Solar eclipse - Wednesday 12th August 2026

 The country seemed to be gripped with "Eclipse fever" this week, as the first solar eclipse for many years was due to happen when viewing conditions were good. I wasn`t expecting the chaotic scenes that were on the news and online, with roads jammed and people triple-parking.

I decided to go to the a quieter area, but there was still heavy traffic for a fee miles before it thinned out. My plan was to solely get the sun being covered by the moon, rather than stacking a sequence across the sky, so I chose to use an infrared filter (IR850) so that the camera sensor would hopefully not get damaged during exposures.

The resulting shots produced a surreal magenta colour, which I liked when I was doing some test shots a few days before. Some of them seem to come straight out of "pacman"!

I took two shots every five minutes from about 6.15pm to 8pm (with the peak being 7.13pm), and have just collaged some of them.

My favourite shot has to be around the peak at 7.13pm, which I might just get printed up on canvas one day. Such a thing to experience.

This shot is just a few seconds early - the moon moving from right to left.

I`m glad I shot in infrared as it`s different from anything else i`ve seen out there.

Kingfisher success again

 

It`s been a long time again since my last blog post yet again, but worth an update now as there has been success with the second brood of Kingfisher on the Reserve side at WWT Llanelli. 

There was a male and female fledged in mid-May from the first brood, but I can confirm a male fledged yesterday (Monday 3rd August), together with another that quite possibly fledged the day before.

We are hoping that another bird might have fledged today, as the adult female was taking in fish to the nest site as well as feeding the one that had just fledged (in the image above).

Fingers crossed.

(For the blog post I posted last year about Kingfishers on the Reserve in 2025, click here:

https://russartworx.blogspot.com/2025/12/kingfisher-breeding-success-at-wwt.html )

Blue Tit brood

 Some of you might have seen on my facebook page that our Blue Tits, George and Mildred, have been successful this year, with a family of five young successfully fledge.

This was taken (very quickly) on 18th May.

During the time of bringing in food, George and Mildred endured both the 30C heatwave and some torrential rain and thunderstorms. 

At their peak, the parents were between them bringing in food  every 2 to 3 minutes from around 5am until around 9.40pm. Even if you said it was every 3 minutes over 16 hours, that would be 320 meals!!

They worked their little socks off, and managed a few times to defy a Magpie that was trying to get into the box.

Since they fledged, I haven`t seen the family around, so I just hope they are doing well.

I`ll leave the nest box for a few more weeks just in case they are interested in using it again, but that is doubtful. It will then be carefully cleaned out, just in case there are mites and ticks to get rid of.

Skomer 2026

 Just over a couple of weeks ago it was time for my annual visit to Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire, a place I always love to visit at least once a year if I can. Late May is normally my preferred time, when the Puffins are back on the island in force, and (hopefully) there are Short Eared Owl back on the island too. The month of June gets booked up very quickly, being the peak time for Puffins bringing in sand eels for any Pufflings, and this year there was no second date available.

The day before, Pembrokeshire experienced some horrendous weather, with torrential thundery showers, including hail "the size of pebbles". However, on our arrival the sun was out, the sea calm, and all looked good. The forecast was for a cloudy but dry day, with the wind in the right direction. The day was on.

Our booking was for a 10am sailing, and our boat, the Dale Queen, gave us a smooth ride over, with onboard "entertainment" from Jim and his Herring gull sidekick Tonto. Just that challenge of negotiating the 84 steps winding up the cliff doesn`t get any easier, in fact the opposite these days. It was then the mandatory welcome talk with the wardens, and then we  headed off to the farm and North valley to see if there were any Short Eared Owls around.

Having stayed there for a while, there was no show, and with the island to explore and some time wanted at The Wick, it was time to move on. It didn`t take long before a sweeping, damp and pretty chilly sea mist came in, and stayed around for a couple of hours.

Eventually, we had some time at The Wick, where the main concentration of Puffins are. Considering they have had the highest count of Puffins in this year, some 52-53,000 birds, the Wick seemed a little subdued, and it was possible some of the birds might have been affected by the weather the day before.

Timing can be everything on Skomer, and although yet again I didn`t see any Short Eared owls around (there were meant to be 8 pairs/16 birds), there was still plenty of other wildlife around, including Chough, Guillemots and Razorbills.

It`s always sad to leave the island, particularly if that`s your only visit for the year, but - health permitting - i`ll be back next year.

Recent events

 

Thank you to all those who came along to the Walk with the Warden last Saturday at WWT Llanelli, just a day too early to hear the first Cuckoo arrive on Sunday! 

The weather was fine for us, with plenty going on when you stop and listen. Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler singing along the centre path; Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Wren, Cetti`s etc throughout the Reserve, and our operatic Reed Warbler down in the main reed beds.

A male Marsh Harrier was seen from the Heron`s Wing hide over the far side of the Deep Water lake, having personally seen a female MH earlier in the morning. 

Lots going on on the Reserve, with the adult Kingfishers bringing in fish for their new chicks, and Lesser Whitethroat singing/calling in a few places (having arrived a couple of weeks earlier than the norm).

Anyway, a good amble around, and thank you to those who continue to support the monthly walk.

On Sunday morning there was a bit of a bonus, an early "tide watch" for a small group from the Facebook photo club, who haven`t had the chance to attend before. A good high tide, calm conditions and excellent light, I think everyone enjoyed coming along. One or two managed to glimpse a couple of Cuckoo that had arrived, later photographed by another visitor. 

In less than two weeks i`ll be with those that book onto the Dawn Chorus walks on May Bank holiday. 3rd and 4th of May. There are limited spaces on these, so book early.

See you soon.

Saturday 11th April 2026

It`s been three months since my last public-facing blog entry  (I don`t get any better at it), but there`s been plenty going on behind the scenes.

A few snippets relating to my volunteering at WWT Llanelli first:

Next Saturday, 18th April, I will be taking the monthly "Walk with the Warden" again. This takes place on the third Saturday of every month, where we meet at the indoor Information desk at 11.30am, and then go out on to the Reserve for about an hour and a half or so. 

We normally go out rain or shine, but may be subject to cancellation if there are high or potentially damaging winds.

Apologies that I couldn`t make it last month due to illness (I lost 9lb in four days!!), so it was lead by Brian, with Jim and Diana.

On Sunday, 19th April, I will be hosting a morning tide watch at 8am for some members of the WWT Llanelli Facebook Photo Club. This is an opportunity for some of those contributors who haven`t been on one before, and attendees have been notified. 

High tide is round 8.12am, so just hope for some favourable weather! The attendance list is now "closed off", but I hope to do some further ones for Photo Club members during the year.

Going into May, and I will be involved with the two Dawn Chorus walks that are now bookable online. 

These will take place at 6am on Sunday 2nd May, and Bank Holiday Monday 3rd May, and must be booked in advance (places are limited). Good footwear and suitable weatherproof clothing advised:

https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/llanelli/whats-on/events/dawn-chorus-walks

A final bit of WWT-related news is that a few weeks ago a video team from Slimbridge visited WWT Llanelli, and by chance I was asked if I would do a piece for them! (I happened to be walking through the cafe at the time when I was called over!!). 

A few weeks later, the video has ended up in our Volunteers` newsletter `Marsh Mail` as a "Spotlight on colleague Russ Myners " . Oh dear. I`m afraid I was tongue-tied, looking totally unnatural,  (i`m never one to do anything where you`ll see me online!) - but as I was asked to help, well ........... 😶

https://vimeo.com/1178413397/c3780e9400?share=copy

Don`t think it will win an Oscar somehow!

Thanks for looking in.

Otter family

 

So good to see a family of three Otters yesterday (mother and two kits) at WWT Llanelli, something that has eluded me for some time.

A great tonic on such a gloomy morning,