A tale of bikes and birds! (From Western Telegraph)

A tale of bikes and birds!

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority recently organised their first bikeride-and-birdwatch around the St Davids headland. The aim of the venture was to persuade people to get out of their vehicles and on to their bikes.

Pembrokeshire is one of those places which is best explored while not in a car, said National Park warden Ian Meopham.

We want to encourage people to get out and about more. The ride was held on a recent sunny Tuesday and was led by Ian Meopham and RSPB warden Ian Bullock.

A small group of us met them at St Davids Visitor Centre and at about 10.30 am we set off, with our packed lunches on our backs.

First we took a back road to St Davids Airfield, pausing by a stream to listen to a sedge warbler. Ian Bullock - a walking encyclopaedia and extremely interesting with it - told us all about their habits, which was pretty fascinating.

Having also spotted wall butterflies and a vibrant orange-tipped butterfly, we cycled on to the airfield, parts of which are now owned by the Parks Authority.

It is a real haven for skylarks, who have a very polite habit of letting each other take centre stage for a song. We also watched a family of stone chats for a bit, while Ian Bullock told us about their little habits.

We then left the airfield and cycled along pretty back roads, lined with heady gorse, bluebells, pink campion, and budding foxgloves through Caerfarchell to Dowrog Common.

A lovely area with beautiful views over to Carn Llidi and Pen Beri, the common is also owned by the National Trust.

There, we spotted cuckoos, a wood pigeon, swallows and willow warblers, as well as heath-spotted orchid and the increasingly rare yellow rattle.

We stopped on a bridge for lunch before taking a back road to a bustling Whitesands beach. Parking the bikes, we walked up the coastpath to watch some jackdaws before heading back for an ice-cream.

From Whitesands we rode back up to St Davids via back roads, passing by the rear of the Cathedral. We then headed out to Caerfai, and left our bikes at the car park to walk out and try to spot a couple of choughs - but unfortunately, the choughs were staying put.

And that - at 4.30 pm - was the bike ride finished.

It sounds a lot - six hours - but it was a pretty leisurely ride and nobody felt pressurised to keep up.

Dr John Kirman, a keen birdwatcher from Bedfordshire, had seen the ride advertised on the National Park Authoritys website before coming down to the county on holiday.

I havent been on a bike for years and I really enjoyed it, he said. I didnt learn much more about birds, but I did learn a lot about the National Park and the RSPB, which was extremely interesting.

Personally, I loved it. As well as discovering countryside which was largely unknown to me, I learned so much about different birds, their habits, the different habitats, wildlife, wild flowers; and I would recommend it to anyone.

v It is hoped the bikeride and birdwatch will become a regular feature in the future. If you are interested in participating, contact the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority on 01437 764636.

Picture Caption: looking out over Whitesands Bay.