42/366 Redwings

11 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff parks, Redwing, Turdus iliacus, winter thrushes

Today’s walk around some of central Cardiff’s lovely parks was peppered with light hail showers but that worked in my favour because it meant there weren’t many other people out walking and so the birds weren’t as disturbed as they might have been. And that meant I was able to get quite close to some of the large flocks of Redwings that were grazing on the grassy meadows and playing fields. What handsome birds these winter visitors are, with their distinctive pale face stripes, their rusty flanks and their ‘tseep tseep’ calls.

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41/366 Gulls at the beach

10 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, gulls on beach, gulls on mudflats

Storm Ciara has been blasting us with gale-force winds, heavy showers and stinging hail again today but I managed a brisk walk down to Cardiff Bay without getting drenched (though I did have to shelter from the wild weather for 30 minutes as a squall roared through – it was loud and dramatic).

200210 black-headed gulls (1)

The sheltering gave me the chance to watch the Black-headed gulls tackling the weather – their aerial control was incredible, though even they were struggling at times, and the majority of the gulls were hunkered down on the beach and mudflats, prospecting for mid-morning snacks.

200210 black-headed gulls (2)

39/366 Billy, Dickie or Philip

08 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, Blue Tom, British birds, dunnock, Dunnock's vernacular names, Hedge Betty, Hedge Mike

The Dunnock has some wonderful vernacular names. From my Fauna Britannica: Billy (Oxfordshire); blue Isaac (Gloucestershire); dickie (Lancashire); hedge Betty (Warwickshire); Philip (Ireland); blue Tom (Stirlingshire); hedge Mike (Sussex) – these are just a few of the 49 names listed, from all parts of Britain. It’s no wonder, as the Dunnock is one of the most common of British birds.

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It may be dun coloured (hence its most common name, though some people still call it by its former name of Hedge sparrow) but its small frame is packed with character.

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This particular bird was so intent on blasting out its song today that it almost ignored me, standing on the muddy path in front of it. Another Dunnock was singing its territory and attractiveness as a mate from a nearby bush so I think there was a little competition going on.

38/366 A day of grebes

07 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great Crested Grebe, grebes, little grebe

Grebes were much in evidence today.

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As well as these two Great crested grebes, I saw several other pairs, some displaying and, once, a couple of males engaged in a noisy dispute, over a fine nesting spot perhaps.

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Making a lot of chattering noise as they swam, two Little grebes also seemed to be searching for potential nest sites amongst the reeds. We might be expecting a mighty storm in the next couple of days but the birds are thinking it’s Springtime.

200207 little grebe

36/366 Lovey-dovey

05 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Collared dove, lovely-dovey

It’s been a glorious day, with blue skies and sunshine aplenty. And everywhere I went, the birds were singing out their pleasure, announcing their availability, staking their claims on territories, and canoodling!

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In the churchyard at St Augustine’s, two pairs of Collared doves were coo-coo-cooooing from their chosen trees.

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One pair was hiding shyly in amongst the greenery but the other two were sitting on bare branches, basking in the sunshine, preening each other, and being lovey-dovey. I guess that’s where the expression comes from.

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34/366 Clever tit

03 Monday Feb 2020

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cogan Wood, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Marsh tit

My walk through Cogan Wood this afternoon was punctuated by stops, at tree stumps, a sculpted dead tree known locally as the dragon tree, by benches, and at particular shrubs and bushes, where I dispensed seed to the hungry small birds that immediately mobbed me.

200203 Marsh tit (1)

I was delighted that one of those hungry small birds was the resident Marsh tit, as I hadn’t seen it for a few weeks. And I was very impressed with its intelligence – whereas the myriad Great and Blue tits flit in, grab a single seed, and flit away into the bushes to eat it, the Marsh tit has learnt to grab at least two, once three seeds in its tiny beak before flying quickly off. What a clever little tit!

200203 Marsh tit (2)

32/366 Grey wagtails

01 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Grey wagtail, wagtails

Grey wagtails are tough little birds. It was blowing a gale here today, yet these small creatures were still out foraging along the water line of the Ely embankment, poking their needle-thin beaks between pebbles and, sadly, amongst the human detritus, to find the tiny invertebrates they feed on.

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It amazes me that such small birds can fly so well in gusty conditions yet, with a flash of their bright yellow underbellies and a blast of their cheery call, they seemed to move further along the stony shore with ease.

200201 grey wagtail (3)

Two of the birds pictured here are from today, the other three are photos taken during recent walks along this same path, as I’m always happy to pause and watch these cheery little bobbers.

200201 grey wagtail (4) 200201 grey wagtail (5)

27/366 Rockin’ Robin

27 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British robin, robin, Robin Redbreast

200127 robin (4)

‘He rocks in the tree tops all day long
Hoppin’ and a-boppin’ and singing his song’
~ lyrics by Jimmie Thomas

200127 robin (1) 200127 robin (2) 200127 robin (3)

25/366 Grey, but a grebe

25 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Great Crested Grebe

Today’s seven-mile walk was through thick grey drizzle-like mist and, except for the raucous gulls at the edge of Cosmeston’s east lake (where everyone feeds the birds), the land was hushed and still. Not wanting to get my gear wet, I only got my camera out of my backpack once, for a few shots of this handsome Great crested grebe.

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24/366 Black swan

24 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, Black swan, British birds

This Black swan was a nice surprise during my ramble around Barry today. Though it wasn’t ringed, it may well have been an escapee from a wildfowl collection somewhere, which is the case with almost all British Black swans. As far as I’m aware, these now-wild birds have not yet established a self-sustaining local population so are not yet considered official British birds … but they must be close to reaching that level.

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Back in August 2016, I wrote a longer blog post on Black swans, using photos I’d taken in New Zealand, where there is a large wild population. You can see that blog here.

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