I went down to Fishguard yesterday to meet up with a good friend Cliff Benson. We were discussing the structure of some courses that we are aiming to start next year at The Ocean Lab in Goodwick.
Cliff runs Sea Trust, a charity dedicated to the conservation of the marine environment around the coastal waters of west Wales. It relies heavily on volunteers and the energy and commitment of those who care about the well-being of our marine ecology. The amount of time Cliff devotes to the organisation never fails to amaze and inspire me.
In the afternoon we took a break and explored the outer breakwater of the ferry terminal at Fishguard, Cliff had said there had been a lone Snow Bunting around lately. It wasn’t long before we had located it and began a good hour photographing this stunning winter visitor. With careful stalking it was possible to let the bird come within a few feet as it foraged around the weeds in the cracks of the concrete. A couple of Purple Sandpipers were also present and whilst not as confiding as the Snow Bunting, are still a bird that allows close stalking.
We are hoping to organize some form of photographic competition as well as starting various courses, looking at both wildlife photography as an art and also the use of the camera for observational and recording techniques related to scientific studies. More about this later in the year.
Technical Information:
All Snow Buntings: ISO 400 – 1/400 sec. – f 4.5 – 500mm
Purple Sandpiper: ISO 400 – 1/500 sec. – f4.5 – 500mm