Y is for Yellow wagtail

30 Saturday Dec 2023

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autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Yellow wagtail

The absolute highlight of autumn migration this year was an influx of Yellow wagtails at Cosmeston (Yellow wags, 7 September). By sheer co-incidence, their passage coincided perfectly with the grass in one of the outer fields being cut for hay, which created the perfect habitat for these insect-eating wagtails. The presence of a few attracted more birds as they passed through so that there were more than 30 birds present at one stage, a record for the park according to long-time-birding locals. It was an absolute delight to watching them hopping through the clumps of cut grass, searching for the food that would help fuel their onward journey, and they only moved on when, after a week’s drying, the hay was baled.

231230 yellow wagtail

S is for snipe

24 Sunday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago, Jack snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus

I saw my only Jack snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) of the year on 18 February, and six days later, on 24 February, my only Common snipe (Gallinago gallinago), which I blogged about the following day (First Jack, now Common, 25 February).

231224 jack snipe

As you can see from the images above, Jack snipes can be extremely difficult to see – they are masters at keeping perfectly still, and they frequent reed beds and swards of short grass and scrub, where their plumage ensures almost perfect camouflage. Even though I know where the bird is in the full-size left-hand photo, I still find it hard to find – I’ve zoomed in for the right-side image.

231224 common snipe

Common snipe can also be tricky to spot but, fortunately, they do sometimes sit out and feed in the open. I had hoped for more snipe sightings but, due to the very wet weather this year, the rides in the Snipe enclosure at Cosmeston have not been cut and I’ve also not seen my trusty birding friend with the thermal imaging equipment.

O is for owl

20 Wednesday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, owl, Short-eared owl

The end of October brought a huge birding treat: my second-ever sighting of a Short-eared owl (and the first had been five years previously) so, though that sighting was the briefest of glimpses, I was over the moon (see Short-eared owl, 28 October). In the days following that sighting, the weather was not conducive to a return visit to the site but I got lucky when I did finally make it back, as the owl was still in the area.

231220 short-eared owl (1)

As had happened previously, it was other birds – this time Magpies – that alerted me to its presence, and I was privileged to watch the bird for a longer period, in flight along the hedgerows, sitting in the middle of a ploughed field, flying again, and then cunningly sidling into a spot between a mound of grassy earth and the neighbouring hedge, where it blended so well into the background as to be nearly invisible. Magic!

231220 short-eared owl (2)

J is for Jay

15 Friday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Garrulus glandarius, Jay, woodland birds

They can be quarrelsome and raucous, are known for stashing acorns as winter fodder, and have colourful plumage that might more usually be found on a tropical bird. The Jay’s scientific name (Garrulus glandarius) is so appropriate: the words are both Latin, Garrulus meaning babbling, noisy, chattering, and glandarius meaning ‘of acorns’.

231215 jay (1)

Jays have been plentiful this year in my local woodlands, which is wonderful. I’ve managed to get reasonable photos a few times, and have blogged about them twice, Two Jays on 20 April and, on 12 October, A Jay and its acorn.

231215 jay (2)

G is for Goshawk

12 Tuesday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, bogey bird, British birds, Goshawk

For many years the Goshawk was my bogey bird. Other birders would see them in my local area but I wouldn’t. I’d go on bird club trips to locations where they were known regularly to appear but they didn’t. I would occasionally think I’d seen one but, when more experienced birders reviewed my photographs, they always thought the birds were Sparrowhawks. Finally, FINALLY, on 25 July I spotted a bird that everyone agreed was a Goshawk! You can perhaps imagine my delight and relief at finally getting my bogey bird. It was certainly one of the highlights of my birding year.

231212 goshawk

F is for Firecrest

11 Monday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Firecrest, fly larvae, Lauxaniidae, Lauxaniidae larva

Initially, the letter F was going to be for flies then two fabulous little birds popped up last Tuesday and stole the show (though there were also flies that day). The birds were two Firecrests, probably those first discovered at this location in early November and not seen since, despite me and other birders looking for them. The site has quite dense vegetation so little birds like these can easily disappear.

231208 firecrest

And the flies? Well, I had spent about 20 minutes walking through the area, had stood at various spots searching for movement in the trees and bushes, but not seen any sign of the Firecrests. So, as this is an area with lots of lovely deciduous trees, I decided to ferret through the leaf litter for any nice invertebrates. I’d turned over about 50 soggy, muddyish leaves before I had some success, finding these two Lauxaniidae fly larvae. I’d just finished taking some photos of them when I heard a special little peeping and there were the Firecrests.

231208 Lauxaniidae

Rotund Robins

05 Tuesday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, robin

I feel for the birds when the temperatures plummet. I’m feeling cosy in hand-knitted woollens, fleece-lined trousers and wind-cutting jacket, whereas all they can do is fluff up their feathers to retain a layer of warmth close to their skin. It seems to work for them though, as long as it doesn’t get too cold. And little birds like these Robins are even more adorable than usual when they look like little balls of fluff.

231205 robins

Slip-sliding

02 Saturday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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bird on ice, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, female mallard, icy pond, Mallard

After a few sub-zero-Celsius nights and not much higher daytime temperatures, the pond at Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve had mostly frozen over, and the Mallards and a Coot were sticking to a small open area on the far side. But, when a couple arrived with food for the birds, Ms Mallard was tempted out of her little patch of unfrozen water to reach the treats. I felt a bit mean but I couldn’t help laughing at her slip-sliding her way across the ice.

231202 mallard

A Moorhen reflects

29 Wednesday Nov 2023

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Moorhen, Moorhen reflections, reflections

The lake is still overflowing from all the recent rain and that overflow area is more still that the waters of the lake itself. When I approached yesterday to check out which birds were present, this Moorhen was walking along the edge, its progress so slow that it wasn’t disturbing the watery reflections. The day was dull and grey so the light on the bird was not the best but I still took rather a lot of photos.

231129 moorhen reflects