29 Sunday Oct 2017
They always make me smile so it’s a joy to see Tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula) back on my local lakes here in south Wales. These ducks tend not to live in Wales year-round: instead, they spend most of the year in England and Scotland, only heading south-west when the days get shorter and the temperatures cooler. Numbers throughout Britain also increase during the winter months as birds from Iceland and northern Europe head to our slightly milder isles.
26 Thursday Oct 2017
Tags
Avocet, birding, birdwatching, Cervus nippon, Corfe Castle, Glamorgan Bird Club, RSPB Arne, Sika deer, Sika fawn, Sika hind
On the way back from Portland our group of Glamorgan Bird Clubbers detoured to RSPB Arne to follow up on the reported sighting of a Stilt sandpiper.
It was down there somewhere, amidst the large numbers of waders – it was a real treat to see so many Avocets together – but I can’t definitively say I saw it.
However, we did have fabulous views of the surrounding countryside and the distant Corfe Castle – another place added to my list of ‘must visits’ – and, to my delight, we also had wonderful views of a Sika deer mother and fawn, the first time I’ve seen these deer.
The Sika (Cervus nippon) is about the size of a Fallow deer – this hind would’ve been between 50 and 90cm at the shoulder, her fawn, obviously, smaller – but the Sika’s coat is generally darker. They do have whitish spots in the summer but these can be very faint, almost invisible in the winter months. Fawns are usually born in May – June so this little one must’ve been 4 to 5 months old.
The countryside at Arne is perfect for Sika as they prefer coniferous woodlands and acidic heathland, where they nibble away at grasses and heather. Although these Sika are not a native British species – three different Asian species have been kept on estates and parklands, escapees from the Japanese species (hence C. nippon) can be found through much of Britain where the habitat is right, particularly in parts of Scotland.
23 Monday Oct 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Cormorant, Dorset coastline, Gannet, Glamorgan Bird Club, Kestrel, Little owl, Portland, Portland Bird Observatory, Portland stone
One more birding blog from my wonderful weekend at the Portland Bird Observatory and then no more about Portland … till next year.
In case you don’t know, Portland is sort of an island – it is actually connected to the mainland – but it looks for all the world like a small island jutting out into the English Channel. It’s where the famous Portland stone (used to build such landmarks as St Paul’s Cathedral in London) comes from, and so the coastline is dramatically rocky and the land is riddled with quarries, many of which are now disused.
On the Saturday of our long weekend we went for a wonderful walk, along the cliff-top coastal paths and inland through fields, and later in to one of the old quarries. Those with ’scopes spotted some nice seabirds passing by, and gannets, shags, cormorants and various gulls could easily be seen with the naked eye and bins.
Kestrels were abundant – one sat obligingly on top of a post (though shooting in to a bright sky didn’t make for good photos) and I managed to get a reasonable fly-by shot.
As well as seeing Stonechats, Meadow pipits, a Whinchat, Wheatears and large flocks of Goldfinches and Linnets, we also disturbed a family of Pheasants (mum, dad and two kids) in one of the fields.
And the resident Little owl popped out of its hidey hole in a local quarry for a short time early on Sunday morning, though, again, the light was not the best for photography.
All up the group total for the weekend was 117 species seen or heard. At 82, my personal total was a bit lower but it’s the quality, not the quantity that counts – of those 82, 15 were lifers, birds I’d never seen before – and that’s a pretty impressive total for just three days’ birding!
21 Saturday Oct 2017
Posted in birds, coastal fauna, nature
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Brent geese, British birds, Chesil Beach, Dorset Wildlife Trust Centre, Little egret, Mediterranean gulls, Oystercatchers, Sandwich terns, The Fleet
After exploring RSPB Lodmoor, our birding road trip moved on to Chesil Beach, and what an amazing place it is!
To quote a brochure I picked up: ‘Chesil Beach is a natural wonder – a bank of 180 billion pebbles stretching for 18 miles along Dorset’s coast, linking Portland to the mainland. Trapped behind the beach is the Fleet, one of the largest saline lagoons in the country and a haven for bird and marine life’.
Here we staked ourselves out behind the Dorset Wildlife Trust Centre, trying, somewhat ineffectually, to shelter from the bracing winds. The wind chill was worth it though, as we had good views of a gaggle of Brent geese and a large flock of Mediterranean gulls.
Amongst the gulls were two Sandwich terns, and the beach was also hosting the ubiquitous Oystercatchers and more common gulls, a Bar-tailed godwit and a solitary Dunlin.
A Wheatear dotted about on the grass below the pebble bank and, when we briefly stopped here again on our way home on Sunday, a Little egret entertained with its fishing antics, paddling about very successfully in the waterways. Next time I need to climb that bank!
19 Thursday Oct 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, Great white egret, Kingfisher, Lesser yellowlegs, Mediterranean gull, RSPB Lodmoor, Teal, Tringa flavipes
On the way to Portland Bird Observatory last Friday we called in at the RSPB’s Lodmoor Reserve, just outside of Weymouth, to see if we could catch a glimpse of one of their rare visitors, a Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), a bird that’s usually more at home in the Americas. Our views weren’t super clear – my photos were taken through tall grasses and bramble – but it was great to see one of these occasional visitors to Europe.
As well as the Lesser yellowlegs (and the Gadwall I blogged about earlier in the week), there was an abundance of other birdlife.
Large numbers of Canada geese flew in while we walked the trails, and there were numerous Teal and Tufted ducks.
A few Mediterranean as well as the more common gull species …
Ruff, Snipe, Little and Great white egrets puddled about in the lagoons; a very confiding Kingfisher posed for photos; two Marsh harriers glided over the distant reed beds; and a Spoonbill was a nice, though distant sighting. I recorded over 30 species of birds at Lodmoor and that was without walking right around the reserve.
17 Tuesday Oct 2017
Tags
Anas strepera, birding, birdwatching, British birds, dabbling duck, duck, Gadwall, Glamorgan Bird Club, Lodmoor, RSPB Lodmoor
Here’s another beauty from last weekend’s wonderful birding trip with the Glamorgan Bird Club. Though this bird is not the rarity of yesterday’s Rustic bunting, it’s not terribly common either, and is ‘Amber listed’, meaning its population has declined in recent years and its situation is being monitored.
This is a male Gadwall (Anas strepera), a very handsome dabbling duck, a little smaller than a Mallard. Sitting on one of the ponds at the RSPB’s Lodmoor Reserve near Weymouth in Dorset, he was looking a little sleepy. Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t bothered about us looking at him, as he actually approached quite near – a bonus for me trying to get reasonable photos. We didn’t hear a peep out of him but, apparently, it’s their chattering call that originally gave the Gadwalls their imitative name.
16 Monday Oct 2017
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Emberiza rustica, Glamorgan Bird Club, Portland Bird Observatory, Portland Obs, rare bird, Rustic bunting
I’ve just had a fantastic long weekend’s birding with the Glamorgan Bird Club at the Portland Bird Observatory in Dorset. Not only did we stay in an old lighthouse but we saw an incredible number of amazing birds. I haven’t typed up my list yet but I do know I had fifteen (yes, 15!!!) lifers (for non-birders, I saw fifteen species I had never seen before).
This little beauty was one of them: it’s a Rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica), a bird that breeds in northern Europe and in Asia and normally migrates to Japan and parts of China and south-east Asia to over-winter. This little one may have been blown the wrong way by strong winds or perhaps, by mistake, it joined up with a group of other small birds heading for Britain.
It was both an amazing experience and a real privilege to see such a rarity up close. (You can read more about this bird and see more pictures on the Portland Obs blog here.)
15 Sunday Oct 2017
Tags
autumn, autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Grangemoor Park, migrant birds, Saxicola torquata, Stonechat
Meet the Stonechat (Saxicola torquata), the bird whose song sounds like two pebbles being rapped together, hence its common name.
These little birds, about the size of your average Robin, usually live a little north of where I live in south Wales, preferring the plantations of conifers that grow in the Welsh valleys and the heathland of the Brecon Beacons. But, come the cooler temperatures of autumn they begin to move south to over-winter in slightly warmer climes.
I saw my first local bird at the Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve on 17 September, a pair at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on 6 October, and then a solitary female at Grangemoor Park last Sunday, 8 October.
Stonechats are not always easy to spot, as they duck down amongst tall grass and wildflowers in their search for insects and seeds, and their colours act as good camouflage. But, luckily, they also have a habit of perching on the tops of those grasses and wildflowers and on low shrubs so they can keep an eye out for threats – and humans with cameras! – so I have managed to get a few distant photos.
11 Wednesday Oct 2017
‘I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn.’ ~ Henry David Thoreau. I have not shared Thoreau’s privileged occurrence but I do enjoy watching and listening to sparrows, like these two juveniles seen recently at Forest Farm.
10 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in birds, coastal fauna, nature, seaside, walks
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, coastal cliffs, dramatic coastline, Glamorgan Bird Club, Gower, Mewslade, Rhossili Beach, Worm's Head
It was a wild and windy but not wet day last week when I ventured for the first time to the incredible Gower peninsula, on a birding trip with my Glamorgan Bird Club friends.
We parked near Mewslade Beach, then walked a circuit from there along the cliff-top coastal path, across the medieval field system of The Vile, through the little village of Rhossili and then back to the car park. Most of the birds were best viewed through binoculars or ’scopes so I don’t have many images of them to share but the scenery was just stunning! High stone cliffs honed in places to a razor edge by millennia of wind and rain, secret little coves nestled between tall protective hills, the long stretch of golden-sand beach at Rhossili that was recently named the best beach in Britain and one of the world’s top ten – Gower really does deserve the adjective ‘awesome’!
Oh, and getting back to the birds – I saw a total of 34 species: Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, Oystercatcher, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Pheasant, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Wren, Blackbird, Robin, Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, and the two highlights for me, Common Scoter (a group of perhaps 20 floating together on the sea – seen through a ’scope) and several Gannets, flying low to the waves not far offshore, plus a bonus sighting of at least one Grey seal lolling about in the waves in one of the bays.
The group total was 46 species as I was too busy admiring the scenery to notice these: Shag, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chough, Rook, Bullfinch, Song Thrush, Common Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull. Thanks to John and Glamorgan Bird Club members for yet another fantastic day out!
earthstar 
You must be logged in to post a comment.