I think it’s fair to say that this weekend has been a bit of a washout given that I have been stuck in the house for most of the day looking out at a wall of fog. At least Saturday was relatively dry so I decided to head out and Read more…
On my walk last night I noticed that a couple of new signs have gone up at various entrances to the common land that makes up my local patch. Most of these were the normal ones that you would expect to see including no camping and no fires, but it Read more…
I’ve just got back from a walk around my local patch which would have delivered a nice sunset if it wasn’t for a large bank of cloud that rolled in at the most inopportune moment. There was still plenty to look at though including the largest gathering of Swallows that Read more…
I was feeling somewhat inspired after last nights BBC Springwatch episode and had a sudden urge to get outside and see what was about. The sun had already set behind the hills and I found myself in that time that isn’t light but is equally not yet dark. The evening 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 went up to Bryn-Bach Common this evening for another attempt at photographing the Yellowhammers, but they were sadly absent. I did however see my first patch Swallows and Sand Martins and what I believe may have been a Tree Pipit. Rather foolishly I hadn’t taken my binoculars with me Read more…
The pair of Yellowhammers that I first saw this time last week on Bryn-bach-Common were once again singing from the Rhododendron bushes on Tuesday evening. Interestingly the birds were on near identical perches as before with the female uttering the “little bit of bread and no cheeeeese” song whilst the Read more…
After the last few weeks of traveling it was time to spend some quality time on my local patch, the Cwm Dulais valley. Much like the rest of the UK we received some very welcome snow yesterday afternoon that, although not heavy, is still around today due to the freezing Read more…
I have often wondered what it must be like to have a local patch that you can explore on an almost daily basis. In the past I have never lived anywhere that really offered that opportunity, being either stuck in a housing estate or hemmed in by dual carriageways. For Read more…