An arctic tern on passage

15 Thursday Oct 2026

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Arctic tern, autumn bird migration, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Sterna paradisaea

When an exciting alert appeared in my local birding WhatsApp group on Friday 2 October, I was off. First, I had to run for the train – I’m old, I never run, but there are only two trains an hour to Cardiff’s northern reservoirs and I was conscious that migrating birds often don’t linger long.

And, at first, I thought that was exactly what had happened because, when I got to Llanishen Reservoir, I was told the Arctic tern had just flown off high to the south. Fortunately, as you can see from my photographs, after about 10 minutes, the bird reappeared and proceeded to entertain me and several other birders with its aerial display.

This particular Arctic tern had an interesting routine. It was favouring the northern end of the reservoir, where it would fly back and forth over the water in its constant search for food, occasionally dipping low to the water, sometimes splashing right in. When it eventually caught a sprat, it would fly to the reservoir embankment, perch on the stones to eat its prey, and let the food digest for 5 to 10 minutes before taking flight to repeat the process once more.

By the end of the day, the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) had flown off, hopefully well fuelled to continue its epic migration journey – the longest of any bird – to spend the southern summer in Antarctica.

Returning Pale-bellied Brent geese

01 Thursday Oct 2026

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autumn bird migration, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, Branta bernicla hrota, Brent geese, British birds, Hamm Beach, Pale-bellied Brent goose, Portland birding

Last Wednesday, on day two of my Weymouth / Portland trip, by sheer chance, as I was walking along the disused railway track next to Hamm Beach, I just happened to be the first birder to spot the first two Pale-bellied Brent geese to return to Portland from their breeding grounds.

Portland Bird Observatory warden Martin later told me this first sighting had been on the exact same date, 23 September, as in 2025. Brent geese come in two sub-species, Pale-bellied (Branta bernicla hrota) and Dark-bellied (Branta bernicla bernicla). Martin says the Pale-bellied return to Portland first as they have a shorter distance to travel from their breeding grounds in northern Canada; the Dark-bellied Brents breed in the Russian Arctic. There’s not a lot of difference in their arrival dates though, as the first six Dark-bellied Brents were reported at Hamm Beach on 28 September, just five days after the two birds pictured here.

According to another local birder, these two Pale-bellied Brents are an adult and a juvenile. They look almost exactly the same to my inexperienced eye but I believe the juvenile (below) has less of a white collar than the adult (above).

A Yellow wagtail up close

30 Wednesday Sep 2026

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birding at Lodmoor, birdwatching, Motacilla flava, RSPB Lodmoor, Yellow wagtail

If there hadn’t been four Glossy ibis at RSPB Lodmoor on day one of my latest birding week in Dorset, this gorgeous Yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava) would’ve been the absolute highlight.

Though I’d spotted, and heard, several dotting around the reserve, this one popped up from where it was foraging on the salt marsh into a tree above where I was standing chatting with two other birders.

The wagtail wasn’t at all bothered about our proximity, and proceeded to have a good preen, giving us excellent views and photo opportunities.

Though I’ve seen Yellow wagtails many times before, usually as they pass along the south Wales coastline during autumn migration, this was definitely my closest encounter with one, and by far my best photos. What a treat!

First Turnstones of the autumn

17 Thursday Sep 2026

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autumn bird migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, first Turnstones of autumn, Turnstone

A shorter post today after the verbal diarrhoea of the last few days …

Just to say I’ve finally seen my first two Turnstones of the autumn, tootling along the Ely embankment on the edge of Cardiff Bay, a location we usually see these waders throughout the colder months. Winter is coming!

A skulking Sedge warbler

07 Monday Sep 2026

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Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, autumn bird migration, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, Sedge warbler

The first of September, which shall forever more be known by me as ‘The Day of the 10 Spotted flycatchers‘, also produced another lovely bird sighting, this one completely unexpected and almost missed. I was buzzing from just having seen the first two Spot flies of the day when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement in the trees edging a local brook. I was tempted to ignore it but some instinct told me to look more closely, so I stood still, watching and waiting for leaves to move, a shape to appear.

I was on the point of giving up and moving on, when it happened again, only this time I caught a glimpse of something brown and a bit stripey. Be patient, I told myself. In the space of perhaps 15 minutes, as the bird moved along the tree line, I caught several more tantalizing glimpses, before it finally emerged a little further. And then I knew it, a Sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus), a bird that breeds in Britain but spends our winter in sub-Saharan Africa. It took another 10 minutes before this handsome warbler emerged far enough for a reasonable photo and then flew further along the field. I wished it well on its long journey (yes, I do often talk to the wildlife I see), and carried on, smiling even more broadly than before.

Even more Spotted flycatchers

04 Friday Sep 2026

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Spotted flycatcher

Not just ‘more’ Spotted flycatchers – the most Spotted flycatchers I’ve seen in one day. Ten, in fact.

A pair at the first location, along a hedgerow at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

Then four together at the second site, along the woodland edge at Lavernock Nature Reserve.

And another four together at my final location, a hedgerow in the coastal fields.

What an absolutely brilliant day I had watching these stunning little birds feeding up before their long migration flights!

The first Whinchat

29 Saturday Aug 2026

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, Whinchat

I’d just spent a wonderful 30 minutes wandering slowly around one of the fields at Lavernock Nature Reserve, enjoying the beautiful butterflies and other insects feasting on the lush Devil’s-bit scabious and other wildflowers, and had moved through to the neighbouring field when, out of the corner of my eye, I became aware of a movement. A small bird was flying up from its perch on a tall bare branch, catching flies or tiny insects too small for me to see.

At first, based on its behaviour, I thought it was a Spotted flycatcher but the sun was behind the bird so I couldn’t get a proper look at it and looking at the couple of photos I took didn’t help. So, I walked slowly up the sloping path at the edge of the field, trying not to spook the bird but wanting to get a better view of it. A Whinchat! My first Whinchat of the year. The first Whinchat seen locally as this autumn migration season really gets underway.

Juvenile Black tern

27 Thursday Aug 2026

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autumn bird migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, Black tern, Chlidonias niger, juvenile Black tern, Llanishen Reservoir

It was first spotted on Monday morning, 24 August, and, fortunately, remained for at least a couple of days (I haven’t heard whether the bird is still there today), long enough for me to catch the train to north Cardiff’s Llanishen Reservoir Tuesday morning for a look.

The bird? A stunning little juvenile Black tern (Chlidonias niger), a bird that only rarely breeds in the UK and so is mostly seen during Spring and Autumn passage. In the 11 years I’ve lived here, we’ve been lucky to have these terns stop off in the Cardiff area at least twice before, at Lamby Lake in September 2022, and at this same reservoir in late September 2024.

Black terns are small; the RSPB website gives their length as 22 – 24cm and their wingspan as 64 – 68cm. I’ve included a couple of photos so you can see this bird’s size relative to the Carrion crow that harassed it as it was feeding over the water, and to a Black-headed gull, as the tern sat preening on the muddy edge of the reservoir (the mud exposed due to a lack of water, caused by this summer’s drought).

My camera was not good enough to capture clear, close photos of the Black tern in flight – a mesmerising sight! – as the camera has neither the zoom range nor the sophisticated focussing software of more expensive models. Fortunately, this Black tern was alternating its time between 15 minutes flying, plucking miniscule invertebrates from the surface of the water, and 10 minutes sitting on the mud right in front of the visitor centre, so I was able to get good views of the bird preening, and took a little video clip, which I’ve loaded on YouTube. Enjoy!

Lingering Chiffchaffs

03 Monday Nov 2025

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Chiffchaff

During my most recent circuit of Cardiff Bay, one day last week, I counted at least nine Chiffchaffs, and I’m sure there were probably more.

Most of those Chiffchaffs that intended to migrate should have moved through by now so it’s likely that these remaining birds will linger a while longer, possibly right through the winter, if the weather doesn’t get too cold. It’s lovely to see and hear them still dotting about the trees.

Hobbies!!

08 Wednesday Oct 2025

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British falcons, Falco subbuteo, falcon, Hobby, juvenile Hobby

In recent days, birders and passers-by, who have noticed the birders and asked what they’re looking at, have been treated to the incredible aerial displays of two juvenile Hobbies, expertly catching dragonflies along the River Ely in Cardiff.

I’ve seen Hobbies before but never as close as these birds so watching them has been truly amazing. With their scythe-like wings, they resemble Swifts in flight, though they’re a little larger, more the size of a Kestrel. And they are super speedy; I found it difficult to capture photographs of them in flight. In the end, I put the camera down and just watched, spellbound, as they wove their aerial magic.

The Hobby (Falco subbuteo) used to be quite scarce in the UK but their population has increased in recent years. The fact that these two are juvenile birds means we can probably assume they have bred nearby, possibly in the woodland adjacent to where they have been flying. Fortunately, it is privately owned land, with no footpaths, so wildlife is left in peace amongst the trees, a rare situation these days.

Hobbies are long-distance migrants that arrive here around April and depart again around September-October, heading to Africa to over-winter in warmer climes. Fortunately for them (though not for the dragonflies), these two young birds were finding plenty of prey to fuel the long flight to come.