Lackey Moth caterpillars (Malacosoma neustria) were present in great numbers along the Pembrokeshire coast both north and south of St Davids last weekend. This species belongs to a family of tent caterpillars, so called because of the distinctive silk ‘tents’ that the newly emerged caterpillars build. These tents are positioned Read more…
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of spending several hours on Skomer Island just off the Pembrokeshire coast. After a weather aborted attempt on Sunday the rain that greeted us on waking did not look promising but the day very quickly turned into an absolute scorcher, with wildlife to match. Read more…
Today was the very first day of annual leave that I have taken since Christmas, and boy did I need the break. The weather was forecast to be very changeable so we decided to head up to the Lliw Reservoirs above Swansea, once a fairly regular haunt but somewhere that Read more…
As you can see I have finally succeeded at getting those elusive Yellowhammers on camera after many failed attempts over the last few weeks. The bird shown here is not one of the usual pair that I watch up on Bryn-bach-Common (they were there but were keeping well into the Read more…
I had such grand plans heading into this weekend but a combination of atrocious weather and a change of heart led me in a completely different direction. I had intended to pay a visit to the Mumbles Pier kittiwakes on Saturday and then head up to the Elan valley on Read more…
It may just be my personal perception but I get the impression that Butterflies have had a bumper Spring this year. Whenever I have been out walking it has been hard to miss the sheer quantity and variety of species that have been on the wing. Orange Tips in particular Read more…
Long term readers may remember a couple of my posts from last year showing the Cinnabar Moth caterpillars that I found feeding throughout our garden. Despite the relatively large numbers however I never actually saw one of the moths themselves. On Sunday that all changed as we were fortunate to Read more…
By seven o’clock on Monday morning I was sat in the car on Tywyn seafront, gently rocking from side to side as it was buffeted by winds approaching gale force six. An hour earlier we had been forced to get up and take the tent we had been staying in Read more…
Before I disappear off the grid for the second four day weekend in a row (surely this is what all weekends should be like!) I thought I’d share a couple more of my favourite photos from our recent trip to Dorset. The first is of a Common Lizard which we Read more…
In a perfectly timed piece of choreography a Purple Heron turned up at Kenfig NNR on Friday, almost as if it knew that the local birding fraternity would need something to keep themselves occupied with over the long weekend. I would have been there in a flash if not for Read more…