14 Saturday Mar 2026
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This sighting, on Wednesday evening, was the first time I’d seen one of our resident Foxes this year, and now we have one less resident Woodpigeon. In his defence, and judging by how quickly Mr Fox disappeared in the direction of his den and reappeared without his prey, I think Mrs Fox probably has cubs and he’s busy feeding her.
11 Wednesday Mar 2026
Given how actively anti-environment the actions of Cardiff Council and its various subsidiaries, like the Harbour Authority, are, I’m amazed these European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) have managed to survive within the official boundary of Cardiff Port. But survive they have.
Maybe their survival is helped by the fact that they are easily seen by the hundreds of people who walk or bike past this area every day; if the rabbits disappeared, people would notice and ask why, how, when, who.
I hope they continue to flaunt their survival, as they currently do, by grazing on the one grassy field in the area and on top of the humps of now-vegetated rubbish material adjacent to the footway and cycle path.
With a background of the dark blue cranes using to move cargo and the tall lights that illuminate the port, the rabbits are an incongruous sight but that just makes me like them all the more.
28 Wednesday Jan 2026
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#SpeciesOfTheMonth, biodiversity recording, British animals, British mammals, grey squirrel, recording wildlife, Sciurus carolinensis
At the start of each month my local biodiversity records centre chooses one species of flora or fauna to be the species of the month, in the hope that recorders will focus some of their recording time during the coming month in looking for and recording that species so as to fill in the gaps in their maps. This month the species has been the Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), a mammal so ubiquitous that you might think it would already have been recorded in every 1km square in south east Wales but no. As is reported on the SEWBReC website:
it is a species that can become overlooked due to being considered “too common to record”. It is important to record common species as well as rarities, to track population changes and other patterns over time.
Grey squirrels had already been recorded in most of the 1km squares in my area but I did manage to contribute a few additional records during the month.
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.
27 Saturday Dec 2025
We’ve had Foxes (F is for Foxes) and Grey seal (G is for Grey seal) in this countdown so far; our third mammal is the vole – in fact, two species of vole. In January, I was very pleasantly surprised to see a live Bank vole, albeit only fleetingly. It was only the third time I’d seen this vole species though, to be honest, I’m still not one hundred percent sure this is a Bank vole (Bank vole, 11 January).
And it’s always such a delight to see the local Water voles, particularly this First Water vole of the year (24 February).
12 Friday Dec 2025
Tags
British seals, Cardiff Bay, Grey seal, seal by Barrage sluices, seal feeding by Cardiff Bay Barrage
Having walked across Cardiff Bay’s Barrage umpteen times in the more than ten years I’ve lived in this area and never seen a seal, I’m now been treated to four sightings since my first in early September (see my blog Finally, a Grey seal, on 6 September).
I have no idea why I was so unsuccessful in the past, nor why I’m seeing seals more often; though I think, in fact, it’s only one seal. Looking at my photos (the images below were taken on 27 September and 30 October), the markings around the seal’s head look the same to me, so I think this is the same seal returning to the Barrage because it’s learned that, after heavy rain and when the sluices are open, a plentiful quantity of fish is washed down the rivers Taff and Ely and out into the Bristol Channel. Not great for the fish but the perfect location for a hungry Grey seal.
11 Thursday Dec 2025
One of the best things about my change of abode earlier this year is the wildlife I now see in the garden, the occasional rare bird as well as the more common species and, best of all, the Foxes. I’ve blogged about them twice, views of the whole family in Foxes in the garden!, on 25 June, and the male and female adults reinforcing their pair bond in Amorous Foxes, on 7 October.
The photo above was taken more recently, on 10 November, when the local Magpies were playing chicken with the Fox, a game I’ve seen them play a few times. The birds hop as close as they dare to the Fox, it watches them and sometimes pretends to move towards them, making them fly off. There seems no real menace in the Fox’s expression but I’m sure it wouldn’t turn down a Magpie meal if it got the chance.
09 Thursday Oct 2025
Tags
British animals, British mammals, grey squirrel, juvenile Grey squirrel, juvenile squirrel, young squirrel
I’d never knowingly seen a juvenile Grey squirrel, until yesterday.
First one adult, then a second came hurtling down a tree trunk to forage on the grass beneath the tree, followed more slowly, more hesitatingly by a much smaller squirrel. It looked like a littler version of the adults so I’m fairly sure this was a young one.
07 Tuesday Oct 2025
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Early last Saturday morning, after Storm Amy had raged through the night – and she continued to blow through much of Saturday as well, our resident Fox family came out for a race around the garden.
In the photo above, I think that’s the adult male and female, left to right at the back, with one of this year’s cubs in front. And just look at how magnificently bushy the cub’s tail is!
As I watched the cub watching his parents sharing some tender moments, I couldn’t help but think of how teenagers react to the idea of their parents being intimate: ‘Oooooo. Get a room!’ Or, in this case, get a den.
The cub disappeared into the adjacent woodland but his Mum and Dad continued to sit on the grass for some time, indulging in some mutual grooming and nuzzling.
It was wonderful to be able to observe their behaviour from the comfort of my living room, while enjoying my morning cuppa. (My photos are not sharp as I was photographing them from behind double glazing – opening a window would have disturbed them.)
06 Saturday Sep 2025
Posted in mammal
Tags
British mammals, British seals, Grey seal, Halichoerus grypus, seal, seal by Cardiff Bay Barrage, seals in Bristol Channel
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen birding friends in my local WhatsApp group post about the seals they’ve seen while birding around the Cardiff Bay Barrage. I’ve lived in this area for 10 years and it wasn’t until the Wednesday just past that I saw my first. I’d stomped down to the Bay between squally showers to try to see the Arctic tern that had blown in – and I did see that, distantly fishing on the other side of the Bay, but I was completely mesmerised when I spotted the seal.
It was very close to the Barrage sluice gates that control the amount of water in the Bay; the gates are opened to allow water that flows in to the Bay from the rivers Taff and Ely to flow out to the Bristol Channel. The outgoing water often contains fish, hence the frequent sight of Cormorants diving near the sluices for their lunch and the occasional visit from a hungry seal.
As I don’t see them very often, I don’t know much about seals but I do know this is a Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and, from its large size, most likely a male/bull. There is a breeding colony of Grey seals further down the Bristol Channel on Lundy, an island owned by the National Trust. From reading the information on their website, I’ve just learned why the seal kept disappearing for long periods, when I thought it should be surfacing to breathe. It turns out they can dive for up to 20 minutes at a time when searching for fish. I didn’t see this one with a fish, though I guess it could’ve gobbled down any it caught while still underwater. It was a joy to watch, between squalls.
earthstar 
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