25 Thursday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
The Lesser black-backed gulls mostly disappear during the winter months – I’m not sure where they go – but, come the Spring, they return, and they’re very good at making their presence felt. They often wake me very early in the morning, sometimes by jumping about on my roof, other times with their screeching calls. I’m hoping you can imagine the noise by looking at this series of photos.
23 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, seaside
Tags
#365DaysWild, Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, birdwatching, British birds, south Wales coastal path, Sully, Sully beach, Whimbrel
I caught the bus to Sully this morning, walked along to the western end of the bay, then retraced my steps and walked along the coastal path all the way back to Penarth, about 7½ miles in total. And it was superb, especially the stroll along Sully Bay. I’d timed my walk to be there just before high tide, as that often pushes the birds up closer to the path that runs along the top of the beach, and this was a high high tide so, with some stealthy sneaking along behind the trees, I managed to get really close to a flock of six Whimbrels.
And, to my delight, the Whimbrels had two Bar-tailed godwits with them. I’ve never managed to get so close to either species before so I was really chuffed. And, if you’re wondering why the godwits don’t look the same, the bird on the left (below) is a male in his summer breeding colours, while the bird on the right might be a juvenile or a non-breeding adult.
21 Sunday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British warblers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Reed warbler
There are thirteen species of warbler that regularly breed in Britain and I find them some of the trickiest to identify as several are typically LBJs, little brown jobs.
The Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) is, I think, one of the easier, partly because of its recognisable warble and partly because it lives up to its name by living almost exclusively in reeds.
But it’s an elusive little bird so I’ve never managed to get clear photos of it … until today, when this little beauty was so intent on finding food that I was able to watch it for over ten minutes. Just perfect!
19 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common whitethroat, Grangemoor Park, Sylvia communis, Whitethroat
Did you know that the Whitethroat (Sylvia communis, also known as the Common whitethroat to distinguish it from the Lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca) is one of thirteen birds on the British list that has the colour white in its name?*
At least this is one bird that is relatively easy to identify, both because of that prominent white throat and because of its distinctive warbling song. And that’s how I managed to spot my first four Whitethroats of the year today at Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park, singing their hearts out, having just arrived back in the country after spending winter in the Sahel, just south of the Sahara.
* This is according to Stephen Moss’s excellent book Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How birds got their names, Guardian Faber, London, 2018.
17 Wednesday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birds nesting in Cardiff Bay, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Sand martin
I braved the school holiday crowds for a walk around part of Cardiff Bay today ’cause I wanted to see how the Sand martins were settling in to their chosen nooks and crannies. It was a delight to see so many of these charming little birds swooping back and forth over the waterways, merrily chattering all the while, and they seem to be actively nesting in almost every one of the old docks.
I watched them for a long time and loved every moment but I couldn’t help but feel sad that so few of the people there today even noticed them. They were missing something very special.
16 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, female duck, female mallard, Mallard, sleeping duck
Some days, when it’s grey and misty and still a bit damp from the morning’s rain, the best thing to do is tuck your head under your wing and snooze the afternoon away – at least that seems to have been the opinion of this female Mallard on the Ely embankment today.
13 Saturday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
birding, birding at Marshfield, birding at Pilning, birdwatching, British birds, Corn bunting, Little ringed plover, Red-legged partridge, Redstart, Ruff, Wheatear, Yellowhammer
Distant, blurry and bottoms. These three words tell the story of the photographs I took on today’s Glamorgan Bird Club trip to Marshfield and Pilning, both places across the border in Gloucestershire. But don’t be misled by the (lack of) quality of my photos – it was a superb day, with birds I don’t often see at Marshfield (Yellowhammers, Corn buntings, and Red-legged partridges), as well as several Wheatears and a stunning male Redstart. And at Pilning, at the water’s edge between the two Severn bridges, I was able to add Little ringed plover, Yellow wagtail and Ruff to my year list. And as for those photos … well, see for yourself …
The blurry bottom of a Yellowhammer
A distant, blurry Wheatear
The distant, blurry bottom of a Corn bunting sitting on top of a tree
There’s a distant Redstart in this picture
The blurry bottoms of two Red-legged partridges as they flew away
A distant, blurry Little ringed plover
A very distant, very blurry Ruff
12 Friday Apr 2019
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, colour-ringed gull, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Flat Holm Island, Larus fuscus, Lesser black-backed gull, movements of gulls
I have been out wandering today but, rather than sharing some photos from that, I want, instead, to share this information I’ve received about a ringed bird I reported. The bird is a Lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus), which I spotted at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on 1 April and reported through the European Colour-ring Birding website.
It’s a common enough bird, of course, and, as you can see from the list of sightings below, it seems to spend most of its time flying back and forth between Flat Holm Island and Cosmeston, except in November 2017, when it obviously fancied some time in warmer climes. I can’t help but wonder whether that was a one-off trip or whether it just hasn’t been spotted and reported on its other European sojourns.
08/07/12 FLAT HOLM ISLAND, Cardiff
02/09/12 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 56 days)
13/10/12 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 97 days)
12/06/14 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 1 yr 339days)
24/08/14 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 2 yrs 47days)
14/09/14 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 2 yrs 68days)
14/09/14 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 2 yrs 68days)
26/07/15 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 3 yrs 18days)
06/09/15 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 3 yrs 60days)
03/04/16 FLAT HOLM ISLAND, Cardiff (3 yrs 270days)
24/04/16 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 3 yrs 291days)
29/04/16 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 3 yrs 296days)
04/05/16 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 3 yrs 301days)
02/07/16 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 3 yrs 360days)
21/08/16 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 4 yrs 44days)
13/05/17 FLAT HOLM ISLAND, Cardiff (4 yrs 309days)
14/05/17 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 4 yrs 310days)
04/11/17 Costa da Caparica, Setúbal, Portugal (1493 km, SSW, 5 yrs)
07/07/18 FLAT HOLM ISLAND, Cardiff (5 yrs 364days)
01/04/19 Cosmeston Park, Cardiff (23 km, NNW, 6 yrs 267days)
09 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea, Yellow dishwasher
I knew that one of the Pied wagtail’s vernacular names is Polly dishwasher but I’ve only just found out today that its cousin, the Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), is sometimes known as Yellow dishwasher … and Barley bird, and Gypsy bird, and Winter wagtail, and Oatseed bird. Such fascinating names, and such pretty little birds. These two, a male (above) and female (below), were picking their way along the rocks of the Ely River embankment in Cardiff Bay this morning.
08 Monday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, chaffinch, Chaffinch foraging for food, male Chaffinch
Judging by how single-mindedly this male Chaffinch was searching the ground for food snacks and how he totally ignored me when I moved quite close to him – and, in fact, walked even closer towards me, I’m guessing he had several hungry offspring in a nest somewhere nearby and was feeling pressured to fill those gaping beaks.
earthstar 
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