23 Monday Nov 2020
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It’s that time of year when the Robins fluff up their feathers and sing.
The facts, that the feather-fluffing is to keep them warm and the singing is part of what can be quite aggressive behaviour to establish winter territories, are completely lost on most humans, who are simply beguiled by their cuteness … as I was by this songster.
10 Tuesday Nov 2020
On Sunday, I blogged about the wildflowers I’ve recently found still blooming in local farm fields. When I’ve been wandering those field edges, I have, of course, also been keeping one eye on the skies, to see what birds might be enjoying this currently unmanaged farmland. Here’s a selection …
There were several species of winter thrushes feeding in berry trees – Song thrushes, Redwings and a small flock of Fieldfares, and a large number of Blackbirds, the only ones I managed to photograph.
Two Chiffchaffs were chasing each other through tree branches. They’re late migrating but some Chiffchaffs do remain in Britain so maybe these two will stay local this winter.
A juvenile Dunnock was calling constantly, presumably for its parents, but they may well have decided it was time to cut the parental ties.
Reed buntings aren’t always found in reeds. A family of three were flitting from hedge to field, foraging for seeds and insects.
07 Saturday Nov 2020
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bird with deformed beak, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Herring gull, Herring gull with deformed beak, juvenile Herring gull
This juvenile Herring gull that I spotted amongst the gull flock at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park a couple of days ago had an interesting beak deformity. Presumably it can eat okay and it was preening but still looked scruffy, so I guess the twisted beak doesn’t work well for grooming.
03 Tuesday Nov 2020
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For a Redshank, standing tall like the one in my photo is often a sign of fear, of being wary of something that might harm it, of keeping a cautious eye on an intruder. Unfortunately, in this case, it was simply my presence on the pavement about 20 feet above the water’s edge that had spooked this lovely bird, so I took this one photo and quickly moved on, to let it feed in peace.
Please try and be aware of the birds around you when you’re out walking, particularly when walking, perhaps with your dog, along a beach. Many wading birds only feed on the beach at certain times, at particular stages of the tide, so, if they’re disturbed by walkers, or dogs, or other ‘traffic’, the time they spend feeding can be shortened and that can have a very detrimental effect on the birds, particularly in the winter months.
29 Thursday Oct 2020
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Aythya collaris, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birding, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Ring-necked duck
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) so I was delighted when, ten days ago, a juvenile female was spotted at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I managed to get a very distant view of it on 18 October.
I’m the first to admit I would not have been able to identify this bird without the local, much more experienced birders sharing their photos on social media. When its head is tucked in, which seems to be most of the time, only its pale eye ring distinguishes this bird from the female Tufted ducks that surround it, at least to my inexperienced eye.
Late last Sunday, 25 October, the exciting news came that a second Ring-necked duck had been sighted at Cosmeston, this one a 1st winter drake, so I headed along on Monday for a look. I got much closer views of the first bird, the juvenile, but couldn’t find the other – turns out, it had flown over to Cardiff Bay. This is a common phenomenon during the winter months – the various duck species fly regularly back and forth between the lakes and the Bay.
So, for yesterday’s exercise walk I headed down to Cardiff Bay where, in spite of occasional heavy rain showers, I managed to locate both Ring-necked ducks, though this time the drake kept its head tucked in throughout my visit. That’s the juvenile braving the weather in the photo above, and the 1st winter drake below. If I manage to see the drake again and get a photo of it with its head up, I’ll be sure to share.
27 Tuesday Oct 2020
When I can’t arrange to meet up with and chat to friends, due to our Covid-19 lockdown rules, I talk to the birds, usually Robins (as my previous Conversations with Robins blog posts testify) but lately the many Stonechats that have been living in the local fields.
If I approach slowly and quietly, then stand still and wait, they’ll often pop up on branches and plant tops quite close to me.
I can talk very softly, and they don’t fly off. They watch me – are they just being cautious, keeping an eye on this intruder in their space?
Or are they curious? Or maybe they’re just plain cheeky, knowing they can check me out but fly off in the beat of a wing?
Spending time with these gorgeous wee chats brings me much joy. And, yes, I am a crazy bird lady!
22 Thursday Oct 2020
Posted in birds
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birding, birdwatching, British birds, colour-ringed gull, colour-ringed Lesser black-backed gull, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Lesser black-backed gull
Yesterday’s inbox contained an email with the life history of this ringed Lesser black-backed gull I found at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and reported to the BTO’s ringers on 5 October. This bird was first ringed on Flat Holm Island, in the Bristol Channel off the south Wales coast, on 1 July 2017. A couple of months later, on 6 September, it was spotted at Cosmeston, and then it headed 1200 kms south to Matosinhos, a port and fishing town in Portugal, where it was seen twice in October 2017, on the 27th and again on the 31st. The bird wasn’t seen again until my recent report so it’s anybody’s guess where it’s been for the past three years.
20 Tuesday Oct 2020
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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British ducks, Bucephala clangula, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, diving ducks, Goldeneye
No, I’m not blogging about a James Bond film, though our recent visitor to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park is almost as exotic, and certainly as handsome as any of the many James Bonds. This is a drake Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), a diving duck that’s a little smaller than a Mallard.
This drake was first picked up by our best local birder last Friday evening so I strode along to the lakes early Saturday morning and had distant views of it on the west lake. The Goldeneye appeared to have left Saturday afternoon, as another local birder couldn’t find it, but I was back at Cosmeston early Sunday, sitting quietly on a bench next to the east lake, when Mr Goldeneye popped out from the vegetation right in front of me and I was able to get these closer photos of him.
Though Goldeneye are known to spend their winters in small groups on reservoirs and inland lakes, and in sheltered coastal bays, they are not a common sight in my part of south Wales, so it has been a treat to have the chance to see this stunning bird.
17 Saturday Oct 2020
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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, eclipse male Goosander, Goosander
It was wonderful yesterday to see that Goosanders are now returning to Cardiff Bay after their breeding season. I’m not exactly sure where these birds would have spent their busy summer months as, according to recent copies of the Eastern Glamorgan Bird Report, they haven’t been recorded breeding locally for many years.
Goosanders can often be seen in the Bay over the winter and, yesterday, three birds were fishing in the River Ely where it flows in to Cardiff Bay.
There were two females and this handsome bird, which I think is a male in eclipse plumage, i.e. transitioning from summer to winter colours. I took a little video of it preening, if you want to take a look.
(Apologies for the spot in the video – it’s inside my camera, rather than on the lens, but I haven’t been able to take my camera to be cleaned because of our lockdown restrictions.)
13 Tuesday Oct 2020
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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British wildflowers, charm of Goldfinches, Goldfinch, Goldfinches eating seeds, Goldfinches eating Teasel seeds, Teasel
I almost always hear Goldfinches before I see them. Their seemingly constant twittering and tinkling always makes me smile, and their bright bursts of yellow and red plumage brighten even the greyest of days. It’s easy to see why these cheeky little chatterers are collectively called a charm.
I’ve been trying to sneak up on feeding Goldfinches for the past couple of weeks but they are always very alert and flit off quickly to the nearest bush or tree when they hear or see me approaching.
Yesterday, I could hear them along the woodland ride in front of me and had a slight bend and some bushes to hide behind, so I finally managed to get some half decent photos.
As you can see, their sharp, pointy beaks are perfect for poking into tight, narrow spaces, and this small charm of Goldfinches were feasting well, picking the seeds out of the Teasel seedheads. What a delight it was to watch them.
earthstar 
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