Azores Common Dolphins (part 2)

Finally managed to upload some more photos of the fabulous Common Dolphins seen off the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. Hope you enjoy looking at them.

 

 

 

 

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Dolphins

 

Risso's Dolphins in the Azores

 

Llandegla Mountain Biking

Zipped out to Llandegla in North Wales yesterday for a spot of mountain biking. The day warmed up quite nicely and by the afternoon we were seeing good numbers of Peacock butterflies, Black Darter dragonflies and even a Common Lizard scrambling around in the top of the heather - wish I'd taken my Canon camera and macro lens! Hopefully the weather will be warm enough next weekend for a return visit. Biked the blue trail then rode some jumps and drops.

Me, near the Black Grouse sculptures.

Black Darter - record shot with compact camera.

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Common Dolphins in the Azores (part1)

Common Dolphin is such an undistinguished name for what is a truly fabulous animal. The Common Dolphins in the Azores are the Short-beaked species and they are engaging, delightfully agile, and downright beautiful animals. I hope these photos from my recent trip manage to capture some of their beauty.

 

 

 

 

Summer Days

I had a few days off last week after my holiday in the Azores and I visited North Wales on a number of occasions; once mountain biking at Llandegla, then a walk up Tryfan in Snowdonia followed by a walk to Aber Falls with my family.
Here are a few recent images. More Azores dolphin photos coming soon.

Dung Beetle at Aber Falls, North Wales.

Juvenile Common Cuckoo at Meols, Wirral. It was great to see

this bird not far from my home as they are sadly declining in

Britain.

Common Blue Damselfly at Cors Bodgynydd, Gwynedd. There

were plenty of Keeled Skimmers on the wing at this Welsh

Wildlife Trust reserve, but none came close enough for photos.

This is me on the Cannon (again!) on the

climb up Tryfan in beautiful Snowdonia.

Risso's Dolphins in the Azores

On my five dolphin watching trips from the island of San Miguel in the Azores at least two produced sightings of Risso's Dolphins, including a scattered party of about ten animals. Unlike Common Dolphins, the Risso's are shy and don't usually come close to the boat. They are quite big and lack a prominent beak. Interestingly, they are born black but as they age they become progressively paler turning almost white; they also acquire extensive scarring which is thought to be a result of encounters with other Risso's Dolphins.

Wildlife of the Azores

My week on the island of San Miguel in the Azores was mainly spent on the dolphin watching boats, but I tried to photograph some of the other wildlife when the chance arose. I was surprised that the Azorean Yellow-legged gulls (race atlantis) were not interested in the bread that I tried to tempt them with, they obviously have a better diet than my local gulls. So although this was the most numerous species around the harbour in Ponta Delgada, photographic opportunities for this species were limited. The dolphins were such a draw that I also didn't find time to visit the areas where the endemic Azores Bullfinch could be found; but that's a good excuse for a return trip.

Cory's Shearwaters were seen in good numbers from the

dolphin-watching boats.

Male Canary at Lagoa Furnas.

Clouded Yellow photographed at Lagoa Furnas.

Loggerhead Turtle photographed on a dolphin-watching trip.

It was about the size of a dinner plate, a lot smaller than my

last Loggerhead in Turkey, but fab nevertheless. Note the small

fish taking refuge underneath. This turtle kept its fore flippers on

the back of its shell while close to the boat, then paddled away

strongly once it was at a safe distance; probably a defensive

posture.

Red-veined Darter. This beautiful dragonfly was photographed

on the shore of Lagoa Verde, the "Green Lake" at Sete Cidades.

Madeiran Wall Lizard, naturalised after

involuntary introduction. Lots of these were

seen on volcanic rocks near Sao Roque.

Azorean Yellow-legged Gull moulting into third winter

plumage (I think!) in Ponta Delgada Marina.

Juvenile Azorean Yellow-legged Gulls.

European Robin at Caldeira Velha.

Male Chaffinch of the race moreletti, photographed at Caldeira

Velha.

Azores Common Dolphins

I spent last week on the beautiful (very beautiful!) island of Sao Miguel in the Azores. I took lots of photos on a number of dolphin-watching trips with a company called Futurismo. I can recommend these trips for obtaining fabulous views of a number of dolphin species. I haven't processed any of the hundreds of photos that I took but here is a short video of Common Dolphins. It is a compilation of a few trips on a catamaran and one trip where I got to swim with Common Dolphins! What can I say but sheer magic!

Little Swift

Finally getting round to sorting some of my recent photographs. Mega rarity of the year for the Northwest was this fabulous Little Swift seen in New Brighton, only a few miles from my home. I first saw it on the evening of Friday 22nd of June. It was getting dark when I arrived so I returned the following morning and managed a few shots of this amazing bird.

Snowdon Mountain Race

Last Saturday I ran my first ever fell race when I took part in the International Snowdon Mountain Race. The route starts in Llanberis and follows the Llanberis path all the way to the summit at a height of 1085 metres above sea level, and a distance of about 10 miles. The weather was superb on the day with bright sunshine and a bit of a breeze near the top. Not knowing how my race would go, I started conservatively near the back of the pack of about 600 runners. We left Llanberis and headed up the steep tarmac road and onto the rocky path that leads to the summit. The support from the crowds was excellent, with plenty of vocal encouragement and even a couple ringing cow-bells. The views, when I had a chance to admire the scenery were stunning. I managed to push on past a few runners, but I was reduced to a fast walk during mile 4 up a scree slope. Not long after this the leaders came hurtling down the mountain at an unbelievable pace. I reached the summit  in exactly an hour and eagerly anticipated the run down. A few runners passed me running down the scree slope, but I managed to retake a few places on the rocky paths lower down. By the time I was running down the tarmac road again my quads were really hurting, and my legs felt like jelly on the level road back in the town. I still managed to wave at the large crowds of supporters as I entered the finishing funnel. I finished in 1 hour and 35 minutes in 150th place overall and 6th in the V50 category; I was well pleased. I celebrated that night with the ultimate in recovery drinks - a few pints of Greek Mythos beer; lovely!

Running into Llanberis at the end of the race. Many thanks to

my son Adam for the animation.

Ynys-hir

Ynys-hir is a fabulous RSPB reserve in West Wales that has become famous in recent years after being chosen by the BBC for some of their Springwatch programmes. There is something to see at all times of the year but a Spring visit can be very productive birdwise.
We had planned to go in June so on the 10th of that month we set off for the reserve despite all the dire weather forecasts. Not far from the reserve we had to stop and rethink our plans as the main road was flooded and littered with abandoned vehicles including a breakdown truck. Undeterred we donned our wellies and headed for the Dyfi Osprey Project reserve. After walking and wading for over a mile we were disappointed to find that the reserve was closed, so we picnicked in a nearby field then waded back to the car past even more broken down cars!
We manged to find an alternative route to Ynys-hir via a single-track road over some hilly terrain; and it was well-worth the drive, apart from BBC crew and wardens we had the reserve and its super-abundant birdlife to ourselves. Redstarts, Wood Warblers and Pied Flycatchers were all busily feeding young in nests. Treecreepers, Blackcaps, Nuthatch, Little Egrets and Woodpeckers were all seen well. But the Pied Flycatchers were definitely the highlight, I wish we could have arrived earlier and stayed longer to get some decent photos but that will have to wait until next year, hopefully the weather will be better then as well.

Male Blackcap foraging in an Oak tree.

Flooded fields near Ynis-hir

Me on the flooded road, note broken down truck!