What a year 2020 has been, with no sign of any let up from Covid19!
This
is the second visit of 2020 to the reserve at Conwy (the last was Saturday 29th February 2020) and the
way things are looking, this will possibly the last before 2021.
The
day was, as always, an early start for a three hour drive, and a planned
September detour to see Tu Hwnt i'r Bont, Llanwrst, a pretty
former 15th century courthouse now a tearoom, I've yet to visit, but always
looks spectacular at this time of year as the foliage around it turns to a
brilliant red.
It
was a little difficult to get a properly aligned photo, trying to maintain
social distancing while other photographers were there, but it was nice to see,
and Pont Fawr, the bridge (Pont is Welsh for bridge). always looks splendid.
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| Tu Hwnt i'r Bont, Llanwrst |
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| Pont Fawr & Tu Hwnt i'r Bont, Llanwrst (Pont Welsh for bridge) |
From there, it was on to the reserve, only recently reopened after a long time closed due to lockdown. I say closed, they'd actually opened the reserve up, but without the facilities, which I require after a three hour drive.
After
catching up with many of the volunteers and staff who I'd not seen for months,
it was a late wander around the reserve, which as you'd expect, the hides were
still closed for Covid19 reasons.
I
want to say here, the staff and volunteers have done a brilliant job at
enabling Covid19 restrictions making the reserve as safe as possible for all to
visit, and I take my hat off to them all, it has been a real pleasure to see
the old faces again, even with the sad news that one gent, a disabled chap who
I know, had a stroke just before lockdown and from what I understand, there had
been complications, so I hope all goes well and I manage to meet up with him
sometime at the reserve, or Burton Mere, where I think he also visits, in the
future.
Not to be perturbed, I always enjoy a wander away from the hides, keeping to the paths, and using the viewing screens around the Deep Lagoon, which can and do yield some good views, though this time, they didn't. What was strange, there were no robins or blackbirds along the paths leading to and around the hides!
To
be fair, I didn't hang around, the paths were quiet from a public perspective,
so I wanted to make the best of the quietness and get out into the open areas
enabling social distancing. But even in the past on a quick walk along those
paths, there is usually some bird life!
The
wildlife was just out of range of the big lens, so many photos are heavily
cropped, and a greater number were ditched because the sun was at the wrong
angle.
However,
one thing I wanted to see, was this years Carneddau Foals, which by now, had
grown somewhat, but there was one fairly new addition, the sixth this year.
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| One of this years Carneddau Foals |
This little one arrived was part of the routine Carneddau pony exchanges, where they swap them around to avoid inbreeding, and mum was pregnant upon arrival to the reserve.
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| I think I'm being watched! |
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| You can take a horse (Carneddau pony) to water.... |
The only area I managed to get any decent photos from was the Foel Fras screen, (named after a nearby hill). It was also wide enough for me to settle at and allowed others to view from while not affecting social distancing.
There were plenty of curlew, aided by the fact the tide hadn't long reached high tide on my arrival.
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| Redshank, Widgeon and Curlew |
There were plenty of widgeon, and this one was having a splash. I never expected to get a decent photo in view of the distance and the angle of light....
There
were plenty of red shanks, and the light was just right to get photos of them
taking flight, however, there were too many obstructions, so record shots often
included the viewing screen edges, branches and other items.
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| Red Shank coming in to land.... |
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| Touching water! |
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| Red Shanks taking flight. |
There was also great white
egret, again too far away to get a decent photo. I also took the new camcorder,
it worked well on the tripod, but again the wildlife was too far away. However,
the tripod came in handy for this one photo of the great white....
Great white egrets until
recently have been quite a rare bird, and only perhaps in the last year or so,
have become more common in and around the UK's reserves.
Little Egrets were once a very
scare bird, only a handful were seen on the south coasts around the early
2000's, and today, are a very commonplace wader seen at virtually all wetlands.
The likelihood is the same will occur with the great white egret over the next
few years.
Another egret that is slowly
becoming more prevalent on wetlands, is the Cattle Egret, though to-date, I've
only seen one, among cattle near a local reserve. But I do know of many more sightings around the UK.
The egrets generally originate
from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe.
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| Great White Egret, takes Centre Stage |
And the final capture of the day, a red admiral taking a breather and basking in the sun on a rock alongside the Afon Conwy.
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| Red Admiral Butterfly catching some sun and heat on warm rocks |
It was an eerily strange day for me, no fault of the reserve staff or volunteers, they were their usual friendly and welcoming selves, it was great to see them again and catch up on the gossip.
Many
of the visitors were people who probably wouldn't have dreamt of visiting if it
wasn't for Covid19, so there was a new learning experience for many, not
something I could easily share because of social distancing.
What
was frustrating, and no fault of the reserve, was folk walking off path to meet
the ponies, which moved away, and probably had a knock on effect to the
wildlife around the reserve.
Perhaps
I'm being a bit too sensitive.
One thing I did miss, was my visit to enjoy the local haddock, chips and mushy peas....
I always went to a nearby restaurant and had a bite to eat, and cuppa, before the three hour drive back home.
Canon 24-105 f4 IS II USM
Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary f5-6.3
MANFROTTO Compact Advanced Tripod
Nikon 10x25 Travelite Binoculars
Canon LEGRIA HF G60
Vaude Triset 25+4 rucksack
Folding walking stick/seat
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