The view that greeted me this morning was one of unrelenting bleakness. Gone was the sunshine of Saturday and in its place sat a thick blanket of fog which obscured even our own street from view. The call of my duvet was a force hard to resist but having just Read more…
One of my favourite things to do when it snows is to look for animal tracks. Like an artists brush the disturbances made by passing creatures tell a story that at any other time of the year would simply have gone unnoticed. The wanderings of a bird looking for food Read more…
As I’m writing this I can hear the all too familiar sound of rain bouncing off the windows. The snow of last week has now departed in the face of Atlantic weather systems meaning that for the next few days it looks like we are back to warm but damp Read more…
These last couple of days have been fantastic as for the first time in two years we’ve finally had decent snowfall. The result was an inevitable day off work but more importantly it gave me the perfect opportunity to get my Patchwork Challenge under way. You may remember me blogging Read more…
On Sunday we were out early to make best use of the relatively bright sky and a distinct lack of people. Almost immediately we found a Purple Sandpiper perched halfway down the sea wall in what turned out to be quite a precarious position. I didn’t even have chance to Read more…
This weekend was our annual trip to Aberystwyth and following last weeks slightly “twitchy” behaviour, the plan was to simply visit a few favourite sites and see what was about. First stop was Dryslwyn bridge where we were greeted by an over flying Peregrine Falcon and the sounds of calling Read more…
I arrived at the Ogmore River on Sunday, headed straight for the nearest telescope wielding human and heard those words that strike despair into every birders heart. “If you’d been here an hour ago we were having great views, but it’s flown off since and hasn’t been relocated”. As I Read more…
One bird I really wanted to see in 2013 was a Long-tailed Duck. They’ve always held a certain fascination for me but despite trying on numerous occasions I had never quite managed to connect with one. You can probably imagine my excitement therefore when I realised on Friday that the Read more…
With 2012 rapidly ticking off its final days I’ve been getting in a spot of last minute birding around the Christmas festivities. Principally this has involved sitting in the car at Llanrhidian marsh each evening in the hope of spotting a wintering Hen Harrier. We had no luck on that Read more…
Having approached 2012 with no clear plans I’ve often found myself missing out on opportunities and not being as active in the field as I would have liked. Summer evenings spent inside just seem such a waste now that it’s winter and there’s not even a chance of getting out Read more…