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Tag Archives: Barry Old Harbour

35/365 Little egret

04 Monday Feb 2019

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Barry, Barry Old Harbour, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Little egret

After the rain and low cloud cleared late morning, I headed to the seaside for the afternoon, to Barry, a short train ride west along the south Wales coast. Despite the chilly wind blowing in off the sea, the day was glorious and I walked around the Knap, the Old Harbour, the beach at Barry Island and then along the old docks to catch the train home. The tide was out so it was a good time to check the now-silted-up Old Harbour for birds and I was delighted to spot this Little egret puddling about in one of the channels, trying to stir up something for its lunch. Such an elegant bird.

190204 little egret

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Birding in Barry

12 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barry, Barry Docks, Barry Old Harbour, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Curlew, Great Crested Grebe, Med gull, Mediterranean gull, Oystercatcher, Redhsank, Shelduck

The south Wales town of Barry is not exactly what you’d call a prime birding destination but, due to its coastal location, it does turn up regular wader sightings and the occasional rarity. On this visit, I dipped on my target species, the Great northern diver that’s been overwintering in Barry Docks – I saw the bird last year but want to add it to this year’s list – but I still had an enjoyable day’s birding, with a few nice surprises.

180312 Med & black-headed gulls

First up at Barry Docks was the local Mediterranean gull. For those unfamiliar with this bird, you can see some of the differences between it and Black-headed gulls in this photo – in breeding season, the hood on the head of the Med gull covers its entire head and is a true black (not a chocolate brown hood on just the front half of the head), its beak and legs are different, and it has white wing tips.

180312 Great crested grebes

Four Great crested grebes were braving the choppy waves being whipped up by the strong sou’westerly wind.

180312 Shelducks

In Barry Old Harbour, two Shelducks were hoovering the mud for small shellfish and aquatic snails.

180312 Redshanks

At least eight Redshanks were prospecting amongst the salt marsh and along the silty rivulets.

180312 Oystercatchers

Sitting down, five Oystercatchers were so well camouflaged as to be almost invisible, until they got up and one set them all off singing out their characteristic call.

180312 Curlew (1)

The day’s pièce de résistance was the sight of two Curlews prospecting for a late lunch amongst reeds and under rocks. At first, I thought I had the two Black-tailed godwits reported earlier in the week but no, those bills were definitely curved. A nice sighting just the same!

180312 Curlew (2)

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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. And I am living proof that Kiwis really can fly.

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Recent blog posts

  • 51/365 Tawny! February 20, 2019
  • 50/365 Conifer mazegill February 19, 2019
  • Birding at Dryslwyn and Kidwelly Quay February 18, 2019
  • 49/365 With laser-sharp chants February 18, 2019
  • 48/365 Prints in the mud February 17, 2019

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