Clywedog

Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Sunday 10th February – an altogether different proposition, after Friday’s gloom. Follow the thumbnail through to Flickr for one or two more photos from a sunny day in mid-Wales

Vyrnwy stream
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

Yes, the light had gone – there are some subjects where a slow shutter speed is useful

Mr Chaffinch

Originally uploaded by geoffspages

A short Sunday afternoon spell in the hide at Lake Vyrnwy – it was cold, and the light had gone, so we we didn’t stay long…

More of our feathered friends on Flickr

Coalbrookdale Viaduct
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

A welcome bit of sunlight on the viaduct

The old station
Originally uploaded by geoffspages

A stroll up Coalbrookdale on a reasonably pleasant afternoon – first photos of the new year. First stop – the former railway station.

Yes, it did get rather dark – in fact, at 8.30pm, a couple of days before midsummer, it was like night. The camera was struggling – 1/20 @ f:8, ISO1600… (the photos are “as taken” – no tweaking)

By Wednesday morning, the damage was done – Hampton Loade, just a few miles down the Severn Valley, was cut off, its only road washed out, and the SVR’s tracks suspended in space above washed-out embankments. To quote the SVR website, “from Bridgnorth Outer Home Signal to Northwood Halt … sections of the line have been subjected to landslips, with several sections of track left suspended in air, cuttings filled with debris and at Highley, a major landslip, with the Up Starter Signal washed away, down the embankment.” The SVR has launched an appeal for funds and practical help.

The red kites of mid-Wales are a real success story. Down to single numbers of breeding pairs – as few as two or three at times –  in the 1920s and 30s, there are now hundreds – and introduced populations are thriving elsewhere in the UK. One factor in their recent success must be the feeding programme at Gigrin Farm, Rhayader. Since 1994, and at the initiative of the RSPB, the feed has provided a daily spectacle for visitors.

We had an omen for the day’s success shortly before leaving Shropshire – we spotted one circling near Hopton Heath, on the road from Craven Arms to Knighton – my first Salopian sighting.

We took our places in the hides at the farm at around 2pm and waited. The crows began to take their places too, and as the hour wore on, the odd kite or two in the sky above the farm became several, then, as 3pm approached, dozens. By the time of the feed (3pm in summer) there must have been around 50 kites in the air.

The crows stomp around and take their pick – the kites swoop, grabbing their chosen morsel with their talons, and eating it on the wing – amazing! (I think Hitchcock would have been impressed too…)

The weather could have been better (it was, a few miles away) – if it had, the photos might have been better.