Ring-necked duck, again

30 Saturday Jan 2021

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Aythya collaris, birding, birdwatching, female Ring-necked duck, Ring-necked duck

This gorgeous wee duck has already starred in a couple of this winter’s blog posts but yesterday, when I passed her regular spot, she was closer to the path than usual so I managed to get some slightly better photos, which I can’t resist sharing.

210130 ring-necked duck (1)

The Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris), like the Tufted ducks this one spends its time with locally, is a diving duck that summers and breeds in North America but migrates to spend the winter in the southern United States and Central America. Sometimes that migration goes awry and, according to the BTO, around 21 Ring-necked ducks find their way to Britain each year.

210130 ring-necked duck (2)

Hopefully, in another month or so, our winter visitor, this lovely immature female Ring-necked duck, will catch a favourable wind to carry her back across the Atlantic to rejoin others of her kind and find herself a mate. Fingers crossed!

210130 ring-necked duck (3)

RSPB Garden Birdwatch 2021

28 Thursday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, Blue tit, British birds, RSPB Garden Birdwatch

In 2020, the Blue tit was the third most common bird to be recorded by people taking part in the annual RSPB Garden Birdwatch, which is happening again this weekend, 29 – 31 January.

210128 blue tit (1)

So, if you have a garden, how about spending a relaxing hour enjoying the birds that visit your green space? You can read all about it and do your bit for citizen science by checking the RSPB website here.

210128 blue tit (2)

Feather: Buzzard

25 Monday Jan 2021

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bird feathers, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Buzzard, Buzzard feathers, feathers

Like many people who enjoy walking with nature, I pick up the odd thing that attracts my eye: nuts and cones, galls, pebbles and fossils, skulls (small creatures – I only have a couple). And feathers, some of which I thought I’d share over the coming weeks. From the location where I found these two – under tall trees at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and from the markings, I think these are Buzzard feathers.

210125 buzzard feathers (1) 210125 buzzard feathers (3) 210125 buzzard feathers (2) 210125 buzzard feathers (4)

Bullfinch and Bramble

23 Saturday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, Bramble seeds, British birds, bullfinch, Bullfinch eating Bramble seeds, female Bullfinch

At this time of year, I often see Bullfinches on Bramble bushes, nibbling on the seeds of those desiccated fruits that weren’t consumed by the berry loving birds in the autumn. This female was feasting happily close to one of the paths at Cosmeston last Monday.

210123 bullfinch

Grazing

18 Monday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birds, Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, Meadow pipit, Pied wagtail, Stonechat

Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve is not just about wetlands; there’s also a large swathe of grass where, during spring and summer, Bee orchids thrive (when the council operatives don’t cut them!) and where wildflowers bloom in abundance (ditto!). At the moment many hungry small birds can be seen in this area (when they’re not disturbed by dogs that should be on their leads in a nature reserve), searching for much needed insects and seeds. During my recent walks along the adjacent footpath, I’ve enjoyed seeing a pair of Meadow pipits, a male Stonechat, and several Pied wagtails grazing contentedly together.

210118 stonechat

Ducks in a row

16 Saturday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds birding, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Ring-necked duck, Scaup, Tufted duck

For the past couple of months it’s been wonderful to have both a female Scaup and a Ring-necked duck over-wintering in my local area. They spend most of their time amongst flocks of Tufted ducks in Cardiff Bay, either behind the Ice Rink or in the wetlands reserve, though they also venture occasionally to Cosmeston Lakes. Much of the time they can be found together, as if they’re aware that they’re the outsiders in the flock, though they can sometimes be found in separate locations. I was lucky during Thursday’s walk to see them both in a smattering of sunshine and together – in fact, I managed to get all my ducks in a row!

210116 ducks in a row

Turn, turn, turn

14 Thursday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birds, Ely embankment, Turnstone, turnstones in Cardiff

We can’t let January pass without at least one photo of a Turnstone, or two …

210114 turnstone

Hungry Marsh tits

11 Monday Jan 2021

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

On my Christmas Day walk I wanted to spread some good cheer to my fellow creatures so, with humans being off limits, I went bearing seed to the small hungry birds in Cosmeston’s Cogan Wood. And I was delighted, and more than a little amazed, when the first bird to appear, before I’d even spread the seed about, was one of the resident Marsh tits, which came and sat in the bramble bush just a foot from my hand, waiting impatiently for me to back off. So, I was able to get probably my best photos yet of this charming little bird.

210111 marsh tit (1)

And, though I missed seeing a Marsh tit on my first visit to Cosmeston for 2021, I did see one on my second, and, once again, it was the first bird I saw when I got to one of their regular feeding spots. In fact, this tit was poking around for seed at the bottom of the tree stump, and then perched up on the bushes until I had sprinkled the stump top with seed. What a little star!

210111 marsh tit (2)

Round Robin

07 Thursday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British robin, robin, round robin

By ‘Round Robin’, I mean a Robin (bird) that looks round because it’s fluffed up all its feathers to increase trapped air to keep itself warm, as opposed to round-robin, a tournament where each contestant competes with every other contestant (rather than a knockout competition, where contestants get eliminated in stages, in, for example, a series of quarter- and semi-finals). And then I wondered if the two robins were somehow related but it turns out they’re not. According to Wikipedia, in round-robin the competition the word robin is a corruption of the French term ruban, which means ribbon, though, if you’re a word nut like me, you might like to check out The Phrase Finder website, which has even more interesting information about the origin of the term.

210107 round robin

Caspian gull

06 Wednesday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Caspian gull, Larus cachinnans

Gulls are tricky – I’m sure I’ve said/written that on here before – so, when I heard that a 1st winter Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) had been seen in Cardiff Bay, I enjoyed seeing other birders’ photos but didn’t for a moment consider going to see it. This was partly because it was only appearing at dusk, when it would fly in to spend the night with the other roosting gulls, and so I wouldn’t have time to see it and then walk home before it was fully dark, but mostly because I knew I wouldn’t be able to identify it even if I did go. So, imagine my amazement when, during a walk around Cardiff Bay on Monday, I bumped into my birding friend Graham, who was watching the Caspian gull, floating on the water only a hundred metres or so off the footpath, in the middle of the day. This was a lifer for me, so to say I was pleased would be something of an understatement!

210106 caspian gull