20/366 Crispest

20 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, frost, Jay, nuthatch, Snipe

It was frosty white again this morning so, in the hope that the chilly temperatures might have lured the resident Snipe out of their hiding places in the reed beds, I headed to Forest Farm Nature Reserve for a meander. And I was lucky – though they were very distant, I managed to spot three Snipe. Full marks if you can actually see them in this photo.

200120 1 snipe

Of course, the cold temps also meant the birds were hungry and frantic to be fed. I took plenty of seed with me but many of the good folk who walk this reserve regularly had already covered fence post tops and feeding tables with food of various types. This Nuthatch was stocking up, taking away several seeds and nuts at a time to stash in nooks and crannies in nearby trees.

200120 3 nuthatch

Jays were also busy stashing. Birders were spraying the grass in front of the bird hide with peanuts, which at least two Jays were gathering and carting away to their local hiding places. Best to be prepared in case this chilly spell continues.

200120 2 jay

15/366 Immature drake scaup

15 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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Aythya marila, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greater scaup, juvenile drake scaup, Scaup

What a difference a month makes! Well, actually, not quite a month – my first photo below was taken on 21 December, the other two today, 15 January.

200115 scaup (1)

Two juvenile drake Greater scaup (Aythya marila) have been over-wintering in my local area, some days on the lakes at Cosmeston, some days in Cardiff Bay, either at the wetlands reserve or on the opposite side of the bay, near Ferry Court, always in the company of the flocks of Tufted ducks.

200115 scaup (2)

When they were first sighted, it was difficult to tell them apart from the female Tufties, so brown were they in appearance. But, as you can see in these photos, they are gradually acquiring more grey feathers on their backs and white on their lower bodies.

200115 scaup (3)

In February and March, scaup begin to migrate to the Arctic in preparation for breeding, though, according to my bird guide, some immature birds remain in their wintering grounds over the summer months. It will be interesting to see what these two decide to do.

14/366 Peter and friends

14 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Ely embankment, Redshank

200114 redshank (1)

During my early morning walk my little Redshank friend Peter (the bird ringed at Peterstone in 2016, hence my name for him) was on the foreshore where the River Ely flows into Cardiff Bay.

200114 redshank (2) 200114 redshank (3)

And he wasn’t alone – his companions included 5 other Redshanks, 21 Turnstones (a large number for this site), 1 Pied and 5 Grey wagtails, 7 Great crested grebes, 2 Mute swans, 7 Mallards, 5 Goosanders, and the usual large numbers of Coots and gulls.

200114 redshank (4) 200114 redshank (5)

Were there so many birds because they were all sheltering from Storm Brendan’s wild winds or is it simply that I need to walk early more often?

200114 redshank (6)

12/366 Robin redbreast

12 Sunday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, robin, Robin Redbreast

200112 robin redbreast

Today’s was just a quick showery stomp to Cosmeston and back, for the refreshing air and to keep my mileage up (I’m aiming to walk 1500 miles this year). It wasn’t the weather for photography, too damp and dim, but I couldn’t resist this cheery Robin redbreast singing its merry tune.

11/366 What a hoot!

11 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Tawny owl

For the past four years, each time in early January, I have been lucky to sight a Tawny owl – the same bird? – perched, snoozing, on this nest box in a local park. It gets screeched at by Jays and its box gets invaded by Grey squirrels during the warmer months so I don’t think it actually raises its young in this place, but rather uses it as a place to sleep during the short winter days. And, for that, I am extremely grateful, as the sight of this gorgeous creature brings me much joy.

200111 tawny owl

8/366 Mandarin!

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, male Mandarin, Mandarin duck

I was recently reminded by a fellow birder that it’s a very good idea to have a thorough read of your local area bird report. (I belong to the Glamorgan Bird Club, which has just published the 2018 Eastern Glamorgan Bird Report, its 57th.) So I did, and today that paid off.

200108 mandarin duck (1)

Though the walk there and back totalled seven miles, every step was worth the privilege of seeing this bird (and half of that distance was in beautiful countryside, which was a pleasure to walk through anyway).

200108 mandarin duck (2)

I’d heard that this male Mandarin duck could be a bit of a skulker, keeping to the sides of its watery home, frequently hiding under or behind vegetation, but not today. As I slowly approached, it swam away with a couple of Mallards so I grabbed a couple of quick photos, thinking I might not get very good views.

I was wrong. I walked on a little so as not to scare it and, looking back, saw the bird had climbed on to a log near the opposite shore and was preening. I edged slowly closer and was able to watch it for perhaps another twenty minutes. By that time, it had finished preening and was settling for a snooze but keeping one eye open to check what I was doing.

200108 mandarin duck (5)

I decided not to overstay my welcome and headed off, leaving Mr Mandarin to enjoy his sleep. And I smiled all the way home!

7/366 Reluctant Reed bunting

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, male Reed bunting, Reed bunting

I felt a little sorry for this handsome male Reed bunting today.

200107 reed bunting (1)

I had put seed on the fence post tops and the littler birds – the Blue and Great tits, a Robin, a Dunnock and a Chaffinch – were all helping themselves but Mr Reed bunting just wasn’t brave enough to grab something for himself. He watched, looked all around in case of unseen dangers, watched again, hopped closer, even did a couple of fly-pasts but never quite summoned the courage to land.

200107 reed bunting (2)

6/366 Crow vs Raven

06 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Carrion crow, Raven, starling, urban birds

You’d think in a contest between a Crow and a Raven, the Raven would win hands down every time. After all, it’s Britain’s biggest corvid, a hulking beast of a bird. And I’m sure if this had been a real contest, the Raven would have won – but it was not.

200106 raven (1)

As you can see, the Raven was sitting on a rooftop aerial, on a house in a lane not far from my house, not somewhere I’ve seen one before. The Crow had taken exception to the Raven being in its territory, so was harassing it repeatedly. The Raven ignored the Crow for a while but then, I think, simple got fed up, and flew off.

200106 raven (2)

The Starlings were spectators, watching with interest from a neighbouring aerial. It was a charming little interlude on my daily walk.

200106 starlings

3/366 Stroll around Forest Farm

03 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Dipper, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Great spotted woodpecker, Grey heron, Kingfisher

Today’s was another merry meander, this time around Forest Farm Nature Reserve. The sun was actually shining for part of the time, which was a very pleasant change, and I was lucky with my bird sightings.

200103 1 dipper

As soon as I stepped on to the pedestrian bridge that crosses the River Taff from Radyr Station to Forest Farm, I could hear a Dipper singing – such a delightful melody! And there it was, sitting on a rock on the far bank, almost directly under the bridge. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day.

200103 2 great spotted woodpecker

The little birds – the tits and finches, Robins and Wrens – were also very vocal and it wasn’t long before I had paused to hand out some sunflower seeds and enjoy their feasting. As I watched, I caught a flash of red – my first Great spotted woodpecker of the year. I also heard, then saw a Green woodpecker but wasn’t quick enough for any photos.

200103 3 kingfisher

I popped along to the second bird hide but all was quiet there and I’m not one to just sit and wait for the birds to come, so I headed along to wander the length of the old Glamorgan Canal, and back. I was soon lucky there too – a Kingfisher was flying and perching on low branches, trying to fish but being almost continuously disturbed by passing dogs and their walkers and noisy families.

Four hours later, I had dished out all of my seed offerings and managed to clock 30 species, four of which were new for 2020 and all of which were lovely to see. But the highlight of the day was probably the sight of 10 Grey herons in one huge dead tree (at one point also joined by a Buzzard but two Magpies soon saw it off)!

1/366 And we’re off!

01 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, Black redstart, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Goosander, Lesser black-backed gull, Turnstone

And so another year, another decade has kicked off, and I started as I mean to go on, with an 8-mile walk around Cardiff Bay, immersing myself in the local wildlife. I counted 43 species of birds, found 28 species of wildflowers in bloom (more on them tomorrow), and spotted 1 moth. I finally met someone I’ve ‘known’ on Twitter for ages, and bumped into 2 fellow birders. The weather may have been shite (gloomy, partly foggy, partly low cloud, sometimes drizzle) but it was a mighty fine way to jump start a new year.

My good camera didn’t come out often as it doesn’t like the wet and the photos I did take are very grainy due to the poor light, but I’ll include a couple anyway.

This male Goosander was posing nicely – wish I could’ve done him justice

200101 3 turnstones

There were 14 Turnstones along the Ely embankment today, 7 of which ventured up on to the pavement – never seen that before. Lingered watching for quite a while …

For those who like lists, the birds were: Robin, Lesser black-backed gull, Feral pigeon, Starling, Great tit, Blackbird, House sparrow, Woodpigeon, Herring gull, Carrion crow, Dunnock, Blue tit, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Cormorant, Coot, Great-crested grebe, Mallard, Goosander, Grey wagtail, Turnstone, Collared dove, Mute swan, Redshank, Tufted duck, Wren, Blackcap, Black redstart, Moorhen, Pied wagtail, Raven, Goldfinch, Song thrush, Little grebe, Linnet, Reed bunting, Cetti’s warbler, Shoveler, Sparrowhawk. Pochard, Grey heron, Meadow pipit, and Jackdaw.