A Mermaids purse found on Llandudno beach

While on our late summers break on the coast of Wales we ended up having cool down in the sea after a long coastal path walk you would of thought it was June by all the sun worshipers on the beach. As the tide came in my brother noticed a Mermaids purse or a shark/Ray egg case in the shallower water. Usually we find them hatched or predated but the special thing about this one was that inside there was a small embryo growing inside with a small amount of liquid and its food sack I think.

After a quick photograph we placed it back in the same place we found it and added some extra sea weed to give this precious creature a chance.
 In 2014 I found 3 Nurse sharks caught by fisherman and thrown behind a kiosk on Llandudno pier and to see them so small and fragile in there see through protective cases just makes the killing of these sharks more sickening and every time I visit I always check to see there are none there.

2014 BLOG POST

I have sent my photograph to some Shark experts to see if they can identify the species as I have tried but I'm not sure. See what you think here - http://www.sharktrust.org/en/eggcase_species

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Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

A new mount for my Action camera

This week I put my sowing skills to use making my Action cam 2.0 wrist mount for filming close up wildlife encounters when kayaking. I am hoping to use with underwater in a waterproof housing as well if the sea is warm enough in September. Updates to follow on how well the mount works.

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Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

A short week by the sea

Last week I spent Monday to Friday in a caravan on the North Wales coast and as I usually spend my weeks in a cottage but as it takes to long to clean a larger property I felt like a smaller rented property would be better.

Our heavy 100 Litre back packs full of much needed gear

On the way there I developed a 24hr cold and by the time we got there and had a quick walk and did some shopping I was worn out. By 6pm I was ready to go to sleep and rest up for the next day of walking on the coast and it was lucky I did as the next few days were very interesting.

More on that soon....

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

A Local Family out in the meadows

A few months ago at the beginning of summer I was treated to a wonderful British wildlife encounter that I always await for over the long winter months. While out walking through a freshly cut field by a local river  as the sun was about to set and the wind dropped leaving wonderful conditions for an encounter with Fox cubs. We watched as the adult left an area where the Fox cubs were waiting for the all clear to come out into the open. One brave cub followed the adult into the open field to look for an small mammals killed by the grass cutting machinery.

The adult moved off while the young cub explored alone so we decided on seeing if we could get a little closer without disturbing the family. We got quite close using a dip in the field to get about 10 metres away for a couple of shots before a dog walker disturbed the adult Fox which made the cub follow the adult into the safety of the undergrowth.
One of the photographs before the dog walker disturbed this wonderful family

 Cub and Adult Foxes

 The Fox cub is left alone

A few months later I visited the area again and saw the whole family including 5 teen cubs sunbathing and bounding around in the early hours was an amazing and beautiful thing to watch. I could not get any photographs as I was on my bike without my camera so I decided on just watching the family until the sun went behind the clouds that blew in from North.

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Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Summers end...

With September approaching and the end of Summer with it I thought it would be time to post some of my summer posts which I've been holding back so I can publish on the bad weather days.

My brother Ryan enjoying the late evening sun by a local river

The moon sinks below the horizon as a thick mist forms

View from my kayak on a summers morning

 Hopefully in the Autumn I can get out more with my camera more than I have this summer. I have not had much motivation to take my camera out with me this year very much as I have chosen more of a enjoy the Nature through my own eyes rather than through a lens.

 

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Grebes have young but they have...

As most people seem to be out enjoying the summer weather, holidays and Pokemon Go I have decided to publish less blogs until the Nights start to draw in. Most posts will be from the beginning of the summer but today I have decided to write about some strange goings on. 

A few weeks ago after thinking the nesting season was over we noticed the Grebes on the local lake had finally hatched there eggs. The pair had 2 young which rode on there backs for a few days and the pair grew quickly. Everything was fine for about two weeks till a week ago when all 4 disappeared from the lake. We checked the surrounding pools and canal  but they could not be found. While walking and kayaking I spotted a few dead birds floating in the water but it had not occurred to me it could have been the grebes till I noticed they had disappeared. I am not sure if it was a natural predator, human intervention or they left the area but I think they were too young to fly so I'm hoping a natural predator but i. More investigation needed I think and first I'll chat to the locals and keep an eye out while biking, jogging, walking and kayaking. I have a few new camera mounts for filming wildlife over the next year. I have developed one that is perfect for underwater and for when I'm riding my bike as I keep bumping into things without having a camera accessible while out biking. Abit of good news on the 11th August as there is a family matching there numbers abit further up in the canal.

The photograph below is of my first Action camera wrist mount prototype

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Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Last week off until Spetember :-(

Unfortunately last week I had my last week off of the summer so I decided to have a few days out walking in the local countryside and a overnight trip camping on the coast. As I had to drop off a plug we accidentally took when we stayed  at a cottage by the sea in early June rather than post we thought we would make it into a couple of days camping to detox from technology except my iPhone of coarse as playing Poke Mon on it made the 5 hr bus journey to the coast and back so much easier.

 We stayed one night camping in the mountains but as I chose cooking kit instead of comfort so we decided to stay one night instead of 2 to but as the weather got cooler I was not to bothered about returning home early. As I had a few days off once I returned home we decided to go out on foot to explore some more of the local villages surrounding my local patch and we found some lovely places we never new existed.

While walking to a place Ive visited before by car we decided  to use Google maps to explore the area on the way a local duck lake. We ended up finding a Nature area by the river Dane close to Holmes chapel which had a pond, woodland, bird hide and plenty of space for Nature. The place is about 30 minutes walk from home so perfect for when I want to enjoy a few hours peace in a place set aside for Nature. As we only passed through the area I did not get chance to explore or take to many photographs except for a few of the lovely nature boards.

One place we visited twice was Shakerley mere where we found a bench by the lake and enjoyed the sun, food and the geese and ducks coming over for food which was very relaxing.

One of the moody looking Geese came over for a photograph

I'll be visiting here over the winter months as there's a lovely bird feeder setup there and I will be taking my camera. Its quite a pleasant walk down some lovely country lanes to get there and at a leisurely pace I can get there in less than an hour. One other place we visited was the River Weaver and we decided to walk from Winsford to Davenam on the edge of Northwich. The walk goes along the river and passes through various habitats. I'll explore the area more over the next year if all goes to plan as I think there is a good chance of seeing Otters there especially in the winter months.

One thing we noticed was Great crested Grebes are doing well along the weaver due to the nests we found being sat on by the adults. We got to see the birds swap over incubation duty's as the rained poured down onto the small ponds along the river weaver.

One Grebe nested on some Lilly pads which is a great idea as they rise with the water

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike