Spring is here

While parts of Wales have snow on the ground there are signs of spring at the Teifi Marshes Reserve. One or two sand martins have been seen since about the 8th. March but today is the first day I have seen several sand martins at the Kingfisher Hide. In addition there was a sizeable movement of chiffchaff. Here are two images:

 

As you can see this chiff has a ring. Looking at the figures showing it is likely to have been ringed here on the Teifi.

 



A snipe at the Kingfisher Hide

Snipe are notoriously difficult to get good images of. First of all they are difficult to see as they spend their time feeding in the reeds, and secondly they are very shy birds so usually any sighting is of a distant bird. This week my luck changed and on seeing a pair of snipe feeding in nearby reeds they did not fly away but fly towards the hide! Managed several images with my 400mm lens, these two are probably the best:

An Osprey on the Teifi Marshes

Walking back from the Kingfisher Hide towards the car park last Thursday I was confronted by two excited bird watchers. They were very excited to see an osprey on our camera post near the osprey nest. I took a photograph of the bird and mentioned at the time that I thought it was a buzzard but was laughed at. I was told that it definitely was an osprey. When I arrived home and looked at my e-mail there was one from Nathan confirming the sighting of an osprey on the reserve. I phoned him and said that I had an image of the bird but thought that it was a buzzard - on looking at the image he confirmed that it was in fact a light coloured buzzard. Here is the image:

Better luck next time. This is one time I did not want to be right!

Sand martins arrived on the Teifi

Sand Martins have arrived on the Teifi. I have not managed a photograph as yet but while waiting for them I managed this image of a little egret with fish at the Mallard Hide on the Teifi Marshes reserve:

Rock Pipit on the Teifi

There was a recent report of a Water Pipit near the Webley Hotel. Tried for it a couple of times but only seen rock pipits. This is an image of one of them:

Hunt for displaying Great Crested Grebe

We travelled to Cosmeston Lakes to see if we could find some displaying Great Crested Grebe. These were not in full display mode but were starting to display:

 

 

Later on we visited our local 'hotspot' for Great Crested Grebe - Llys y Fran reservoir in North Pembrokeshire. We saw several GCG but saw only one pair obviously paired up - but no display. However this individual did approach the side of the reservoir for this portrait:

 



International Salon acceptances

My image of a turnstone at Goodwick harbour has gained acceptance in the 1st. Oxford International Salon of Photography:

 

 

That image was also accepted in the Port Talbot International Salon and they accepted my image of a perched kingfisher as well: