Not just an artist but a poet too!

It seems that to 'wax lyrically' is a new pastime in Pembrokeshire! Much in the mould of past dons of natural history writing such as Gilbert White perhaps? I like this kind of 'personal' prose that comes from the heart. Watching nature is wonderful and challenges all your senses. There are people out there such as Graham Rees and Ray Wilkinson who have this acute understanding of nature and that stems from spending countless hours in the field. We can all learn from their kind. I don't know where I come in this 'pecking order' but rest assured I promote the nature of Wales and particularly Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea wherever I find an audience who will listen!

I've just spent a week to'ing and fro'ing from our shores to Denmark on a ferry between Harwich and Esbjerg and I've witnessed some phenomenal bird migration much of it on land but the seabirds I saw from the ferry in the southern section of the North Sea included some familiar Strumble birds such as bonxies, arctic skuas, sab gull, sooties, divers and our old friend the scoter or 'scooters' as one Dane I met called them! (can you tell the 'mods' from the 'rockers'?). We had some land birds alight on the deck too which included a blackcap, chaffinch, a starling and a grey heron! On this subject I met a retired Danish sea captain who spent 44 yrs plying the oceans of the world on large container ships and he told me an amusing story which I thought I would share with you all.

Many years ago they were sailing in a container ship in the south Atlantic when an Albatross (species unknown) landed on the deck. The bird couldn't take off again so the crew decided to help it but they couldn't get near it as on being approached it lashed out at them with its powerful bill. So the crew came up with a plan they got a piece of carpet and managed to coerce the bird onto it whereupon six of them launched it into the air where it once again became airborne!