Category Archives: birds

Yellow wagtails

05 Wednesday May 2021

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I’ve only seen Yellow wagtails a couple of times and never locally so, when they were reported flitting about Cardiff Bay, I went walking that way. On my first walk past where they’d been reported, I couldn’t find any – I dipped as they say in birder speak, and I’ve been dipping a bit lately so didn’t bother trying again the next day.

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Then, last Friday, I thought I’d pop over to the wetlands reserve to see if I could find any Sedge warblers to photograph. Those birds were being very vocal though visually elusive but then I spotted a couple of birders I know who were obviously looking at something interesting. Turns out, it was a Whinchat, my first of the year – good news! – and then both chaps said they’d seen more Yellow wags that morning, dotting around the grassy areas on the Barrage.

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So, a quick change of plan saw me strolling in that direction and, remarkably, the birds were still there. Four gorgeous little bursts of vibrant yellow, easily disturbed by walkers and dogs, but I managed to get some quality watching time and a few distant photos before they headed off over the water. Magic!

Whimbrel passing

03 Monday May 2021

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Last Thursday’s walk was very similar to walks I’ve written about previously (a Superb Sully stroll, 23 April 2019, and The Whimbrel and the Barwit, 30 April 2017), and the reason I repeat the walk, sometimes several times, at this time of year is hopefully to catch sight of migrating Whimbrel (and Bar-tailed godwit).

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A local birding friend had reported sightings, and the tide was right – as the Bristol Channel has the second highest tidal range in the world, it’s best to look over high tide so the birds are relatively close to the coastal path.

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And I was lucky to see several Whimbrel. There were perhaps six or seven birds but I’m not sure of the exact number, as they were quite flighty, and would head off along the beach when disturbed by people and their dogs walking along the path and the rocks.

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These birds are part of the annual migration, seen locally during April and May, when Whimbrel that over-winter in West Africa move through to their breeding grounds in more northerly latitudes (according to the Bird Guides website, Iceland, Scandinavia, the Faroes and Shetland are their likely breeding locations.)

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Blethering tam, the hedge chicken

29 Thursday Apr 2021

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I love the wonderful variety of vernacular names that have been given to the Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), local references to the bird’s love of hedgerows and bramble patches and farm fields, and its rasping singing style, and its plumage.

Flora Britannica lists the following, amongst many others: Beardie (Scotland) and Wheetie whey beard (Angus); Blethering tam (Scotland); Charlie muftie (Northamptonshire) and Muffit (Stirlingshire); Nettle creeper (North Yorkshire); Hay jack (Norfolk) and Haysucker (Devon) and Hedge chicken (Shropshire).

Flora Britannica also notes how fragile British bird populations can be: ‘There was a dramatic fall in numbers of Whitethroats after 1968, which was traced to severe drought in the southern Sahara and the death of large numbers of migrating birds which used up their fat reserves on their journey from further south in Africa’. Judging by the volume of ‘blethering’ I’m hearing in local parks and fields, the Whitethroat population has recovered well from that setback in the ‘60s but, given the global climate emergency, the future of all our beautiful birds is uncertain.

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Bonaparte’s gull

20 Tuesday Apr 2021

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Identifying gulls, especially immature gulls, can be a nightmare so I was very chuffed with myself this morning when I managed to work out which of the many gulls floating and flitting around Cardiff Bay was the 2cy Bonaparte’s gull (2cy is birding shorthand for the bird’s age – this is the second calendar year since the bird’s birth).

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This sighting was a lifer for me, and it was the 100th bird species I’ve managed to see on my patch this year (my patch being as far as I can walk in any direction from home, an approximate distance of five miles as the bird flies – bearing in mind I then have to walk the same distance home again!).

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Day-trippers

15 Thursday Apr 2021

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Perhaps surprisingly, we don’t see Greylag geese very often at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park so when two paid a brief visit a few days ago, I walked past the lake for a look.

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I’m fairly sure this pair were day-trippers from Cardiff’s Roath Park Lake because they were much more friendly and people-aware than truly wild birds would be. One of them even recognised the sound of seed being shaken inside a plastic container and came swimming over to snaffle its share of the seed I sprinkled in the water.

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March Nightingales

12 Monday Apr 2021

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It was famous English pastoral poet John Clare who gave the Blackcap its ‘March Nightingale’ name, and quite rightly. The male Blackcaps’ melodious warbling can be heard from every bush and tree top as soon as they arrive back in Britain from over-wintering in Spain or North Africa, and that arrival is usually a month or earlier than the true Nightingale, which, sadly, many of us never see these days. So, enjoy the Blackcaps while you may for soon they’ll be too busy nest-building and chick-rearing to find much time for singing.

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A brief pause to refuel then more singing …

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Love story with a twist

08 Thursday Apr 2021

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Great crested grebes are featuring here twice in one week but I can never resist a good story. When I arrived at Cardiff Bay wetlands yesterday, a pair was in the reeds near the boardwalk.

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The female was lying flat across the beginnings of a nest platform, making odd groaning noises. Having seen this before, I knew what was going to happen next …

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And it did. After a few minutes, the male jumped up on top of her and they proceeded to mate.

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The dismount with grebes would never score well in a gymnastics competition – the male sort of slides off, pushing the female’s head under the water.

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You could almost hear their after-thoughts: ‘Better get on with the nest building’, and both birds began gathering twigs to place on the nest.

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But a nearby Coot was having none of it. He didn’t want these noisy characters for neighbours and, faster than the grebes could place twigs on the platform, he was pulling them off again.

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There was a stand-off, much posturing and squawking, and eventually the male grebe charged the Coot. The grebe thought it had won but the Coot didn’t retreat far. The grebes might keep trying but my money’s on the Coot to win this territorial battle.

A loney heart

07 Wednesday Apr 2021

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Bird News, Personal column, daily from 18 March 2021
Handsome bachelor, of colourful appearance and long tail, with successful prior breeding record and prime, if rubbish-filled nesting location already staked out, seeks healthy active female, with enthusiasm for raising demanding youngsters, who keeps a clean nest and has a good eye for insects, for immediate co-habitation. Fly now to the entrance to Roath Basin, Cardiff Bay. Only personal applications will be considered.

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