Fields of Gold

A walk through fields of Gold.....

Easter among the anemones

A patch of woodland near Whitfield (Kent) glistens with anemones, and the sunshine on Easter day made a visit to it a must:

At the furthest edge of the woodland a fallen tree was an ideal place to stop and appreciate spring glory of an english woodland

Next we look forward to the beautiful bluebells, now just begining to open out

Day trip to Martin Down

The weather focast for today was awful....rain, rain, rain....maybe sun if we're lucky.
But, undaunted, a group of us from the Dursley Birdwatching club set off on a LONG minibus trip to visit Martin Down, ten miles southwest of Salisbury. The Down is one of the largest areas of chalk grassland in the country. We hoped to see some interesting butterflys as well as birds Our trip leader, Vic, has a particular interest in butterflys....so we were off to a good start....if the rain stopped!!

And it did! Pretty much just as we arrived at the site the rain eased up, then stopped. After organising ourselves we set off....... greeted with a sighting of a cuckoo flying nearby.

And butterflies appeared, basking in the warming sunshine

A common Blue...

An Adonis Blue (one we had been hoping to see as its quite uncommon, and has a lovely blue colouring! And another uncommon butterfly.....a heath fritillary (seen in the more wooded area)


Florally we were pleased to see a Burnt Tip Orchid.....


....A Butterfly Orchid (Lesser or Greater......probabley the latter, apparently!)

And this is Eyebright....
Bird-wise, we found corn buntings, gloried in the skylarks singing, saw yellowhammers, Whitethroats (common and lesser) and stonechats.......and failed to see stone curlew


But we did stumble across a fairly well fed looking viper!!

Whilst we kept our distance and looked unthreatening, it did the same.....and we were pleasedto take time enjoying its lovely coppery colouring

...then we parted, on friendly terms.

So, it was a nice trip, with some good company and interesting sights and sounds to enjoy, not least of which was a purring turtle dove we heard just as we settled down for our picnic lunch

Here's a turtle dove as recorded by someone in Morrocco

It was also a good ending to my early summer holiday.

Wye Valley walking: upriver from Hay

Before finally returning to England I stopped for a few days near Glasbury to continue
on my way up the Wye Valley walk. Very lovely it was too.
The Black mountains, and my memories of the walk along the Offa's Dyke section upon the ridge
fromed a backdrop to this view....

On the following days section the river valley turned northwards, leaving the Black Mountains behind, and the river seemed to gain mysterious rocky depths.
The suspension bridge at Llanstephan forms the entry point to a roadside nature reserve (Llandeilo Graban ) rich in wildflowers. I was treated to a view of a kingfisher flying below me as I crossed over!
Once back on the western side of the river the path climbs out away from the river (and road)

and over high open commonland (home for sheep, bracken and solitude)

before dropping down to Builth Wells, where I ended my walking for this holiday....
enforced by a creaking, sore knee.

Holiday in Pembrokeshire: Visit to Skomer Island

I'm glad I visited Skomer, a wonderful place for communing with the wilds. It is Wales' second largest island, but still small enough to take in on a days visit.

That is, if have time once you can tear yourself away from the close up views of Puffins!

Because they are so photogenic, unphased by human proximity, and so close at hand, the Puffin
colony becomes the most humanly crowded place on the island....

Skomer Moments
Uploaded by agracarter

Holiday in Pembrokeshire: floral fiesta

May is certainly a month not to miss in Pembrokeshire, with the coastal wildflowers at their most lovely and prolific. Here's a little gallery of some I encountered:

Holiday in Pembrokeshire: Coastal walks 13th- 19th May

After a beautiful holiday in Pembrokeshire, herewith some images from
my walks around St. Bride's Bay:

St. Bride's Bay
Video sent by agracarter2

And here are a few I particularly like again: