Llandegla Forest (part 1)

At the end of April I booked a day off work with the intention of visiting Bempton Cliffs RSPB in Yorkshire. Unfortunately I was a bit unwell in the morning so I didn't fancy the long drive from the Wirral, but I didn't want to waste my day and decided to go for a walk around Llandegla Forest in North Wales.
Coed Llandegla is a commercial forest that opened to the public in 2005 as a mountain biking venue. But alongside the great biking trails are some fantastic wildlife habitats, indeed 50% of the Welsh Black Grouse population can be found within one mile of the forest, and in the summer the clearfell areas are home to Nightjars. Jane and I were too late in the day to witness the lekking of the grouse but we were happy to stroll around the forest in search of other wildlife.
Warblers were much in evidence as we wandered the trails through the conifers. The cascading song of the Willow Warbler is definitely one of my favourite sounds of Spring and they were probably the commonest songster on our walk.

 

 

We walked to the hide that overlooks the moorland where the Black Grouse lek in the early morning knowing we wouldn't see any but Ravens and Buzzards provided some consolation. It was quite a warm day and the willow flowers were a welcome source of nectar for foraging bees.

 

 



 Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes added to the mid-morning chorus, and the twittering calls of Siskin and Redpoll reminded us that the forest is a great habitat for these species.
A very obliging Wren perched and sang on some conifer logs and provided me with some memorable images.

Walking up a broad forest track near an area of clearfell we saw a largish brown bird disappearing behind a stand of conifers. "Cuckoo" we both said, more in hope than anything else. We quickly walked to the other side of the conifers only to find that our 'Cuckoo' was in fact a Mistle Thrush! It was a lovely bird but Llandegla is one of our favourite sites for Cuckoo, but maybe we were too early in the season for this African migrant.
We picnicked on a seat that overlooks Moel Famau, the highest hill in the Clwydian range. The hill is crowned with a tower which was built to commemorate the golden jubilee of George III in 1810. The tower gives the hill a unique profile that makes it easily recognised from some distance.
I shared my lunch with an unusually shy Robin and then we set off back to the visitor centre. As we neared the carpark I thought I heard the call of a Crossbill as two finch-sized birds disappeared over the forest canopy. I could not be sure though, so it didn't make it on to the day list. Crossbills used to be a guaranteed sighting a Llandegla, to the point that one area of the forest was nicknamed "Crossbill Corner". But after a cold winter a couple of years ago they have become more infrequent. They are a mobile species anyway so an irruption might boost the numbers here in the future.



Delamere

Last weekend I had planned to visit Conway RSPB reserve to search for Britain's smallest breeding bird, the Firecrest; this beautiful little bird shares this status with the commoner Goldcrest. There have been up to three Firecrests recorded at Conway this winter, and I managed to photograph one bird during a brief visit last November, and a return visit was very much on my mind.
Unfortunately, near-gale force winds greeted me as I left the house, and the clouds threatened rain and sleet. Probably the worst conditions for viewing such a sprite, nevermind trying to photograph one. So I changed my plans and decided to head for Delamere Forest in Cheshire where I knew I had more than an outside chance of capturing reasonable photos of the birdlife.
I took a bag of sunflower seeds and headed for a car park deep in the forest that is frequented by common woodland birds. I was not disappointed; no sooner had I sprinkled the seed than at least 5 Robins and legions of tits were hopping around my car. And although the light was still poor, I still captured some acceptable images, including a dapper Nuthatch; my first of the year. A female Great Spotted Woodpecker was visible on a distant tree, but never came close enough for a photograph. Likewise a Redpoll put in  a very brief appearance near the car, but was far too quick for my camera.




Our only breeding Accentor, the subtly beautiful Dunnock




Only one Coal Tit was seen.



Firecrest at Conway RSPB, last November.

 

Sunny Summer Days

In total contrast to the last few years, this July has been one of the warmest and driest in living memory.
I have been making the most of the sunshine and have been out and about with my camera and have also walked up Mount Snowdon twice! Here are a few recent shots. Get out there and enjoy the weather!

Dark Green Fritillary near Ruthin, North Wales.

Male Common Redstart, Ynys-hir RSPB.

Large Red Damselfly, Ynys-hir.

Fledgling Robin, foot of Snowdon, taken with compact camera.

At the start of Crib Goch ridge, Snowdonia.

Common Pheasant, Ynys-hir.

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Butterflies and Dragonflies

Ynys-hir

Marsh Tits at Leighton Moss

Last week my friend Jane and I visited Sizergh Castle in Cumbria in the hope of seeing Hawfinches. We pulled into the car park in bright sunshine but it soon started to snow. A thorough search of the area failed to produce our quarry so we went for a short walk in the surrounding countryside; the coldness of the weather did not diminish our appreciation of this beautiful part of the country. After photographing common birds such as Robin, Wren and Blackbird, we returned to the car park but there was still no sign of the target birds. We decided to head south so we could lunch a Leighton Moss RSPB.
Passing through Milnthorpe the clouds unleashed a veritable snow blizzard of Dickensian proportions. It was almost a total whiteout! We drove on to Leighton Moss where we enjoyed a picnic in Lilian's Hide. I prefer to eat outside to maximise the wildlife viewing opportunities.
But to say the weather was changeable was grossly understating the situation. In the film version of H.G. Wells' classic novel The Time Machine, the time traveller views the passing days as a strobe of night and day; similarly the weather that day fluctuated rapidly between bouts of sunshine and mini snowstorms driven in by a bitter Easterly wind.
Undeterred by the elements we enjoyed a great day's birdwatching. One of the highlights for me was the newly built shelter by the bird feeders where we enjoyed great views of common woodland birds and scarcer birds including one of my favourites the subtly beautiful Marsh Tit. We rounded the day off with a very welcome curry in nearby Carnforth.

 

Robins and Wren photographed at Sizergh Castle.

Marsh Tits.

Common Snipe.

Immature Mute Swan in snowstorm.

Male Wigeon.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker.

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Stoatally Amazing



Leighton Moss

Kestrel

Last Sunday was dull and overcast, but as I hadn't been out with my camera for a while, I drove down to Burton marsh to relieve my DSLR withdrawal symptoms; I had to photograph something, anything. I was hoping that there might be a Short-eared Owl quartering the marsh in the late afternoon gloom, or a few thrushes feeding on some berries. There were some Redwings and Fieldfares foraging in a field but they were distant specs in my viewfinder, and there was no sign of any owls. But there was an obliging Kestrel perching on some low bushes and occasionally hovering close to my car. These beautiful birds are not as common as they once were; a casual birder is more likely to see Buzzards perched along motorway verges these days. So I was pleased to see no fewer than six different Kestrels on my short jaunt around south Wirral. Despite the poor light I am pleased with images. I have included a sunny image of a Kestrel taken in March 2011 at Parkgate as a comparison. I also travelled to Leighton Moss again a few weeks ago to watch a starling roost which completely failed to materialise, but I've posted a couple of shots of Robin and Greylag Geese from that visit.

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Norfolk

Firecrest

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.