Kidwelly Castle

The first photo, taken on my iPhone, shows something of the drama of the scenery with the castle towering over the town of Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire.

I needed the wider angle of the phone camera lens to take in the whole scene but the other shots were taken on my Canon 550D and reveal some of the details of this fascinating castle with its feathered ruler sitting atop the walls.

Kidwelly Castle

Kidwelly Castle

Kidwelly Castle

Jackdaw in Flight

During my second visit to Kidwelly, I took a walk upriver and in doing so disturbed a flock of Jackdaws on the slopes underneath the castle. As can be seen from the dark clouds, it was typical weather for the time of year but this suited the appearance of the birds very well.

The position of the bird in silhouette in the first shot makes it look as though it is about to go in for an attack. In the second shot it could be in stealth mode, swooping low across the ground, ready to wrap its cloak-like wings around its prey!

Kidwelly-14

jackdaw in flight

jackdaw in flight

jackdaw in flight

Counting the Birds

The RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch is coming up again at the end of January and the other day I did a dummy run whilst waiting for video to process.

Regular feeding – Having realised that feeding the birds a little regularly is better than a lot all at once, I started on a daily regime of a couple of fat balls and some nuts. I guess they are very pleased to have it there now that we have some proper winter weather.

Jakdaw

Jackdaw

Robin

Robin

Starling

Starling

Blackbird

Blackbird

Blackbird

Blackbird

Sparrows

Sparrows

Looking at the Lizard – Lizard Point

Travelling down to Falmouth last Friday was difficult and disappointing – there was mist all the way and so, as we crossed Bodmin Moor, we could see nothing of it. We were  visiting Falmouth University with my daughter who thought the place was great.

Falmouth, despite the weather, was clearly a very attractive town. We had a walk about after our tour of the Tremough Campus and then enjoyed fish and chips for tea.

Staying overnight at Lizard Point Youth Hostel was fun! “It was a dark and stormy night” as we approached The Lizard along roads that became increasingly narrow and dark. It was only the light from the lighthouse (and the foghorn) that finally guided us to our destination. We kept our fingers crossed that the weather would improve by morning and in the meantime I enjoyed recording the foghorn.

If you don’t see the sound clips below because you’re viewing this in an email, then click the title to go to the blog or the individual links to listen to the Lizard Point set on SoundCloud.

Saturday morning did reveal much better weather which improved through the day. I had never been to this part of Britain before and enjoyed it immensely! I have included a few images below but there are 31 in all on Flickr all of which are available to purchase through the StillWalks PhotoBox site.

Lizard Lighthouse-1

Lizard Lighthouse-1

Lizard Point Youth Hostel

Lizard Point Youth Hostel

A View from Lizard Point

A View from Lizard Point

Taking a Bow at Lizard Point

Taking a Bow at Lizard Point

I might put a few more up in the next day or two 🙂