UP IN THE WELSH MOUNTAINS 2022

One last post to end the year 2022 its been a funny one and connecting with Nature has been wonderful and pleasurable as always especially in troubled times with the current living problems we are facing. One place that I have left my negative energy is up in the hills and mountains. I'll leave 2022 with photograph from my Birthday trip to the Welsh where there was plenty of snow and no people in sight well except 60 soldiers training through the night walking the welsh mountains with all there gear on. It was the perfect gift and the day was lovely.

Enjoy and thanks for visiting, hopefully more blogs in 2023.

Mike

The ups and downs of Wild-Life...

With every cloudy winters day that passes we get closer to spring and the promise of longer warmer days are not to far away. This winter has felt so long especially with the current bird flu ripping through flocks of wild fowl locally and on the boarders with large amount of swans and geese being put down is just heart breaking.

 Once the bird flu dies out the breeding season should replenish numbers but there are many species affected by the current outbreak and some local areas seem so quiet compared to last year.

One thing I definately want to do is get more active and push my body with lots of walks in the Peaks and more wild camping with unexpected encounters with various nature would be wonderful. Below are a few photographs from a recent walk from the Cat and fiddle pub down to wildboar clough to shutlingsloe and down through Macclesfield forest. I was hoping for a Dipper on the streams flowing by the roadside but hopefully maybe in the spring or on one of my peak wild camps.

A warm cup of tea brewed at the Matterhorn of the Cheshire plains on my new gas stove

I received new kit as a Christmas presant to add to my wild camping kit included a green beach tent and I thought it was perfect for summer days lazying on the river or warm nights camping on the lake would work with it.

Just a quick mention as its the big garden bird watch coming up soon www.wirefence.co.uk is giving away 100% of there profits on Sunday 30th of January so if your an organization supporting the welfare of birds and you are in need of additional funds or more information then visit the link below.

https://www.wirefence.co.uk/big-garden-birdwatch-donation/ to see more information on the big garden bird watch here www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch

Thank you for visiting

Mike

Well that was a quick month!!

Well it's flown since the beginning of January but with it being a another warmer start to the year it feels good to see the change of spring coming early. With the growing of fresh vegetation in between the old brown bunches of last summer growth from sticky willy to daffodils and even daises popping up is giving me hope for Spring getting going.

The other day I took a walk to checkout a local Heronry to see if the birds had returned to begin I was not surprised to see that they had not returned but one thing I spotted and smelled was the wild garlic sprouting from all the mud that seems to be an occurring theme with my walks lately.

Sunset on the river weaver one Friday afternoon

 I went back a week later and there was a pair defending there nest with one on lookout and the other making alterations ready for the busiest months of there lives.

5 Nests in one tree awaiting there owners return

On the walk I also spotted this Badger sett which goes under a road and by the looks of it they decided to go under instead of crossing making a Badger subway.

I have a week off soon hopefully I'll be camping on the coast in the winter/spring weather and as long as we pack properly and remember where all the coastal bakery's are we shall be fine.

A photograph from last years February trip

 I'll do a blog about what I take and what we see while on our camping trip

I have seen plenty of wildlife while out and about but the best months are yet to come and I plan to be out alot even in the early hours before work but that will be mainly for Otters so stayed tuned.

Thanks for reading

Mike

My Drone is no more but was it on purpose or by accident!!! see my next blog post

Lots of lovely cold Nature walks in the day and at Night

I've done it again and not blogged for a month as the only time I get to sit down to write is on a Sunday night.  I've been designing my brother a website for his own photography and his Swan Project which can be found below: www.RyanMottramswildlife.co.uk

I've been getting distracted recently watching this webcam www.westshorebeachcafe.com setup outside at a cafe at Llandudno on the Westshore beach.
Perfect for watching the sunset at the end of the day

It makes me miss the place even more but it inspires me to keep saving and searching for that perfect home on the coast. I can't wait to see it snow on the webcam and I will be definitely be using this camera to check the weather when I visit.

Ryan checking on one of the Hedgehogs that frequently visits our garden to feed under the trees

 Really enjoying going to different places to watch the stunning sunsets on the clearer nights

Prepping my backpack light/phone charge mount for when I get back late

A full moon and a clear sky perfect for Nighttime wildlife watching

 This weekend I decided I wanted to stay close and explore a new area of my home patch a few miles away. I discovered the area while picking up an undelivered package from the post office. The area we decided on walking was called White gateway which lies close to the river Weaver and starts off from Winsford to Cuddington. The walk runs along an old Railway line for about 10km/6miles but on the whole day, we probably walked over 26km/16 miles getting to the walk and returning home. There's more information on the walk here http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/routeslinkscycle/whitegate-way-walking-and-cycle-route not much to see but a good long walk to blow away the cloudy day cobwebs.

Next month I have a week off for a personal celebration and were heading off to Wales for a week to stay in either a little cottage by the sea or a big cottage by the sea but that depends on....

Thanks for reading

Mike

End of Summer a few days camping on the coast

I am not doing very well with blogging as I've found myself enjoying the last of the summer sun and with the light disappearing earlier before 8pm now.  My routines changing from a long evening walk to a last light walk then before I relax for the evening. My rule is my PC goes off at 9pm so I don't get stuck into work tasks a few hours before bed and from 8pm onwards it will now be blogging hour to get my thoughts and encounters on here. As I have a week off this week I have a few secret projects in motion that are nature based but I probably wont be blogging about them anytime soon to keep the wildlife/habitats safe. You'll probably be able to read about them in 20 years when I release my own book :-p called "Secrets of a Cheshire wildlife watcher".

But back to my week off and as I had my last morning at work on Friday last week me and my brother packed our bags grabbed the tent with a few supply's but without DSLRS!!!. But why leave your cameras at home I hear you ask well because it was a camping chill out weekend where we needed to keep our bags light yet have a few thick covers, slumit pop up tent, fresh clothes and food/hygiene products to stay fresh. As we dont drive we hopped on the buses to llandudno and Conwy for long walks and breakfast by the Quay which was a little burnt.

Not much wildlife but the sea was calm and migrant birds were increasing probably as the insects were still in good numbers.

Once we left North Wales and returned home the Dolphins suddenly arrived and put on a show next to the Little orme and if your on facebook you can see the photographs one observer took.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/91560190640/permalink/10159255458790641/

Its taking me a few days to write this blog post so I thought I would better publish it before its out of date and as I have so much to blog about especially from earlier in the year I'm sure I'll catch up.

Thank you

Mike

Gannets at Llandudno

After recovering from my 24 hour cold we were up and out relaxing in the warm late Summer sunshine. It felt like it was June not September as the weather was beautiful and even the sea was warm enough to take a dip in. 

While there I checked out a few areas where I could possibly live when it comes to move there in a few years depending on my financial situation. The main reason I want to live there is the stunning natural beauty in the area and the amount of first time encounters I have had there has just been amazing. The other good thing is the thought of a view over the sea and as North Wales is only an hour so away it would be quite easy to visit my current wildlife patch every now and then.
While walking down from the Great Orme one afternoon the tide was reaching its peak and while walking down we noticed lots of Gulls and 4-5 Gannets coming in close and diving a few meters away from the sea wall.

A Gannet just hits the water below the marine drive on the west shore side

My favorite photograph from the encounter

A lovely portrait shot I managed to get from the landscape shot above

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

Mike

A Mermaids purse found on Llandudno beach

While on our late summers break on the coast of Wales we ended up having cooled down in the sea after a long coastal path walk you would have 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 it's food sack I think.

After a quick photograph we placed it back in the same place we found it and added some extra seaweed to give this precious creature a chance.
 In 2014 I found 3 Nurse sharks caught by the 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. 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

Thanks for reading my blog
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

Last week on the North Wales for 2015

At this time of the year usually a few weeks before Christmas I always like to take a week off to spend a few days walking by the sea. As always I spend the week at my favorite cottage as it caters to all my needs at a good price. I love spending a week on the outskirts of Llandudno due to the sea and coastal habitats being so close. There were a few birds I wanted to see and as always I wanted to get up into the mountainous areas of Conwy.

Sunset from Llandudno's West shore

The pool at the west shore had flooded but you could still sit on the benches

The first 2 birds I wanted to see were Red Throated Divers and Great Northern Divers. We found them both just offshore of Angel bay near to where the group of Grey Seals lay up and moult there skins. No photographs as it was grey at the time we went so I was happy just to see them through our binoculars.

On the same day we also went to see the 2 Black Redstart's nestled down in some rocks just above the Seals in a Quarry area. We tried a few times before but there always seemed to be a photographer with a big lens making the birds flighty. On the day we visited both birds were easy to find high on the ledges calling back and forth while the cold north wind blew over the sea.

The week was mostly sunny and warm but as we had arrived after the latest batch of wet weather it was quite muddy and slippery especially when we went to find a Scaup on a marine like pond at a place called Parc Arias. The bird was easy to find and mostly it kept diving to feed but stayed in the center of the pool. The wind got stronger when the tide changed so we got a few photographs then headed off for some lovely Sausage and chips by the sea.

Rainbow in the mountains of Conwy near the Synchant pass

Ryan the Swan Whisperer recording the Mute Swans tags

View of Conwy castle from the harbour

Sunset on the Conwy Estuary

Sunset by the Swan pool

As I have started to get into drawing again I decided on buying a new sketch book to keep all my drawings in one place and so I can draw wherever I am especially in my hide. Below is a quick sketch of my brother Ryan with one of our local swans.

Thank you and stay wild

Mike Mottram

Foxes from summer 2015

After going through some of my unpublished blog posts I came upon one from the summer. High up in the Conwy mountains we enjoyed many long and warm sunny days watching a family of Foxes living on a ledge which looks out to the Irish sea. We watched them playing, sunbathing and hunting below is a few photographs I took of the family members coming and going.

In this photograph one of the Foxes watched us from below as we ended up sitting on the top of a hill so we could see the Foxes below and the sea behind us. This meant we could enjoy the sun, watch the Foxes and keep an eye out for Dolphins on the sea.

We did not see any Dolphins on our June trip but on our September trip while heading to a local shop with no cameras. We decided to take the scenic route up the Little Orme and down to Angel bay to see if we could have any wild encounters as well as soak up the sun and views I love so much. A few meters out we spotted 30+ Bottlenose Dolphin breaching which was an amazing site. Seeing a beautiful creature off our coasts means more to me than seeing them in tropical waters in other places where there more commonly found.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Dragonfly rescue and my first Redstart

While we were up Conwy mountain enjoying the lovely sunny Welsh weather I spotted quite alot of birds with great views in the Background. I spotted a bird that I had never seen before but I have been looking for in the area for a few years.
Here you can see Conwy Castle and Rspb Conwy

Below is a Stonechat I photographed with Conwy castle in the background

 I also got this shot abit closer to a Male Stonechat which I was quite pleased with due to how sharp the image was due to the position of the sun.

While enjoying a break half way up the mountain I noticed a Meadow Pipit with food in it's mouth so there must have been a nest close to where we were picnicking, we quickly moved away so the bird could feed its young.

 One bird I was quite pleased to see was a Redstart on a stone wall around a sheep field. It was quite flighty and as I have never spotted one before a record shot rather than a artistic photograph was better than nothing. Now I know there in this area I can keep going back to get a better photograph in the future.

 It flew into an area of Gorse in the middle of a field so I could not get any closer

One of the beautiful views from Conwy mountain

Up the top of the mountain close to Pensychant there are a few shallow pools. There was one larger shallow clear pool full of a tadpoles which was nice to cool down my feet in after walking so many miles along the coast and up the mountain. Just before a dog was about to jump in the pond I spotted a 4 spotted chaser struggling to get out of the water. Luckily I manged to grab the Dragonfly before the dog landed on it and for the next 30 mins the Dragonfly dried out on my hand while walking down the hill to a more secluded pool I then placed the Dragonfly on my brothers hand to get a photograph before it flew away and onto a reed on the pond.
Drying out on my hand taken on my Iphone

On my brothers finger before it was released

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike