Skomer II - the other side

Yes Skomer is mostly about the puffins, but when you have time to explore there is much more to see.

At the time we visited the bluebells were in full swing, punctuated by campion of the pink kind - not the small white ones seen with the puffins.  So pretty even I focused the camera a couple of times in a bid to remind myself that flower snapping isn't my thing.

The other key birds for me were the owls - the glorious piercing-eyed short-eared and the 'can you see me pretending to be a rock' little ones. 

In the warm light of early morning the island was lovely - puffins and seals down at the beach, oystercatchers, raven and the SEO.

On our last morning for a brief minute I thought I'd get an SEO over the bluebell field, but packing up time pulled me away and this was my nearest effort.  The main bluebells are just over the ridge.

As you wandered around the paths you kept stumbling across 'angel wings' - actually much more grisly than the name suggests these are what are left when the shearwaters which flood onto the island at night get caught outside their burrows.  Look below the gull nest and you can see who some of the culprits are.

Plenty else to see - more frustrating chough, stonechat, rock and meadow pipit, bunnies - and Kim's favourite, the wren.

Down at the Wick the cliffs were home to nesting fulmar, having a bit of a domestic

 - but at the end of the day Skomer is about the puffins, and I just hope before too long I'll stay there again for another go.

Charm offensive

In recent weeks the numbers of goldfinches visiting the garden has been creeping up.  We've never reached the heights of Kay's parents who get them in the tens, but still a reliable and frequent visitor.  There are some snaps that are kind of staples for every bird photographers gallery, and the goldfinch on teasel is one of those.
So it was out with a bank stick and clamp, a teasel stem, some nijer seed for 'sprinkles', plant the prop near the feeders and keep an eye on the birds.  By day 2 there were fairly regular if not frequent visits, and some shots in the bag. 

Background might be better a bit more uniform, but I couldn't bring myself to start hanging up backgrounds in the garden.  I haven't actually posted my favourite as the subtlety will be lost on blogger.

Kissing under the Dung Branch

The winter after we moved down to South Wales I noticed unfamiliar ball shapes in the bare trees.

Mistletoe isn't something I remember seeing 'up north', but down here, and especially in Gloucestershire and Somerset it is quite common.  This year hasn't been too good, but last winter there were berries everywhere.  As you likely know, although probably wouldn't couch in such terms, it's an obligate hemiparasitic plant - although it does photosynthesise it can only grow attached to a tree.  Once developed you can hardly see the join ......

but it is clearly completely different to the host.

The tree in the first shot had a fabulous crop of berries last year and really I should have tried to get some snaps of the redwing and fieldfare that visited, but the branches were high, the birds flighty and I don't think even a hide would have worked assuming the farmer tolerated it.  Still with rainclouds behind the tree looked good.

Dung branch?  The sticky seeds spread in bird poo, and one theory about the name is that it stems from the German words mist (dung) and tang (branch).

The bees and the birds

After the relative quiet of winter, action builds through the period of migrant passage into the frenzy that is Spring. 
The bees were a cracking and totally unexpected local find whilst walking the dog.  Not the buzzy, busy kind, but one of my favourite plants - bee orchids.  Taking snaps with the dog isn't ideal, as plant photography is, I find, quite hard, needing much more time than you might think for something that doesn't fly or run away.  The problem with bee orchids is the 'depth' of the flower which calls for a good depth of field.  this, however makes it hard to establish a nice blurred background, without a substantial amount of pruning!  I took quite a few shots, of which I liked these two in the evening light.

But it's the birds that remain the focus of attention project-wise.  In a local wood (near the orchids and also on the dog walking route) we had got permission to put up some nest boxes.  It's a young and poorly managed woodland (a future practical project we hope) so we are not talking big three woodland migrants, but we did manage at least 3 blue tit nests and two great tits.  In one sense I lost a mornings photo time, but it was good to get a record of our village wildlife group's first practical successes.

Walking the dog also resulted in the finding of a natural blue tit nest in a tree stump, whilst in the garden our starlings and sparrows have fledged.  Noisy garden at present!

A couple of visits to the Forest of Dean.  First a trip to view my favourite tree - in past years home to pied flycatcher, spotted flycatcher and lesser spotted woodpecker nests.  This year ...... a flicker of movement, anticipation builds .........

yes - another blue tit.  Only interesting feature here was the entrance hole which required a vertical approach.  Might be a challenge for the fledglings!

The tree along the track - again past home to pied flycatcher - caused a double take.  The old hole, surprisingly large in a main branch, had shrunk to about a quarter the size.  Only one answer - nuthatch nest, confirmed shortly afterwards.  They were a bit shy, but the remote trigger meant I could set up the gear and walk back, taking snaps when I saw movement.  A bit far away, but you can just about see the bird and the original hole.

During the first visit, apart from a brief view of golden ringed dragonfly,

the other find was a possible redstart nest.  Wasn't sure, but a visit a week or so on confirmed the nest site.  A prolonged and careful approach allowed some shots of the birds at the nest with natural food.  Not the ideal angle but the best spot to 'hide'.  I didn't linger too long, but was pleased with the outcome - just a shame I missed the flight shot which I've included just as a form of self-punishment.

Pied flycatchers and wood warblers will have to wait another year.