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Category Archives: walks

330/366 The Bay on Monday

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, walks

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birding birdwatching, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay birds

Monday’s walk saw me striding out on a circuit of Cardiff Bay, a walk of just under 8 miles that day as I meandered here and there to look at particular things. (This panorama of the Bay was taken in April a couple of years ago and a few things have since changed but I just wanted to give those unfamiliar with the Bay a general idea of my walk. The Bristol Channel is to the right; Cardiff city centre at the top, slightly left of centre; the view is as seen from the town of Penarth.)

201125 1 Cardiff Bay

These are some of the birds I encountered on my circuit: three of four Redshanks that flew in to the embankment of the River Ely where it flows in to the Bay.

201125 2 redshank

A Grey heron using some of the old dock infrastructure as a lookout.

201125 3 grey heron

A pair of Goosanders on the embankment near Mermaid Quay – the red-headed female mostly snoozing, her partner using the time out of the water to spruce himself up.

201125 4 goosander female201125 5 goosander male

One of a pair of Mute swans also preening, then snoozing.

201125 6 mute swan

One of many Great crested grebes that make their home in the Bay.

201125 7 great crested grebe

I counted 20 Turnstones in total on Monday; this one had lost a chunk of feathers on its back, perhaps an encounter with a bird of prey that the Turnstone was fortunate to survive.

201125 8 turnstone

And, last but probably the most numerous, one of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Black-headed gulls to be seen around Cardiff Bay.

201125 9 black-headed gull

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272/366 Walking with the trees

28 Monday Sep 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, trees, walks

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autumn trees, trees

‘Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees’
~ from the poem ‘Good Company’ by Karle Wilson Baker (1878-1960)

200928 trees (1)200928 trees (2)200928 trees (3)200928 trees (4)

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8/366 Mandarin!

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

≈ 3 Comments

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, male Mandarin, Mandarin duck

I was recently reminded by a fellow birder that it’s a very good idea to have a thorough read of your local area bird report. (I belong to the Glamorgan Bird Club, which has just published the 2018 Eastern Glamorgan Bird Report, its 57th.) So I did, and today that paid off.

200108 mandarin duck (1)

Though the walk there and back totalled seven miles, every step was worth the privilege of seeing this bird (and half of that distance was in beautiful countryside, which was a pleasure to walk through anyway).

200108 mandarin duck (2)

I’d heard that this male Mandarin duck could be a bit of a skulker, keeping to the sides of its watery home, frequently hiding under or behind vegetation, but not today. As I slowly approached, it swam away with a couple of Mallards so I grabbed a couple of quick photos, thinking I might not get very good views.

200108 mandarin duck (3)
200108 mandarin duck (4)

I was wrong. I walked on a little so as not to scare it and, looking back, saw the bird had climbed on to a log near the opposite shore and was preening. I edged slowly closer and was able to watch it for perhaps another twenty minutes. By that time, it had finished preening and was settling for a snooze but keeping one eye open to check what I was doing.

200108 mandarin duck (5)

I decided not to overstay my welcome and headed off, leaving Mr Mandarin to enjoy his sleep. And I smiled all the way home!

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3/366 Stroll around Forest Farm

03 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Dipper, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Great spotted woodpecker, Grey heron, Kingfisher

Today’s was another merry meander, this time around Forest Farm Nature Reserve. The sun was actually shining for part of the time, which was a very pleasant change, and I was lucky with my bird sightings.

200103 1 dipper

As soon as I stepped on to the pedestrian bridge that crosses the River Taff from Radyr Station to Forest Farm, I could hear a Dipper singing – such a delightful melody! And there it was, sitting on a rock on the far bank, almost directly under the bridge. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day.

200103 2 great spotted woodpecker

The little birds – the tits and finches, Robins and Wrens – were also very vocal and it wasn’t long before I had paused to hand out some sunflower seeds and enjoy their feasting. As I watched, I caught a flash of red – my first Great spotted woodpecker of the year. I also heard, then saw a Green woodpecker but wasn’t quick enough for any photos.

200103 3 kingfisher

I popped along to the second bird hide but all was quiet there and I’m not one to just sit and wait for the birds to come, so I headed along to wander the length of the old Glamorgan Canal, and back. I was soon lucky there too – a Kingfisher was flying and perching on low branches, trying to fish but being almost continuously disturbed by passing dogs and their walkers and noisy families.

Four hours later, I had dished out all of my seed offerings and managed to clock 30 species, four of which were new for 2020 and all of which were lovely to see. But the highlight of the day was probably the sight of 10 Grey herons in one huge dead tree (at one point also joined by a Buzzard but two Magpies soon saw it off)!

200103 4 grey heron
200103 5 grey heron

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360/365 Christmas birding

26 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay walk, Cetti's warbler, Common Gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Grey wagtail, Linnet, little grebe, Moorhen, Stonechat, Turnstone

Normal weather service (i.e. wind and rain) has resumed here today but yesterday, Christmas Day, was glorious – blue skies, cold but no wind, so I took myself on a 6-hour 8½-mile walk right around Cardiff Bay. I saw 44 species of bird (and dished out some Christmas seed to a few), and had some nice chats to random strangers. The birding highlights included …

191226 1 grey wagtail
191226 2 turnstone

Grey wagtails and my favourite little Turnstones on the Ely embankment

191226 3 linnets

Seven Linnets in a tree

191226 4 moorhen
191226 5 little grebe

A Moorhen and a Little grebe at Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve

191226 6 great spotted woodpecker

The day’s surprise, a Great spotted woodpecker in trees, also at the wetlands reserve

191226 7 cettis warbler
191226 8 stonechat

Two Cetti’s warblers seen (and more heard), plus a lovely male Stonechat

191226 9 common gull

A Common gull puddling for worms with the Black-headed gulls in Hamadryad Park

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313/365 Colours of Autumn

09 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, nature, trees, walks

≈ 4 Comments

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autumn, autumn at Forest Farm, autumn colour, autumn leaves, autumn trees, Forest Farm Nature Reserve

Here are some of the colours of autumn from my walk around Forest Farm Nature Reserve yesterday. It was magical!

191109 autumn at ForestFarm (1)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (2)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (3)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (4)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (5)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (6)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (7)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (8)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (9)
191109 autumn at ForestFarm (10)

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197/365 Butterflying at Slade Wood

16 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, walks

≈ 7 Comments

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#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly, butterflying, Comma, Peacock, Red Admiral, Silver-washed fritillary, Slade Wood, Small tortoiseshell, White admiral

Yesterday, with my friend Sharon, I went to Slade Wood, in the neighbouring county of Gwent, for a walk and some butterflying.

190716 Slade Wood

The woodland was lovely and a haven from the hot sun but, for us, the best butterflying was to be had just wandering along the country lane leading to the woodland. With high hedges, abundant wildflowers and occasional blooming Buddleia bushes, backed by the tall woodland trees, it was heaven for butterflies. These are a few of the 12 species we saw …

190716 white admiral

My first White admirals of the year, the first I’ve seen in Wales; they seem to float over the vegetation.

190716 silver-washed fritillary

Those giant orange-and-brown speedsters, the Silver-washed fritillaries.

190716 red admiral

Red admiral extracting minerals from poo … mmmmm, delicious!

190716 comma

Comma, incredibly well camouflaged amongst the grasses and leaf litter, also heading for a slurp at the poo.

190716 peacock

Peacock, hiding its glorious bold colours away behind those closed wings.

190716 small tortoiseshell

Small tortoiseshell, a pretty little butterfly that I don’t see very often, so a delight to spot one of these.

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42/365 Strata

11 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, geology, nature, walks

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Lavernock Point, south Wales coast, south Wales coastal path, St Mary's Well Bay, St Mary's Well Bay geology

190211 St Mary's Well Bay strata

I know nothing at all about geology so I’m not even going to attempt an explanation of what these rocks are, what the formations are called, which periods they date from. I just think they look damn cool! This photo was taken on today’s walk from Sully back to Pernarth, looking east across St Mary’s Well Bay, with Lavernock Point in the background.

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33/365 My lunchtime view

02 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, walks, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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south Wales coastal path, south Wales coastline, St Mary's Well Bay, winter weather

What a stunning winter’s day it’s been! Mostly blue skies, patches of yesterday’s snow lingering in places where the sun hadn’t reached, a bitterly cold wind but warmth in the sun in sheltered places, crunchy underfoot in the fields instead of squelchy mud – perfect for a long walk. So, I stomped the 6½ miles of one of my regular routes, to and through Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, on to and through Lavernock Nature Reserve (via St Mary’s Well Bay) and back to Penarth (via the coastal path). This was my view at lunchtime – not bad, eh?

190202 lunchtime view

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30/365 Preening

30 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, walks, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Moorhen, moorhen preening

190130 moorhen

Today was the calm before the storm – or, at least, it might have been – snow and strong winds are forecast for tomorrow afternoon but we’ll have to wait and see if that forecast is correct. Today, though, was bright blue skies, heavy white frost, a cracking walk around Forest Farm, lots of lovely birds (including my first Siskins of the year), nice catch-ups with birding friends and birding-chat with strangers – just perfect! Oh, and here’s one of the many Moorhens I saw, this one preening vigorously in the warm morning sunshine.

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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