On Friday I spent a happy couple of hours down at Llanrhidian marsh on Gower watching the sun set. I was hoping to find my first Wheatear of the year but the usually reliable “bumps” proved rather barren with the exception of a Pied Wagtail and a couple of Grey Herons. This was more than made up for however by the excellent light which was highlighting the reeds below Weobley Castle perfectly.

25821 - Llanrhidian Marsh Sunset

As the sun sank ever lower in the sky I kept my eyes peeled for any movement over the reeds and was eventually rewarded with a pair of Kestrels hunting nearby. Grey Herons were also continually on the move and in good voice if loud screeching is your thing. The closest I got to anything out of the ordinary was a suspected Great White Egret way out towards Whitford that dropped out of sight before I’d had chance for a proper look. My general feelings were that it was very large, had a long neck and appeared to be white, but with dusk almost upon me I just couldn’t be certain of the colour. As a result it will have to go down as a highly probable, especially given that there has been at least one individual overwintering in the area this year.

The day ended with a perfect piece of natural choreography – one of those moments that was made even more special as it was completely unexpected. The instigators were two Gower ponies who walked across my planned shot at exactly the right moment and in doing so lent a brilliant foreground to what would otherwise have been a fairly generic sunset photograph.

25822 - Llanrhidian Marsh Sunset

It’s these chance occurrences that keep me coming back to the same places time and time again.You truly never know what you will see.


5 Comments

TexWisGirl · April 2, 2012 at 9:27 pm

that 2nd shot was a wonderful surprise! love both of them, actually!

Bob Bushell · April 2, 2012 at 10:37 pm

Both of them are really work of art, lovely images.

Gillian Olson · April 3, 2012 at 2:21 am

These are both gorgeous pictures, so different from each other but both so artistic.

J · April 3, 2012 at 10:18 am

Two gorgeous pictures, for sure. Regarding Wheatears, there were a few on the rocks around the coastguard hut near Bracelet Bay a few days ago.

Adam Tilt · April 11, 2012 at 9:46 pm

Thanks all for your comments and I'm glad that you liked them.

Cheers for the heads up on the Wheatears Jeremy. Finally caught up with one this weekend at Rhossili.

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