Bluebells may not be top of your list when it comes to naming things most likely to be found on a small island with no trees, yet Skomer somehow manages to produce a display to rival any of our ancient woodlands. At this time of year whole swathes of the Read more…
As good as Puffins are (and they really are very good let me make that quite clear) I must admit a soft spot for the other birds with which they share top billing on Skomer. I am of course talking about Razorbills and Guillemots of which there are thousands upon Read more…
After a couple of failed attempts we finally made it over to Skomer on Saturday, our first time aboard the Dale Princess for at least two years. Given that all sailings had been cancelled on the days either side of our trip it perhaps wasn’t surprising that a long queue Read more…
Of all the aspects of our house the garden is perhaps the one element that I find most pleasing. Its development from a few shrubs to wildlife hotspot has been unplanned and, to a certain extent, beginners luck, but it seems that this year we are really starting to reap Read more…
Another two weeks on patch and, despite only managing a couple of visits, my recent run of success has continued unabated. Before we get to that though a few updates including the fact that Emma saw no less than four Shelducks flying over the valley early one morning. Quite what Read more…
The past few months have been an almost non-stop whirlwind of great walks and excellent birds with some fantastic scenery thrown in for good measure. Alas such freedom was never likely to last and commitments over the last fortnight and coming month are likely to mean that my outings and Read more…
We headed off to Gower last Saturday to walk one of the less well trodden routes that the peninsula has to offer. Concentrated on the quieter, though no less impressive, northern coast I first explored this area while surveying for the recent Bird Atlas and found it so rewarding that Read more…
The big news from patch this week has been that, quite remarkably, I’ve just blasted my way through last year’s score despite it still being early May! One of my main goals for the Patchwork Challenge this time out was to make more regular visits and to gain a fuller Read more…
Bank holiday Monday saw an improvement in the weather so we headed off into mid-Wales for our (almost) annual visit to RSPB Dinas. Ever since we discovered the reserve several years ago it has consistently delivered the full spectrum of woodland migrants whilst simultaneously providing a thoroughly enjoyable walk through Read more…
Thick fog greeted us on Sunday morning and with visibility restricted to such an extent that even the opposite side of our road was hard to make out, it was clear that we wouldn’t be going anywhere for quite some time. Fortunately conditions slowly improved and by midday it was Read more…