Common Kingfisher : Forest Farm NR, Cardiff - 16th July 2023

I made a spur of the moment last Sunday afternoon to make a visit to Goldcliff NR in Newport in the hope of catching up with the american  Pectoral Sandpiper that had been reported there a few days earlier.

Unfortunately for me the bird was probably out on the estuary during my visit and was conspicuous by it's absence, it was low tide and I hadn't checked the tide times prior to departure, doh !!

I spent an hour or so there checking from the various hides and platforms and it was nice to bump into Alan Cripps of Red-flanked Bluetail fame and chat.

It was too long a wait for high tide and so I thought that I would call in to Forest Farm NR in Cardiff on my way home and check out the Common Kingfishers that have been attracting so much attention at Hide 2.

It was nice to bump into old friends Nigel Addecott and Cliff Woodhead and chat.

Was also nice to chat with a lovely lady named Christina from Swansea and later Forest Farm regulars Dean Seldon, Neil Edwards and Keith Davies all of whom I had only met once previously.

The birds took over an hour to show but when they did there were two present which I assume were siblings.

The perches are a little too distant at Hide 2 but I did manage to come away with some shots that I was quite pleased with given the distance and harsh light.......

Mediterranean Gulls : St Dogmaels, Cardigan - 11th July 2023

A Great White Egret had been reported on the River Teifi in the second week of July, not that rare these days but always nice to see.

I thought I would check out a few spots which are easily accessible from the road between St Dogmaels and Cardigan and whilst checking the river adjacent the Teifi Waterside Hotel I thought that I would quickly scan through the the gull flock present on one of the mud banks.

I quickly spotted an adult summer plumage Mediterranean Gull and counting through the flock I counted a total of 10 adult Med Gulls in the flock of 65 birds.

Ending up at Teifi Marshes I also managed a few pics of an Eurasian Curlew from the Curlew Hide which seemed quite appropriate.

Although a little distant I managed to get a few 'record' shots of the Med Gulls that I was quite pleased with.......

Skomer Island Trip : Puffin Photos - 5th July 2023

Here are some Puffin and other auk photos taken on the day, really pleased with some of my 'bird in flight' shots and particularly chuffed to get the 'money shot' of a Puffin in flight bringing in sand eels.......