After our success with finding Firecrest the weekend before I took to twitter on Saturday morning to proclaim that we were off to locate Brambling, one of those species with which we seem to have had little luck over the years. Our last proper sighting came from Ynys Hir back Read more…
We were back at Cwm Ivy on Sunday, a fair reflection of just how much I’d enjoyed exploring the new salt marsh habitat there a few days earlier. Before heading down however I wanted to walk the WTSWW reserve which borders its Eastern flank in the hope of gaining another Read more…
One of my surprise finds during the Swansea Bay airshow (other than a passing Peregrine Falcon) were the emerging remains of an ancient submerged forest. Located behind the large outflow pipe in front of Singleton Park they serve as a stark reminder that the current city’s existence is just a Read more…
A sunny start on Sunday morning meant an early rise for us not least because of the added energy it seemed to have provided to the dawn chorus. Chiffchaff, Green Woodpecker, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock and even a flock of Herring Gulls all leant their voices to what was surely a Read more…
Written on 02/10/2014, Isle of Mull We’ve yet to find the best ‘next day’ activity following a strenuous walk but thought that the short climb up ‘S Airde Beinn sounded as good an option as any. As its alternative name of crater loch suggests this was once an active volcano Read more…
Written on 24/09/2014, Isle of Mull A few early morning showers quickly cleared away leaving us to enjoy breakfast in the presence of our three Golden Eagles. Once again they were patrolling the valley mouth, silhouettes clearly visible against a shimmering sea, their relief at improved conditions no doubt similar Read more…
It would seem that this summer Gower has seen another series of mass Barrel Jellyfish strandings along its beaches. Previously our most recent encounter with these ocean giants had been at Rhossili back in June where almost the entire three mile stretch of sand was littered with corpses. Every fifty Read more…
Correction – 05/10/2014 Much to my disappointment, and I’m sure your own, I have to put my hands up to having made a bit of a blooper here. Thank god it wasn’t on the internet for all to see. The bone fragment below is in fact part of a birds Read more…
Beachcombing is an activity that consists of an individual “combing” (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility. A beachcomber is a person who participates in the activity of beachcombing. Source: Wikipedia With my love of the coast it is perhaps inevitable, Read more…
A couple of weeks ago we made the first of two very successful visits to Whiteford on Gower where an unusual jellyfish species had me somewhat stumped. We are used to seeing the more common Barrel and Moon species washed up there but this individual was clearly something completely different. Read more…