Wales 2013

Lyndon contacted us to see if we'd be interested in a day on the water (in a boat!!). Of course, so a few days in Pembrokeshire were called for and off we went. We arrived on the Sunday, had a stroll around St. David's, dinner at The Grove then a short drive down to Whitesands to see if we could see the Sheerwaters coming in. We could but only through binoculars so we took a few photos of the gulls (black headed, greater black backed and herring gulls) ...

... and enjoyed watching the sun go down.

Monday arrived and I couldn't resist the temptation to wander around Lyndon's garden with my camera before we went out.

Soon it was time to go down to the harbour to catch a boat for our "Around and Land" trip to Ramsey Island.

I'd forgotten about the steps! I think they're even worse going down than coming back up.

The St. David's lifeboats (yes, two) are based here. The larger one doesn't have a hut to live in so stays on the water.

The boat we went out on was Thousand Island's Gower Ranger. As the trip name implies, first we went round the island on the boat then we landed and had a good stroll around.

There were quite a few birds around - cormorant, gulls of various kinds and guillemot to name a few.

Jonathon even managed to catch a puffin taking food home.

There were also a few oyster catchers around.

My favourites of the day were the Kittiwake and their chicks.

We saw a few Atlantic grey seals. We also saw a porpoise but were far too slow with the cameras.

face

The rock formations that make up Ramsey Island are really interesting. Lyndon tried to tell me this was some kind of Viking carving but ....

Next stop was Ramsey island itself. It looked very different from a couple of years ago as the previous two weeks had been really dry. No idea what the animals and birds were finding to eat.

It was quite misty and a little bit damp - so much better for us than the hot, dry days that they'd had over the past couple of weeks.

Ramsey Island is owned by the RSPB so there is usually lots of birdlife around. Today we enjoyed seeing chough and meadow pippit amongst others.

It's so peaceful on the island - no traffic and not that many people.

Jonathon thought he'd get a bit closer to the chough. If you look ever so carefully you might see a little black dot in the top right hand corner. This is what it was ...

There were two together originally but as soon as Jonathon got down, one of them flew off!

There were quite a few meadow pippits around, pecking near the sheep's feet and generally flitting around.

The sheep that are farmed on the island help to keep the grass down. So, naturally, the wardens need a sheepdog. He was as daft as a brush chasing his stick but apparently he's very good with the sheep.

The rabbits also keep the grass very short. There's an argument that there are too many, they keep it too short, they eat all the flowers etc and, I have to agree, there did seem to be an awful lot of them and not many flowers, but there were a few.

There were also one or two insects around. Loads of butterflies as well but we're too slow for them!

Back to base for a cup of tea while we waited for the boat to take us back to the mainland. The hens were particularly partial to flapjack, thankfully I'd eaten mine before they were let out of their enclosure!

The end of a lovely day. It was still drizzling when we got home but the weather was OK for the boat trip on the Tuesday so early night as we had an early start!

We set off on Celtic Wildcat from Nayland early even though it was a bit grey and cloudy and the weather forecast wasn't brilliant.

There were plenty of other interesting vessels to see out on the water.

The most interesting was the trawler that had just released some fish into the sea. the birds were really enjoying it.

gulls
Some were happy just to hitch a ride.

We visited Grassholme (without getting off the boat) to admire and photograph the gannets (one of my favourite sea birds).

gannet

Jonathon thinks they must put eye make up on!

The guillemot colony on Grassholme is expanding which is good.

We also visited Skomer to watch the puffins flying about They are such cheeky, cute little birds and very fast so fun to try and photograph.

oysterc
I know this isn't a puffin! It's an oyster catcher.

A few photos of me and my fellow photographers (thanks Lyndon for the one of me) ...

There were a few grey seals around...

... and we came across a small pod of common dolphin with a few babies.

There were quite a few different kinds of jellyfish around to admire - hard to photograph in the water but that didn't stop me trying! The first two have been brightened up in Photoshop so you can see them a bit easier.

The rock formation of the various islands, headlands etc is amazingly colourful.

Whilst looking at some rock, one of the keen birdwatchers on the trip spotted a peregrine falcon sitting high up, minding its own business.

All too soon, it was time to leave the boat behind, have dinner at Taffen Sinc then back to Lyndon's, pack, sleep,have breakfast and begin the journey back home via Cardiff for lunch and Welsh cakes.

Thanks Lyndon for a wonderful few days!

Wales July 2013
Lyndon contacted us to see if we'd be interested in a day on the water (in a boat!!). Of course, so a few days in Pembrokeshire were called for and off we went. We arrived on the Sunday, had a stroll around St. David's, dinner at The Grove then a short drive down to Whitesands to see if we could see the Sheerwaters coming in. We could but only through binoculars so we took a few photos of the gulls (black headed, greater black backed and herring gulls) ...


		... and enjoyed watching the sun go down.

Monday arrived and I couldn't resist the temptation to wander around Lyndon's garden with my camera before we went out.






	Soon it was time to go down to the harbour to catch a boat for our "Around and Land" trip to Ramsey Island. I'd forgotten about the steps! I think they're even worse going down than coming back up.
The St. David's lifeboats (yes, two) are based here. The larger one doesn't have a hut to live in so stays on the water.

The boat we went out on was Thousand Island's Gower Ranger. As the trip name implies, first we went round the island on the boat then we landed and had a good stroll around.


There were quite a few birds around - cormorant, gulls of various kinds and guillemot to name a few.


	Jonathon even managed to catch a puffin taking food home.
There were also a few oyster catchers around.
		My favourites of the day were the Kittiwake and their chicks.



	We saw a few Atlantic grey seals. We also saw a porpoise but were far too slow with the cameras.
		The rock formations that make up Ramsey Island are really interesting. Lyndon tried to tell me this was some kind of Viking carving but ....

	Next stop was Ramsey island itself. It looked very different from a couple of years ago as the previous two weeks had been really dry. No idea what the animals and birds were finding to eat.
		It was quite misty and a little bit damp - so much better for us than the hot, dry days that they'd had over the past couple of weeks.
Ramsey Island is owned by the RSPB so there is usually lots of birdlife around. Today we enjoyed seeing chough and meadow pippit amongst others. It's so peaceful on the island - no traffic and not that many people.
	Jonathon thought he'd get a bit closer to the chough. If you look ever so carefully you might see a little black dot in the top right hand corner. This is what it was ...
		There were two together originally but as soon as Jonathon got down, one of them flew off!
	There were quite a few meadow pippits around, pecking near the sheep's feet and generally flitting around.
The sheep that are farmed on the island help to keep the grass down. So, naturally, the wardens need a sheepdog. He was as daft as a brush chasing his stick but apparently he's very good with the sheep.

	The rabbits also keep the grass very short. There's an argument that there are too many, they keep it too short, they eat all the flowers etc and, I have to agree, there did seem to be an awful lot of them and not many flowers, but there were a few.
		There were also one or two insects around. Loads of butterflies as well but we're too slow for them!



	Back to base for a cup of tea while we waited for the boat to take us back to the mainland. The hens were particularly partial to flapjack, thankfully I'd eaten mine before they were let out of their enclosure!
The end of a lovely day. It was still drizzling when we got home but the weather was OK for the boat trip on the Tuesday so early night as we had an early start!		We set off on Celtic Wildcat from Nayland early even though it was a bit grey and cloudy and the weather forecast wasn't brilliant.

	There were plenty of other interesting vessels to see out on the water.

The most interesting was the trawler that had just released some fish into the sea. the birds were really enjoying it.

Some were happy just to hitch a ride.

We visited Grassholme (without getting off the boat) to admire and photograph the gannets (one of my favourite sea birds).
		Jonathon thinks they must put eye make up on!






The guillemot colony on Grassholme is expanding which is good.


We also visited Skomer to watch the puffins flying about They are such cheeky, cute little birds and very fast so fun to try and photograph.





	I know this isn't a puffin! It's an oyster catcher.	A few photos of me and my fellow photographers (thanks Lyndon for the one of me) ...
Jo, Lyndon & Janet
		There were a few grey seals around...

... and we came across a small pod of common dolphin with a few babies.
There were quite a few different kinds of jellyfish around to admire - hard to photograph in the water but that didn't stop me trying! The first two have been brightened up in Photoshop so you can see them a bit easier.
Blue Jellyfish	Moon Jellyfish	Compass Jellyfish
	The rock formation of the various islands, headlands etc is amazingly colourful.

	Whilst looking at some rock, one of the keen birdwatchers on the trip spotted a peregrine falcon sitting high up, minding its own business.
All too soon, it was time to leave the boat behind, have dinner at Taffen Sinc then back to Lyndon's, pack, sleep,have breakfast and begin the journey back home via Cardiff for lunch and Welsh cakes. Thanks Lyndon for a wonderful few days!
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