Tag Archives: birding

An arctic tern on passage

15 Thursday Oct 2026

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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.

Feasting Greenfinches

14 Wednesday Oct 2026

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This was an unusual sighting during one of last week’s local meanders.

I’d checked out Cardiff Bay Barrage for any migrating birds (found one lovely female Wheatear dotting about on the grass), and continued from there on the footpath that runs along the top of the Ely embankment, where the River Ely flows in to Cardiff Bay. A couple of our winter-resident Turnstones were tootling about, stone-flipping and poking in the vegetation, but the stars this day were two juvenile Greenfinches.

At this time of year, there is often a small flock of Linnets nibbling on the seeds of the many Herb Robert plants that grow all over the embankment stonework but, on this particular day, the Greenfinches were messily enjoying a feast. Greenfinches are usually a little more wary of being close to people, I find, and the footpath can be very busy with walkers, the river with marine traffic and kayakers but, perhaps because they were young birds, these Greenfinches hadn’t yet learned to keep away from such potential threats. They were a delight to watch.

The also-rans

12 Monday Oct 2026

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From a birding perspective, my recent trip to Weymouth and Portland was my most successful so far, with 85 species logged, and the unforgettable thrill of seeing, albeit fleetingly from the train, my first ever White-tailed eagles perched like statues on the edge of Poole Harbour. In this last blog from that trip, I want to feature some of the also-rans, the birds I loved seeing and managed to photograph that didn’t get their own blog but still deserve to be admired.

One of the many Blackcaps that were passing through on migration.

On a blustery day when birds were mostly sheltering, this delightful Dunnock appeared and posed nicely.

Though there are quite a lot of trees around RSPB Lodmoor, and a small woodland to the north in Lorton Valley Country Park, I was still a little surprised to hear this Great spotted woodpecker pounding at a tree trunk right by the water.

A Great white egret looking statuesque in the soft morning light.

Lodmoor was looking quite autumnal, and this female Marsh harrier sitting on her lookout post seemed to blend right in.

RSPB Radipole was mostly a disappointment this time around, a site that’s suffering from the neglect of the RSPB, who steadfastly fail to see the potential of one of their most accessible reserves to help the general public become more aware of and appreciate the wonders of Nature. It seemed appropriate that, on my final afternoon in Weymouth, the last bird I saw there was this Pheasant.

This was the day of the Stonechats! During a walk of the path along Portland’s east cliffs and the fields around the Bill and the Obs, I counted more than 20; the next day almost all were gone, braving the English Channel to migrate south for the winter.

I didn’t see many Wheatears this time around but this beauty popped up on top of a bush right in front of me one morning at Ferrybridge.

I think you can tell there was an autumn chill in the air this early morning just from looking at this Woodpigeon.

Entrancing Lapwings

10 Saturday Oct 2026

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My personal challenge to take better photographs of Lapwings continued during my recent visits to RSPB Lodmoor. However, the quality and zoom length of my camera equipment is limited, so the alternative was to get as close to the birds as possible – not always, indeed not often, an easy task with these less than confiding birds.

After a couple of Lodmoor visits, I’d mostly figured out where the currently resident Lapwings preferred to position themselves. Then, it was a case of using my field craft to approach those that were closest to the footpaths at a time when no other humans were passing – not as easy as it sounds, partly because many locals use the nature reserve paths at all times of the day for jogging and to walk themselves and their dogs, often talking loudly while doing so, to each other, their dogs, and on their phones, and partly because there was a distinct lack of vegetation to hide behind in the places the birds were frequenting.

Through patience and perseverance, and visiting both in the early morning and late afternoon, I managed to get a few images that I’m happy with, but my challenge will definitely continue when next I visit. Why, you might ask? I just think that, from their ‘head crest like an upward stroke of calligraphy’ (Tessa Boase, Into the Red) to the eye-catching palette of metallic hues in their feathers, they are entrancingly beautiful.

The Obs quarry birds

08 Thursday Oct 2026

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I can never visit Portland Bill without checking the old quarry in the field adjacent to the bird observatory to see if the resident Little owl is at home. When I stopped off during a circuit of the east cliffs, the Bill, and the fields up the hill from the Obs on Thursday 24 September, the owl was nowhere to be seen but, as I stood searching with my binoculars every nook and cranny between the large blocks of stone, a Kestrel flew in. It perched on a rock at the top of the quarry, started calling and peering down at the rocks, as if it too was looking for the Little owl. In my imagination it was calling ‘Hey, little mate. Are you here? Come out and play!’ There was no response and the Kestrel flew off.

The next day, the 25th, I was back on Portland, walking a different route, but I detoured once again past the Obs quarry. And this time the Little owl was at home, sitting in its usual spot, preening. You can’t get very close to the bird – and I certainly wouldn’t want to disturb it – so my photos of it aren’t great.

However, during this visit I also took a very short video clip of it preening, which I thought you might enjoy.

Starlings at Portland Bill

07 Wednesday Oct 2026

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Even above the loud chattering of tourists and the crashing of the mighty ocean waves, you can hear the Starlings that make their home at Portland Bill**, though it did take me a few moments to realise where their musical chirps and squeaks were coming from. (My first photo is taken from the rock in the former quarry at the Bill where I was sitting while eating my lunch. The lighthouse looks short from this angle but is actually 41 metres / 134.5 feet tall.)

Look more closely at the lighthouse and you can see Starlings clinging to every available object jutting out from the building – the railings that criss-cross the light are popular, and perched along the outer ledge just beneath the level of the light. And these are just a small number of the substantial local population. Others sit on the roof of a local café, waiting to snatch any crumbs left by the customers. Still more fly in small flocks, swooping on to the grass to feed, swirling skyward in a mini murmuration at the slightest disturbance.

As I walked from the Bill towards the Obs, I passed a noisy flock of Starlings inhabiting a large area of bramble scrub near the local houses, and that’s where I took the photo below. These birds are very used to the locals passing close by and weren’t at all bothered by my presence, as I stood enjoying their jazz-time melodies and admiring the metallic hues and arrow-like markings of their plumage. They really are stunning birds.

** If you want to see the area I’m talking about, the Visit Dorset website has a great drone image, taken from slightly out to sea from the iconic red-and-white lighthouse, looking back at the island. Portland Bird Observatory – the Obs – is located in the small, former lighthouse you can see at the back of the photo, on the right side.

A surprise Spoonbill

05 Monday Oct 2026

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Timing is everything!

On the third day of my recent Weymouth holiday my 7:45am arrival at RSPB Lodmoor was perfect. I had just started to walk along the western footpath and stopped to scan the birds with my binoculars, when I noticed a very interesting new arrival feeding right in front of the viewing shelter.

I can walk very fast when I have to and my stumpy legs really got cracking that morning. In the blink of an eye (slight exaggeration!) I had walked around to the shelter, and was watching this Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) as it swept its wide flat bill back and forth through the water, scooping up and swallowing the small creatures it was catching.

I had only ever seen Spoonbills at some distance before so I was delighted to spend time watching this bird, a juvenile according to other local birders who also managed to see it a little later in the day.

According to an article on the RSPB website, Spoonbills were once a familiar sight in Britain, until ‘drainage of wetland habitats and hunting resulted in a population crash’. They were last recorded nesting in Suffolk in 1668 and were not known to have bred again until the late 1990s, over 300 years later. Now, they breed regularly at Holkham National Nature Reserve in Norfolk, and at RSPB Fairburn Ings in Yorkshire, as well as a very small number of other locations.

The Ferrybridge gang

03 Saturday Oct 2026

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I have limited success birding the beach at Ferrybridge, at the start of the causeway that connects Weymouth to the Isle of Portland. As I don’t visit often, I’m not very familiar with the tides – I consult tide charts, of course, but I don’t know the tidal ranges, nor can I predict how quickly the birds will return to the beach on the ebbing tide. And when the tide is out, you really need a telescope to be able to accurately identify any birds along the water’s edge. Still, I persevere, and I managed to see a few bird species during one of my attempts last week, by sitting on a concrete slipway alongside the road as the tide came in. These are they …

There were a lot of Ringed plover scooting around but I only spotted a single Sanderling (the bird on the left) amongst them.

Most of the birds were strung out across the beach so I was pleased to find these four species close enough to photograph together: Knot, Ringed plover, Oystercatcher, and Dunlin.

The Knot was new for my year list so I took a few photos of it, though it was too distant for anything sharp.

Returning Pale-bellied Brent geese

01 Thursday Oct 2026

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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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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!