A month well 2 weeks of Summer nature 1 of 2

With a busy month gone by and Summer in full flow albeit a bit wet but that does not put a dampener on things as Ive been out and about enjoying Nature as usual. I spent one week wild camping and week in a cottage on the coast of North Wales and on the island of Anglesey. I discovered a few new places a visited a few that I visted of the winter as the greenery really looked stunning with all the beautiful wild flowers in colours of the rainbow. I will post of few that stood out to me as I will use this blog post next year when planning my summer trip. We found a lovely new Fulmer nesting cliff where you can get quite close without disturbing and away from the crowds.

Along the coastal cliffs we ran into a Raven family with a brood of five fledgeling young learning navigate the winds and cliff edges. As well as the Ravens a family of Peregrines were hid in a rocky outcrop as you could hear the young getting excited when the parents brought in pray.

I was hoping to revisit South stack but decided to visit a Nature reserve on Holyhead that has a secret beach and we also found Red Squirrels nearby at 2 feeding stations. I love watching them stick there heads out from the feeders checking if we had come any closer.

These Gulls had made use of the cliffs where the fulmars nested and the 2 babies looked very safe.

Porth wen was a place to revisit as the difficulty getting to it and open sea below with access to a secludded bay make this a real gem on the coast of Anglesey. The old brick works looks like a set piece from Harry Potter. A pair of Robins must have nested there as there were young on the beach and the parents kept coming to us and collecting any crumbs we dropped on the floor.

Perched on some of the old metal work it waited for a crumb

Before the tide came in I wanted to see what was in the rock pools from the last tide and what was coming into the pools with the rising tides. I took my snorkeling mask in my already overloaded bag but was worth it as I ended up swimming through a shoal of Sand eels and these small fish make this area so poplar with the Terns in the area. I'll visit these colonies when I am on holiday in July. There was also some stripey fish that came in with the tide as well as a few other creatures like crabs and shrimp.

Inbetween our two sepertae breaks we visted Burton mere RSPB reserve which costs £5 to visit if your not a member as there are some wonderful birds making themselves a home there including Bearded Tits which we did not see but our main bird was the spoonbill and as we arrived walking a cycle route from Chester in heavy rainfall abd high tempreturs it was nice to arrive and get comfy and as we arrived at the hide a Spoon bill landed rested, preened then got a moody with the local birds. After an hour on the lake the bird took off with a stick/reed for one of the nests that they have begun to build in nearby trees where Egrets have a colonie.

I also saw Bar tailed Gotwits and Avocets which I have only seen passing views of in the past

 I'll post more of the last 2 weeks in my next blog as I have run out of time plus I have just heard a cuckoo in some nearby trees as I write this on my Ipad.

Stay wild

Mike

April Anglesey trip 2 of 2

On my second trip in Anglesey, we wanted to travel across to Holyhead and visit a few places like Southstack lighthouse as we will be here alot in June as last year 2 Orcas including famous Whale John Coe were spotted passing by below the cliffs of the lighthouse. STORY HERE

 We saw all the sea birds arriving ready for the nesting season in the coming months. One bird I wanted to see was a Puffin as I have never seen one in the flesh as I expect to rectify this year either near Puffin island or above the nesting areas at South Stack. Quite interestingly on the nearby Holyhead mountain, a Snowy Owl is being continuously spotted so she is on my list of subjects to photograph as she was also spotted in 2018 near Almwch where I will be revisiting in June.

Here's a youtube video link of the Owl

 On our quick visit, we saw none of these creatures but we did see Choughs and my first Welsh Red Kites soaring above the mountain but I really watch the pair before taking one record shot as a Black kite was spotted the following day but I don't think either of them is that individual.

After only exploring the lower parts of the mountain and avoiding the summit we headed down to Breakwater country park leaving the rest of the mountain for June and July. We found some very nice natural spots and other areas to explore while on our bus back to our cottage near Menai bridge. In June I have a few species as well as ones listed above I want to see and filming plus photographing will be a bonus.

 In June we are having a week wild camping and campsite camping around North Wales plus maybe a little bit on Anglesey then we will return home for a night to change gear and footwear then were returning to the Cottage we stayed for a more relaxed break and focusing on the places where we get interesting encounters on the first week.

Stay wild be free and enjoy the Season to come

Mike

April Anglesey trip 1 of 2

Ah, at last, the clocks have changed and I have just had my first week this season out on the coast. We had our first 3 nights booked in an Airbnb as we were unsure what the weather had given.

Craig Fach Great view in the heart of Menai Bridge

 We got lucky as we spent the afternoon before checking in and restocking on one of my hidden Wild camping stashes and Thankfully the place I had chosen is undisturbed as we dropped off a few hammocks for later in the year as they will be perfect for the drier summer months. After spending our first night in the cottage we had planned to get the bus to Llangefni the next day. We planned to walk from Llangefni-Maltraeth-Newborough forest-Newborough beach-Church Island then back through the edge of the forest with a long countryside walk back to Menai bridge where we stayed.

Just a 25 mile walk through beautiful surrounding and a few places to explore in the future

We saw over 50+ Mute swans in one field along the walk to Maltraeth which pleased my brother

Just how I like it a fresh cool breeze, sun in the sky and endless pathways

Near the end of the line at Maltraeth

Fresh blossom decorated the trees as spring was just sprouting with each step we walked

The air around the forest must be fresh from pollution due to all the lichen on the trees

We did not really have time to stop as there were no buses we will probably revisit the forest and beach in June as I have 2 weeks of holiday time booked. I'd love to photograph the Red Squirrels and Adders in the area we may take our hammocks and find a quiet spot for a couple of nights wild camping as its the best way to capture some amazing photographs and footage.We returned to our Airbnb physically knackered but mentally strengthened, the next day we planned to stay close and energize our bodies. We enjoyed a nice sunrise on straits and found an area for photographing Red Squirrels by the Menai straits close to the Cemetary which was less than five minutes from the cottage.

The next day we planned to visit South stack as I have never been and want to visit in June due to a regular rare visitor that I may see from the top of viewing point near the RSPB tower.

Stay wild be free and enjoy the Season to come

Mike

A cold night and some lovely wildlife on Anglesey

At last it was my first week off of the the year and as I am exploring Anglesey this year I have a number of places to visit. We visited Pentraeth and Red Wharf bay which was wonderful till we got out of the forest where dog walkers were aplenty but in the forest I felt at home and thought I could live in these woods for years. I saw no Red Squirrel or signs of Pinemartens but I will beback there in the Summer especially in the early hours as the first light breaks when most people and there dogs are asleep. I wanted to visit Newborough and Southstack but due to camping on a cold night on night before we were to due to visit our plans changed and our priority was to  get warm and sleep plus get breakfast then catch the bus back to our cottage for the check in time at midday. We ended up sleeping agaist a woodland rockface out of the wind and frost that was not mentioned in the weather report but we survived and walking from our camping spot back to bangor at 2.30am on a Sunday morning got our bodys back to normal temperature. I was hoping to see some nightime wildlife on the walk but we saw nothing just loads of Taxis back and forth.

Another place I wanted to visit was the Dingle which felt like fairy land mixed with an indiana Jones movie set with the wooden walk way over the rapid flowing water from the Cefni Reservoir.

I saw a pair of singing Dippers by the centre of Llangefni as I waited for my Bacon butty and chocolate cup cake to start the day off. One thing I love is when I am out back packing in new places is finding a new bakery and trying its tasty treats especially after camping out.

It began to rain heavily before we left and I managed a few photographs in the low light of the Tuftys

There were plenty of feeders dotted around

Brent Geese in Red Wharf bay

As our bags were packed knowing we were in the wild one night and the rest of the week in a cottage. I decided not to take my wild cooking gear. Luckily I setup my storage cache which is hidden in North Wales. I'll be leaving some extra items there for outdoor survival and cooking to keep my back pack weight down.

Spring is just around the courner and so is my next week off well not till April.

Thnaks for reading

Mike