27th July The Quarry

A good sunny morning and an early start, decided to go to the quarry.

Jackdaw

Raven

25th July Kingfishers on the river

Kingfishers on the river, recently noticed a kingfisher and decided to put up a perch on the river to entice one, after many hours and days waiting, and one finely turned up just as i left the hide, got back into the hide and managed a few rushed shots, went back a few days later, after a very long wait one came along this time i was ready.

The Perch

2nd of July The Sparrowhawk is back

Lost House Martin 11th June

A few hours at the sand martin colony hoping the Sparrow hawk might put in an appearance, then  I noticed a house martin landing on the banking and going into some of the sand martin nests, the sand martin weren't very happy and tried to see him off, but he just kept coming back, If you look closely at the house martin you can see a parasite on his back, they attach themselves and suck there blood.

The Hide

The Colony

Beautiful Demoisellie

June 5th Raptors on the River

Sparrowhawk trying his luck at the Sand Martin Colony, no luck while i was there, earlier  on there was a Magpie and crow doing the same thing, no sign of life at the dippers nest and no dippers, i wonder if they had got to them to.

My First Dragonfly this year

Sand Martin on the river Ely

I have had the pleasure of going to this Sand Martin colony for the last twenty years, watching the trials and tribulations of the river flooding, and river bank eroding and destroying the nests some years, this year looks like a good year for the Sand Martin one of the biggest colony's i have seen.

Graig Cerrig-Gleisiad 21st May 2014

Graig Cerrig-Gleisiad 21st May 2014

My second visit to this site, Saturday 17th May arrived early 7 am, 2 pied flycatchers seen in the reserve spotted me right away, and then disappeared over the top of the mountain, later a Red Kite came past and i managed to get a shot, my son walked over the mountain and told me later he had seen the pied flycatchers feeding from the fence at the top, Wednesday 21st another early morning start to the reserve no pied flycatchers seen, however there were 2 Whinchat they soon spotted me and started making there way back up mountain, decided to sit and wait by a suitable perch no sign of Whinchat but then a Ring Ouzel flew right past me, and there were Cuckoos calling in the valley.