Spring on the coast

As I was in Wales at this time last year it was interesting to compare my sightings and to see if Spring had begun on the coast. This time last year the Cormorants and Kittiwakes were collecting nesting material for there cliff edge nests. This year the cliffs are pretty bare especially for the numbers of Razorbills, Guillemots plus there were a few Winter birds still around such as Grebes which I only usually see on the coast over the winter.

The weather was very mixed with hot sunny days, and cold, wet and windy ones but I don't think it was the weather holding back the nesting season. Another noticeable change from last year was the lack of vegetation growing from nettles and ferns to the Bluebells that grow on the Little Orme. It seems Spring is very different this year and returning to months where Spring belongs.

A Fox sunbathes above a busy road and I could watch this from my bedroom at the cottage we rented

Lots of Lambs were bounding around the fields

There were plenty of Ants active under the pieces of corrugated Iron on the Great Orme

While on the Great Orme I tested a few new wildlife watching products including a Timelapse camera

 Lichen growing on the Hawthorn trees shows how fresh the air is there

The most interesting thing I photographed was a pair of Fulmars mating on there cliff nest above the Marine drive. They mated a couple of times before having a loving round of squawking and beak tapping. It was great seeing something I've never witnessed before as usually they have laid or there eggs have already hatched so we were very lucky to see them mating.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

A week by the sea

Last month I spent my time on the coast of North Wales at Llandudno to relax, film and photograph wildlife. I also wanted to do some swimming and snorkeling with my Easy breath mask and fins.

Unfortunately the sea never settled or cleared at the spot I have found where I can hopefully swim with a seal. We went to check on the area and there was Seal there waiting for me to enter the water into the under water forest of sea weed and kelp in the shallow meter deep waters of the Irish sea. I'm heading back there in June for a few weeks so I was not to disapointed with not getting in the water.

One of my favorite views

It was an amazing week as usual with some beautiful views and sightings which I'll go into over the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Quick Camping trip to Wales

A few days ago I managed to get a couple of days on the coast to chill out away from technology. I went with my brother and we camped in a tent and took no DLSRs so we could not take any wildlife photographs!!!.  It was quite warm in the day and night but rather misty in the day so we could not see very much on the sea or any of the beautiful views. We stayed one night rather than 2 as on the second day the mist remained, we had some breakfast and left around 9am on Wednesday morning. It was a short but refreshing stay by the sea and I love roughing it as when you return home you appreciate the small things like a comfy bed, warm water and toast.

We saw and heard plenty of Ravens calling and doing there aerial displays in sync with each other. There were plenty of Seals down in the bays near the Little Orme and you could feel the beginning of Spring as we walked around the wilder areas of Llandudno. I can't wait to get back there in April for a week when I can get more filming and photography done at my favorite place on the North Wales coast.

 The only thing I photographed on my Iphone was this dead Octopus I found on the promenade, I had no clue they could be found on the coast here so I will be keeping an eye out when I am using my easybreath mask.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

All photographs except the last one were taken in February last year

Down by the river testing the easybreath surface mask

With all these hot days I have been spending many afternoons by the river cooling off either kayaking or just having a quick dip in my wet suit but yesterday I got to see under the surface of the river with a fantastic new piece of kit. Luckily I suspected this product would sell out very quickly and they did so as soon as they were in stock I bought two. I received them both last week and I could not wait to get into the water use them as I have been waiting for them to release this product for a few years. They currently only have one model released and it's Blue and the size is XL so perfect for my big head ;-) hopefully they will release in other colors and a smaller sized model for kids.

The Easy breath mask allows you to breath just under the waters surface and see into an underwater world and unlike the snorkel this product allows you to breath normally as you would on land. To see more information about this product click the link below:
  http://www.decathlon.co.uk/easybreath-surface-mask-blue-id_8304664.html#avantages
 
As I don't live by the sea and won't be back there till September when things may be a little cooler. Rather than wait till next summer I decided to find a clear flowing area on my local river with a few areas of weed. On Thursday afternoon after work I ended up putting on my wetsuit and taking one mask down to the river to test and my brother used the mask to get the some promo photographs. We ended up observing Minnows in clear water and I was surprised that they did not swim off and swam right in front of my eyes. After a few goes using the mask it started to become second nature as when you first go under the water your natural reaction is to take a deep breath. It was a perfect way to keep cool on a hot summers day down by the sparkling waters of the river Dane which is only 10 minutes from my front door.
My brother looking like a Power Ranger

The mask is an amazing piece of kit and for under £40 is worth every penny and hopefully I will be able to use in the sea if the weather holds out and I should be able to see better as it was abit murky in the river and I could not see clearly into the deeper parts.

It feels like a your wearing a futuristic space mask and hopefully they will develop other models which allow the wearer to go under the surface without letting water into the breathing tube. The mask is made by Tribord which is a well known brand in the water sport field but as they are struggling to supply this model in the UK I am guessing it could take a few years for any new models to be released but based on this one models popularity they would be silly not to.

Thanks for visiting

 Mike

Kayaking on the river looking for signs of Otters and bumping into Kingfishers