Ready for action...

Eddie, Cliff and myself have set up the new 'super camera' in this old disused pill box. Even though we're a good 500 yards from the beach I reckon we will soon be able to get some great shots of herons, terns, spoonbills, cormorants, greybellies, longnecks, shags, frigates , shearwaters, oystercatchers and so on. We are taking shifts at manning the camera.

Watch this space...

New kit #2

I must admit i was a bit concerned at how cumbersome the new lens was when it arrived:

Still, me and Eddie took it out for a trial. Eddie's brother Cliff drove us down to Pembrokeshire in his van.

Here's the picturesque village of Lower Crumblestone. I took this pic using one of my normal cameras:

And here's the same shot using the new lens:

Happy days!

New kit

Well, my week in Cwmgrwfi is over.
I always feel a bit sad coming back to Carmarthen...
But Eddie has made me very happy with this great present. He has made me a new camouflage suit. Here it is:



Can you spot me?
We're going to get some great shots using this. Plus I've bought a great new zoom lens from The Cambrian Trader- so watch this space!

Homers

Here are two great Cwmgrwfi carachters.

Elfyn 'Tex' Evans and David 'Dai Titanic' Davies. Local pigeon fanciers. They send their homers all over the country on the backs of lorries and on trains- back they come, unfailingly to Upper Cwmgrwfi.

Here is a very famous pigeon from the legendary Upper Cwmgrwfi Lofts: El Gran Senor.

El Gran Senor was the only Welsh pigeon to serve in the Spanish Civil War- Cwmgrwfi Anarchists sent him out there in a show of solidarity to the Republican Forces in 1937. Of course, being a homer he was back within a week.

By the way , did you know that pigeons have been a great inspiration for poets in the past? John Keats' sonnet, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer, celebrates a famous bird of the Regency period.

Pigeons nesting...

The locals had told me that there were birds nesting in the tops of one of the 104 wind turbines that overlook Cwmgrwfi. I scaled up there to have a look and sure enough, there they were, a clutch of young pigeons.









Thanks to my Auntie Vi who took the pic of me scaling the turbine.

A long hike.

Still relaxing in Cwmgrwfi...
Didn't get much sleep last night as there was a rowdy Dydd Gwyl y Wy Mawr Olaf party in the street, then of course woken by the nestlings at 03:30...
Still, up on the moors again and ... no low flying jets!
Spotted this joker:

I haven't got any of my bird books here with me but I reckon its either a Goldfinch or a Blue Tit.
Managed to snap this one with an old Minolta camera that I swapped for a karaoke machine in Cash Convertor.
Massive hike up Mynydd Cwmgrwfi and down through Abergrwfi pass. Ended up at Llyn Grwfi where there are loads of birds on the lake- coots, grebes, morons, swans, all sorts of ducks.

Got back to Cwmgrwfi at sunset and snapped these fellows heading home to roost.

Rural Wales.

Today was a perfect day for birdwatching, so I headed off to the moors above Cwmgrwfi.
No luck, though, thanks to the continuous infernal noise of these low flying RAF jet fighters.

Anyone would think that the war on terror was happening in Wales!
Uncle Teg says that such acts are brazen displays of dominance typical of the oppressive Imperialist yoke under which Welsh people have suffered for centuries. I found this a bit odd because he's from Croydon and only moved to Wales after selling his council house to a yuppie for half a million quid.

The Great Welsh Eagle

In Cwmgrwfi square you will find this statue of The Great Welsh Eagle. This commemorates the rebellion of Iestyn ap Iestyn in 1410. Inspired by the earlier successes of Owain Glyndwr, Iestyn led an uprising against the English. Eventually, their numbers reduced by desertion and apathy to less than 100, Iestyn's army were cornered near Cwmgrwfi by the forces of Sir Rowland of Kidderminster.

In a rousing speech much celebrated in Welsh poetry, Iestyn urged his men to remember the bold combativeness of The Great Welsh Eagle. Filled with fervour the band of rebels attacked the English army, which numbered 10,000. The rest is history.

Sadly The Great Welsh Eagle is now extinct. The last nesting pair produced the last egg ( Yr Wy Mawr Olaf) in 1954. The egg was placed in a secure vault at a secret location in Cardiff , but unfortunately it never hatched. It's arrival in Cardiff is celebrated on June 20th each year- Dydd Gwyl y Wy Mawr Olaf- The Festival of The Last Great Egg.

Cuckoos

I'm staying with my Auntie Vi in the charming village of Cwmgrwfi.
Birds, of course, are a assive part of our everyday lives. Can you remember a day when you didn't see a bird?
This morning I was woken at 4 am (04:00hrs metric) by these nestlings. Even though it looks like a swift's nest I think they might be baby cuckoos.
The nest is actually inside the room- so in addition to being woken at four am I also get liberally splattered with droppings when resting on the bed and on one ocassion I have been attacked by the adult birds.

.

Crows nest...seagull's more like)

I've often wondered why the crow's nest of a ship is called a crow's nest and not a seagull's nest. My great uncle Roderick was a sailor and he told me that birds would frequently build their nests in the masts of ships, causing all manner of problems.
Nowadays, of course, seagulls spend more time inland. Here's an excellent nest that I spotted on a recent trip to Cwmgrwfi.

Arseface

When times are hard it's easy to forget that there are genuinely good people in this world.
I'd like to present my friend Arseface:

Arseface isn't his real name. In fact I don't know what his real name is. He's a real nature boy- really at home in the fields and hedgerows of the Towy Valley.
I often meet Arseface when I'm birdwatching down by the river- a man of simple means and wisdom, in tune with the great outdoors and the subtle changes of the seasons, even though he's usually absolutely smashed.
I've spent many a happy hour listening to his anecdotes, sitting by his fire as he roasts a freshly caught cygnet.

As Henry David Thoreau wrote: That man is rich whose pleasures are the cheapest.

I hope to be well enough to venture out again tomorrow...

Vulture

On my way home fom the fracture clinic today I saw this very rare sight, a vulture!
At first i thought i must still be concussed after my recent meeting with Inspector Mohammed- wild vultures are practically unknown in Wales. I can only assume that this was a Devonshire Vulture that had taken advantage of the fine weather to cross the Bristol Channel.

Beddy byes...

Funny that, this spot of bother started with me outside a window taking a picture and now the best i can do is this:

Thanks to Inspector Keith Mohammed's firm guidance I am confined to my bed.
This seagull landed on my window sill earlier.
If there is no bird in the picture it must have been an hallucination caused by pain.

More bother...

Eddie provided this photo. Here we can see members of the local constabulary approaching the front of my house.
Inspector Keith Mohammed was already inside 'talking' to me when this picture was taken.
I had no idea that he was a fan of the internet. Apparently he had taken exception to one of my posts (the pic of the lady from number 36 Pen Gwyn actually).
Inspector Mohammed has offered me some very explicit advice about what I should do or not do in future.
I'm having a bit of trouble walking today, but hopefully once the stitches come out I can get back to the ornithology.
I was hoping to take a pic of the goshawks behind the Pen Gwyn Estate, but i've been issued with something called a banning order, so I need to stay away from that particular part of town.

The bird from number 36

Eddie bet me £30 that I wouldn't post this pic. Snapped on the way home from the club the other night when I was taking a short cut through the fields behind the Pen Gwyn estate. Just hope her solicitor doesn't read this site is all I can say. Pay up Eddie !!!

Redstart

A summer visitor to these shores from North Africa, the redstart is a member of the flycatcher family. Here we see it in its customary position waiting for unsuspecting flies to enter its mouth.

I-Spy...

When i was a small boy I was obsessed with quantum theory. I used to spend hours on end studying the works of Planck, Schrödinger and Einstein.
The only other things I gave any thought to were the piano ( I was grade 8) and chess (I could play six games simultaneously 'blind').
One evening my mother was fretting over a letter that she'd received from an educational psychologist. Apparently my IQ was 178. My mother was worried that I was a 'bit bookish' and that I would end up wearing glasses, which in turn would lead to me being bullied.
Uncle Roy* came to the rescue. What i needed, he said, was an outdoor activity, a hobby that would stimulate both mind and body. And he presented me with this book:



Soon I was wandering through the fields without a thought in my head...
Incidentally- I never did 'spot' the bird on the cover of the book- probably because there are no kookaburras in Wales.
*He wasn't really my uncle.

Woodpecker

This time of year of course, you can often hear the old woodpeckers drumming on the trunks of trees.
The other day I was heading down to Buenaventura Durruti Crescent , always a good place to spot woodpeckers. Imagine my surprise as I turned the corner to be greeted by this sight!



Here's the culprit, or one of his ilk, a lesser spotted woodpecker.

A spot of bother...

Not an ornithology post- just another bit of insight into my day to day life. This was a bit of a misunderstanding. I was just on my way back from doing a bit of birdwatching in the fields behind the Pen Gwyn estate when i was greeted by these gentlemen...

On the left is our local bobby, PC Frank Chickens (honestly). Frank's a tidy bloke- I've known him for years. The bastard on the right is an entirely different kettle of fish- Inspector Keith Mohammed. He punched me in the testicles once when he was investigating the theft of some ladies underwear.
Eddie took this snap just as Mohammed was threatening me with a good kicking if he ever caught me up by the Pen Gwyn estate again.
I tried to tell him about the goshawks nesting in the old elms but he was in a very aggressive mood and kept calling me a pervert. Oh, well...

The 'Famous' Grouse

With a distinctive reddish plumage the colour of whisky the grouse is a striking bird. I was lucky enough to spot these handsome fellows on a recent birding expedition to north Carmarthenshire. Come August these birds will probably be blasted out of the sky by a bunch of toffs, upholding another of our great countryside traditions.
You might think that to get a close up like this that I must have needed some fancy photographic kit- but no, I was able to get right up close to them. A combination of stealth and luck I suppose...

Boat

When I decided that I wanted some shots of waterfowl ( a technical term for birds that live on water) Eddie helped me to rig up this camouflage boat. That's me on Carmarthen reservoir.

Without the boat there's no way that I would have been able to get close enough to take shots like this!

Pine Martins

Following these unfounded accusations of voyuerism let's get back to the serious business of ornithology.
Today's bird is something of a pest. A member of the swallow family the pine martin gets its name from the fact that it builds its nest on the pine end of buildings. In the days when buildings were predominately wooden their droppings would cause untold damage, and they are still considered a bird of ill omen.
With our reputation as experts on birds Eddie and I get numerous requests to remove these unsightly nests from peoples houses every spring.

Legal action...

Manic Whooper

Great pic of a Manic Whooper taken out of the window of a train using my phone!

Cygnets

Looking at these cute cygnets it's hard to believe that they will soon grow into the menacing swans that are so fond of launching unprovoked attacks on innocent members of the public.

Ornithology for the Blind

Diversity and inclusivity!
Meet Mr Cooper and his dog Snowy.

Mr Cooper is a member of our new scheme- Ornithology for the Blind- funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. We are hoping to think of a snappier name for the group and would welcome any suggestions.
Once a month me and Eddie take Mr Cooper out with us. We provide him with a commentary regarding what birds we have seen and Eddie writes the details down in a book for him. Mr Cooper has pointed out to us that he can’t actually read this book but nothing is perfect…Actually on the days when Mr Cooper is with us we don’t spot too many birds because of Snowy’s barking. I don’t think that he’s a proper guide dog at all…
Whilst the benefits of these outings might not be immediately obvious to an outsider, Mr Cooper assures us that it’s cheaper than spending all day in Wetherspoons.

For me and Eddie it provides the feeling that we are opening up the pleasures of the outdoors to somebody who would not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy them, plus ten grand a year out of the public purse...

Puffin bird (Loko glugger)

Here’s an old favourite- the sinister puffin bird.
I took this picture on a visit to the mystical island of Lundy, just off the coast of Swansea.

Lundy actually means ‘Land of the puffin bird’.
The islanders are fond of hunting the puffin birds, which live in underground burrows, and use specially bred terriers (puffin hounds) to flush them out. The practice is known as puffin baiting.
Of course, the puffin bird is associated with many superstitious beliefs.
The majority of puffin bird superstitions revolve around the sighting of a lone puffin bird. There are some curious customs associated with this. It is the most common of the puffin bird superstitions, and throughout the British Isles it is believed that it is unlucky to look upon a lone puffin bird and there are some interesting regional beliefs about what you should do to ward off any bad luck. For example: In Scotland and Northern Ireland one should shoot the lone puffin bird; whereas in some parts of England one should throw a stone at it! Puffin bird superstitions in Yorkshire suggests that the bird is associated with witchcraft and therefore an ill omen - one should make a sign of a cross or take off your clothes in respect to ward off any evil. Another from remote parts of the county suggests that an individual should imitate the lone puffin bird's missing partner – by making a loud squealing noise! Apparently the puffin bird has significance overseas as well - in Tristan da Cuhna, one of the more popular puffin bird superstitions has folk believing that the puffin bird can foretell people what they will be having for dinner.

What a load of nonsense.

Ducks

I'm not sure what type of ducks the small ones are, but they certainly are tenacious.
They were defending their territory against the large duck, and for the whole time I watched them they never gave up chasing it.

Welsh Ostrich (Struthio camelus Cambrenesis)

Ostrich Farming has been going on in Wales since the 1980's. Of course, over the years a number of birds have escaped from the farms and now several colonies of wild ostriches can be found in the west of the country.
This flock wandered onto the A484 when I was coming back from town the other afternoon, holding up traffic for a good ten minutes.
Never leave home without your camera!

A good reference library ...

A good reference library is indispensable. Try to get up to date books- new types of birds are being invented all the time.

I try not to spend too much on books, however, as it can turn into a bit of an obsession. My friend Matty used to be a keen ornithologist and photographer but now all he does is stay indoors studying bird books.

Badger Bird (Pica Meles)

Back to the serious business.
At first I wasn't sure what this black and white crow- like bird was, but having consulted some reference books and the internet I can confidently say that it is a Badger bird.
The Badger bird has been hunted to near extinction because of it's disastrous impact on the farming industry. Aparently the birds transmit deadly diseases amongst cattle (bovine tubercolosis). Luckily for our impoverished farmers the government provides them with substantial grants to fund the killing of the birds.
I was lucky enough to spot this one near our local shiny ring factory. There were no cattle around at the time...

When The Boat Comes In Appreciation Society...

You may have noticed from the photo in the previous post that I was wearing some rather old fashioned togs?
Perhaps I should explain that I am heavily involved in the West Wales branch of the When The Boat Comes In Appreciation Society...
Here's a pic of 'the lads' arriving at our last meeting.



We meet up regularly at the Conservative Club and discuss the TV series and ways of returning Britain to the austerity and poverty of the interwar years. We used to meet at the Labour Club but they don't want 'our type' there anymore apparently (perhaps Cllr Edgar Hughes would care to explain exactly what he means by this?) .
Sorry, this has got nothing to do with ornithology...

And just for good measure here are the real lads...

At the seaside...

The weather down here was really nice over the holiday weekend so Eddie and I went to the seaside in the hope of capturing some exciting bird shots.
Eddie had the brilliant idea of fastening some old crusts of bread to my hat- the birds, he said, would swoop in close.
Brilliant idea, Eddie! here's a great shot of some sort of seagull or tern type thing about to take the bread right off my forehead.


And here's a picture that Eddie took of me on our return.

Barn Owl (Tyto ferus caballus)

Everybody loves an owl! These sinister clock faced creatures of the night with their devilish horns and ghostly wails have been childrens' favourites for years.
When Farmer Wootton told me there were owls nesting in the old barn me and Eddie 'borrowed' some night vision surveilance equipment from his nephew in the local council (they use it for taking pictures of drunks smashing shop windows in poorly lit areas). The results are truly astonishing.
To the naked eye all that was visible was the outline of the bird, but the special gear enabled us to capture this vivid image.

In Action! Eurasian Greybellies.

This is me in action! Eddie took this picture of me down at the local park ... and here was the result of my efforts: a great shot of some Eurasian Greybellies.

Red Kite (Milvus mavis)

No Welsh bird site would be complete without this majestic bird- The Red Kite. These birds were virtually extinct fifty years ago, but thanks to the efforts of HRH Prince Charles and Sir Anthony 'Hannibal Lecter' Hopkins, there's now one perched on every lampost in the principality.

Ardderchog!*

Here we can see the distinctive red plumage and the forked tail that makes him instantly recognisable.

* excellent.

Cameras...

There are plenty of ornithology sites that will tell you that you need to buy expensive camera equipment in order to take decent bird pictures. I can assure you that this is not the case.
Mostly I use an ordinary digital camera.
I do, however, have a collection of literally hundreds of old cameras that i use. You can pick these up for a couple of quid in most charity shops. So you can just chuck them away when you've had a gutsfull of them. I also find that sometimes the frustration of waiting for hours to capture that perfect shot can make me smash up my gear in a fit of rage- so old second hand stuff is ideal.