06 Monday May 2019
He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound,
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.
~ from the poem ‘The Lark Ascending’ by English poet George Meredith, 1881
04 Saturday May 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Did you know the Song thrush was once known as the Throstle?
It appeared as such in Thomas Berwick’s landmark birding guide book Land Birds back in 1797, the name was later standardised to Song thrush – makes sense when you listen to the great tunes it belts out – but, as recently as 1951, when he published his Collins New Naturalist volume Birds and Men, Max Nicholson was still arguing for the name to change back to Throstle. Song thrush or Throstle – which do you prefer?
Regurgitating interesting titbits from Stephen Moss’s delectable Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How birds got their names, Guardian Faber, London, 2018.
02 Thursday May 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Barrage, Cardiff Bay, spring migration, Wheatear
Finally, I spotted a Wheatear on the Cardiff Bay Barrage rocks this morning. Other birders have been seeing them on and off for a month or so now, as they pass through on their way back from wintering in central Africa to their breeding grounds in Britain’s sunlit uplands. I certainly didn’t expect to find one this late in the spring, so I count myself extra lucky to have seen this little beauty today.
01 Wednesday May 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, bird boxes, birding, birds feeding chicks, birdwatching, Blue tit, British birds, Great tit
I spent some time in the churchyard surrounding St Augustine’s Church today, enjoying the wonderful wildness of this lovely place, which is now being managed in a way that enhances its flora and fauna. And it’s working a treat! The grounds are awash with wildflowers and the bird boxes are full of new life.
I admit I did feel a little sorry for the bird parents though. They have to work so hard to feed their chicks – it’s like they’re stuck in a loop: search frantically for food, deliver food, remove pooh, repeat!
29 Monday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, caterpillar, Grangemoor Park, long-tailed tit, tit feeding chicks
How cute is this Long-tailed tit I spotted at Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park today? The caterpillar it’s found to feed its chicks is almost as big as it is.
28 Sunday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
baby birds, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Moorhen, Moorhen chicks
I’m delighted to report that the five Moorhen chicks that hatched in the dipping pond at Cosmeston on 1 April are all still alive and thriving. Their parents have obviously been doing a brilliant job of rearing and protecting them – no easy task when there are so many gulls at Cosmeston and a couple of local Buzzards that are always looking for an easy meal.
26 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, gull nesting among chimney pots, Lesser black-backed gull, nest building, nesting, urban gull nest
So this is what all yesterday’s gull screeching was about!
Mr Lesser black-backed gull was letting the neighbourhood know he had arrived and this was his territory so look out any other gull couples who thought they’d try to muscle in. And today Mr LBB and his mate were getting down to the serious business of nest building amongst the chimney pots across the back lane from my flat – or, at least, Ms LBB was – he just stood watching her do all the work. I do hope the nest goes ahead – what a thrill it would be to watch from my bedroom window as they raise their chicks!
25 Thursday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
The Lesser black-backed gulls mostly disappear during the winter months – I’m not sure where they go – but, come the Spring, they return, and they’re very good at making their presence felt. They often wake me very early in the morning, sometimes by jumping about on my roof, other times with their screeching calls. I’m hoping you can imagine the noise by looking at this series of photos.
23 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, seaside
Tags
#365DaysWild, Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, birdwatching, British birds, south Wales coastal path, Sully, Sully beach, Whimbrel
I caught the bus to Sully this morning, walked along to the western end of the bay, then retraced my steps and walked along the coastal path all the way back to Penarth, about 7½ miles in total. And it was superb, especially the stroll along Sully Bay. I’d timed my walk to be there just before high tide, as that often pushes the birds up closer to the path that runs along the top of the beach, and this was a high high tide so, with some stealthy sneaking along behind the trees, I managed to get really close to a flock of six Whimbrels.
And, to my delight, the Whimbrels had two Bar-tailed godwits with them. I’ve never managed to get so close to either species before so I was really chuffed. And, if you’re wondering why the godwits don’t look the same, the bird on the left (below) is a male in his summer breeding colours, while the bird on the right might be a juvenile or a non-breeding adult.
21 Sunday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British warblers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Reed warbler
There are thirteen species of warbler that regularly breed in Britain and I find them some of the trickiest to identify as several are typically LBJs, little brown jobs.
The Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) is, I think, one of the easier, partly because of its recognisable warble and partly because it lives up to its name by living almost exclusively in reeds.
But it’s an elusive little bird so I’ve never managed to get clear photos of it … until today, when this little beauty was so intent on finding food that I was able to watch it for over ten minutes. Just perfect!
earthstar 
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