Tangarreg Pools Photographic Hides

What better way to spend a Monday off work than indulging in a few hours of uninterrupted bird photography which, apart from around my own garden bird feeder has been somewhat lacking lately. On today’s agenda was a long overdue visit to Tangarreg Pools, custom built photographic hides run by local photographer and wildlife enthusiast…

Kestrel – Falco tinnunculus

During our recent trip to the Botanic Garden of Wales we also paid a visit to the British Bird of Prey Centre. Unfortunately an awol golden eagle(!) meant the afternoon’s anticipated flight show was somewhat disrupted and shortened. Nevertherless this diminutive yet powerful kestrel impressed by demonstrating his unique hovering skills and superb agility in…

Botanic Gardens of Wales revisited

Our first visit to the Botanic Gardens of Wales was at the end of last summer, when the gardens were bursting with vivid colour and buzzing with life. Revisiting the gardens again earlier this month provided a great opportunity to observe how these gardens change throughout the seasons. In contrast to our previous visit the…

Days Out: National Botanic Garden of Wales

Today we headed south down to Carmarthen to visit the National Botanic Garden of Wales. This 500 acre site is dedicated to conservation and home to an impressive collection of approximately 8000 different species of flowers and plants from the UK and around the world. Despite not feeling my best, a day immersing myself in…

Days Out: Gigrin Farm

With family visiting from England last week and glorious weather forecast it was the perfect time to take a visit to a place that has been on my bucket list for some time now, Gigrin Farm famous for it’s spectacular gatherings of Wales’ iconic bird, the red kite. Gigrin farm was first established as a…

The Magic of Life Butterfly House

It was one of those rare Saturdays where both myself and Barrie had a day off together, with the added bonus of glorious sunshine! Keen not to waste the fine weather we decided to visit the Magic of Life butterfly house, just a few miles outside of Aberystwyth. After a short drive through the rolling…

WWT Llanelli: Geese & Swans

Whilst the Hawaiian geese were certainly the star attraction during our recent visit to Llanelli Wetland Centre there is no shortage of other geese species, as well as swans and a few surprises! One of the first geese we encountered during out time here was a pair of striking red breasted geese with bold black,…

WWT Llanelli: Close encounters

Llanelli Wetland Centre offers a unique experience to get up close and personal with many of it’s residents, including many rare and endangered species. With most of the birds here very tame and approachable the centre provides the opportunity to hand feed it’s ducks and geese with bags of seed supplied by the visitor centre….

The rarest goose in the world

Whilst Llanelli WWT is home to many beautiful, fascinating and rare species of wildfowl, none is perhaps more precious than the ‘nene’ or Hawaiian goose, the rarest goose in the world. The nene is a very tame, gentle bird, a trait which led them to be an easy target for hunters. Destruction of their habitat…

WWT Llanelli: Ducks

A couple of weeks ago we took a visit to the WWT Llanelli Wetland Centre in south Wales. Unfortunately the weather, which had promised to be warm and sunny, was replaced with gloomy overcast skies and drizzle. The conditions made photography challenging at times but I was determined not to let this dampened my spirits….