Category Archives: birds

Gadwall up close

25 Thursday Mar 2021

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As well as the Wheatear I wrote about yesterday, Monday’s walk around Cardiff Bay also turned up another treat, this time at the wetlands reserve.

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Gadwall can be quite shy birds, and I’ve certainly never seen one as close as this beautiful female, who was mixing quite happily with the Mallards by the boardwalk. Apparently, she had even been coming to feed on the bread some people had thrown in the water.

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Several other people were on the boardwalk, waiting in anticipation of seeing one of the Water rails that have been quite showy in recent days, but ignoring this stunning duck right under their noses.

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Not me – I took a ton of photos of her, many of which turned out a bit blurry because she was almost too close for my long lens. And that’s not something that happens very often in the world of bird photography!

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First Wheatear

24 Wednesday Mar 2021

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Monday was warm and sunny, at last – sunny days have been few and far between so far this month – so I decided to walk a circuit of Cardiff Bay, hoping this might be the day I would see my first Wheatear of the year.

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I was already on the Barrage, bins out and scanning, when I got a message from a fellow birder that a Wheatear had just been reported. As I checked further along the Barrage, I could see someone, off their bike, camera with long lens in hand – that had to be where it was.

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It only took a few minutes to reach Tate, one of our star local birders, whose keen eyes had found this stunning male Wheatear. We’re lucky that these birds sometimes stop off for an insect break on the Barrage rocks before continuing their migration flight to their breeding grounds further north. Such a treat to see!

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Wheezing from the tree tops

23 Tuesday Mar 2021

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The British Trust for Ornithology describes it as a ‘nasal “dzwee”’; my description would be something like: stuttered twittering interspersed with long nasal wheezing. It’s an odd sound to make to attract a member of the opposite sex but it seems to work perfectly for the male Greenfinch. So, if you’re out walking and happen to hear a loud nasal wheezing from above, do look up. The Greenfinch is such a fabulous-looking bird and it has suffered a dramatic national decline in population since about 2005, so don’t miss any opportunity to see one.

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World Sparrow Day 2021

20 Saturday Mar 2021

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For today’s celebration of the humble little House sparrow, I’m sharing a wonderful snippet of information tweeted this morning by the Welsh Ornithological Society:
‘We’re proud to say that Wales holds the longevity record for #HouseSparrow at 12 years and 12 days with a bird which was ringed in #Torfaen in 1966 and which was found dead in . . . Torfaen in 1978. A well-travelled individual!’

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Mother to be

14 Sunday Mar 2021

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I was enchanted, during this morning’s local meander, to spot a pair of Long-tailed tits nest building – it seemed so appropriate for Mother’s Day, though in this case it may be a few weeks before the female bird becomes a mum.

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The nest was almost totally hidden inside a tangle of bramble branches and, once the bramble leaves grow, will be completely obscured.

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And the nest itself was only about one third built, so I’ve included, below right, a photo of a Long-tailed tit nest that I was shown a couple of years ago, after its occupants had fledged and the bush containing the nest had been chopped down. Of course, I’ll be heading back to this location to follow progress from a suitable distance.

When Coots attack

09 Tuesday Mar 2021

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Coots don’t do mediation. If a pair likes the look of or has already staked a claim to a particular nesting place, then they’ll fight to retain / defend that position.

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Today I watched these two pairs battling over the pond in Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve.

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It’s actually quite a large pond, which should be big enough for both pairs, but these Coots obviously thought otherwise.

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And they certainly don’t pull any punches!

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Alder-cone-seed-nibblers

08 Monday Mar 2021

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In yesterday’s post I mentioned the birds I’ve been seeing recently in Alder trees, in particular the Alder-cone-seed-nibbling Siskins.

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At Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, in the Cwm George woodland behind Dinas Powys, at Grangemoor Park and, yesterday, at Hamadryad Park – this year the Siskins seem to be everywhere there are Alders, nibbling on seeds, squabbling with Goldfinches, hanging upside down from slender stems … it’s been a joy to watch their antics.

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Nest-builders at work

04 Thursday Mar 2021

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I didn’t turn up any interesting birds during my woodland walk on Tuesday but, on my way home, I spotted a pair of nest-building Collared doves at work. One, perhaps the male, was flying out to collect the materials – I spotted a lot of pine needles – and the other, I’m guessing the female, was sculpting the nest, poking and prodding, sitting and twisting around to form the bowl. Now I know where they are, I’ll be keeping an eye out for chicks.

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500!!!

02 Tuesday Mar 2021

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In the world of social media, reaching 500 followers means I’m very small fry as a blogger but, to me personally, it’s a huge deal, and I just want to say a sincere ‘thank you’ to you all for supporting my attempts to share the beauty, the fascination, the mystery of the natural world around us. Your follows, likes and comments are all very much appreciated. Diolch!

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