Port
P1050736 - RNLI training at Burry Port

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