This review was posted by Babs (Volunteer at South Stack RSPB reserve)

The book is 'Looking for the GOSHAWK' by Conor Mark Jameson

I found this book an interesting mix of a personal story, with some science and history, one mans jurney looking for the 'Phantom of the Forrest'. 

He visits Germany, Scotland and the USA asking why the birds are successful there and yet so rare in his own part of the…

In the third and final blog of our mini-series about the wildflowers of South Stack, we take a look at Sea Campion and Kidney Vetch.

Sea Campion ( Silene vulgaris subsp. maritima)

Sea Campion is a perennial plant, growly mostly on cliff ledges, but it also grows on inland mountains. The campions are members of the carnation family. The narrow, grey-green leaves are arranged in pairs along the stem, and the leaves…

This time, we take a look at three more beautiful wild flowers at South Stack - Thrift, Sheepsbit Scabious and Spring Squill.

Thrift (Armeria maritima)

Thrift is also known as Sea Thrift, Sea Pink, or 'Pink Pom-poms' as Charlotte at South Stack has re-named it! It flowers between April and August. In summer, it produces long - stalked, bright pink flowerheads which transform the coastal scenery with extensive splashes…

The day began for me by assisting with a guided walk. The tour was led by Hayley our People Engagement Officer. The weather was very cold but very sunny.

I play the role of a sort of sheepdog, i.e. I follow up the rear and lookout for strays. We left the centre and made our way down towards Ellens Tower. The tower was built in 1868 by Lord William Owen Stanley for his wife Ellen.

They apparently used the tower as…

It won't be long until the wildflowers at South Stack are out, but in the meantime, have a read through this blog and find out more about the Lesser Celandine, Blackthorn and Scurvy grass.

Lesser Celandine ( Ranunculus Ficaria)

Flowering between March and May, a true harbinger of Spring, the Celandine is sometimes called the Spring Messenger. It is the first of the buttercups to appear and is easy to recognise…

This review is by Babs O'Hara who is a volunteer at South Stack RSPB reserve.

What a charming little book this is!

Each page has a beautiful illustration of a bird together with its egg,  also a written description of the bird, its habitat and nesting preferences, along with its character and call. 

Each chapter brings us a variety of birds from different habitats, starting with Garden and Parkland, and ending…

On the 22nd February 2013 the South Stack volunteers were treated to a day out at lake Vyrnwy by the staff. Our escorts for the day were Jon our Catering Manager and Hayley our People Engagement Officer.

At the outset the volunteers would like to say a massive 'THANK YOU' to both our management staff from South Stack and to all the staff at the RSPB lake Vyrnwy reserve for devoting their time to making our day so enjoyable…

New Years Day at South Stack was a beautiful sunny day, however it was very windy. Halyley our People Engagement officer led an organised walk.

The route was from the visitor centre down to Ellins Tower along to the bottom car park and crossing the road to the Hut Circles.

We started at the Visitor Centre:

Hayley gathered our group and explained the outline of the walk. 

We next made our way down…

On Tuesday the 9th of October I assisted with a guided walk. Our leader was Sarah one of the South Stack volunteers. The walk started at around 11:00 am, Sarah started by explaining to the group what RSPB South Stack does in order to preserve the local environment.

This is our guide Sarah

Our group at the start of the walk, Sarah is explaining the walk and what we are likely to see. The route is to start as above…

RSPB South Stack Reserve

Meet Denise our very own Warden and guardian angel to three House Martin chicks. On the 24 of August this year she was presented with three very sick House martin chicks. They were left in a dog bowl covered by a leaf on Plas Nico doorstep. below is Denise's account of the rescue.

Above Denise's cottage.

 "They were found by our resident volunteers Laura and Mary and they…

We stole one of the rare sunny days to have a barbecue. By the evening it was not quite as warm has it had been earlier in the day. My wife and I are volunteers at South Stack and find that the people that we work with are like an extended family. Having said that we have a number of 'Black Sheep'.

 They graze the mountain helping to manage the vegetation. However back to the barbecue.

Let us start with…

Laura was a young Spanish Senorita who spent several weeks at RSPB South Stack reserve as a volunteer. Her intention is to start up guided nature tours in Spain on her return. The birds in Spain are remarkable, I usually go myself to southern Spain each year on holiday. We hope that her time spent with us at our reserve will help her with her ambition.

Below are some pictures to remind her of her time with us.

Above…

Hello again. on Saturday the 25th of September after spending most of the day in Ellins Tower I went a roving. Whenever I am at the South Stack reserve I always carry my small digital camera in my pocket. You never know when something interesting is going to happen. I am usually ready for anything and take lots and lots of pictures, they are useful for my blogs.  Saturday afternoon whilst in the tower minding my own business…

Hi everyone, I am making this post on behalf of Lynne Harrison one of our volunteers at the South Stack Reserve.

She wants to raise the awareness and importance of saving postage stamps. 

Below is the message from Lynne.

On the 5th of July the gang at South Stack said good by to to two of our resident volunteer's. Dani and Rachael, they had been with us for about twelve weeks and during this time we all got to know them pretty well. In my case it will seem odd as I and my wife volunteer on a Tuesday and not to see at least one of them there will be strange.

We all wish them both every success with their future careers and hope that…

Your last chance to see our puffins is rapidly approaching, as they will soon be disappearing back  out to sea . It is also the best time to come and visit, as up to 15 puffins have been spotted at one time on the ledges where they breed. These lovable 'clowns of the sea' as the Italian translation puts it , can be seen even from near the top of the lighthouse steps, on patrol outside their burrows.  Its a sight not…

Several Chough family groups  from around the reserve have been  seen along the cliff edges having fledged the nests recently.    It seems that  our Mousetrap pair have only managed to rear one juvenile successfully this year. Despite having 4 healthy chicks in the nest , only one has been observed with the parents over the last few days. Other families have been more successful and we have seen one family with 2 juveniles and…

I have been taking pictures again of the South Stack flower show. June has produced some new blooms. Most of these I can't identify myself even after consulting Collins flower guide. The flowers that I have taken pictures of are by no means exhaustive of the blooms at South Stack at the moment. The pictures just give a flavour of this beautiful reserve. I suppose our hidden gem is the Spotted Rock Rose. Collins flower…

On Sunday the 10th of June RSPB South Stack held a special event. The day was staged and managed by Hayley our People Engagement officer and centred around the shearing of sheep and the production of garments from the wool. A large marquee was erected to host the event. These sheep help to manage the reserve, as they are used to graze. Pete the Shepard is employed at various time of year to manage his flock.

First came…

Breaking news this morning as our first chough leaves the nest at 8.30am today.  The parent chough was seen preening the chick leading up to the moment when it spread its wings and was off. Our staff are on the look out to see if the young bird made it safely out of the cave. Will keep you informed of developments.   

We are being treated to a very rare spectacle here at South Stack with the spotted rock rose in flower and looking stunning! This is the county flower of Anglesey and  truly a flower to be proud of. June is  a good month to see the flower but you need to be here in the mornings otherwise you will miss it! This is because the petals fall off around mid day and can be seen around the base of the plants looking like yellow…

After the storms of last week we are now back to normal weather conditions for June. Lovely sunshine and warm days at the moment here at South Stack. Unfortunately our Razorbill cam was moved slightly by the gales over last weekend and is now not quite central on the Razorbill ledge. Because of the proximity of the camera to the breeding colony we are unable to correct this at the moment , as we don't  want to disturb…

The team here at South Stack are very excited to announce that the egg from Razorbill cam has hatched!!! Yesterday afternoon, at about 5pm we witnessed the first cracks starting to appear in the egg and this morning we arrived to see a fluffy little addition to the family!  Mum (or dad!) started doing a lot of shuffling about and chattering and seemed to be checking the eggs progress often, as those first cracks started…

We have had an eventful few weeks here at South Stack. Hot weather and strong winds conspired to cause a fire on the 'Range' last weekend. Unfortunately the flames rampaged through the gorse despite the heroic efforts of the fire service and RSPB staff. Last minute backburning seemed to do the trick in the end although flames could still be seen late into the night. Approximately 5.5 hectares of heathland have been…

South Stack RSPB Reserve

Below is picture showing the 'Range' in relation to the rest of the reserve.

The Range is a rather special place for wildlife. It has the right kind of habitat for many bird species and more importantly the insects etc to support their breeding. Below are a few pictures that I took recently.

Spathulate Fleawort growing on the Range, this plant grows nowhere else in the…