2021......a Tortoise in lockdown hibernation?

[Soukous]

There's one near us too, at Southwold.

 

Southwold pier was built in 1900 as a landing stage for steamships that brought tourists from London[2] Clacton and Great Yarmouth until the 1930s.

It is a long time since it was used as a steamship landing stage. It is now a modern (posh) tourist facility with amusements and restaurants. 

[Dave Williams]

It's a bit featureless Fred. Who owns it?  Llandudno's is in private hands and the owner get's lots of criticism at attempts to raise money to make the venture pay. Do you get boats using it? Llandudno's used to have regular weekly sailings to the Isle of Man but they stopped when the pier was no longer considered safe. having now been repaired it does have, when covid restrictions are lifted, please cruises to Liverpool and around the Anglesey coast. Shame they don't do Douglas anymore!

 

The pier in neighbouring Colwyn Bay was sold to a private buyer for £1 but he didn't have the funds and resources to restore an already dilapidated pier and eventually was declared bankrupt. In the end all turned ugly with a court case, compulsory purchase and demolition orders finally given. Amazingly a decision was made to reinstate the first 45 metres as a boardwalk, in my opinion a total waste of money, and that work is currently under way.

 

I have been on the one in Southwold which is quite a nice one, has a totally different feel about it. Can't recall why but I seem to recall everything seemed wooden!

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Dave Williams

[Soukous]

15 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

I have been on the one in Southwold which is quite a nice one, has a totally different feel about it. Can't recall why but I seem to recall everything seemed wooden!

 

also privately owned and run as a business

[Galana]

Southwold as I recall was restored relatively recently by the efforts of one man who got an award.

Queen's Pier, Ramsey is owned by the Dept of Transport Harbours and has suffered from illegal neglect since closure. I say illegal as it is the Manx Equiv of a Grade One listed building where the owners are obliged to keep it in good repair or face prosecution. But the putative prosecutors are the Dept of Environment so would in effect be suing their colleagues in Government. Even the EU declined to get involved despite IOM Gov. being a signatory to the European Convention for the protection of the Built Environment.

Very reluctantly, after a dubious battle in Tynwald, £1.8m was spent to keep it from further deterioration about 8 years ago and now some volunteers are painstakingly overhauling it. We live in hope.

There are summer trips to Llandudno with "Balmoral" but she comes into Ramsey Harbour.

 

[Dave Williams]

I have had a busy week this last week , the weather has allowed us to get out a fair bit and indeed, my phone tells me I have averaged 7.8kms per day! The cold snap was made worse by the wind strength so the wind chill made it feel much colder than was. The good news was that all those muddy footpaths froze solid so they became more pleasurable to walk. Today though, it's windy and wet which indicates temperatures are rising again.

My highlights are then, a return to the Snow Buntings for a third visit. I had no intention of doing so but as I lost a lens cap on my previous one I thought there was a minute chance of finding it and anyway, it's a fairly pleasurable walk even when it feels like -10°C .

Nothing much to add in terms of scenery but as I know you all love an iPhone shot here's 33) Chough

 

I see them regularly, they even fly over our hose but getting close isn't easy. It was particularly annoying that I had them down to a few metres when I didn't have a camera and on two occasions on this walk.

 

We have an artificial ski slope and toboggan run here in Llandudno ... what do you think of that @xelasMuch demand in Slovenia at the moment? ( Likewise @michael-ibk!)

Edited February 16, 2021 by Dave Williams

[Soukous]

3 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

We have an artificial ski slope and toboggan run here in Llandudno

 

we've got one in Ipswich too, I've never thought about it, but what do they do when they are covered with snow? Close, scrape off the snow or just enjoy the real stuff?

[Dave Williams]

Snow is such a rarity here on the coast that the situation hasn't occurred for more than for a few days in the 30 years or so since it was built. The biggest threat to it's survival though as been an indoor slope they built near Warrington and that has artificial real snow...if you get my meaning! Those dry ski slopes are pretty dangerous with broken thumbs and friction burns being top of the injury list I believe.

[Dave Williams]

Back to last Wednesday and with a stunning forecast of wall to wall sunshine I had a day planned out ahead and I was going to take the car...only a couple of miles, honestly.... but once again I was foiled by the extreme cold and the car battery being flat again.

I stayed in with the camera and only went out for a walk later without it. 

To add to the count though, this awful flight shot of a 34)Raven with nesting material flying in to a pine tree in the garden. They used to nest there until a gale blew down their huge nest a couple of years ago so hopefully they will be back again now.

 

yes, I have included a feeder shot because this is a rare sight in the garden 35) Goldfinch

 

There were a couple that visited that day but they fly straight to the feeder then fly off to the top of a distant tree.

Oh well. here's one of the over wintering Blackcaps and this time not on the feeder.

 

See what I mean about noise @shazdwnThese are 100% crops though.

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Dave Williams

[PeterHG]

12 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

See what I mean about noise

Do you use noise reduction software at all? I can see how you have to get used to more noise, coming from a full frame camera, but e.g. Topaz Denoise AI might do a good job as there is plenty of detail in the shot.

[Dave Williams]

The forecast for Thursday wasn't as good as Wednesday's but following another jump start the car was all set to go and needed that essential run so a legitimate excuse to drive a tad further than originally planned...maybe 10 miles away ...shock,horror!

I parked up in a place by a river I have visited before and have seen Kingfisher and Dipper but other than one solitary free parking space the area was crammed. I asked a passing walker why this was so and they told me the nearby community centre was used as a conference meeting.... by the police. I decided I didn't need Dipper or kingfisher urgently and moved down to the beach a couple of hundred metres away!

The additions started to come quickly.

36) Common Scoter

 About 400-500m off shore I used the 2x TC and 500mm to get these record shots, same for the Great Black-backed Gull 

and a 37) Cormorant too

 

Back towards home and it was another opportunity to capture Redshank,Dunlin and Purple Sandpiper in better light

but also a 38) Shag made an appearance

 

I tried my hand at some flight shots of 39)Black-headed Gull with limited success

7and found a single 40)Turnstone to add to the numbers game.

 

Time to return home then and since I was in the mood for quantity over quality I decided to snap the 41)Curlew rooting in a nearby field.

 

41 up though not much satisfaction in most of them so far!

Edited February 16, 2021 by Dave Williams

[Dave Williams]

2 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

Do you use noise reduction software at all? I can see how you have to get used to more noise, coming from a full frame camera, but e.g. Topaz Denoise AI might do a good job as there is plenty of detail in the shot.

 I have been reading all the reports and rave reviews for Topaz and I did trial it briefly some time ago and decided it wasn't any better than Photoshop. That was before the R5. My trial over I decided to try the AI Sharpen instead this last week. It was painfully slow and I abandoned that after a couple of trial shots as it didn't look any better to me .

I think any attempt to rid noise is going to automatically reduce detail, I think I'm going to have to over expose more than I have done previously, keep the ISO down and stop the temptation to crop to 100% and beyond other than for the likes of BY where I let standards slip to the extreme

[Dave Williams]

I almost forgot, the other morning when I had just finished  loading the car I looked up and saw a 42)Common Buzzard sitting in a tree in the garden. It was a strikingly marked one too. Of course by the time I reached in , grabbed the camera and pointed it in the right direction it was too late! Still as it's a garden tick I'll count it!

Edited February 16, 2021 by Dave Williams

[Dave Williams]

So it was now Friday and I was getting in to the swing of this numbers game and had plans to try and hit 50 by the end of the weekend.

Things took a new turn however when a friend of Claire's texted her to tell her that if I rang our local Covid vaccination centre they were making appointments for my age. I rang at 11.30 and got an appointment for 3.24pm. There were quite a lot of people waiting outside in the queue before being allowed inside. There was a bitterly cold wind but I wasn't complaining! It seems that word had got out and all the 68/9 year olds had all done the same thing. After 30 minutes outside we gradually got in to the queue inside the building which again stretched some distance. They aim to vaccinate 1170 people per day and they proudly boast they haven't wasted a single drop of vaccine so far. I have to say, with the help of the RAF Cranwell's band members, many volunteers ( including the retired GP that jabbed me) the whole exercise is very well organised. Our local centre has now vaccinated over 25,000 people. The UK has reached 20% of the population already and best of all I have been Pfizered too. I should have got my second jab within the 12 weeks up to the beginning of May but it's too late, or early for that matter, for grand travel plans. Claire being a lot younger than me will be a while off getting hers I guess.

For anyone who is curious, there were no side effects for me other than a slightly sore arm which wasn't a problem at all. They make you wait 15 minutes after receiving the jab to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction. The whole procedure took just over an hour which was twice as long as it had been before they encouraged phone bookings but I'm sure they will fine tune it again now too.

Here in the UK we are lucky there is some light at the end of the tunnel. For once our government has got it right and wasted no time in procuring and passing vaccines for use. There are advantages for not having too many voices around the table trying to reach agreement. I have to say when the UK declined the offer to join the EU's block purchasing power to reduce cost I thought we were missing a trick. How wrong I was.

[Dave Williams]

So, it was now Saturday and bitterly cold outside. My team were being televised at midday so I had something to look forward to...or not as the result turned out.

Instead I spent time sat watching the birds coming in to drink where I had pored boiling water on to the water feature and bird baths in the garden.

To my delight I had great views of a 43)Song Thrush, not a common visitor although we hear them singing, particularly in Spring.

 

Both these shots were at ground level through the double glazing , the 100-400 pressed up against the glass. Not the sharpest shots but better than most I have posted!!

 

I was hoping I might get a shot of the male 44)Blackbird but the striking bronze on the chest of the female caught my eye although in poor lighting it doesn't look so good on here. The male I was after has alternate back and white tail feathers which give it an unusable zebra like appearance as it flies.

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Dave Williams

[Soukous]

2 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

not much satisfaction in most of them so far!

 

that's the problem for me too. I can just about keep the counter ticking over with local birds, but conditions are usually not ideal and I take the shots for BY, knowing I'll probably get much better ones once the weather improves. 

[xelas]

3 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

Much demand in Slovenia at the moment?

I recon we have plenty of ski slopes ... still not as many as @michael-ibk. 

[Galana]

3 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

I think I'm going to have to over expose more than I have done previously,

Do take care whilst this cold snap lasts as it will make your eyes water.

Good to hear you have got your first jab without a problem and having a very productive hours exercise (when the car starts).

 

[michael-ibk]

Oh, ski slopes - one of our most controversial issues right now here in Austria. They are open - to the delight of us locals but obviously we don´t get tourists right now. Or should not get tourists since hotels are not allowed to open. Apparently some tourists still find ways around the rules, enlisting in fake "Skiing trainer courses" (which would make it a professional - and therefore legit - activity) or similar shady stuff.

[PeterHG]

Good to hear you got your first vaccination. One step forward to better times!

[Dave Williams]

Right folks time for walks!!

Today we are going to use an essential journey to drive to Lidl and get some groceries but it's also very handy to park up and walk along the estuary promenade towards the charming walled town of Conwy which is dominated by it's castle built by King Edward 1 between 1283-89 at a cost of £15k which included the town walls! Now considered a world heritage site, it has seen action a few times but it's original purpose was to keep the Welsh subjugated by the English ( who have a lot to answer for)

 

Until 1822 the only means of crossing the river was by boat so it was a huge project given to Thomas Telford to build a suspension bridge to cross the river. It's one of three bridges that run side by side now. 

 

It's a stunning construction now under the care of the National Trust.

 

It's original purpose was to carry horse and carts but it was the main road along the North Wales coast and it was the only road crossing until the the new bridge was built in 1958...not that long ago considering that it was a single carriage toll bridge that now carried cars and lorries. Even back then the hold up to cross was not inconsiderable. The new bridge was not nearly as grand but at least for a fairly long while it did relieve the traffic congestion

 

 

 

By 1848 a box steel bridge was built by alongside the suspension bridge by engineer Robert Stevenson and this was to carry the railway line that would link London to Holyhead and then by ferry...Ireland. In those days freight and mail went by train as it was much faster than road transport.

 

I'm not sure planners would allow the things the original bridge builders if they tried today.

 

They knocked holes through the town walls for the railway and used the castle to key in the chains of the suspension bridge!!

In both cases though it was no mean feat building both. When the tide comes in it does at a fair rush and navigating the swirling waters is fairly interesting. I know because I have done so several time when entering the Conwy Raft Race!

 

Anyway , our walk today took us on to the quayside which in recent years seems to have seen a resurgence in it's use for fishing boats.

 

There aren't that many, just a handful but the quayside which was once empty is now used for it's intended purpose rather than just a tourist trap.

 

The main catches are whelks, crabs, lobsters and the our renowned Conwy mussels 

It's hard to resist stroking the tactile sculpture which is now shiny in parts as a result! They really are delicious mussels which are big and plump compared to many I have eaten, currently sell at £6 for 2 kgs! Must get some before the season ends !!

The quay also features a unique cottage amongst the row of old Fishermans houses.

The whole town is indeed a tourist magnet and not surprisingly either.

On a nice day fish and chips on the quayside , maybe a pint sitting outside at the Liverpool Arms enjoying this view towards the Great Orme...what's not to like.

Well apart from being attacked by the odd Herring Gull, nothing!

Also on the quayside and living in and around the bridges and castle you'll find a multitude of Pigeons. Am I going to claim this as a Rock Pigeon?

 

No!

My BY has sunk to new depths but there's a limit. I'll pass on this one.

However, just along from the quay there is a nice riverside walk and today as the tide pushed in it brought with it feeding 45)Wigeon and 46)Teal . I'll have them though!!

 

So that was it, back along the quay and over the bridge again, past all the numerous signs that must have cost a fortune to reminds what our government seems to think is something  we still haven't understood...and in some cases they are absolutely right. Problem is all the signage in the world and they would still ignore them, even when you put them in dual language too!!

 

Almost back to Lidl we cross over what is now the main A55 road and the Conwy tunnel. Still fairly quiet due to lockdown and an apparent drop in traffic thanks to Brexit customs checks at the border between mainland UK and the EU...Ireland.

 

I also saw this on the walk too. It's a Magdaw or is it a Jackpie, something of a rarity maybe?

Edited February 17, 2021 by Dave Williams

[Galana]

I am now more than ever convinced you are moonlighting as an Agent for your local branch of TwristtiaethCymru.

If not you should be.

Those Whelks will be going to Korea.

[Dave Williams]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

Those Whelks will be going to Korea.

They'll get there faster than to France!!

 

[Galana]

I was not joking. That's where 'ours' go.

https://www.islandshellfish.co.uk/whelk-fishing-controls/

 

So why not Welsh? (Jokes about leeks and lack of the third leg apart?)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47172635

[shazdwn]

I’m really enjoying travelling along with you on your walks. Wales is a beautiful place 

[Dave Williams]

8 hours ago, Galana said:

I was not joking. That's where 'ours' go.

https://www.islandshellfish.co.uk/whelk-fishing-controls/

 

So why not Welsh? (Jokes about leeks and lack of the third leg apart?)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-47172635

 

I know you weren't Fred. I remember talking to a fisherman at the Isle of Whithorn maybe 30 years ago and he told me that they were fishing for whelks as it was all that was left for them as fish stocks were so depleted. He wasn't happy about how his career had panned out but at least there was a market for them in South Korea.