Category Archives: birds

Moorhen mimic

12 Thursday Feb 2026

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I’m sure you all know I love birds. My passion for them is not just because they’re beautiful creatures – I also find them endlessly fascinating. Take these two Moorhens, for example.

They were poking around the grassy slope in front of one of the bird hides at Forest Farm Nature Reserve, hoping to discover a morsel or two of the seeds, nuts and assorted bird food that people had thrown through the hide’s windows to help bring in the birds. As I watched the second bird began to mimic exactly the movements of the leading bird. It resembled a kind of land-based synchronised swimming, or perhaps a dance. Was this some kind of pre-mating behaviour, a way of reinforcing their pair bond? I’d never seen this type of behaviour before, and it only lasted a few minutes but it’s experiences like this that keep me watching, and listening, and learning.

And, let’s face it, Moorhens are also very handsome birds.

Firecrests galore!

10 Tuesday Feb 2026

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I’m lucky if I see one Firecrest each year, as they tend only to be seen in my area during the winter months and can be extremely elusive. So, when one of our expert local birders let me know that he’d seen five (!) in a nearby park, I was optimistic – surely, I could find at least one. Four park visits later, with zero Firecrest sightings, I was beginning to despair but I figured I’d give it just one more try before I gave up. And I’m so glad I did as that one day I saw four Firecrests, two in one area and two on the other side of the park, more than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

Getting good photographs of the Firecrests was another matter. These are tiny birds, and very active, flitting constantly through the vegetation in search of food. I did actually manage images of all four birds, most blurry, two with only partial views of the birds, but one, the one shown above, where you can actually see the whole bird and recognise it. Phew!

Paddling Black-headed gull

07 Saturday Feb 2026

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Having written just three days ago, in my post Paddling Herring gull, that I’d not seen a Black-headed gull paddling on the grass, imitating the effect of heavy rain hitting the ground in order to encourage earthworms to rise to the ground surface, the very next day I watched this bird doing just that. The video is just 30 seconds long but I watched the bird for about 5 minutes and, though, as you’ll see, the gull has a moment of being somewhat uncoordinated, it was mostly paddling quite forcefully. I didn’t see it have any success in that time. Mind you, I didn’t see any of the surrounding flock of Black-headed gulls, foraging conventionally, find any worms either.

Paddling Herring gull

04 Wednesday Feb 2026

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On a steep grassy bank above a children’s playground, I often see a pair of Herring gulls paddling for earthworms. It’s fascinating behaviour; sometime somewhere one very smart Herring gull realised that earthworms rise to the surface of the soil when it rains and it could fool earthworms into thinking it was raining by stamping its feet rapidly on the ground, thus imitating the sounds and vibrations caused by rain hitting the ground. Other Herring gulls saw how effective this was and learned to do the same. And I’ve also seen Lesser black-backed gulls using this technique, though not Black-headed gulls – perhaps they’re not smart enough to learn, or maybe their bodyweight isn’t sufficient to have the desired effect. And if you’re wondering whether or not the behaviour is effective, in this one-minute video you’ll see the Herring gull nabs three juicy earthworms.

Wintering Blackcaps

03 Tuesday Feb 2026

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Even in my short time living here in Wales, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of Blackcaps spending the winter in our parks and gardens rather than making the relatively long flight to the south of the Iberian peninsula and northern parts of Africa.

This change in migratory behaviour is, no doubt, due in part to the changing climate, the warmer temperatures meaning locally bred birds can find enough food to survive, particularly in south-western Britain. As an article on the Bird Guides website points out, ‘since the end of the Second World War we have been creating a winter feast for Blackcaps by planting berry bushes in our parks and gardens and keeping our bird tables well stocked’.

Scientific research and ringing recoveries have also shown that many of the Blackcaps found in Britain in winter hail from parts of central Europe. (The BTO website has a pdf with a map showing the various directions of Blackcap migration and movement, to and from Britain, Europe and North Africa, and within Europe itself.)

In my local area I know of more than five Blackcaps that are spending the winter hereabouts, three of which I’ve seen and photographed (the first on 9 January, the second on the 19th and the third, the female, on the 30th) and two others that I’ve heard making their characteristic ticking sound but that I didn’t actually manage to locate in dense vegetation. I’m already looking forward to seeing more of these birds when those that did migrate further south return to our shores in the spring.

Kestrel 2026 : 86

31 Saturday Jan 2026

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Probably due to the almost constant wet weather, I’ve not seen as many new bird species this January as I did in the previous two years. I imagine the storms also have something to do with this; though three named storms have hit the UK already this year, and caused enormous damage in the locations they’ve hit hardest, those storms have mostly passed us by here in south-east Wales. And though I’m not complaining about that, it is often stormy weather that brings the more unusual birds during the winter months.

This beautiful Kestrel was my most recent find. It was a complete surprise too, which is always a bonus. I’d been for a wander around the less muddy parts of Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and was walking through the area where there’s a dipping pond when I noticed the Kestrel sitting on top of a spindly tree. As you can see, it didn’t stay long but it was a joy to see.

The Marl Med gull

29 Thursday Jan 2026

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I’ve almost certainly shown you this exact same Mediterranean gull in previous posts (Med gull on The Marl, 16 February 2022, and Mediterranean gull,13 January 2025). Though Med gulls don’t breed locally, we are lucky to have one or two overwinter hereabouts, and this individual is regularly seen with the Black-headed gull flock feeding on a Cardiff park and recreation area called The Marl.

Although it’s not ringed, so we can’t be absolutely certain we local birders are seeing the same bird each time, it seems a high probability as birds frequently stick to regular habits and locations. Also, these gulls can live between 10 and 15 years, which lends weight to the idea that the same bird is returning each winter to an area where it’s been able to find food during previous winters.

And there’s one other factor that makes me think this is the same Med gull – it is a very confiding bird, so confident, in fact, that it’s always the closest amongst the flock of other gulls to any humans and the path around the park, which means you can sit on a park bench and enjoy good views of it as it goes about its daily search for worms and other insects.

Jimmy Wren

27 Tuesday Jan 2026

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I know Wrens are mostly referred to with the female vernacular name, Jenny Wren, but, from the way this handsome chap was belting out his melody, he was definitely a male advertising his territory and his attractiveness to any passing females. Hence, my title of Jimmy, not Jenny Wren.

I heard his song from the other side of the field, before I could even see him, which is quite common with these birds; small bird, big voice!

Female Scaup

24 Saturday Jan 2026

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It was 10.34 yesterday morning and I was walking across the Barrage, being blasted by the ferocious winds that have plagued us for three days now and looking to see if those winds had blown any interesting birds in to Cardiff Bay, when my phone emitted the double ping that meant a new WhatsApp message had been posted on the local birding group.

A Scaup had been sighted with a flock of Tufted ducks close to the water’s edge by the Norwegian Church. It was perfect timing as I had literally just taken a couple of steps towards home, having spotted nothing new. Instead, I immediately turned around and started striding in the direction of the church, as I knew there was a possibility the birds might be disturbed and I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

Luckily for me, this stunning female Scaup was still there, and, for the next 15 minutes or so, I enjoyed wonderfully close views. Most of the time she had her head tucked under her wing snoozing but twice, when a group of noisy people walked along the pavement behind me and when one of the water buses left Mermaid Quay to sail up the River Taff to central Cardiff, the Scaup lifted her head to scan her surroundings. Unfortunately, the revving engines, passenger screams, and wave action caused by a Cardiff Jetboat hurtling around nearby then caused almost the entire flock of birds to panic and fly to the other side of the Bay, exactly what I had feared might happen. (And don’t even get me started on the damage and disturbance that jetboat causes in the Bay!)

I had actually seen this same Scaup twice before yesterday, as she had been at Cosmeston Lakes for a couple of weeks before relocating to the Bay with her Tufty friends on Thursday. However, when I had managed to pick her out at Cosmeston, she had always been distant, on the far side of the west lake, so I was really thrilled to see her up close in the Bay.

Robin vs rat

23 Friday Jan 2026

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Overlooking the west lake at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park is a small viewpoint that is home to a little Robin. Whenever I stop there to check for any new waterfowl on the lake, the Robin always pops out and gives me that stare that Robins do so well – the ‘Feed me’ stare. If I have any food with me, I always give in!

Now, Robins may look cute and appealing but they also have a nasty streak and can be quite vicious when defending their territory or, in this case, tasty berry-flavoured suet pellets. The Robin managed to chase away a Dunnock, a Blue tit and a Great tit but then it met its match.

Not one, but two Brown rats must’ve heard the commotion and surmised correctly that food was on offer, and they easily bullied the little birds out of the way, even the feisty little Robin. I never knew rats liked suet pellets but then I guess rats will eat pretty much anything.