MIKE'S WALL

A big thank you must go out to Mr. Michael Taylor my father-in-law for his massive efforts in building the dry stone walls around our home. With me recovering from my hip operations I was'nt much help to him but he's soldiered on over the last two summers and done what we all think is a fantastic job. Just a bit of free electric to run his caravan so him and his dear wife, my mother in law Maria can enjoy some lovely summer days away from the hussle and bussle of Llanhilleth was all the payment he wanted so cheers Mike brilliant job.



Mike and Maria taking a well earned rest.



Here's some pic's of the man himself hard at work

Mike hard at it with Jack looking on.

the caravan

here's my contibution to his wall some sweet peas.

Once again cheer's Mike good job, good job.

BEACON HILL

My good friend Meyrick Jones booked us a night out down in Trelleck watching Nightjars. The trip was run by the Gwent Wildlife Trust and our guide was a terrific bloke called Thomas who was very helpful, patient and informative. Nightjar's are spring/summer visitors from sub Sahara Africa so obviously this was the best time to see them. We all met up at Beacon Hill car park at about 9pm and then after plastering ourselves with insect repellent went to where the Nightjar territories were at the top of the mountain. It was a lovely warm still evening and a full moon which enabled us to hear and see the birds really well.

Meyrick and yours truly having some refreshment at a Trelleck pub 

nice pic of the local church

the view from the car park



same view but with the sun going down

   
It was way to dark for any Nightjar photo's so here's some that I borrowed, the male birds differ from the females in that they have white spots on the wing tips and the tail. The males also make the churring noise which is used to hold territories and attract the females. They also wingclap using the top of their wings both birds make a kooick call. The Nightjar's plumage is so good at camouflaging them when roosting by day they're almost impossible to see, that's why the best time to see them is at dusk.



male nightjar showing the white spots on it's wings and tail



nightjars here showing its cryptic plumage

the nightjar is only one of the few birds to perch horizontaly along tree branches

Here's a recording of it's unusual churring call, they were originally called night churr's but the churr changed over the years to jar. There's also wing clapping and it's kooick call.

A massive thank you to my mate Meyrick for booking up the trip and giving me my first ever sighting of these truly remarkable birds. Cheers mate.

JUVENILE'S AND HOT SUMMER DAYS

Well hasn't it been hot phew! all I've wanted to do after work is sit in the shade and chill it's been to hot to do anything else.
I have managed a couple of pic's mostly of a few juveniles there's loads about, there's still a few active nests also with birds going for 2 or 3 broods. Swallow, Linnet, Pipit's and Reed buntings are still sitting on eggs or feeding young. There's also butterflies and bees everywhere, I think the hot weather has helped the birds recoup their numbers after last year's bad season.



great spotted woodpecker juvenile with the obvious red cap





two of this years first brood swallows




a young greenfinch




a juvenile siskin




young house martin




this blackbird just getting its adult feathers




one of this years redstarts, was hoping to see a ring on it's leg so it'll be the brood that Steve Carter ringed.





meadow pipit

 Let's hope they make it through their first winter.

I've took these two photo's of butterflies, think they are small tortoiseshell and small white perhaps? I'll have to get myself a buddliah bush.

Also found this common lizard crawling between the stones, it seems to have lost some of it's tail.



common lizard



what's happened to your tail mate?

 Here's some foxgloves they're growing everywhere up here.

This I think is cotton grass:-

This is it close up.

Thought I'd finish with some nice sunset pic's.

It has been a cracking few weeks weather wise lets hope the sun keeps on shining all summer long.

BUZZARD, CUCKOO AND CO.

I had a visit off Steve Carter on Saturday he wanted to check the boxes and a couple of natural nests he's found around the farm. He firstly went to check on the buzzard nest I posted about a few weeks back, for those who forgot what the solitary chick looked like here's a reminder:-

the buzzard chick a few weeks ago

Steve climbed the nest and took these couple of pic's look how it's grown.



this rather large buzzard chick is what Steve found in the nest, don't think it was pleased to see him



one of the parent birds on the hunt



We've had a Cuckoo or two around the farm over the last couple of months and every time Steve thought he had a Cuckoo egg in a nest (mostly Pipits) it's been predated or in the case of last year washed away. Steve's good mate Gary Pitt another local birder and nest finder has his own nest box colony and when Steve and Gary were over there they discovered a Cuckoo egg in a Tree pipits nest, here are the two eggs for comparison:-

tree pipit on the left and cuckoo eggs

    A couple of weeks later they checked on the nest again and the young Cuckoo had hatched and had thrown the Tree pipit chicks out of the nest.



the young cuckoo settles down after throwing the tree pipit chicks out of their nest



As the Cuckoo gets bigger it starts to fill the nest.

the cuckoo chick a week or so later

This last photo is when Steve went over to see it being ringed it's huge now compared to its foster parents the Tree pipits.

the now huge chick getting ready to be ringed

It'll be off soon to Africa where hopefully it will survive its first year and be back with us next spring. Cuckoo's in general are declining the reasons are not really known, the adult birds are already starting their long migration back to west Africa and some have been tagged to try to find out why.

Steve also climbed and checked this Woodpigeon nest which has two eggs

woodpigeon nest

The Great tits are doing well these chicks wont be long about.

great tit chicks

 The Redstarts that Steve ringed and I posted about a few weeks ago successfully fledged that was great news in itself but a check on the nest box revealed that the birds are going for a second brood.

five eggs in the Redstarts second brood.



Big thanks again to Steve who provided me with all the photo's Ta mate.