I wouldn’t consider myself completely addicted to patch birding quite yet, but by the end of this years Patchwork Challenge that could be a real possibility. As it was I headed straight from Bracelet Bay on Saturday to the windswept grasslands of Cefn Drum to see if I could locate Read more…
The recent discovery of Stock Dove and Kestrel on my local patch got me wandering about what else I’d potentially missed by keeping to regular routes and routines. As a result I’ve spent the last couple of weeks poking into every nook and cranny I can find to make sure Read more…
If our walk from Ogmore a week ago had signalled the first real signs of spring migration around these parts, then last Saturday was definitely the main event. In just a few hours at Kenfig pool we were treated to an array of recent arrivals, my personal highlight of which Read more…
My twitter feed this week has been full of people detailing their influx of spring migrants and today I was hoping to grab my little piece of the action. With only Swallow, Wheatear, Arctic Tern and an admittedly hard to beat Hoopoe on the list so far, there was certainly Read more…
I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours on patch this evening following up on some red-hot intel put my way courtesy of Barry Stewart. He’d been around Cefn Drum on Monday and had spotted two species which I have never seen there myself. Needless to say I’ve had itchy Read more…
You find me in a rather confused state this evening. The calendars all say it’s Spring, the Daffodils are out and we even have the first Spring migrants landing on our shores, so why on earth did I have my face almost frozen off during a short walk on Saturday? Read more…
In all the years that I’ve been visiting Kenfig NNR, Sunday was the very first opportunity I’ve ever had to photograph this ‘classic’ view. For once all the important elements of a blue sky, high water level and no people combined to kick start what turned out to be a Read more…
Back in the winter of 2010 the UK found itself under attack from the Scandinavians. They arrived in their thousands and took up residence in every industrial estate and supermarket car park from the Shetlands right down to our southern coasts. With much of the population focussed on forthcoming festivities Read more…
One of the problems at this time of year is that I don’t get out of work until after dark. The upside is I can clean the house less often as energy saving light bulbs are simply too dull to show the dust, but it also means that evening walks Read more…
The coming of October heralds the return of free parking at Port Eynon, which may or may not have explained my sudden urge to visit there on the first of the month. That particular soiree ended in a very wet dash back to the car following a downpour that felt Read more…