We are staying in a cottage in Ceredigion, 4 miles outside Aberaeron on the west coast of Wales. We had a slow start as it was pouring with rain first thing. By the time we arrived in Aberaeron it had stopped raining but it was still very gloomy (all this after one of the hottest days of the summer).
We wandered around the harbour and, as it was low tide, we saw a number of birds feeding off the insects and worms in the mud. There were lots of House Martins (how do they stay so clean in all that mud?), rock pipits, starlings, house sparrows and, as well as a variety of gulls, a little egret.
House Martins
Rock pipit
Starlings
Starling
House sparrows
Little egret
Herring gull
On the way home we stopped off at the National Trust property of Llanerchaeron, a 200 year old Georgian villa designed by the architect John Nash which is set in the wooded Aaron valley. We visited the walled gardens, the lake and the farm but are saving the woodland walk for later in the week.
On returning to the cottage I could hear a buzzard screeching nearby and was rewarded when it made an appearance in the beautiful landscaped gardens of the cottage.
Common buzzard
The last bird I saw before disappearing indoors to watch the FA Cup Final was a robin. The red breast proved a good omen as my favourite team Arsenal triumphed in their famous red strip.
Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos 