Choughed to bits

Another early wander today and the Great Orme seemed like as good a destination as any. I must be mad really, but bird watching has that effect on you. It was dark-ish with a cold-ish wind. Not chance of any great photo opportunities so I took the 120-300mm for an outing.

A trudge up to the cairn brought nothing but a walk down by the sheep-field brought up Mr & Mrs Stonechat, who I didn't bother for long as they were obviously feeding young in the gorse somewhere A single Whitethroat was making its way along the wall but not posing for the camera.

Mr Stonechat

Past the gorse and I was into Wheatear territory. Odd single birds were everywhere but the occasional pair look like they had a relationship going on.

Wheatear

Around the corner a single Chough was feeding in the sheep field, showing the dependance these birds have on sheep-cropped grass and all that goes with it.

Chough

I met Mark Hughes at this point who knows every Orme bird's history and family tree. He informed me that this bird is new this year and has likely taken the place of the previous "Mr Chough" who, it seems, is no longer with us.

Returning to the car we found a single Goldcrest in another gorse bush, squealing its high pitched call, like a short burst of tinnitus!
At the car park I could see the mountains of Snowdonia. It's not often that there is still snow up there in the second half of May!

Bugger me! There are four of them!

I was shocked enough to see one Mandarin Duck floating down the river at Llandulas but by the time I grabbed the camera and leapt out of the car and realised that there were four of them I was completely gobsmacked. 

They make a nice couple....

and then, as quickly as they arrived, they disappeared back upstream, the two nearest males displaying, their crests (and beards?) held high.

Over the hills, not so far away

Matt and I were out for a drive this afternoon. (It's my birthday - I have dominion muhahaha). I even got him to pose for the camera!

After some wandering, we ended up by the Gwytherin wind farm. I love the remoteness of this place.

 

A bit of playing with a polarizing filter makes skies look great!

The views of Snowdonia from up there are amazing!

Tree mice

I had an encounter with a couple of Treecreepers this afternoon. I love the way that they scurry up trees, looking for insects in the crevices. They always remind me of mice!
These birds were also flycatching - taking insects in mid-air. Something I've never seen before.

 Treecreeper - amazing camouflage

They seem to be unaffected by gravity!

Above Llanbedr-y-Cenin

An early morning start and I was off up to Bwlch y Ddeufaen. On the way up I was surprised by an unusual sight - 5 Jays in one tree. They seemed to be happy enough - I expected them to be fighting. The camera was stuck in its bag on the back seat though - there's a lesson! The hillside was still, no wind at all, and the general background noise of birdsong was pretty amazing. I heard my first Cuckoo of the year, singing its two-note song away in the distance.
At the top, I expected to see a few Stonechats and maybe even a Whinchat but there were none - most unusual, but maybe a little early in the year? Wheatears were by far the commonest bird, followed by Meadow Pipits and I managed to catch a glimpse of a single Ring Ouzel as it flew across the hillside.

Wheatears:

Meadow Pipit:

Yet more Macro

I had another 10 minutes in the garden with the macro lens last night. The difference this time was that I used my flash gun.

The results were pretty cool, I think.

Inside a Tulip:

A Bluebell, from an unusual angle

Dandelion heads: 

Whitebell?

Pansies - insects' eye view

Down by the river .......

Back down to the river at Llandulas this morning. Birds were few and far between at first but who cares when you have a spot like this to yourself for an hours or so. 

Whilst waiting impatiently for birds to appear I had a couple of noteable fly-bys. First was a Common Sandpiper and second was a Dipper. I've been looking for a good Dipper stream for ages - maybe this is it?

The Sandpiper was very wary and with it's excellent camouflage it kept seeing me before I saw it. The best I could manage was this distant shot.

The Dipper never did come and pose for the camera but the other residents gave me a good show.

Wren:

Robin:

Blackbird:

Treecreeper:

and the Grey Wagtails: