Pembrokeshire Choughs

Choughs at Strumble Head © David Gill

Pembrokeshire has been enjoying some welcome sunshine. I spotted six choughs in one group just round the corner from Strumble Head (heading towards St Davids) and a single chough the next day in the fields next to the end of the public road. There were plenty of stone chats, a bonxie, a linnet and a mass of gannets diving into the sea off the headland. Three seals were popping up in the small bay next to the lighthouse.

Durness Puffins

Durness puffin colony © David Gill, 2011

We are back from watching one of the most northerly puffin colonies on mainland Britain, at Durness (not far from Cape Wrath) in Scotland. Some of the puffins were clearly cleaning out their burrows as sand was ejected in great flurries.

There is a handy map if you are wanting to find them. The iPad led us to the right spot.

Swansea International Poetry Festival Opens

© David Gill

The 7th Quarry / Crosscultual Communications Swansea International Poetry Festival opened tonight at the Nick Holly Gallery. There were readings in Catalan, English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, and Welsh.

History of Science at Hay

© David Gill

The Saturday History Wales sofa discussion at the Hay Festival related to the History of Science.

Royal Visitor to Hay Festival

Duchess of Cornwall arriving at the Hay Festival © David Gill

The Duchess of Cornwall dropped into the Hay Festival today.  She attended a creative writing project for children and mingled with festival-goers.

Ensnared damsel at Llanelli

© David Gill

One of the many damselflies was caught in this web in the Millennium Wetlands at Llanelli.

Dragonfly at Llanelli

© David Gill

The dragonflies were out in wetlands at Llanelli.

Peter Thabit Jones: Launch of Poems from a Cabin on Big Sur

Launch celebration © David Gill

Peter Thabit Jones launched his Poems from a Cabin on Big Sur tonight at the Nick Holly Gallery in the Exchange Building, Swansea.

Dinefwr Woodpeckers

© David Gill, 2011

A very noisy group of woodpeckers were high in the trees alongside the boardwalk at Dinefwr.

Dinefwr Demoiselle 2

© David Gill, 2011

Here is another demoiselle noticed from the boardwalk at Dinefwr.

Dinefwr Demoiselle

© David Gill, 2011

The Demoiselles were out by the ruins of the dam alongside the boardwalk at Dinefwr.

Bees in the Borders

© David Gill

The bees are out and about at Aberglasney.

Bluebell Woods

Bluebell wood at Aberglasney © David Gill

The display of bluebells at Aberglasney is particularly stunning this year.

Caerwent: Norman meets Roman

Roman walls at Caerwent © David Gill

The Norman motte stands in the south-east corner of the well-preserved Roman walls at Caerwent. The motte can be seen at the end of the line of the wall.

Norman Caerwent

Motte at Caerwent © David Gill

A Norman motte, dating to the late 11th century, dominates the south-east corner of the Roman town. It clearly took advantage of the remains of the Roman walls.

Caerwent

Bastion on the south wall of Caerwent © David Gill

The Roman walls at Caerwent (Venta Silurum) were looking magnificent and imposing today in the May sunshine.

Aberglasney blossom arch

Kitchen garden at Aberglasney © David Gill

The blossom at Aberglasney is a delight thanks to the warm, sunny weather.

Bluebells at Dinefwr

Bluebell wood at Dinefwr © David Gill

There was a spectacular display of bluebells at Dinefwr.

Llansteffan views

Llansteffan from Ferryside © David Gill

The ruins of Llansteffan castle dominate the mouth of the Tywi estuary in Carmarthenshire.

Beach Train

Ferryside © David Gill

The Arriva train leaving Ferryside station towards Llanelli runs alongside the magnificent sands of the Tywi estuary.

The Tide is High

High tide in the Loughor Estuary

The tide was high in the Loughor Estuary at 8m (see BBC tide timetable). Sadly I only had a mobile on me ... but it gives an impression of the expansion of water between Penclawdd (on the Gower side) and Burry Port (on the Carmarthenshire side).

Toad in the hole

Visitor in the reconstructed latrine © David Gill

We always hope to catch a glimpse of one of the stoats when we peep into the drain that runs along the back of the cells at Mount Grace Priory in Yorkshire. But we had a different surprise when we opened the door to the reconstructed latrine ...

© David Gill

For a panoramic view of the cloisters round the cell see here.

Puffin launch

Bempton, April 2011 © David Gill

The puffins have arrived on the cliffs at Bempton (RSPB). This one was heading back out to sea.

Laugharne view

Laugharne © David Gill, 2011

There was a single egret on the estuary at Laugharne yesterday but the views over the castle and Dylan Thomas's Boat House were spectacular.

Spring at Aberglasney

Aberglasney © David Gill

Spring is here at Aberglasney. Blossom is emerging on trees, daffodils are out and the snowdrops are nearly over.

© David Gill

Low Tide at Cefn Sidan

Cefn Sidan © David Gill

The tide was low at Cefn Sidan (part of Pembrey Country Park) and the oystercatchers and gulls were out in force.

Toads in a Hole

Toads at Pembrey © David Gill

We had heard that toads were out and about in Burry Port ... but we came face to face with a couple on a path in Pembrey Country Park. After a quick dash they took cover in a shallow hole.

© David Gill

Worm in the mist

Worm in the mist © David Gill, 2011

The tide was out at Llanegennith this afternoon. There was a slight sea mist, but the surfers were out in the breaking sea.

Hen Harrier at Oxwich

The waterbirds on Oxwich marsh suddenly lifted off ... they had clearly spotted the hen harrier that was in the area.

Paul Tyrrel caught a much better photograph from the same hide yesterday.

Image
© David Gill, 2011

Snipe at Oxwich

We visited the new bird hide overlooking Oxwich marsh on Gower and this snipe obligingly rested before us.

© David Gill, 2011

Feeding on Thin Ice

Straight from the freezer at the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

© David Gill, 2011

Big Garden Birdwatch

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is taking place this weekend - so get watching. There is a very nice RSPB app for the iPad to help with the process. The icy conditions are not helping ... but we spotted this woodpecker today (but not in our garden).

© David Gill 2011.

Aberdulais falls: video

I took some short videos on my phone to try and capture the drama of the falls.

Aberdulais falls

The rain has been falling steadily for several days and as a result the Aberdulais Falls in the Vale of Neath are particularly dramatic.

Image
© David Gill, 2011.

Oxwich Oystercatchers

There was a low tide at Oxwich today and the oystercatchers were lining up along the shore.

Image
© David Gill, 2011