Birding at Rhossili and Mewslade

02 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Glamorgan Bird Club, Grayling, Great black-backed gull, Kestrel, Linnet, Rhossili, Small tortoiseshell, The Worm

Yesterday was my second visit to Rhossili with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, though I still haven’t walked along this magnificent beach.

180702 1 Rhossili beach

Our group of 15 met in the National Trust car park at Rhossili, then slowly meandered along the cliff tops towards the point, birding as we walked.

180702 2 Heading towards the worm

I saw my first Choughs, Fulmars were spotted gliding majestically below us, and a Great black-backed gull flew in and landed on a headland.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, here I also saw my first Grayling butterflies. The first, pictured here on a discarded Coke bottle, was spotted by eagle-eyed Tate, and the second by another birder, Rob.

At the point, we enjoyed superb views, and the last of the bright sunny weather, while eating our lunch. Then, despite the rain starting, 11 of our intrepid team headed across the causeway to The Worm, where their scrambling and climbing and drenching were rewarded with views of Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Manx shearwaters.

180702 7 Crossing to The Worm

Three of us chose, instead, to do the circular walk around the headland, seeing lots of Linnets and Meadow pipits in the fields, a Kestrel hovering in search of prey, and two lovely fresh-looking Small tortoiseshell butterflies.

180702 8 Linnet

After some of the team returned from The Worm, four of us went for a brief visit to nearby Mewslade, a beautiful little valley that runs down to a sheltered cove. Here we had incredibly close views of a Lesser whitethroat feeding young, spotted two very yellow-faced Great tit fledglings in an area of burnt gorse, and watched more Choughs and another Kestrel flying through. It was yet another superb field trip with my bird club friends.

180702 11 Kestrel

Cuckoo!

30 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Cuckoo

My #30DaysWild has ended with a cracking day at Cosmeston. Not only did I spot my first Gatekeeper butterfly for 2018, I also spent time watching one of the local Water voles for the first time this year. And then, to top it all off, I happened to be talking to the wife of one of my birding friends when he phoned her from the other end of the park to say he’d just spotted a Cuckoo.

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Very obligingly, the Cuckoo hung around while I hightailed it to where it had last been seen … and, in fact, it was still there several hours later.

I’ve heard Cuckoos several times now and had a brief glimpse of one flying but, as Cuckoos don’t breed in my part of south Wales, this was the first time I was able to have a good look at one. (This bird was probably just making a brief stopover at Cosmeston on its way south to Africa.)

And what a beautiful bird it is, with stunning markings, and much bigger than I had thought.

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What a magical end to my June wildness this was! But, of course, being ‘wild’ doesn’t just happen in June. Spending time exploring the natural world and its wildlife is what keeps me sane and brings joy to my life, and sharing that joy is why I write this blog.

IMG_1188 sml

Master builders, amazing aviators

29 Friday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, House martin, mud nest, nest made of mud

Not only are House martins amazingly acrobatic fliers, they also have incredible construction skills.

180629 house martins (1) 180629 house martins (2)

Imagine building a mud house, seemingly with no support at all, at the very top of a four-storey building, out of tiny balls of mud you carry in your mouth from a nearby beach or river bank.

Imagine, too, the skill it takes to successfully fly in and land on the edge of the tiny gap in that mud house so as to feed your ever-hungry chicks. On day 29 of #30DaysWild, and every other day, House martins have my respect and admiration!

The heronsew, the ducklings & the chicks

27 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, ducklings, Grey heron, gull chicks, gull nesting on urban rooftop, heronsew, Lesser black-backed gull, Mallard, young heron

The blue-sky heat was relieved ever so slightly on day 27 of #30DaysWild by a nice breeze, so I strolled along to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park for a mooch around. I had a lovely time, though after a couple of hours chasing butterflies in the glaring heat, I felt rather envious of the water birds enjoying the cooling water of the lakes.

180627 grey heron (3)

This young Grey heron – apparently called a heronsew, from the French heronceau – has not yet learnt to fear humans and was very close to the boardwalk by the cafe.

180627 mallard ducklings (1) 180627 mallard ducklings (2)

As I was watching it, Mum Mallard brought her brood of five well-grown ducklings out for a swim. They looked a bit like gawky teenagers and have already been taught to approach humans in the hope of some food.

Then, on the walk home, I spotted a bundle of fluff moving around on a rooftop. By the time I got the camera out, it had sat back down with its sibling and, though I was on the other side of the street, mother (or father) Lesser black-backed gull flew past screeching at me, before landing on the chimney to keep an eye on its chicks. I’ve heard of these gulls nesting on factories and taller buildings but not on a house in an urban area.

The secretive Reed warbler

21 Thursday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, Reed warbler

For day 21 of #30DaysWild and as a solstice treat, I went for a visit to the Wildlife Trust’s Parc Slip Nature Reserve. It was a lovely sunny day and I walked far and wide, seeing lots of wildlife and wildflowers, but the highlight came as I was sitting on a park bench in a distant part of the reserve eating my lunch.

180621 Reed warblers (1)

I could hear what I thought were Reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), dotting about in the reeds and bushes growing along a nearby stream, and could see the undergrowth moving as they gradually came nearer.

180621 Reed warblers (2)

These are often very shy birds and I’ve never managed very clear photos of them so I waited to see if they would pop up.

180621 Reed warblers (3)

And my patience was eventually rewarded with these fleeting views of two of a family of four Reed warblers – still not great shots but I’m happy with them.

180621 Reed warblers (4)

Birding at Bargoed & Cefn Gelligaer

17 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, mammal, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, Glamorgan Bird Club, Stonechat, Swallow, Welsh mountain pony

I was out birding again on day 17 of #30DaysWild, once again with Glamorgan Bird Club, this time to Cefn Gelligaer and the Bargoed uplands. And what a wonderful day it was, in spite of the light rain that set in after lunch (though that does mean I don’t have a lot of photos). One of our club members, Lee, guided us around his local patch and it was a real bonus tapping in to his local knowledge.

180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (6)

This is ‘big sky’ country, with a long history of human settlement, from the era of Megalithic chambered tombs through the years of Roman road-building to the coal mining of 19th and early 20th centuries. There are ancient trees, superbly crafted dry-stone walls, old droving roads and narrow green lanes.

As well as the 42 bird species we saw – a very respectable list, given the conditions – we also had a weasel checking us out, before streaking across the lane behind us, and I saw my first Welsh mountain ponies, very handsome little beasts with quite oddly shaped heads.

180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (11)

Lee kindly gave us each a brochure for a walking trail that includes many of the local historical features so I will definitely be heading back for another look.

Spot the Stonechat

Here’s our bird list: Carrion crow, Mistle thrush, Lesser black-backed gull, Pheasant, Robin, Skylark, Wren, Starling, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Meadow pipit, Swallow, Willow warbler, Great tit, Great spotted woodpecker, Swift, Blackbird, Herring gull, Dunnock, Pied wagtail, Buzzard, Curlew, Red kite, Green woodpecker, Song thrush, Stonechat, Stock dove, Tree pipit, Redstart, Coal tit, Blackcap, Nuthatch, Long-tailed tit, Cuckoo, Blue tit, Linnet, Reed bunting, Whinchat, Magpie, and House sparrow.

Swallows swooping over the fields

Birding at Kenfig

16 Saturday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot chicks, Glamorgan Bird Club, Kenfig National Nature Reserve, Kenfig Pool, Sparrowhawk

For day 16 of #30DaysWild I joined my fellow Glamorgan Bird Club members for their monthly wander around Kenfig National Nature Reserve. It started grey and later rained a little, so conditions weren’t ideal for birding and, in the leafy fullness of summer, birds can often be difficult to spot anyway.

180616 1 Kenfig NNR

The plus side of this for me is that I get to practise my listening skills as I gradually learn to recognise more and more bird songs and calls. And, fortunately, Ceri had brought his ’scope along, so we could all take a look at those birds that were distant specks on the tree-tops.

180616 2 distant bird 180616 3 distant bird

The highlight for me was this Sparrowhawk that Rob spotted sitting on the shore of Kenfig Pool.

180616 4 sparrowhawk

Though its origin is unknown and so it might not be a wild bird, the Pink-footed goose was still a nice addition to the Canada and Greylag geese on the pool.

180616 5 geese

And you know I can’t resist the young ones: these are just a couple of today’s Cootlets.

180616 6 coot chicks

Considering the conditions and the time of year, I reckon we did pretty well to spot and/or hear a total of 47 species. As I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, my personal list was 43: Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Wren, Dunnock, Swift, Lesser black-backed gull, Willow warbler, Greenfinch, Blackcap, Carrion crow, Magpie, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, House sparrow, Song thrush, Skylark, Whitethroat, Robin, Stonechat, Linnet, Herring gull, Great tit, Buzzard, Raven, Lapwing, Sand martin, Coot, Mallard, Canada goose, Sparrowhawk, Greylag goose, Mute swan, Pink-footed goose Grey heron, Pied wagtail, Reed warbler, Chaffinch, Herring gull, Cormorant, Great crested grebe, Blue tit.

Cuteness

14 Thursday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, Canada goose goslings, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, gosling, Moorhen, Moorhen chicks

Sometimes, when all the news seems to be full of doom and gloom, it’s nice to have something in our lives to make us smile. So, on day 14 of #30DaysWild, I went looking for cute babies ’cause they always make me smile – not human babies but baby birds. First, I found these three gorgeous little Canada goose goslings with their parents by the east lake at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

180614 Canada geese goslings (1)

And then, at the dipping pond, I spent a very enjoyable half hour watching the many Moorhen babies feeding, swimming, and preening. I hope they make you smile as well.

Wild out the window

11 Monday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, feral pigeon, house sparrow, Swift, wildlife at home

‘The best laid plans….’ Due to the unforeseen circumstance of untimely tradesmen I was forced to set aside my plan to go searching for butterflies today and instead spent day 11 of #30DaysWild at home. Still, there is always something wild to be found, just by looking out the window.

In the lovely tree outside my living room window, a young Feral pigeon has recently been spending much of its time, either perched or moving tentatively along the swaying branches, while it waits for its parents to return and feed it. Each time I heard it make its faint pleading peep, I popped up with my camera to try to get photos, though mostly the leaves got in the way. – a fact which, in fact, might please you when I tell you the pigeons regurgitate a type of ‘milk’ to feed their young!

180611 (6) House sparrow females

House sparrows also popped in and out of the tree, heralded by their familiar cheep cheep, and I also caught them sitting on the back wall downstairs, looking around for anything edible.

180611 (7) House sparrow male

The Swifts have been very active overhead much of the day, with four sweeping very low around the back of the house at times, even coming very close to the eaves. I’m not sure if they were checking the area for potential nesting sites or, more likely, swooping in to pick off insects to eat. They move so quickly I only managed one photo but watching their aerial agility was certainly the highlight of my wild day at home.

180611 (8) Swift

Mystery solved!

02 Saturday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Lesser whitethroat

On day two of #30DaysWild I decided to try to solve a mystery. Last Monday, 28 May, I was having a wander around Lavernock Nature Reserve when I heard a bird making an unusual ‘tech tech’ sound in a group of nearby shrubs and trees (you can hear it at the beginning of this short video clip I recorded). I edged closer and got glimpses of a dark head and back with a much lighter front and belly, but I couldn’t get a clear view or any photos.

180602 Lesser whitethroat (4)

Silly me thought it might have been a Pied flycatcher but I knew that was probably wrong, and I was soon put straight about how extremely unlikely that possibility was for the Lavernock site by a much more experienced birding friend. But what was it?

180602 Lesser whitethroat (2)

I wasn’t sure if the bird would still be around but today was a lovely day for a walk and Lavernock is a wonderful nature reserve – I knew I would find things of interest even if I couldn’t find the bird again.

180602 Lesser whitethroat (1)

Well, as you’ve guessed from the title of this post and from the photos here, I found my bird and solved the mystery. It’s a Lesser whitethroat – in fact, I’m 99% sure there were two of them and that they’re nesting, as I watched the bird repeatedly foraging for food in the greenery, then flying back and forth to the same location in a clump of bushes.

180602 Lesser whitethroat (3)

These are usually very skulky birds, more often staying within trees and bushes and not easily seen, so I was very lucky to get some decent views of one bird sitting high in the tree tops. A perfect result for the second day of my 30 Days Wild!