The recent break in blogging coincided with a short trip to Wales, to the City of St Davids (there seem to be endless debates about the use of an apostrophe in St David's/Davids, but most of the local literature lacks the apostrophe so I'll echo the preferred local style in these entries). I'll talk about the trip over several entries and in more or less chronological order, though some of the illustrative photos will be out of true date sequence.
St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, is an interesting location in its own right, even if the formal designation as a 'city' is somewhat misleading. It is in fact a small, picturesque village which happens to be the birthplace of St David, patron Saint of Wales. It's also home to a major cathedral, founded in the 12th century on the site of the 6th century St David's monastery. It's a busy and popular destination.
The city itself is situated on the far west of Wales, on the Pembrokeshire coastline. The area is rugged, with high cliffs and precipitous drops everywhere you look. Not the ideal location if you don't have a head for heights, but spectacular and a wonderful haven for wildlife. The primary reason for our visit was to get out to Ramsey Island, just off the coast, and home to one of the largest colonies of Atlantic grey seals. September is 'pupping' time. We stayed at the excellent and perfectly located Old Cross hotel. Fabulous food in the bar, and some of the friendliest people anywhere in the country, all of whom were more than happy to pass on local and expert knowledge about the area and its wildlife.
We arrived in St Davids on the Wednesday, having spent the previous night in Caerphilly, just ahead of a major storm that was sweeping across Britain from the west. It blew itself out quickly enough, but the torrential rains and high winds didn't offer much hope of an early trip out to Ramsey. Sure enough, our early enquiries brought the depressing response that there had been no sailings since the previous Sunday, and the prospects over the next few days were at best borderline. So I immediately booked a place for the following day and watched the skies.
Thursday the inevitable news came that there were no sailings. The seas were still high, and the swell in the bay too treacherous. The coastline is undoubtedly rugged, and much of the local history concerns shipwrecks so little is left to chance. 
Ramsey Island
With the trip to the island (or at least around the island) on hold, we set out to find what else St Davids and the surrounding area had to offer. There are numerous cliff top walks in the area, but being 'cautious' about heights we wanted to find some lower lying ground. We'd passed a number of beaches when driving into the area, and went to explore. First stop was New Gale, a vast open beach. The wind was up. Ideal for the surfers who flock here, but not quite what we wanted on a somewhat overcast day. I did, however, see this fly overhead. My first assumption was 'cormorant' but I'm now fairly certain it is one of the numerous shags that frequent the coastline in these parts. They aren't easy to tell apart, but the shag is slightly smaller and has more of a domed head. I'll post some better shots for comparison later on in these entries, but for now this will do. Plus it's a 'first sighting' for me.
Shag at New Gale
Leaving New Gale we headed to Solva, a small inlet and village along the coast. And we immediately fell in love with the place. It's a small coastal inlet, with a harbour and high wooded cliffs around. It's a wonderful spot for bird watching. My next posts will feature the birds in more detail, but for now here's a couple of the highlights of our first afternoon there.
The Bay at Solva
Oystercatcher and Black-headed Gull
I'd expected sea birds, but I wasn't quite so prepared for the abundance of one of my favourite birds. Solva has a healthy and significant population of buzzards. These huge raptors circle overhead and sweep down into the bay. Without a doubt these were the best sightings I've had of them. I'll tell more in the next post about a very close encounter (and how I learned whether or not I've a head for heights), but this was just one of many shots I got sitting on the rocks along the edge of the bay.
Common Buzzard
Later in the week, I heard rumour that a honey buzzard had been seen in the area. That would have been exceptional, but I was more than pleased with my common variety.
Part 2 to follow…
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 40D. The Cathedral and The Bay at Solva were photographed with the EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens. All other shots were taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens and UV filter.
Words
8 Sep 2009Robin, thanks. The next posts will concentrate more on the wildlife, and I may eventually get some of the video sorted out as well (certainly for the latter posts).
RobinL
8 Sep 2009Thank you. Wonderful post.
I look forward to part two!
CedarFox
8 Sep 2009Great post! The buzzard shot great too, can't wait to see more. :up:
Sorry to hear about what happened to your camera; hope it turns out for the best. Of course if it doesn't, it could be a excellent excuse as to why you need an EOS 7D. 😀
gdare
8 Sep 2009Bay at Solva looks calm despite the weather. I like that photo :up:
Words
8 Sep 2009Eric, the guy in the camera shop mentioned the 7D when I took the 40D in for repair 😆 Tempting, but at that amount of cash I think I'd rather get a lens. More of the buzzards in the next post 🙂
Words
8 Sep 2009Darko, thanks! Solva is very secluded. A perfect spot. More from there coming soon 🙂
SittingFox
8 Sep 2009Looks very beautiful – I love that beach, rocks and sky shot! :up:
The buzzard is excellent, and it's a fine comparison to see an oystercatcher and (white)-headed gull together. Obviously all gulls agree that winter is coming early this year :right:
Words
8 Sep 2009Adele, it's a great spot. The buzzards were amazing and the bay was perfect for them. They even pop down to the car park!
Words
10 Sep 2009Neil, thanks!
Ukwildlife
10 Sep 2009Great photos, especially the buzzard
Flying Red Fox Blog
11 Sep 2009Very good photos, its nice to see you had a mini holiday too :yes: The weather could have been better for us though but we all had fun though i think. 😀
Words
11 Sep 2009Mark, it was good to have a break. Weather was actually not too bad (apart from the first day), but typically this week has had all the sunshine.