A parting gift

There is definitely a chilly autumnal feeling in the air lately. With shortening hours of daylight and dropping temperatures it will soon be time for the Aberystwyth house martins to leave us once again. This summer has passed in what feels like the blink of an eye and these birds’ familiar staccato calls will soon…

Summer skies

To me nothing signals the start of summer quite like the arrival of the house martins here in Aberystwyth. As the warmer weather advances more and more of these birds return to their breeding grounds beside the harbour inlet. The quiet skies are soon filled with their aerial acrobatics and the sound of their constant…

High flying birds

Whilst photographing the house martins on the ground may be relatively straightforward, capturing them in flight is a whole different challenge, and one I am yet to master! So much quicker and more maneuverable than this herring gull soaring lazily above, this is the closest I have come to a successful in flight shot of…

Nature’s architects: Part 2

Today my plan was to capture some close up shots as the house martins gather nesting materials down on the ground. Each year I eagerly await the arrival of these birds and these opportunity to improve on last years photographs. House martins return to the patch here in Aberystwyth each year, after a long migration from…