Skomer Gallery by Bruce Woodruff

Bruce did amazingly well to capture a number of puffins in flight during the workshop http://www.andydavies.info/…/client/2016/bruce_woodruff.html

Skomer Gallery by Angela Massingham

Great gallery by Angela Massingham. The thrift at Skomer Head was amazing.

http://www.andydavies.info/pages/client/2016/angela_massingham.html

Dolphin Heaven

The dolphin wildlife trip on Sunday will remain ingrained in everyone's minds forever! We encountered a porpoise as soon as we left "The Heads" where Milford Haven ends and the open sea begins and then headed SW into an area that we knew had great potential for common dolphins.

After about an hour and a half of no sightings I was beginning to get worried that we would be out of luck but pods of dolphins started coming towards us but passed by quickly as they were in transit, only playing in our boat's wake for a couple of minutes. It was virtually impossible to get a good shot of them as you couldn't predict where and when they would surface next. Feeling a bit frustrated we carried on, trying different boat speeds to try and find the best shaped wake and pressure wave under the bow that would entice them to stay with us and play.

It then all came together 13.5 miles offshore as literally hundreds of dolphins took their turn in surfacing just by the side of the boat with up to 6 bow-riding just a metre away from us for over an hour. They then broke away to feed but returned again for another hour of constant action. The colours became better and better as the animals were lit with lovely rich, soft evening light.

Shearwaters were commonly seen seen and on our transit to Skokholm later on, we were joined by several gannets who used the boat's air turbulence to fly back towards Grassholm allowing some unique shots to be captured by everyone.

The next trip in Dale Sailing's luxury Nelson 38 will be the Celtic Deep where who knows what we will find. The adventure continues!

Kittiwake in flight

Skomer Island is looking stunning with almost all the bluebells, thrift and sea campion fully in flower. The kittiwakes were busy flying to and fro from the Wick to Moorey Mere to collect mud for building their nests. Shot with a Nikon D810, 300mm at F5, 1/400sec, ISO 64.

Grassholm wildlife boat trips

I've just been sent this stunning image by Mike Snelle. This is exactly what I hope we will be able to capture this year on the evening boat trips that I will be organising on a new boat, a 38 foot Nelson with a cruising speed of over 20 knots allowing us to go out towards the Celtic Deep to look for whales and dolphins and then to Grassholm to see the seals and gannets finishing up with capturing the Manx shearwaters in St Brides Bay at dusk. An absolutely mouthwatering experience if the weather, light and wildlife play ball! Please send me an email to be on the list. I can only take 12 on a first come first served basis.

Chasing grebes!

I called into Fforest Farm north of Cardiff yesterday before going to give the talk to the Gwent Photographic Society. The light was lovely and the kingfisher was on a reed when I entered the hide. Unfortunately, he flew off immediately and I gave up after waiting for an hour and a half with no sign of him again.

I decided go to Bute Dock in Cardiff Bay to try and link up the resident population of great-crested grebes. A walk around the feeder canal with just a pair of binoculars was fruitful with a pair spotted in great light but they had disappeared when I returned a couple of minutes later with my camera gear.

I managed to locate them about an hour later opposite the Wharf Pub and was treated to a couple of very brief courtship displays. What an amazing wildlife experience right in the heart of an urban area. I will be back!

Slimbridge gallery by Ellis Jones

Lovely set of atmospheric images by Ellis Jones from the recent Slimbridge workshop. http://www.andydavies.info/pages/client/2016/ellis_slimbridge.html