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Tag Archives: rabbit

The Place for Wheatears,Pipits & Chough

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by theresagreen in Birds, Birdwatching on North Wales coast, Great Orme, Nature of Wales, The Wales Coast Path, Wildlife of the Wales Coast Path

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

birds on migration, chough, Greenland race of wheatear, meadow pipit, Northern Wheatear, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Pyrrhocorax, rabbit, Red-billed chough

April 25th – Great Orme 

A bright sunny morning prompted me to leave early for the Great Orme today, giving myself time to walk at least part of the way up to the summit and arrive on time to do my shift in the Wildlife Trust shop. Bearing in mind that wherever I walked up from I would have to walk back down to later on, regardless of what the weather may be doing by then, I decided to park in the layby just beyond St. Tudno’s Church. It was much fresher up here, still sunny and clear but a strong breeze made it feel cool.

view from half-way up looking down onto St Tudno’s church

13:05 From here at the bottom of the steep slope, there are obvious short-cropped grass trails that lead off in various directions including up to the cable car station and the Summit Complex, where I was heading. Walking at a good speed it may take 10 minutes to get up to the top if you’re reasonably fit, or a bit longer if you stop to admire the views behind you or need to stop for breath on the steepest part nearer the top. Of course you all expect by now that I would take longer, as I would inevitably find things of interest that I would need to stop and photograph.

Either side of the tracks the hillside is lumpy and bumpy, with hillocks and hollows clothed with long tussocky grass and bushes of dwarf gorse; perfect terrain for the Meadow pipit that I was hoping to see. Birds foraging here are often well concealed, suddenly appearing and disappearing like this Magpie, one of a pair out hunting.

Sometimes they leave flying off until you’re almost on top of them, as this Jackdaw did.

Fond as I am of the Corvids, the unexpected sight of this elegant male Northern Wheatear was a lot more exciting.

Northern Wheatear-Oenanthe oenanthe- Welsh: Tinwen y Garn

and the excitement was doubled when a more softly plumaged female popped up onto the top of a hillock.

Absorbed with the female wheatear a distance away, a Meadow pipit popping up onto a hummock close by me took me by surprise, but a sighting at last and some photographs! It was hunting and I was pleased to get a pic of it with an insect in its beak.

Meadow pipits, in common with the majority of basically brown birds don’t get much of a write-up in the bird books. They’re mostly described as something like ” a small, brown, streaky bird, the most common songbird in upland areas, where it’s high piping call is a familiar sound’. Perhaps because of their lack of glamour we take them too much for granted, as according to the RSPB, ‘Meadow pipit numbers in the UK have been declining since the mid-1970s, resulting in this species being included on the amber list of conservation concern.’

Meadow Pipit- Anthus pratensis- Welsh-Corhedydd y Waun

Meadow pipit with insect

It’s strange that we  give such high praise to the similar-looking Skylark and the not-dissimilar Song Thrush and are so dismissive of the pipits. Is the bias based on the fact that the latter sing delightfully and pipits not so much? For sure our hills and uplands would be lonely without them, so perhaps we could appreciate them more and enjoy them at every opportunity.

There are little wildflower treats hidden down in the grass like this pretty violet.

13:25 As usual I’d been led astray by the birds and had to put a spurt on and get to the top in time to start my ‘shift’. As I said earlier it was breezy on this side of the Orme, but crossing the top and starting down the other side I was suddenly fighting to make progress against a continuous very strong head wind! Checking the wind gauge inside the visitor centre it indicated it was blowing in from a North-north westerly direction, so it felt cold too despite the sunshine. I anticipated selling more hats and gloves!

4:50 Finished for the day I retraced my steps along the trail back down towards where I left my car. On my own time now I was free to take my time and paused to admire the view over towards the Little Orme and beyond. The post tells you that this is the way to The Town (Llandudno).

A closer view of the Little Orme shows its intact, non-quarried side which was deliberately preserved to present a much prettier view to visitors and residents of Llandudno.

A little further on there is an interpretation panel that reminds you that this is the ‘Historic Trail’ and informs that 800 years ago you would have been looking down onto one of perhaps three villages established on the Orme, whose inhabitants would have grown crops and raised animals to eat or trade. I was hoping the wheatears may still be around and I was in luck – I soon spotted a female.

The sun was lower now, creating shadows and highlights and the wind, stronger now, rippled across the long silvered grass, creating a magical almost alien landscape. In amongst it I realised there were more Wheatears, another three birds.

All Wheatears spend winter in tropical Africa, heading northwards via Spain in the spring. Those that breed in the British Isles sometimes arrive on our coast as early as late February, but mainly during March, with males arriving ahead of females. They move inland to  breed.

GREENLAND WHEATEAR

It is possible that the birds I saw here today belong to another race, known as the Greenland wheatear, which arrives a little later in April. Many wheatears make a refuelling stopover in North Africa, but as the Greenland wheatears fly furthest, they need to put on more fat before leaving and spend longer at stopovers. They have a long journey ahead to their breeding sites on the other side of the Atlantic. From Britain they fly northwest across the sea, via Iceland, until they reach the Arctic tundra of Greenland and northern Canada. By June they will have started to breed there.

Wheatear & Meadow pipit

Whichever they were I was appreciating some lovely views of the two males and two females foraging together in the long grass, using the little hillocks as look-out platforms to survey the ground around them for likely prey.

Female wheatear

Then a distraction; a black bird flew in that I may have dismissed as a Jackdaw had it not called out. This was a Chough. It had landed somewhere behind a particularly hillocky part of the hillside, which is also pitted with well-disguised sunken craters. You have to watch your footing if you risk going off the proper trails.

Landscape pitted with sunken craters

I walked carefully until I spotted the bird, almost up to its beak in the long grass.

It had its back to me, eventually turning enough to show its diagnostic curved bill and legs, these are bright red in an adult bird, but this was a juvenile so it hasn’t quite got that far yet and its are more of a dull orange colour.

Chough, Red-billed chough – Pyrrhocorax

It didn’t stay for long before taking off, but it’s always a treat to see them at all, especially this closely.

Making my way back to the main track I noticed this rock, a little island rising out of a sea of grass and heather, it was almost totally encrusted with white lichen and embellished with mosses.

There was a lovely patch of violets growing in a grass-lined crater too.

I spotted two Wheatears perched on the top of a gorse bush; a male and a female. The birds spend most of their time on the ground, travelling in hops or runs on the ground, so it’s quite unusual to see them perched up higher.

I couldn’t have asked for a prettier picture than a handsome male Wheatear perched amongst golden-flowered gorse.

I liked the two images below too; perfect records of the birds’ exact location!

180425-GO-1709-Female wheatear on post
180425-GO-1709-Male wheatear next to post

Two males together on the short turf of the trail

And one last image of a nicely posed one on his own.

17:16 Walking on down I spotted three bunnies on high alert, in poses that could have come straight out of Watership Down.

Rabbit-Oryctolagus cuniculus

 

 

But then I saw the new Peter Rabbit film during the Easter holiday too and thought this one, which I think may be the ‘big bunny’ of a previous post, may have seen it too – he’s got Peter’s pose to a ‘T’.

 

 

180425-GO-1716-Bunny 1
180425-GO-1716-Bunny3

And wouldn’t you know? After all my efforts to find a Meadow pipit, there was one posing on a rock almost in front of my parked car!

It flew down to the ground and looked back over its shoulder at me as if to say

“what kept you? I’ve been here for hours waiting for you!”

It allowed me a couple of photographs, then took off, leaving a lone Jackdaw to patrol the layby edge for his supper.

On the way down I had to stop just past the church as these little Goldfinches fluttered down onto the bare ground of a bank where they must have spotted food potential.

180425-GO-1730-Goldfinches on bank past church 1
180425-GO-1730-Goldfinches on bank past church

The views were stunning as always; good today as the mountains were more clearly visible than usual and the clouds above added to their drama.

17:45 The view of the Conwy Estuary was stunning too, the sun was hitting the castle perfectly so it stood out from the trees, you can clearly see the road bridge that takes you across the river to the town and there were boats on the water….. the perfect scene for a painting.

The view of the sea meeting West Shore wasn’t bad either.

 

 

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Sights & Sounds of the Little Orme (2)

08 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by theresagreen in birds of Wales, Birdwatching on North Wales coast, Little Orme, Llandudno, Nature, nature photography, North Wales, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, The Wales Coast Path

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

common buzzard, disease in wild rabbits, hawthorn, jackdaws on cliff, kestrel, mobbing of buzzards, Myxomatosis, rabbit, raven

January 20th – Little Orme – Upper reaches

I‘d spent longer watching the seals than I had intended, so almost talked myself out of doing some proper walking and heading up to the summit. It was cold, the sun was already sinking lower in the sky and I knew the upward tracks were going to be muddy. But one of my aims for this outing had been to check to see whether or not the cormorants had begun nesting yet, so onwards and upwards it was.

At the bottom of the steep upward slope, Rabbit Hill to locals, a bird sat perfectly still at the top of a smallish ash tree. The sun in my eyes was so bright I could only see it as a black shape, so made another assumption that as this is about the highest point on this windswept clifftop and a favoured perch for crows, magpies and jackdaws, that it was a corvid. Only when I lightened up the photograph I took did I realise it had been a Kestrel.

170120-lo-75-1533-kestrel-1a

The bracken and brambles that covered the slope to the landward side of the track have been cut back hard; this vegetation provides cover for a variety of small birds, including resident Stonechats and Whitethroats that come here for the breeding season. I’m sure it will have grown up again by the time they arrive.

170120-lo-130-bracken-scrub-cut-back

I was right about the mud! It was almost take one step forward and slide back two. I pictured my walking pole lying uselessly in the boot of my car. I should use it more often, but it gets in the way when I want to stop and take a photograph. I took a breather to turn and photograph the view; no matter the number of times I have done it, it’s just so amazing I can’t resist. The spit of land projecting finger-like into the sea is Rhos Point and despite the hefty sea defences I know it has in place, it looks so vulnerable from here, perhaps more so to me because it’s where my daughter and her family lives and I can pick their house out from here!

170120-lo-76-rhos-point-from-the-orme-1a

At the top of the slippery slope is a levelled area where much of the stone was quarried out. The cliff wall at the back of this now grassy area is Jackdaw city, with many pairs of birds nesting in its nooks and crannies. You realise how many of them there are when the Buzzards glide into the airspace above and numbers of them suddenly zoom up and surround them, determinedly driving it away while making a heck of a racket.

170120-lo-74-gulls-jackdaws-upped-1a

(click on image to enlarge)

Herring gulls often join in the mobbing party too; it may seem that they prefer roofs and chimneys to nest on, but some do prefer the more traditional option of a bit of cliff. It’s interesting that although they may rob other birds of their eggs and chicks, they’ll join forces to drive off  any potential predators of theirs. It’s not too clear from my photograph who’s who, but one Buzzard is very slightly left of centre  and the other approaching the far left, with defending birds approaching mainly from the right. Poor old Buzzards, every other bird picks on them, even much smaller Starlings!

170120-lo-72-gull

The edge of the cliff is crumbly and eroding but is a favourite spot for Jackdaws to sit and look down on the lower levels of the headland. There were several pairs sitting doing just that this afternoon, probably ones with nest sites nearby on the cliffs of the lower level.

170120-lo-80-jackdaw-pair-on-cliff-edge-1a

I took a photograph looking down into Angel Bay from up here; it looked as though quite a number had moved off.

170120-lo-73-a-higher-view-into-the-bayOne of my favourite sights is golden gorse flowering against the background of a blue sea.

170120-lo-82-1544-gorse-view-1a

It’s always sad when a tree dies, but the skeleton of this Elder is now beautifully adorned with lichens and a fungus, which I’m sure is now past its peak. I’m not great on fungi, but I do know the one most closely associated with the Elder is Jew’s ear or jelly ear Auricularia auricular-judae; is it that Annie? I wish I’d seen it earlier.

170120-lo-83-fungus-and-lichen-on-old-elder-tree-1a

The grass up here is grazed by sheep and further nibbled by rabbits, so is always neat and well-groomed. The path curves into this small clearing that looks almost like a cleverly landscaped wild garden designed to lead you to the stunning vista.

170120-lo-87-clifftop-path-view-1a

click on image to enlarge

The nearest rounded hill is Bryn Euryn which I’ve walked you around many times and shown views from there to here, but you can see they would be a fairly short flight away from one another for Buzzards, which nest on Bryn Euryn, and Ravens which regularly overfly both.

170120-lo-92-1557-bryn-euryn-from-little-orme-1a

Some of the hawthorns here still have good crops of berries.

170120-lo-88-hawthorn-berries-and-sea-1a

And there is lots of glorious golden fragrant gorse.

170120-lo-93-glorious-gorse-1a

Another wider view from higher up over Colwyn Bay and towards the Clwydian Range of mountains where Offa’s Dyke begins.

170120-lo-95-view-from-little-orme-over-rhos-and-surrounding-area-1a

click to enlarge

The low sun gives a wonderful texture to the rough grass and rocks. I always wonder how rocks such as this one arrived where they are, but this one I use this one to recognise the point where I leave the path and approach the cliff edge, extremely cautiously, to get a better view of the site of the cormorants’ colonial nesting site.

170120-lo-96-rock-on-cliff-path-1a

They don’t appear to be doing much yet, in fact there were just two there when I first looked, although a few more did fly in to join them as I watched.

170120-lo-98-1605-cormorant-on-cliff-1a

170120-lo-100-cormorant-on-cliff-face-1a

170120-lo-107-great-orme-pier

The Great Orme – click to enlarge

I climbed up a bit higher to admire the view across Llandudno Bay to the Great Orme. The pier looks toy-like against its great bulk.

The sun had dropped further and was almost hidden by the highest part of this headland to my left. The view from here is across Llandudno town to Anglesey and the bulky headland of Penmaenmawr. If you were looking at this as a walker of the Wales Coast Path travelling in this westerly direction, you could roughly trace your onward path and see where you would be in a day or so’s time.

170120-lo-108-great-orme-penmaenmawr

Llandudno Bay, town and beyond – click to enlarge

Low light lends a different atmosphere to this place, especially when you’re alone and have an imagination such as mine. Rocks cast shadows and a solidity not as apparent in bright sunlight. I wonder how it looked before its bulk was reduced by quarrying? Are these squared off rocks remnants from that time or were they deliberately placed before then for some other purpose.

170120-lo-111-stone-blocks-near-summit

170120-lo-112-stone-blocks-at-top-of-orme

The remnants of  a dry stone wall lead the eye to the wonderful view.

170120-lo-113-stone-wall-view-from-top-of-orme-1

click to enlarge

Then  there are Hawthorn trees, contorted into wonderful shapes by the strong prevailing winds and features long associated with tales of witches and magic……

170120-lo-114-hawthorn-tree

Even in broad daylight I wonder about the spot in the image below. I can easily imagine as some kind of mystical meeting place guarded by the trees and I know that as a child I’d have found a way around the fencing and sat on the top of that little hummock letting my imagination run riot, most probably giving myself nightmares.

170120-lo-126-hawthorn-stand

I fancy other mystical markers – a  hawthorn branch heavily covered with lichen that reaches out over the track and frames the view.

170120-lo-127-lichen-covered-hawthorn-twig

and a little tree well covered with lichens and further embellished with sheep’s wool.

170120-lo-122-hawthorn-wwith-lichens-sheeps-wool

The atmosphere is further enhanced by a pair of Ravens, companions of witches and wizards,  ‘gronking’ as they passed overhead.

170120-lo-117-raven-flying

And a rabbit, moving strangely slowly around behind the wire fence. It didn’t bounce away from me like rabbits usually do and I wasn’t sure if it was just old or not well; its eyes looked strange and it may not have been seeing properly, if at all. It put me in mind of rabbits we used to see years ago with Mixomatosis, but is that still around? (see footnote)

170120-lo-115-poorly-bunny

A chaffinch foraging around in the gorse and blackthorn scrub led my eye to this sunlit spider’s web and distracted me from further over-imaginative thoughts!

170120-lo-119-spiders-web-on-gorse-1

Had a bit of a slithery walk down Rabbit Hill then headed back to leave the site. I took the path closest to the cliff edge to avoid oncoming late afternoon dog-walkers and spotted this bird sitting on the top of a gorse bush seemingly looking out to sea. Once again the sun was obscuring it from proper view but there was no mistaking this was a Kestrel, a young one I think. It was very cold now but the bird was sitting perfectly still with its feathers fluffed out.

170120-lo-131-kestrel-looking-out-to-sea

I risked walking back around to get some better lighting, expecting it to fly off, but although I think it was aware of me it stayed put. I did get to a point with a better view – and the camera battery died! Time to go.

170120-lo-138-kestrel-looking-out-to-sea-2

More about Myxomatosis

When I wrote this post and mentioned the ‘poorly’ rabbit I had seen, I hadn’t realised that the horrible disease,  Myxomatosis, was still present and affecting rabbit populations in the UK. As a country-bred child back in the ’60s, I remember seeing many affected rabbits which I found distressing, and as the poor rabbits were sick they were easily caught by our cats, who didn’t kill them, but did bring them home. I also didn’t know then that it could be passed on to pet rabbits; now they must be vaccinated against the disease.

The disease called Myxomatosis reached the UK in 1953, where the first outbreak to be officially confirmed was in Bough Beech, Kent in September 1953. It was encouraged in the UK as an effective rabbit bio-control measure; this was done by placing sick rabbits in burrows, though this is now illegal. As a result, it is understood that more than 99% of rabbits in the UK were killed by the outbreak. However, by 2005 – fifty years later – a survey of 16,000 ha (40,000 acres) reported that the rabbit populations had increased three-fold every two years, likely as a result of increasing genetic resistance, or acquired immunity to the Myxomatosis virus. Despite this, it still appears regularly at rabbit warrens.

If you’ve never seen an affected rabbit, I can’t stress how awful it is. Initially the disease may be is visible as lumps (myxomata) and puffiness around the head and genitals, which progresses to acute conjunctivitis and possibly blindness; this also may be the first visible symptom of the disease. The rabbits become listless, lose appetite, and develop a fever. Secondary bacterial infections occur in most cases, which cause pneumonia and purulent inflammation of the lungs. In cases where the rabbit has little or no resistance, death may take place rapidly, often in as little as 48 hours; most cases result in death within 14 days. Not a good way to die.

Wild rabbits tend to recover quickly once the disease has passed; a certain density of rabbits is needed to keep the disease going and once the number of rabbits drops below that level the disease will disappear until the rabbit numbers increase again.

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Spring on the Bryn-part II

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by theresagreen in Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, butterflies, Butterflies of Wales, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, Wildflowers of Wales

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

blackthorn, blackthorn blossom, Blue tit, dog violet, Great Tit, mistle thrush, orange tip, peacock butterfly, rabbit, small tortoiseshell, speckled wood, wild strawberry, woodland flowers

Walking further up through the field the local buzzard pair circled overhead, then just a few minutes later a sparrowhawk appeared from somewhere close by and startled me as it flew just a few feet over my head, then continued towards the direction from which I had come.

Gorse fully in flower

Gorse fully in flower

A bit further on I stopped for a while and sat on one of my favourite rocks savouring the warm sun and the peace and quiet; that rarely lasts long just here as its at a sort of junction of trails so there are passing dogs, usually well ahead of their owners that invariably come over to see what I’m up to. I watched two peacock butterflies vying for the best spot on a sun-warmed rock. The winner opened its slightly faded, but still beautiful wings and basked for a few short minutes undisturbed.

Peacock butterfly

Peacock butterfly

Moving off my rock to photograph the butterflies I noticed a patch of Wild Strawberry in flower. Tucked back against the rock it is sheltered and in a sunny spot, perfect for ripening berries.

Wild Strawberry plant in flower

Wild Strawberry-Fragaria vesca in flower

Back in the woods to walk up towards the summit I disturbed a large foraging bird. It flew up to a tree branch where it blended well into the dappled shade. It had to be a Mistle Thrush but I wasn’t entirely sure until it flew back down to the ground giving a better view.

A Mistle Thrush blending into the dappled shade of the wood

A Mistle Thrush blending into the dappled shade of the wood

Unmistakably a Mistle Thrush

Unmistakably a Mistle Thrush

At the top of the track there was a single Speckled Wood butterfly, a lovely ‘fresh’ one. It was intent on finding somewhere to bask in the sun and flitting and zig-zagging about low over the track. You have to keep an eye on them because once they settle they can be difficult to spot. I had to make do with this view as it still wasn’t happy and shot off quickly.

Speckled Wood butterfly

Speckled Wood butterfly

Back out in the open and continuing upwards I almost stepped on a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly also sunning itself on the bare earth of the track.

Small tortoiseshell- Aglais urticae

Small tortoiseshell- Aglais urticae

A little clump of Dog Violets growing in the grass at the side of the track caught my eye; the bee-fly zoomed in just as I pressed the shutter and was gone again before I could refocus on it.

Common Dog Violet- Viola riviniana

Common Dog Violet- Viola riviniana

Blackthorn, of which there is a generous amount up here, has been flowering for a short while now but is at its beautiful peak now. Last year was a sparse one in respect of the amount of sloes on the shrubs here, but if the masses of blossom on them now are anything to go by, this could be a bumper year.

Blackthorn with a view

Blackthorn with a view

The flowers of blackthorn appear before the leaves and these are just beginning to break from their buds.

Blackthorn-Prunus spinosa

Blackthorn-Prunus spinosa

Blackthorn blossom against a clear blue sky

Blackthorn blossom against a clear blue sky

Another male Orange Tip butterfly was racing along the boundary of the blackthorn scrub. He didn’t stop, but as my first sighting of this species this year was a few days earlier of one nectaring on blackthorn, I’m using one of the photographs I took then.

Orange Tip- Anthocharis cardamines

Orange Tip- Anthocharis cardamines

Following the path around to go up to the summit I noticed two Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the ground. I thought at first they were mating, or about to do so and they did change their positions a few times, but nothing happened during the time I watched them. One was more fresh-looking than the other, but they were both perfectly intact and gorgeous.

150424TG-BE336-Two tortoiseshells150424TG-BE337-Two tortoiseshells150424TG-BE335-Two tortoiseshells

The grass up around the summit of the hill is kept short, constantly cropped by grazing rabbits. I think it’s highly likely that this particular part of the hill covers a maze of warrens and tunnels. You don’t often get to see them , especially during the daytime, but there are baby ones around now and not yet wise they can be seen out in the open.

Young bunnies

Young bunnies

Ground Ivy-Glechoma hederacea

Ground Ivy-Glechoma hederacea

I cut back into the woods here from the track the bunnies were on, hearing a chiffchaff a short way in. I spotted Great Tits foraging in the trees close to the track that flew over to the scrubby wild clematis-covered scrub on the other side.

Great Tit

Great Tit

Where I stopped to take the picture there were a large number of smallish hoverflies darting about, resting briefly on leaves or many on the ground, all shiny and fresh looking as the ones I saw lower down earlier in the afternoon.

There were Blue Tits out foraging too and I think its likely that a pair have a nest site quite high in a tree with ivy growing up through it.

Foraging Blue Tits

Foraging Blue Tits

At the bottom of the track I stopped for a few minutes to listen to a Mistle Thrush singing. This was a déjà vu moment as I recall doing this exact same thing last year, more or less in the exact same spot, scanning the trees for the singer. I found him then, but couldn’t spot him today, so here’s last year’s picture to be going on with. What a lovely bird and how lovely to see him again. (More about the Mistle Thrush here)

A well-marked, singing mistle thrush

A well-marked, singing Mistle Thrush

 

 

 

 

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Celebrating new lives

26 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by theresagreen in bird behaviour, birds of Wales, Bryn Euryn Nature Reserve, frogs & toads, Little Orme, Nature, Nature of Wales, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

common frog, house sparrow, kestrel, rabbit, raven

It seems to have been a good year for our local wildlife so far and the following are some of the photographs I have taken of a few new young lives.

Ravens nest early in the year, so firstly here is an image of this year’s Little Orme young one quite well grown but still in the nest at the end of May.

140531TG-Raven young in nest 2-Little Orme

31st May: Young Raven in nest on Little Orme

I was lucky enough to catch up with him/her on the summit of the Bryn a few weeks later, now looking extremely fit and handsome in glossy black plumage.

June: Young Raven on the summit of Bryn Euryn

June 15th: Young Raven on the summit of Bryn Euryn

June: A fine high place with plenty of open sky to practise flying skills

June 15th: A fine high place with plenty of open sky to practise flying skills

Back to May again. Whilst the Raven was still in the nest, a young Kestrel was already out practising their manoeuvring skills over the rocky cliff at the top of the Little Orme. When I spotted it first I thought I’d been fortunate to spot a bird out hunting, but as I got closer it kept up its position and made no attempt to fly away at my approach. I realised then it was a young bird out honing its skills. It was wonderful to be allowed to watch so closely

May 31st

May 31st: Young Kestrel practising hunting techniques above the Little Orme

May 31st: The length of time the bird held its position was impressive

May 31st: The length of time the bird held its position was impressive

May 31st: Swooping and diving

May 31st: Swooping and diving

The Kestrel disappeared over the headland for a few minutes then reappeared flying out over the sea. As it passed where I stood on the cliff edge it looked in my direction. Perhaps to make sure I was still watching and was suitably impressed.

Flying past the cliff edge where I stood

Flying past the cliff edge where I stood

May 31st: Out over the sea, maybe using the gull to focus on

May 31st: Out over the sea, maybe using the gull to focus on

Still on the Little Orme it was apparent there has been a proliferation of cute baby rabbits this year too:

May 31st: Baby rabbit on the Little Orme

May 31st: Baby rabbit on the Little Orme

On the first of July we discovered a Dunnock’s nest in the garden with tiny new chicks with enormous gapes.

July 1st: Hungry baby Dunnocks

July 1st: Hungry baby Dunnocks

Then there was a miniature frog that I just happened to spot struggling through the damp grass on the lawn, possibly heading for nest door’s lovely pond. I caught it in my hand and transferred it to a glass for a few minutes so I could photograph it.

20th July: A tiny froglet

20th July: A tiny froglet

It had no trouble at all climbing to the top of the glass. The froglet was less than an inch (2.5cm) long, but completely perfect.

July 20th: A rare view of the speckled underside

July 20th: A rare view of the speckled underside

I didn’t keep it for long before releasing it back where I found it.

July 20th: Then I let him go again

July 20th: Then I let him go again

Last weekend I sat outside to drink a cup of tea and was kept entertained by a family of House sparrows that had brought their latest brood out for their first outing. The young birds were wobbly and fluttery while trying to perch on twiggy branches of the recently drastically cut privet hedge and still begging their parents for food.

July 20th: A very young House sparrow out for a first outing

July 20th: A very young House sparrow out for a first outing

Dad seemed to be on feeding duty, popping back and forth with bits and pieces.

Dad seemed to be the one in charge of feeding this morning

Dad seemed to be the one in charge of feeding this morning

I caught him feeding one of the offspring with something that I’m sure mum would definitely have disapproved of.

Not quite on target

Not quite on target

Something lurid pink about to be passed on

Something lurid pink about to be passed on

Down the hatch

Down the hatch

Whatever it was, it was certainly sticky. Cake icing maybe?

Whatever it was, it was certainly sticky. Cake icing maybe?

I wonder if the hard working parents will get a rest now?

 

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A walk on the Great Orme

27 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by theresagreen in coastal walks, Great Orme, Nature, Nature of Wales, North Wales, North Wales Wildlife Trust, Wildflowers of Wales

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bell heather, carline thistle, heather in bloom, jackdaw, limestone heath, ling, Little Orme, rabbit, views of Llandudno

The Great Orme is a prominent headland, which lies at the north-western tip of the Creuddyn Peninsula near Llandudno. Conwy County Borough Council as a Country Park and Local Nature Reserve manages most of the site, and this comprises a headland of Carboniferous limestone of some 291 hectares (719 acres) which rises from sea level to 207m (679 feet) at the summit.

5/8/11-The Great Orme under a beautiful sky

The weather has been very unpredictable lately, so I took advantage of a mostly sunny afternoon to explore some of the Little Orme’s big brother – the Great Orme. This much larger promontory has a very different character and has a fascinating history. Parts of it are used commercially to provide leisure activities for visitors to Llandudno town, but most of the Great Orme is designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) as it contains habitats and species which are considered to be rare or threatened within Europe. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is included in both the Nature Conservation Review and Geological Conservation Review, indicating its national importance. The site is also designated a Heritage Coast, a definition denoting a landscape quality of national importance.

5/8/11-A welsh rabbit out in the afternoon sun

From the car park at the top where the ‘toboggan run’ is located, I walked across to the path that takes you up onto the open clifftops to admire the views over Llandudno towards the Little Orme and out across the Irish Sea.

5/8/11-A view of Llandudno curving around the bay and the hills beyond
5/8/11-Llandudno Pier and across to the Little Orme
5/8/11-The Little Orme’s best side

Quarrying activity on the Little Orme was restricted to the Rhos-on-Sea side of it so as not to spoil the view from the resort of Llandudno, as I have mentioned before. I have photographed it often from that side, but less so from its natural, unspoilt side, which looks very different.

There wasn’t much to be found on the clifftops today, I saw just one Meadow Brown butterfly, but I did come across a Carline Thistle. It was just a small specimen, but the only one I’ve come across in the area so far.

Carline Thistle

Carline Thistle is interesting as its flower heads expand in dry weather and close in moist weather. The dried flowers will continue to do this for a long time and they thus form a basic hygrometer for use in weather forecasting.

There is a choice of paths to follow, including one to the summit, but I decided to walk in the direction of St. Tudno’s church. It was beautiful walking in the bright late afternoon sunshine on the grassy track through heathland that is presently a living patchwork of green, purple and gold. It was peaceful too – I was the only person there and the only other sign of life I had was a Meadow Pipit that flew up from near the edge of the track and startled me.

Limestone Heath

The heathland on the Great Orme is of international importance and occupies approximately one quarter of the site. Dominant species are the dwarf shrubs; Heather, Bell Heather and Western Gorse.

5/8/11-Great Orme -Heather-Calluna vulgaris& Western Gorse-Ulex gallii

About one third of the heathland is species-rich and amongst the dwarf shrubs many lime-lime-loving (calcicolous) herbs grow, such as Common Rockrose, Dropwort, Wild Thyme and Birds-foot Trefoil. This species-rich heath tends to be short (35cm height or lower). Another third of the heath is less species-rich, supporting herbs such as Tormentil and Harebell.

5/8/11-In places the heather & gorse extends to the edge of the cliffs

It was too late to walk all the way to the church today, but I will definitely be back to complete the route soon.

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‘But it is the common species that keep the living world ticking over and provide most of our experiences of wildlife, and I would argue that maintaining the abundance of these is as important a conservation priority as maintaining the existence of rarities’. Richard Mabey

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