Iolo's Great Welsh Parks

Iolo's Great Welsh Parks

I hope you've been enjoying Iolo's new program on the Brecon Beacons, they have managed to capture the heart of the beacons in my opinion and I particularly enjoyed seeing the footage of Great Grey Shrike and the Dotterel. I've personally never seen a Dotterel but they look fantastic! 

I have however had one chance locally to see a Great Grey Shrike and that was last year in the Blaenserchan Valley. I was hoping for another chance this winter but weather has seen that opportunity off unfortunately. 

I just wanted to say thanks to Iolo Williams and everyone at Eden Productions for paying attention to this side of Wales because South Wales has been overlooked and it's been great having the limelight for a short while. I'm reminded of that fantastic opportunity we had in Pontypool to have one of the best wildlife presenters come to our local park and show us first hand how diverse our land actually is. I was very fortunate  to be part of that and I also wanted to give a shout out to all the production team. Graham Horder (Camera Man) also filmed Iolo's Brecon Beacons and has done a fantastic Job in making sure we get to see everything we see onscreen. I know first hand that getting wildlife in the lens can be extremely difficult and it can be equally as difficult (if not harder) to record the sound of that animal given our wet windy welsh weather (WWWW). The program I was in has finally made its way to Youtube so if you would like to watch it for yourself, here it is. I was extremely nervous in this program.. It's not everyday you get to meet your idols on Tv but looking back, it was such an amazing experience and I hope I get the chance again one day. 

Gutted

Those closest to me would have known that I applied for a Placement called the 'Lemur+Project' early this year. The Lemur+Project would have allowed me to spend 9 months training in the area of conservation within Gwent, which was more than ideal for me and would have given me more skills to get the conservation Job I'm after, but sadly I found out today that I was unsuccessful and didn't even get to the interview stage. I think I got a little too excited about this opportunity I'm I am truly gutted I didn't get it. 

In other news, I attended my third meeting for Torfaens Biodiversity Partnership today which so far I'm really enjoying and can't wait for the next meeting. It feels great to even be invited along, especially considering everyone else in the room plays pivotal roles for conservation in Gwent. 

I guess I'll just have to keep trying. I'll leave you with a happy Long-tailed Tit. These guys always put a smile back on my face and I've been after this pose for a long long time! It's called 'The Wren Pose' and they don't often do it but it does allow you to see the orange/red shorts that they sport underneath that beautifully long tail. 

Lesser Redpoll

Whether it be high up in the canopy or down on the ground, Redpolls feed primarily on seeds. Luckily for Llandegfedd, the North Meadows are not cut for hay in the autumn, they are instead grazed by sheep during the winter months. Grazing is by far the best way forward for nature conservation as you can maintain grass levels while avoiding species of plant that are valuable to nature. It's these plants that species like Redpoll desire throughout the winter months and it is this reason alone that brings them down from the canopy and into the Meadows where we can see them better. This shot was taken from the footpath. 

Being down in the meadows however exposes them to predators like Sparrowhawk and moments after taking this shot, a Male Sparrowhawk flew out of the tree line behind me to try and catch one of these birds. They were lucky this time though and all of them managed to escape. The Sparrowhawk then flew off towards the feeding station so its probably eyeing one of those up. 

More Shorties

No matter what angle, these birds pose really well for the Camera. Was so nice sitting in a hide watching 6-7 of these birds hunting the meadows as the Sun dropped behind the horizon. 

Siskin

If you have visited Llandegfedds Feeding Station and are wondering where all the finches are, my mate Chris has stollen them all! In his Garden he has; Siskin, Redpoll, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Brambling, House Sparrow and many many more! He really does have a hot spot and I appreciate the invite. Plus.. he makes a damn good cup of Yorkshire Tea! What more can you ask for? lol. 

Never a rainy day for a Robin

Is there anything that will stop a Robin from singing? Not even the darkness of night these days is enough to silence Britain's National Bird. 

I'm sure you're familiar with this winter song 

Short-eared Owls

I've been planning a trip to see a winter hotspot for Short-eared Owls and I finally got around to visiting. I've seen some great photographs coming out of this place but I didn't want to just turn up and hope for the best. I got tips of the locals and off renown wildlife photographer Mike Warburton in order approach the site as best (and safely) as I could. I still had a hard time to be honest but coming home with some photographs at-least. I think my next visit (depending on weather conditions) should be a lot better as today I really got to know the site well enough to know what to do and what not to do. All of these photographs are heavily cropped but light was decent so shouldn't show to much. 

Pheasant

Ok, that was easy. I know! but how beautiful! This guy is pretty tame (so long as I don't step out of the hide) so I've managed to get fairly close as you can see. 

Guess who?

I'll give you 10 minutes before I post the answer as I have lots more photos of this guy. It should be an easy one for all the birders out there..

Long-tailed Tit

I posted a soggy looking Long-tailed Tit the other day. Safe to say, they've dried off 'a bit' today.I have a new visitor at the feeding station this week thanks to this Cold weather. I'll do a post about him later as he's quite the charmer ;)