March 30th, the one day Kathy and I couldn't get out to St Davids Head, a Snowy Owl was reported by artist Alastair Proud. Nightmare! Then four days later, once more late afternoon, it turned up again. Apart from the 30th, I had been out there every day looking. And then it happened. At 8:45 on Thursday 5th April, I was walking along the track into Porthmelgan Valley. I stopped to scan the rocky outcrop to the east of me and there it was in all its splendour. A large piece of female avian magic.
Now I had a dilemma, since I had forgotten my phone, having left it charging overnight. Should I head back to the car park at Whitesands Bay immediately, maybe I could borrow a phone from the attendant, or should I try for a photo? I decided to go for a photo since I could then head on further back to Whitesands in the same direction. So I got to a comfy spot, it was the first warm, still morning of the Spring and settled to enjoy the bird. I remembered a time at Sheringham with Kevin Shepherd, having found a rarity (I forget which) when he said to take 20 minutes to enjoy it for ourselves before worrying about the world. And that is what I did. It was an amazing and never-to-be-forgotten moment in time.
Then it flew, I hadn't moved but it set off across the Valley, I took a few quick snaps but sitting down it was awkward and I rolled on my back into a spindly gorse bush, not very dignified. It settled down at the base of an outcrop across the Valley, near to the very first sighting back in March.
So that was an obvious cue to join the real world again and I set off back to the coast path and the car park. Luckily I met Jeremy Moore before getting too far back to Whitesands, my first words to him being 'Can I borrow your phone?' He didn't mind and I passed the word on to Kathy who relayed it to Richard Dobbins and the world. Jeremy and I set off to find it and were a bit concerned to find that it had gone from the spot where I had last seen it. Then a few heart-stopping minutes later it just reappeared in flight and dropped down into the Valley in a boggy area near The Withies and there it stayed till Kathy got there and then a few others and we were all able to enjoy it in the warming spring sunshine. It moved further up the Valley after a couple of hours but soon came back and settled for the day further up the slope of Carn Llidi so everyone got good views. It was there the next day and may be present at time of writing but isn't currently showing.
Interestingly, it was visited by a Raven and a Magpie on separate occasions but they didn't seem bothered by this strange immigrant and soon moved off. Then when it moved up the Valley, it was seriously mobbed by a Raven and that, fortunately, sent it back to the slope of Carn Llidi where it was seen by most people.
Another interesting piece of information was provided by Alastair Proud; I had assumed it would be eating rabbits out there and it certainly seemed well fed and content but Alastair and Jill found and dissected a pellet and sure enough it comprised rabbit fur and bones. A nice little proof, citizen science in action. This record constitutes the first for Pembrokeshire and about the 10th for Wales.
Another interesting piece of information was provided by Alastair Proud; I had assumed it would be eating rabbits out there and it certainly seemed well fed and content but Alastair and Jill found and dissected a pellet and sure enough it comprised rabbit fur and bones. A nice little proof, citizen science in action. This record constitutes the first for Pembrokeshire and about the 10th for Wales.
