119/366 Sheltering

28 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, weather

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Jackaws sheltering from rain, jackdaw, rain

My local Jackdaws are excellent weather indicators. If I haven’t already realised how wet it is outside, I have only to glance out my bedroom window to see where they are. If they’re sitting under the eaves on the old-fashioned gutter supports, then I know it must be teaming down.

200428 jackdaws (1) 200428 jackdaws (2)

Sometimes they look really miserable sitting there, each on their own bracket. Other times, they snooze, or use the opportunity for a groom and feather spruce up.

200428 jackdaws (3) 200428 jackdaws (4)

I have to be careful trying to get photos of them, as those alert blue eyes are always aware of what’s happening around them, even when I think they’re not.

200428 jackdaws (5) 200428 jackdaws (6)

118/366 A birding fix

27 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Ely embankment, Pied wagtail, Rock pipit, Shelduck, starling, Turnstone

I felt the need to see some birds today so headed down to Cardiff Bay for my exercise walk. First up, this pair of Shelducks were working their way around the water’s edge near the Barrage – first I’ve seen since the lockdown began.

200427 1 shelducks

This Starling had a beakful of caterpillar and flies so I presume it had hungry mouths to feed somewhere nearby.

200427 2 starling

At least fourteen Turnstones were picking and poking their way along the stones of the embankment, this one looking very handsome in its breeding colours.

200427 3 turnstone

This Coot was busy pulling bits of rubbish into the pile of sticks it has begun shaping into a nest. Its mate was nearby, hauling a branch to weave into the growing structure.

200427 4 coot

This was the first Rock pipit I’ve seen for a little while. It was busily prospecting for nibbles so perhaps it also has offspring to feed.

200427 5 rock pipit

Most of the wagtails have moved away to breed but this Pied wagtail looked very handsome amongst the Herb Robert and Red valerian that now covers much of the embankment.

200427 6 pied wagtail

115/366 Short but sweet

24 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Grangemoor Park, Wheatear

When out for my walk in Grangemoor Park yesterday, I had paused to watch a Whitethroat songflighting when I suddenly had the feeling I was being watched. And, indeed, I was, by this handsome Wheatear. It sat still for quite some time, perhaps exhausted from its migration journey, but then along came a dog-walking woman calling loudly for her wayward dog and off the bird flew. It was a delightful, if too short encounter.

200424 wheatear

107/366 In my tree

16 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring, trees

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birding out the window, birds in my tree, birdwatching, Blue tit, British birds, Cherry tree, Goldfinch, Willow warbler, Woodpigeon

It’s amazing how much time you can ‘waste’ trying to take photos of all the birds that spend time in a tree. I know because I’ve spent several hours doing just that. I can watch the tree as I sit at my desk/dining table or on my living room sofa (my kitchen/dining/living room is just one big room) so it’s easy to spot birds arriving or to hear them singing and calling, but it’s not so easy to sneak over to the open window to take photos because, obviously, if I can see the birds, they can also see me! So, my clothes drying rack was moved in to service as a not-very-effective bird hide.

200416 1 bird hide

First up was a Blue tit – always cute and very chirpy. As the tree – some kind of ornamental cherry – is now quite leafy, it’s hard to get a clear shot and, of course, the birds don’t exactly pose for me.

200416 2 blue tit

Next, and returning continuously throughout the day, a couple of Goldfinches. Their cheerful twittering has been a joy in recent days.

200416 3 goldfinch

Surprise of the day was this Willow warbler, a real rarity in my urban setting. It visited on and off for a couple of hours then, presumably, continued its migration path, heading north to the Welsh Valleys to find a spot to breed.

200416 4 willow warbler

And so to bed … this Woodpigeon had obviously had a hard day.

200416 5 woodpigeon

100/366 Caught nibbling

09 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, bullfinch, male Bullfinch

I caught this gorgeous male Bullfinch nibbling all the new buds off the shrubs and trees in his little territory in a local park. He must’ve been hungry as he ignored me for about five minutes, as he hopped from branch to branch and I moved back and forth in front of the bushes, trying to get a clear shot of him.

200409 bullfinch (2)

All of a sudden, he froze as if he had only just noticed me, and, rather cutely, looked as if he was trying to hide in plain sight, behind some rather thin twigs.

200409 bullfinch (1)

Unfortunately, this Bullfinch appears to have a problem with its legs and claws, which were covered in scaly growths. There are a couple of possible causes for this (see BTO article here). Some birds seem able to cope with these diseases better than others: I did wonder if this bird’s legs were hurting though, as it seemed to hunker down quite often, and that certainly wasn’t because of the cold.

200409 bullfinch (3)

90/366 Dawdling

30 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, jackdaw, Jackdaws nest building, nesting Jackdaws

As many of us are doing during our Covid-19 lockdown, and as I don’t have the solace of a garden, I’ve been spending a lot of time staring out my windows. And one thing that has been entertaining me has been the antics of a pair of Jackdaws who are nest-building in a neighbour’s chimney. They’ve chosen a great spot, well weather protected and in the house of a woman who constantly has her bird-feeders full.

200330 jackdaws 200303

3 March. It was before the lockdown that I first noticed a little courtship grooming happening, and it was a couple more weeks before the couple decided to build a nest together.

200330 jackdaws 200322 (1) 200330 jackdaws 200322 (2)

22 March. Structural work has begun. Twigs, large and small, are being carted in from various neighbourhood locations.

26 March. A+ for effort. E for spatial awareness. I thought Jackdaws were meant to be smart birds.

200330 Jackdaws 200329

29 March. Delivery of the soft furnishings has begun.

200330 Jackdaws 200330

30 March. Today, activity seems to have stepped up a notch. Not only have I seen this wool (?) being brought in but both birds have been in the tree in front of my house, breaking off live twigs to take to the nest.

I’ll keep watching and bring you another update soon …

88/366 Down by the riverside

28 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, female mallard, Grey wagtail, Redshank, Turnstone

Today’s exercise walk saw me up and out of the house by 7am for a stomp down to Cardiff Bay and the embankment path alongside the River Ely. There was, and still is, a bitterly cold wind blowing, pushing small waves up on to the stones of the embankment so I was surprised to see any birds there at all. But the further up river I went the more sheltered it became and the embankment foragers appeared.

200328 1 redshank

First up was this Redshank, poking about at the water’s edge, its feathers ruffled by the wind gusts.

200328 2 turnstones

Next, in a corner where rubbish often accumulates, three Turnstones were poking about amidst the branches and twigs, plastic bottles and other assorted detritus.

200328 3 mallard

Two Mallards came waddling hopefully up the stones while I was watching the Turnstones. Sadly, I didn’t have any seed for them today.

200328 4 grey wagtail

Lucky last, and most colourful, was this bright little button, a Grey wagtail, which was singing a little song to itself as it pottered along.

87/366 Gone grubbing

27 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, wren

Have you noticed that many Jenny (or Jimmy) Wrens like poking about near water? This little one was so engrossed in exploring all the nooks and crannies for whatever grubs and other edibles it could find that it didn’t notice I had stopped to watch and photograph. Finding joy in small things helps in the current bleak times!

80/366 Today’s Bay birds

20 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, house sparrow, Linnet, Sand martin, Stonechat, Wheatear

Finally, we’ve had a rain-less day and, though there was a bitterly cold wind blasting across Cardiff Bay, I had to take advantage of the dry weather so walked an 8-mile circuit right round the Bay. The first highlight was my first two Wheatears of the year, a bit distant, and only popping up very briefly from amongst the huge Barrage boulders, but it was lovely to welcome them back for the summer.

200320 1 wheatear

The Bay was buzzing with Sand martins – I must’ve seen at least 20, perhaps more, at various times during my wander, and it was a joy to watch their aerial antics.

200320 2 sand martin

Though it’s now several weeks since the big floods pushed a ton of rubbish into the Bay, the huge accumulations have still not been cleared. In fact, most of the rubbish slicks have seen no clearance action taken at all. The ONLY positive thing about this is that the Goldfinches and Linnets seem to be finding plenty of food amongst the garbage.

200320 3 linnet

I simply had to include this male House sparrow, as today is World Sparrow Day.

200320 4 sparrow

This lovely female Stonechat was dotting back and forth across the footpath through the wetlands reserve, and let me get quite close for photos. There was no sign of the male today though.

200320 5 stonechat

79/366 The twister

19 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

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bird with deformed beak, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cogan Wood, European nuthatch, nuthatch, Nuthatch with deformed beak

During a recent wander through Cogan Wood, after a spell of nasty weather, I was dishing out sunflower seeds to all the small birds, the tits and Robins and assorted others, when I noticed this Nuthatch with an elongated and twisted beak. The deformity wasn’t stopping it feeding or carting away and stashing two or three seeds at a time.

October 2017, the twist is not very pronounced

I had a nagging feeling that I’d seen the bird before and, sure enough, when I checked my photos, I had images from two previous sightings, the first in October 2017, the second just a couple of months ago, in January 2020, always in the same spot in the wood. The twist was minor in the first photo but appears to have got worse as the beak has grown longer.

January 2020

Apparently, the Nuthatch lives about three years on average. Obviously, I don’t know how old this particular bird was when I first saw it but it will be interesting to keep an eye out for it to see how long it manages to survive. I hope it lives long and prospers!