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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: birds

235/365 Phenomenal flying

23 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Kestrel, Kestrel hovering

When my friend Jill and I returned to her car after our walk to Rottingdean Windmill last week, we were treated to the sight of a Kestrel hunting for food in the meadow immediately in front of the carpark. After one unsuccessful plunge down into the grass, it retreated to a fencepost.

190823 kestrel (1)

But, within minutes, it was airborne once again, and even closer to us this time. What always amazes me with Kestrels is how, even in very strong and gusty winds, they manage to keep their heads perfectly still so as to focus on their potential prey. Their flying skills are phenomenal.

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On a grey Bay day

04 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, black-headed gulls, British birds, Canada geese, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Cormorant, fog, Great Crested Grebe, little grebe, long-tailed tit, Moorhen, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, starling, walk around Cardiff Bay

171104 1 Cardiff Bay fog

Thick fog hung over Cardiff Bay as I set out on a round-the-bay circuit yesterday morning and, though the fog thinned as the day went on, the day remained grey. Still, never let it be said that grey is boring. Birds there were aplenty (and wildflowers, too … but that’s for tomorrow’s post).

171104 2 Cormorant
171104 2 Little grebes

This cormorant was enjoying a successful spot of fishing in the old Penarth dock area, though it was slim pickings for the three Little grebes around the corner in the River Ely.

171104 3 Pied wagtail (1)
171104 3 Pied wagtail (2)
171104 3 Pied wagtail (3)
171104 3 Pied wagtail (4)

All around the Bay, on almost every man-made structure and clump of rocks near the water, Pied wagtails bobbed, wagged and ‘chisicked’.

171104 4 Coot
171104 4 Moorhen

Coots were even more numerous, and an occasional Moorhen prospected along the shoreline.

171104 5 Cormorant171104 5 Flock of Canada geese

As I was watching this Cormorant drying its wings, our peace and tranquillity was interrupted by the loud honking of a large skein of Canada Geese flying in from the west.

171104 6 Long-tailed tits
171104 6 Starlings and gull

Where concrete and buildings dominate the shoreline and there’s a notable absence of trees, the birds have adapted and perch on tree-like things.

171104 7 Great crested grebe
171104 7 Mute swan

I saw perhaps half a dozen Great crested grebes around the Bay: I always admire how long they can stay underwater when fishing. Mute swans were more numerous. They are birds of such contrasts, looking anything but decorous when flaunting their glorious white bottoms as they feed, yet the picture of elegance when preening.

171104 8 Black-headed gull (3)

The most abundant came at the end of my walk. It was standing room only for the Black-headed gulls on the Barrage.

171104 8 Black-headed gull (1)
171104 8 Black-headed gull (2)

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Little egrets

09 Sunday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Egretta garzetta, Little egret

After reading reports of a Great white egret being seen at Roath Park lake last Wednesday evening, I decided a visit was in order for Thursday. Unfortunately, the Great white had flown the coop but I did manage to see Little egrets, which was almost as good.

170709 Little egrets (3)

Twenty years ago these birds were a rarity in Britain but, with the warming of our climate, the Little egret (Egretta garzetta) has been expanding its European range and was added to the British breeding list in 1996. They are still not that common in Cardiff so to see two birds together at the lake was a treat. (Apologies for the photos: the birds were a bit distant for my lens and their bright white makes them difficult to photograph in full sun.)

170709 Little egrets (2)
170709 Little egrets (5)
170709 Little egrets (4)
170709 Little egrets (1)

I wonder what their larger, much more common cousin and frequent lake visitor, the Grey heron, made of their visit.

170709 Grey heron (2)
170709 Grey heron (1)

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Birds of Roath Lake

12 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, Greylag goose, jackdaw, Mallard, Moorhen, Roath Park Lake, Tufted duck

Just to show that the birds of Roath Park Lake aren’t all vicious killers (see yesterday’s post for that horror story), here are some I photographed before the swans attacked.

161212-1-tufted-duck-mallard
161212-2-tufted-duck

There’s a little concrete ledge under the water at this end of the lake, which is just perfect for the water birds to sit on and preen but still have the chance for a quick watery getaway if needed. It’s also perfect for bird watchers to get a better look at the cute little Tufted ducks as you rarely see them out of the water. I think this little black-and-white male knows exactly how handsome he is!

161212-3-jackdaw

Further around the lake I was entertained by three Jackdaws searching through the leaf litter for food. Just as I’ve seen blackbirds and thrushes do, they would grab the leaves and fling them to one side, then look back quickly for signs of any insect movement.

161212-4-moorhen

Still further along the path, I stopped and fed the seed from one of the two containers I was carrying firstly to one of the Barnacle geese, and then to the Greylag and Canada geese, Mallards and Feral pigeons that rapidly came to flock around me. This Moorhen came last but was still able to pick up a few seeds the bigger birds had missed. Their feathers have such beautifully rich colours.

161212-5-greylag-goose

And last but certainly not least was this very sleepy Greylag goose, standing apart from all the rest on the edge of the pavement at the end of the lake. As I watched it tucked one leg up under its plump body and, though it tried to keep an eye on me just in case I was a threat, its eyes gradually closed for a mid-afternoon snooze.

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Black-crowned night heron

13 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, birding, birds, birdwatching, Black-crowned night heron, heron, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Lincoln Park, Nycticorax nycticorax

For this week’s World Wildlife Wednesday we have a bird that can be found almost everywhere in the world (though it’s neither partial to the cold nor to Australasia), and my images go some way to showing that.

160413 Black crowned night heron cambo ACCB

My first photo of the Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) was taken at the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) not far from Siem Reap in Cambodia. Like so many species of wildlife in poverty-stricken Cambodia, this heron is considered by many locals to be a food item, and hunting has dramatically reduced its numbers. The ACCB operates a captive breeding programme that aims to rebuild the local population.

160413 black crowned night heron chicago

My second set of photos was taken in Chicago and shows immature night herons roosting in the trees in Lincoln Park, just north of the city centre. Due mainly to habitat loss, these herons are endangered in Illinois, so the Chicago Parks, Lincoln Park Zoo and Department of Natural Resources are working together to encourage and support the 400-odd birds that breed in Lincoln Park each year.

160413 black crowned night heron  kl

The location of my third photo is the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in Malaysia. According to the Malaysian Birds website, the Black-crowned night heron is faring rather better in Malaysia, where the bird is widespread and the populations in local heronries frequently number in the hundreds.

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Juffits & fuffits & long-tailed chitterings

24 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, long-tailed tit

160324 long tailed tit (1)

It’s taken me many months of following these little birds to get any half decent photographs. The Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) rarely keeps still, spending most of its day with its extended family of 10 to 20 birds, flitting and fluttering through trees, shrubs and hedgerows, chattering all the way. In fact, that’s often how you first realise they’re about, by their very characteristic call, which the BTO website describes as ‘a sharp tsurp, repeated several times’.

160324 long tailed tit (2)

most of my photos are like these, of tits behind twigs in trees

They are probably the cutest of Britain’s small birds, like little bundles of fluff with tails too long for their bodies, and, judging by the long list of charming common names they have attracted, I’m not the only one who thinks they’re cute. These are just a selection from the list in Buczacki’s Flora Britannica: in Yorkshire, they’re known as ‘Bottle jugs’; in the Midlands, it’s the ‘bottle tom’, the ‘bottle tit’ and the ‘bum barrel’; in Warwickshire, the ‘buttermilk can’; in East Lothian, the ‘feather poke’ and the ‘fuffit’; in Warwickshire, the ‘hedge mumruffin’; in Nottinghamshire the ‘jack-in-a-bottle’ and the ‘juffit’; and in Shropshire and Worcestershire the ‘miller’s thumb’ and the ‘long-tailed chittering’.

160324 long tailed tit (3)

160324 long tailed tit (4)

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It’s World Sparrow Day!

20 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Cambodia sparrow, house sparrow, New Zealand sparrow, Red list, rufous-collared sparrow, sparrow, Tanzanian sparrow

I miss sparrows.

160320 sparrow (1)

In my homeland, New Zealand, they are probably the most common and well known bird, though the New Zealand sparrow is not a native – it was introduced there several times between 1866 and 1871, and has clearly made itself at home. Sparrows were also familiar birds during the time I lived in Peru and in Cambodia but, here in Wales, I seldom see them, because, in recent years, the humble house sparrow (Passer domesticus domesticus) has undergone a huge decline in Britain. And I do mean huge – the British Trust for Ornithology website reports that the population has declined by 71% since 1977, possibly due to loss of habitat but also to a decline in the insects adult birds feed their young. The house sparrow is now on Britain’s red list, as a bird of the highest conservation concern.

160320 sparrow (2)

Around the world there are 26 species of house sparrow, native to Europe, Asia and north-west Africa. There are also American sparrows (from a separate family, the Emberizidae) and birds with similar names, like the Java sparrow (also a different family, the Estrildidae). Still, the world would be much the poorer if it lost the lovely British house sparrow, so it is gratifying to know that various wildlife organisations are working to improve its situation and increase its population. Today, let’s celebrate the humble sparrow!

160320 sparrow nz (1)

female (left) and male (right) New Zealand sparrows

160320 sparrow cambodia (1)

a sparrow in Cambodia

160320 sparrow tanzania & rufous-collared peru

left, a sparrow in Tanzania (far too busy gathering nest materials to pose for a photo), and, right, a rufous-collared sparrow in Peru

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Prime lakefront real estate at Cosmeston

14 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, nesting

During my wonderful exploration of Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on Friday, I went into the bird hide on the west lake to check out the view.

160314 nesting site (1)

There before me in the reed beds – prime lakefront real estate to a wetland bird – was a coot, pottering about on the beginnings of a nest, tweaking the position of a reed or two.

160314 nesting site (2)160314 nesting site (3)

It headed off along the lake unaware that a pair of Great crested grebes had their eye on the same piece of real estate. Seeing an opportunity to gazump the coot, they quickly paddled over.

160314 nesting site (4)

Mrs Grebe tried the ‘nest’ for size.

160314 nesting site (5)

A conversation ensued. Did it have potential? Was it cosy enough? Did it have a good view? What about the neighbours?

160314 nesting site (6)

The property seemed to meet with the grebes’ approval as one of them sailed off along the lake, leaving the other to stand guard.

160314 nesting site (7)

I didn’t stick around to find out what happened when the coot returned!

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Tit elation

12 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, Blue tit, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Great tit

Yesterday saw my first visit to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, just outside Penarth, here in south Wales. And what a fabulous place it is! With two former quarries now filled to form lakes, large meadows, seemingly endless tree-lined walks and an extensive woodland, it’s perfect for everything from family picnics and walking the dog, jogging and mountain-biking, to exercising the pony and birdwatching. I’ll certainly be heading back there again soon.

0 great tit

As I’m mad keen on birds I particularly enjoyed my wonderful long wander through Cogan Wood. The place was alive with all the little birds I love the most, and the most prolific of these were the Great tits and Blue tits. Though the weather was not particularly cold and there was plenty of natural food around for them, they acted like they were starving and, in the most wonderful way, I was almost mobbed by them as I walked along. I tell ya, those critters can smell seed even when it’s tucked away in a plastic box in a backpack! I rewarded them well for all the delightful photo opportunities they provided.

1 blue tit2 great tit3 blue tit4 great tit5 blue tit6 great tit7 blue tit

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Meet the Mallards

10 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, duck, Mallard, weather folklore

160306 mallard 3

Though male and female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) are so different they were originally thought to be two different species, today they are what almost everyone imagines when they hear or read the word ‘duck’, and they are the bird people most love to feed with old scraps of bread. Please don’t! As Britain’s Canal and River Trust has often warned, with 6 million loaves being thrown into canals, lakes and waterways every year, bread is a serious problem. Not only is it bad for the ducks’ environment, it’s not very healthy for the ducks either. Click on this link to read about the more natural alternatives.

160306 mallard 1

British folklore has many charming references to mallards and weather forecasting, like this: ‘If ducks fly backwards and forwards, and continually plunge in water and wash themselves incessantly, wet weather will ensure.’ In Scotland, there’s a similar saying: ‘When ducks are driving through the burn [darting through the stream], / that night the weather takes a turn.’ And here’s one from Sussex: ‘If there’s ice at Martinmas will bear a duck / There’ll be nothing after but sludge and muck.’ Obviously, the nation’s weather forecasters should be watching the mallards, not their charts and satellite maps!

160306 mallard 2

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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