Discover Top Posts Tagged with #bardsey

Birds of Bardsey, Llyn peninsula, Wales /Cymru, 1979

#filatelia #philatelie #philately #stamps #Bardsey #Wales #Birds #Cymru #Ynys Enlli #Kestrel #Oystercatcher #Owl #ornithology #Llyn #1979 #Wheatear

5th April

St Derfel’s Day

Source: St Derfel Gadarn video posted by On This Day on YouTube

Today is St Derfel’s Day. Derfel was one of King Arthur’s legendary knights, known as Derfel Cadarn or Gadarn, meaning ‘the Strong’. He was present at the catastrophic battle of Camlann at which the disastrous civil war between Arthur and his illegitimate son, Mordred, culminated in the death of Mordred and the apparent fatal wounding of his father. With the court in Camelot collapsing in the aftermath of the battle, and the Saxons beginning to overrun Britain as a consequence, the distraught Derfel gave up soldiering for the monastic life.

So runs the Arthurian legend. Derfel however did exist and may well have been a Romano-British warrior in his youth. The battle of Camlann is supposed to have been a real event, taking place in 539, even if details are frustratingly vague. It is not even clear who the opposing sides were, but it is assumed to have been between the Romano-Britons and the Anglo-Saxons, with a Saxon victory being the likely outcome, so the outline of Derfel’s career change as described in legend, may well be based on fact.

Derfel became Abbot of Bardsey and later became the favourite saint at the church at Llandderfel, near Bala in Gwynedd. Apparently the church was equipped with a mechanical version of the saint , who showered blessings on the pilgrims that came to his church, often bearing livestock to be cured by Derfel’s effigy. Inevitably the Reformation interrupted this innocent practice and deeming the worship of Derfel’s peculiar statue as superstitious nonsense, militant Protestants carted the mechanical Derfel all the way to Smithfield in London in 1538 and burned it. The saint’s staff, and the remains of a wooden horse on which the martial Derfel sat, can still be seen in Llandderfel church.

#st Derfel #king arthur #mordred #battle of Camlann #Llandderfel #bardsey

The low tide haul-outs of grey seals can exceed 200 in number during the year. This bull seal chose an interesting spot to see out a particularly stormy day: amongst a growing mound of sea foam!

#ben porter #photographer #grey seal #sea foam #nature #seal #lleyn peninsula #wales #bardsey

©wano

#wano #myphoto #photographers on tumblr #wales #bardsey #*

Three heath moth traps are used between spring and autumn by Bardsey Bird Observatory to monitor the island’s moth populations. The canary-shouldered thorn is amongst the brightest of visitors to the autumn traps.

#ben porter #heath moth #moth #photographer #bardsey #wales #bardsey bird conservatory #nature #insect #canary shouldered thorn #lleyn peninsula

The island is home to the UK’s fourth largest breeding colony of manx shearwaters. With over 20,000 pairs, their bizarre calls fill the night sky from March through to August when they return to land under the cover of darkness.

#ben porter #photographer #bardsey #lleyn peninsula #wales #manx shearwaters #bird photography #nature #night sky #starry night

The seas surrounding the island are infamous for their treacherous nature. The wild seascapes can be spectacular, even more so when seabirds such as this gannet glide effortlessly over the wave-tops.

The low light of winter makes for some brilliant photographic opportunities, especially when coupled with wild, stormy conditions. Here, a Herring Gull battles into a particularly strong southerly gale through such a scene.