Climbing The Walls

A couple of weeks ago I visited Pembroke Castle. There are high walls, narrow passages, a huge circular keep and a wogan (more of that later in the week)

Although I have some pretty decent shots of the castle itself I wanted to share these pictures of flowers that were growing in the cracks in the mortar of the walls. 

I have tried to identify the two types of flower but I haven't been able to so if anybody can help me out I will be very grateful, I have included a crop of the tiny purple ones to make it easier...

In A Flap

The last of my pictures from Skomer (well the last that I am posting to my blog anyway) and I hope you will agree that they're pretty good. I have really enjoyed sharing my photos from that trip I think they are among my most favourite shots since I started this blog.

Tomorrow I will be choosing something very different and then later in the week I will begin a series of very colourful pictures from a recent day out which I can't wait to share with you.

Island Life

So after a week of different critters from Skomer I have finally got back to the whole reason I visited the island in the first place. The Atlantic Puffin. 

I was going to post puffins today and then tomorrow I was going to move on to something completely different but trying to narrow down my selection I came up with nine pictures and that was just too much for one post, a little bit of puffin overkill. 

So for today here are four fantastic shots and tomorrow you will have to come back for the other five. I promise that you won't be disappointed because they're just as special as these and I know how much some of my regular visitors loved the earlier pictures so these are for you.

It's not all black and white

The first of today's picture shows two Guillemots and one Razorbill, they seemed to be getting along really well, I wonder if they "speak the same language" or how they can communicate with each other.

The second shot is of three Razorbills. These birds, part of the Auk family spend most of their lives out at sea in the Northern Atlantic, they only come ashore to breed and they mate for life.

Guillemots are also members of the Auk family (so they probably do share a language, maybe...) and like the Razorbill only come to land in order to breed. Their plumage is more brown than black and their bills are clearly a different shape. The pair in the last two pictures seem quite content, almost sleepy even though they are perched on such a small rocky ledge. I was amazed at the skill and agility of these birds as they flew at the cliffs and landed without crashing.

Bluebells and a Random Rabbit

I hadn't expected to see bluebells on Skomer but there were two areas where the ground was carpeted with masses and masses on them, It was like a blue lawn as you can see in the first of today's three pictures.

The other thing I wasn't expecting to see was an Iron age settlement but actually there are several round houses and walls and other signs of settlement scattered all across the island. Standing in one roundhouse it was possible to see the where the central fire would have been and it was easy to imagine the inhabitants seated around the walls talking about their day. It must have been a pretty bleak and unforgiving place to live. The second of these pictures shows the remains of an iron age structure.

The final picture is obviously of a big black bunny, with the most amazing brown eyes. It was just resting within the ruins of an old farm building in the centre of the island and I couldn't resist taking the picture. I have never seen wild black rabbits before but on Skomer there were a few of them as well as lots of the more familiar brown that you might see on roadside verge bunnies.

One Swallow ...

... does not a summer make!

It is rare to see a swallow up close and perched so near to the ground as this one was. Normally they are seen flitting around in search of food, often sat high up on power lines and sometimes stealing a drink of water by skimming the surface of a pond. But perhaps on Skomer these birds have no fear of predators and that is why I was able to get so close. 

Anyway regardless of the reason it was a real treat to be able to approach so close and get these great pictures while it paused briefly before setting off again to feed.

Songbirds on Skomer

The first two of today's pictures are of a Dunnock perched on a fence post. I was alerted to its presence by its song and at first I couldn't see it until it settled on the post, just long enough for me to take these two shots before it flew off. I am really happy with these pictures as they are so sharp.

The final bird was a puzzle to me at first. I had been watching some skylarks and at first that is what I thought this was, it was too far away for a clear identification at first but now as you can see it is a Whitethroat. As far as I can recall this was the first whitethroat I had ever seen so I'm really pleased with this although as it was on a bramble buffeted by the wind it was hard to get a clean shot.

A Summer Visitor

Something quite different for today and something much harder to photograph than the puffins.

This is a breeding pair of Wheatears that were flitting about the scrubby ground and burrows of the Manx Shearwaters sleeping below my feet. 

With my long lens (Tamron 150- 600mm f5 - 6.3) which is quite heavy, the strong wind and the speed at which these little birds were darting around getting a clear shot was incredibly difficult. I don't think I have really nailed it with these pictures but these are the best I could do on the day. I think I needed to be settled down and possibly in a hide to get better than these but as I had never seen these birds before I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get the shot. It has inspired me to do more proper wildlife photography.

Fratercula arctica

I have rather a lot of photos of the Atlantic Puffins on Skomer, well with so many to see it would have been rude not to take them, and it is tempting now to post them all over the next week. 

However I don't want to overload you so after today I will change things and for a day or two I will post a few different subjects.  You can be sure however that because I am so pleased to have such wonderful images of these wonderful birds I will definitely be choosing some more puffin pictures for you.

As I said yesterday this trip was the fulfillment of a long held ambition and getting up close to some of these birds (less than a metre away in some cases) was actually quite an emotional experience for me. Call me soft if you like but I know I was not the only one affected in this way. While taking this group of pictures I was talking to a Polish photographer who also quite clearly couldn't believe that he was there, and he was almost rooted to the spot. There is really something magical about the Puffin.

A Firm Favourite

Yesterday I promised that I had a real treat in store for today, and I defy you to say that I have let you down...

A couple of weeks ago I got to visit Skomer an island bird reserve in Pembrokeshire, managed by The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales. It is only accessible for a few hours per day and visitor numbers are limited to a maximum of 250 people per day. It is a short boat ride from Martins Haven to the island and then a steep climb from the landing point to what is a wonderful home to colonies of seabirds and many other species of birds. On the day I visited there were only about 100 visitors to the island and it felt like a real privilege to be there. I enjoyed speaking to other photographers (about the birds and about kit) and to some of the warden volunteers whose knowledge really added something to the experience. 

I was especially keen to visit to see the Puffins that were breeding on the island and to be able to get up so close to these iconic birds was a bit of a bucket list item for me. Puffins are on the international Red List of Endangered Species and with decreasing populations they are vulnerable to extinction; although seeing the numbers on Skomer in their burrows, on the cliffs, in the air and on the water it is hard to imagine their total demise. It underlines the importance of places like Skomer where they  enjoy a degree of protection.

So for today I hope you enjoy the three pictures above. I really love them and in the coming days I will share some more. I have pictures of several of the other species from around the island too, and even some landscape shots to share so make sure you come back to see.

Coastal Erosion

I didn't post anything yesterday as I was camping in North Yorkshire with the intention of getting some more pictures for my blog but the weather was dreadful and so no new pictures I'm afraid however, I did have a good time regardless of the weather, I just love being outdoors.

Anyway for today I have chosen a few more pictures of the cliffs at New Quay showing the layers and the intricate structure of the rocks.  I wonder how long it has taken to achieve such a marvelous spectacle as a result of the erosive effects of the wind, rain and sea on this rocky coastline.

These are the last pictures from my day in New Quay and tomorrow and in the days to come I have a real treat in store from a trip to Skomer so be sure to come back and see...

Stuck on you!

I like so much about these pictures, I like the colours, I like the different textures and I like the way the limpets cling to the rocks for protection and they are almost as strong as the rocks themselves.

Interesting Geology

The Pembrokeshire coast around Ceridigion has some really interesting geology. Most of it is really only properly visible from offshore but here on the beach at New Quay it is possible to get up close.

I really like the different layers in the cliffs like the age rings of a tree laid down over millions of years.

I also love the rocks on the beach which are of a different material and look as if they have been melted and squeezed up out of the ground and in the final image the layer closest to the sand looks shiny and soft even though it is rock hard.

Full of the Joys of Spring

Whilst sat eating ice cream (White chocolate & raspberry, and salted caramel flavours) and looking out across the harbour at New Quay this pair of house sparrows were fluttering around and were most definitely full of the joys of spring.

Although they are quite a common species (I am reliably informed that they were the most spotted species in the RSPB bird watch in March) they are often overlooked as being drab and uninteresting. But if you ask me, it's worth taking a closer look.