Category Archives: birds

Encounters with grebes

28 Saturday Jan 2023

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I’ve had two interesting encounters with Little grebes in the past week. The first was being relatively close to this little cutie having a bath, a delightfully splashy affair.

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Then, a couple of days later, I noticed this gang of Little grebes floating along the River Taff. At this time of year they often seem to congregate around the area where the Taff flows in to Cardiff Bay (I counted 28 thereabouts recently). I don’t know the reason for this but I wonder if it is some kind of pre-breeding behaviour, where the single grebes come together to appraise each other, looking for potential mates.

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Feasting Chiffchaff

26 Thursday Jan 2023

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So many flies, so little time …
Although the majority of Chiffchaffs still migrate to warmer southern climes for the winter, increasing numbers can now be seen over-wintering locally. This little beauty was feasting well on the hundreds of tiny gnat-like flies that had emerged in Monday’s sunshine.

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A posse of Reed buntings

21 Saturday Jan 2023

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I was hoping to hear my first Skylarks of the year but was instead entertained by a little posse of Reed buntings, fossicking for titbits amongst the tall tufts of meadow grasses. If a noise alarmed them, they’d flit up to a higher vantage point, on a branch of Field rose or the twigs of a nearby tree, to survey the area and check out its source but, as I kept very still, the birds seemed unconcerned by my presence.

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And then there were three

18 Wednesday Jan 2023

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I know I’ve blogged about this drake Goldeneye very recently but I want to share yesterday’s magical experience. The drake was much closer than usual to the boardwalk along the edge of Cardiff Bay so I was able to watch its almost constant diving for food and to admire its stunning plumage when it washed and flapped its wings.

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Suddenly, a flock of Tufted ducks flew in to join the couple of hundred already present and, amazingly, they were accompanied by two female Goldeneyes. It took ten minutes or so for the three Goldeneyes to find each other, and then I was able to watch all three interacting. It was enchanting!

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Drake Goldeneye

14 Saturday Jan 2023

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Almost a month ago we had the pleasure of two Goldeneyed gals cruising around in Cardiff Bay. Now, and for the past few days, perhaps due to the very blustery weather we’ve been experiencing, we’ve had a drake Goldeneye visiting. He mostly maintains a discrete distance from the water’s edge but, yesterday, was close enough for slightly better photographs. He’s a very handsome bird, his head a glossy dark green, his body and wings a stunning pattern of blacks and whites, and I particularly like his white cheek patches. If yet another squall hadn’t come in, I would’ve stayed longer to watch him but I’m hoping he will linger and provide more viewing opportunities in more clement weather.

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Spreading its wings

11 Wednesday Jan 2023

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To get this photo, I got drenched, hailed on, flashed by lightning and rumbled by thunder … but it was worth every drop of rain. Seen here with the Tufted ducks it has befriended and a local Gadwall, this female Ring-necked duck is one of two that have been in the local area for several months. They have mostly spent their days together on Lisvane Reservoir in north Cardiff but the turn of the new year has seen this particular duck spread its wings, spending a day or two in Cardiff Bay, and several days, as today, at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

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Little poser

09 Monday Jan 2023

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I always stop when I hear Long-tailed tits, partly because their little flocks are often accompanied by other small birds, which might include something of particular interest, but also because they’re just a joy to watch as they flit from branch to branch, picking up almost invisible invertebrates, hanging upside down or leaning sideways to check every crack and crevice. They’re mostly too quick for sharp photos but this little poser paused for a moment or two on a fence post, just long enough for a couple of reasonable images.

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New year, new lists

02 Monday Jan 2023

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Yes, I make lists. Each year, a new page in my notebook, new pages in the spreadsheets on my laptop. I only keep two lists, one for the birds I see and one for the butterflies, which, unless I’m very lucky, won’t have any names added for a few months yet. I don’t do this in competition with other listers but rather as a way of comparing one year with another, and also of remembering. Just as photographs trigger memories of places and events, so too do my lists. And then there’s the personal challenge, particularly on the first day of the new year, to see how many bird species I can find on a walk around Cardiff Bay (31 in 2018, a whopping 47 in 2019, 44 in 2020, 40 in 2021, 45 in 2022). And this year’s total? Well, incredibly, yesterday’s 9-mile walk resulted in a total of 50 bird species, which was definitely helped by the lingering presence of Black redstarts, the Whooper swan, and this female Scaup.