04 February 2012

Grey day at Bluepool

Bluepool Corner
The walk along the coast past Bluepool Corner was relatively sheltered from the bitter south-easterly wind this morning and even though the threat of snow eventually materialised as rain the ground was still frozen solid! Birds were relatively thin on the ground, but two Short-eared Owls flushed from an area of Bracken made up for this, with other noteworthy sightings including 13 Fulmars on the cliffs (with 9 of these on the cliffs shown above), a Great Northern Diver on the sea and a flock of Dark-bellied Brents feeding on the beach below Twlc Point.
Neil looking almost monastic in the remains of
The Church of St Cenydd on Burry Holms
Very little was seen on-and-from Burry Holms the pick being a few Common Scoter, a Red-throated Diver and a lone Harbour Porpoise. When leaving I collected a few moss samples from the remains of The Church of St Cenydd and we couldn't help wondering what life must have been like for the monk that lived there and what sights he must have seen! A little botanical interest was provided here by the small rosettes of Sea Stork's-bill (Erodium maritimum) growing on the wall tops. The morning was rounded off with two confiding Choughs feeding in the car park at Broughton following a swift walk back to beat the rain, bumping into Chris Brewer on the way.

1 comment:

Judith Oakley said...

Hi Barry
please could you send me the details of the harbour porpoise sighting. I am collecting incidental records and it would be very useful if you have the GPS ref/Lat long, how far offshore it was, time of sighting and its behaviour. Also, were any seabirds or boats nearby. Many thanks, Judith Oakley, Harbour Porpoise Researcher, Swansea Metropolitan University