11 Saturday Nov 2023
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Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birding, cygnets, Mute swan, Mute swan cygnets
This was the scene earlier today in Cardiff Bay, a glorious morning for mother (or father) Mute swan to take their seven cygnets for a glide along the edge of the Barrage.
08 Wednesday Nov 2023
I’ve been trekking across Cardiff Bay regularly over recent weeks to check whether the Black redstarts have returned to their regular spot near Cardiff Port. The fields were empty until last Sunday when I finally spotted this stunning little male. He flew in over my head while I was photographing a Mistle thrush, landed first on one of the piles of rocks in the centre of the field, then fluttered across to the other, to survey his domain. Shortly afterwards, he fluttered down to the ground and I lost him amongst the vegetation and was unable to re-find him. Hopefully, he will stay the winter and, as in previous years, be joined by others of his species.
07 Tuesday Nov 2023
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I’ve only seen two so far, and both were foraging on the mudbanks outside Cardiff Bay Barrage, so a bit too distant for good photographs of the birds themselves. But I love the texture of those mudbanks, the way they reflect the light, the patterns made by the water moving through their sticky sludge, and the minimalist look of this Redshank grazing where the mud meets the water.
04 Saturday Nov 2023
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Whenever you see a bird – any bird – lean forward and spot its tail lifting, beware the ‘gift’ those actions will produce.
01 Wednesday Nov 2023
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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve, Common loon, Great northern diver
I’m so glad I battled the elements (and it was a battle, with strong winds, frequent showers, and one particularly nasty squall that saw me sheltering behind trees that were bending at an alarming angle from the force of the wind!) to walk across to Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve this morning.
Even though my views of this Great northern diver (what you Americans out there call a Common loon) were always distant, I was lucky to meet up with a local birding friend who let me use his telescope for a better look. We seldom see these handsome birds in my area, and, even better, this diver was still in its spectacular summer plumage (check here for better photos). A distant treat!
28 Saturday Oct 2023
Posted in birds
As I’ve only ever seen Short-eared owls once before – and those two were mere specks, very distantly flying back and forth over Kenfig National Nature Reserve’s dunes at dusk five years ago, I felt compelled to seek out the bird that was reported from the local coastal fields on Wednesday. I had slipped and squelched my way around the sodden field edges, stood staring this way and that for almost two hours when the sounds reached me of Carrion crows creating a ruckus – always worth a look. I turned in that direction just in time to see two crows following close behind an owl flying along the hedge line of the adjacent field. I was on the opposite side of the field to where they were so I grabbed a couple of quick photos and hurried as fast as I could around my field to the corner of theirs. Unfortunately, the owl had gone to ground, perhaps literally, and, though I waited and watched for another 40 minutes, there was no further sign. But I was still buzzing all the way home!
24 Tuesday Oct 2023
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Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, colour-ringed birds, Colour-ringed Canada goose, Roath Park Lake
It’s always interesting to learn a bird’s history. During last Monday’s jaunt around Roath Park Lake, as well as enjoying the Shovelers, I spotted this colour-ringed Canada goose so reported my sighting. This bird was ringed near Waterhead, Ambleside, in Cumbria, in June 2016 but has since decided it prefers south Wales.
First, it checked out the lake around Caerphilly Castle, where it was spotted in July 2017. Later that year, in December, a report was sent in from Cosmeston Lakes, and the goose also checked in at the coast near Ogmore, in September 2018. Since then, though, Canada goose DAKP seems to have settled at Roath Park Lake, where it’s been since December 2019. Interestingly, there are some gaps in reported sightings: from early February to late July 2020, from October 2020 to May 2021, from February to August 2022, and from late March to late July this year. Whether this means it travels elsewhere to breed, or just fancies a change of scene from time to time is impossible to tell.
18 Wednesday Oct 2023
Posted in birds
We usually see the odd Shoveler or two at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park but none have turned up so far in 2023 so on Monday I took myself off on the train for a meander around the watery areas of north Cardiff. First, a circuit of the newly reopened Llanishen and Lisvane Reservoirs turned up distant views of a Ring-necked duck and a Goldeneye, then I stomped down through Nant Fawr woodland for a circuit of Roath Park Lake where there were at least six Shovelers.
Some were hiding between the islands so I could only see them through binoculars but three were more obliging, nearer the lake’s edge on the eastern side. They rarely kept still enough for photos though, constantly employing their shovel-shaped bills to sieve small pieces of plant material and insects from the water’s surface. It was a pleasure to watch them, and I went home happy with my Shoveler fix!
14 Saturday Oct 2023
Tags
autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, migrating birds, Redwing, winter thrushes
A week or so earlier than in recent years, the winter thrushes came rolling in, in small flocks and large, across the North Sea from northern Europe, to spend their winter months with us here in the British isles. Have you seen them? Here in south Wales, these first flocks tend to fly on through, south and west, and ‘our’ birds are either later arrivals or those earlier flocks coming back after eating up all the berries where they first alight. I’ve seen small numbers so far but I’m looking forward to getting closer views, of both the beautiful Redwings and the stunning Fieldfares, once they settle locally. (This photo is from a previous year.)
12 Thursday Oct 2023
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Jay, Jay and acorn, Oak
This morning I spent a lovely half hour watching two Jays flying back and forth from Oak trees to their nut-stashing places, secreting away plenty of goodies to tide them over the winter months.
But, apparently, this particular acorn was so good it had to be eaten immediately.
earthstar 
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