Rhyl and a brief visit to RSPB Conwy

I've spent a few days staying with my cousins in Rhyl, a trip that I make at least twice a year.

My cousins understand my hobby and fully expect me to disappear for a few hours with my camera and bins. Usually my wildlife forays see me travelling just two roads away on to the beach at Rhyl, but on Monday I decided to make the very short train journey to  Llandudno Junction and visit RSPB Conwy.

 

The sky was alive with Swifts, House Martins and Swallows.....

 

 

I have already seen a Bee Orchid this year, but RSPB Conwy has got several patches on site where both these, and Southern Marsh Orchids, are thriving.

 

As regular followers of my blog know, I have been having some problems with my favourite zoom lens recently. It's the 75-300mm lens that I use the most often, primarily for bird photography but also for butterfly, insect and flower photos as the lens is also capable of macro photography when standing at least 1.5m away from the subject. On Sunday the lens was working fine when I tested it, yet at RSPB Conwy, within an hour of being there the lens had malfunctioned again. I can't really complain as I've had that lens for over eight years and it has certainly earned it's way. It's just a shame it decided to malfunction for the third time whilst I was away.

 

I consoled myself with a bit of scenic photography.....

 

 

 

and even managed to grab a half decent shot of a Common Whitethroat singing in a nearby patch of scrub...

 



 

RSPB Conwy has three trail walks you can go on. There is a downloadable map on their website but basically the Blue Tit Trail is an enjoyable short circular walk through reed beds and a wildlife garden, the Redshank Trail incorporates the Blue Tit Trail and also takes you a little further onto the reserve covering the first two hides, and lastly the Grey Heron Trail covers both of the above and then takes you all around the perimeter of the reserve including another four hides. As my zoom camera lens was malfunctioning I knew I would be frustrated walking the Grey Heron Trail as there would probably be loads that I couldn't photograph, so I stuck within the Blue Tit and Redshank Trails and spent a fairly happy few hours before wandering back to the café for a very tasty coffee and toasted teacake.

 

 

 

I resigned myself to the fact I probably wasn't going to see the stunning Bee Orchids as they were dotted around the Grey Heron Trail, and also resigned myself to the fact it was going to be a shorter visit than anticipated. I had just left the reserve and found a log in the car park to sit on while I packed away my camera and bins, when I happened to glance to my side and there in full beautiful glory were four separate spikes of Bee Orchids.....

 

 

The car that had parked in front of them obviously hadn't seen them either, as it's bumper was just a couple of feet away from these lovely little flowers.

 

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Back at my cousins home in Rhyl, I was incredibly fortunate to have four days of good weather. My cousin and his wife aren't die-hard gardeners but they do have an interest, and the grounds of Chateaux Marks were looking really good....

 

 

The Wisteria (above and below) has just gone over, but having it's roots in sandy soil and being in a sheltered area is obviously good for it....

 

The same can be said for the Raspberries (again above and below). The sandy soil is again certainly to its liking.....

 

On the decking my cousins are growing Peaches and Oranges....

 



Peach

Peach

Orange

I spent most of my last two days sitting out on the decking and being kept company by Kiera the cat and Buster the dog...

 

 

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On Monday after school, Aimee and I took Buster for a walk along the prom. I took my camera with it's smallest lens, and after a quick tutorial on how to get a photo in focus, Aimee was off snapping away, and the best thing was she really enjoyed herself....

 

 

All of the photos below were taken by Aimee. The only thing I have done is crop them. There has been no other enhancement made to them.

 

 

Meanwhile her little brother Jack was just happy being a cool dude....

 

 

I got lots of little pressies whilst I was with my family, including a funky hip flask, perfume, body lotion and chocolates, and also my very own bottle of three month aged homebrewed rose wine....

 

which was absolutely delicious !

 

Next visit will be in a couple of months for the grand opening of my cousins 'man-cave pub' where more homebrew will no doubt be consumed.

 

As always when I visit my family in Rhyl I have had a great time. The only sour note was my camera lens malfunctioning, but there's always next time for another visit to RSPB Conwy and a wander along Rhyl beach.