30 January 2015

Doon the patch

A morning on the patch. Water Pipit and Marsh Harrier were the highlights with just enough Water Rails, Stonechats and Cetti's Warblers dotted about to stop me from dozing off. Also a reasonable number of waders on the foreshore with a big flock of Dunlin near the mouth of the Usk.

A half-decent flock of 50 Reed Bunting were knocking about near the seaward end of the floating bridge,... what price a Little?   

29 January 2015

I saw the light

Another week north of the border, mostly spent up to my eyeballs in, increasingly excitable, Crossbills.  Singing their little twisty-schnozzled faces off they were.

Woke up in a snow globe this morning, the sun beat off the last of the snow flurries,... and the visibility was incredible.  It was that clear I could see the future.  I saw unspeakable vulgarity, institutionalised mediocrity, infinite tragedy, little souls rising up and joining a doomed army to fight the good fight and wage the unwinnable war.  I also saw a Crossbill with a half decent wingbar and well-marked tertials, inner secondaries and median coverts to boot.

A 'barred Crossbill', not that you can make it out but the median coverts were pale tipped/edged too. Also note the gross under-exposure, chromatic aberration and almost complete lack of anything in focus. Yay for digiscoping.

PS. Yay for the Divine Comedy too.

24 January 2015

Twmbarlwm shrike

Arrived at Twmbarlwm to screaming kids and scrambler bikes. Thought I was on to miss three Great Grey Shrikes in a week. The bikes buggered of, the kids dispersed and up popped the shrike. Lovely. It covers a fair bit of ground, initially in the dead pines east of, but hidden from, the car park; then in the re-growing clear-fell north-east of the car park; and then heading to the open, bracken clad, slope south-west of the car park.

Digiscoping with the wrong camera,... pointless. 

23 January 2015

Up north again

Another week in southern Scotland; a few Pinkfeet on the way up, Goshawk and gawd knows how many Crossbills during the week, nothing too exciting though.  Also a fair bit of mammal action, tracks everywhere.  Managed to miss out on two Great Grey Shrikes, wrong times, wrong places. 

Peering out across the arctic waste, behind me is a BMW, irretrievably bogged down in a whole two inches of snow.  Useless.  Piece.  Of.  Bavarian.  Shite. 

17 January 2015

It's all gone white again

Woke up to a drop more snow.  Popped up to Manmoel and Pen-y-fan Pond, not too much doing, a couple of frizz Stonechat were about the best of it.  Did get some fine raptors-in-a-snowy-landscape action though,... oooooh, get you and your nicely lit underparts.

Round-and-about Manmoel today; snow, yay!  Beeches, tick.  Bramblings,... only conspicuous by their absence.   

16 January 2015

I went to church

The tower of St. Woolos Cathedral, prime Black Redstart habitat.  It's up there, amongst the swirling mists of myth and fantasy, flitting about between the gargoyles; and I'm down here, peering up, like a modern day, rational empiricist, not-so-saintly Francis of Assisi.  Another one on the non-existent year list.

After the successful bagging of the sanctified start, I thought I'd better pop in on Ynysyfro to ensure a rapid descent back to the oh-so earthly.  Bugger all present except five Shoveler and a Red Admiral fluttering up and down the sunny side of a hedge. 

11 January 2015

Swaaaaans

The Usk valley swan herd is still showing well at Llandowlais barns.  Counted 21 Bewick's amongst 48 Mutes which, along with last weekend's Whooper at the Nedern, mean I can ignore all things Cygnus for the next 11 months,... unless they are black,... or have black necks,... or have largely black bills. 

A ropey phone-scoped shot of the Whooper can be seen here by the way.

10 January 2015

Uh-oh

Uh-oh. Ynysyfro shot its bolt and produced a couple of almost notable birds this morning; can only mean one thing,... that'll be it for the year.  Bobbing about on the windswept waters were two adult winter Mediterranean Gulls accompanied by about 100 Black-heads, a lone Common Gull, one Lesser Black-backed and a few Herrings.  Larid heaven.  The four Shoveler are also still present but the Teal and Wigeon were nowhere to be seen.  Further excitement was provided by the dodgy Mallard partaking of bread by the Fourteen Locks Centre,... cracking views were had by all.

One of the two adult winter Mediterranean Gulls at Ynysyfro Reservoirs this morning but never mind the dross, time for the good stuff,...

... Ooooosh!  The manky Mallard in all his finery with the ladies looking on.