Tag Archives: British birds

A Mandarin in eclipse

26 Saturday Sep 2026

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This Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) was first noticed at the end of August, hanging out with the Mallards on the former Glamorgan Canal at Forest Farm Nature Reserve. I didn’t manage to get there to see him at the time and, as I hadn’t seen him reported since then, I thought he must have moved on. Then, last Thursday evening, I saw a photo of him, taken the previous day, on social media, and thus my Friday adventure was decided.

You might think a bird like this would easily stand out from the Mallard crowd – and he should have – but I must have walked right past him when I first arrived at Forest Farm, and then I walked the full length of the Glamorgan Canal, and the feeder canal before finally noticing him as I was heading, dejectedly, for the train. Doh!

You may wonder about the words ‘in eclipse’ in today’s blog title. When they’ve finished breeding, male Mandarins, like many other duck species, moult their colourful breeding feathers, making them resemble for a time the plainer brown females of their species. This moult usually renders them flightless, meaning they need to find a relatively safe place to live while their feathers regrow (which means I should’ve realised this drake would still be at Forest Farm – lesson learned!). As you can see, this handsome little chap is perhaps half way through the eclipse process, with some but not all of his usually vibrant plumage already obvious. I’m planning another visit soon to check on his progress. And, if you’re wondering what he will look like at the end of the eclipse, take a look at my blog from October last year, A drake Mandarin.

Striking a pose

22 Tuesday Sep 2026

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During a walk around Roath Park Lake one day last week, the three Little egrets caught my eye. These are two of them (the other was perched in a distant tree.). This first bird was shuffling along in the very low water by the islands, hoping to disturb tasty invertebrates in the mud below its feet, though how it could see them through all that vegetation on the water’s surface, I don’t know.

The second Little egret was a surprise, as it was fishing from the lake’s bank, something I’ve never seen them do before. So intent was it on spotting any movement in the water that it seemed oblivious to the busy pedestrian traffic along the footpath just a couple of metres behind it, though 99% of those pedestrians were so focused on their phones or busy chatting loudly to their companions that they didn’t notice the egret either.

It was a photographer’s dream though, as the bird was close, and the light was dull, meaning the usual flare from the egret’s whiter-than-white feathers wasn’t as difficult as in bright sunshine. Sadly, due to the bird’s rapid movement, my shots of it catching fish were all a bit blurry but it had obviously chosen its fishing spot well.

At the southern end of the lake, where you can walk across the embankment dam (this is a man-made lake), a juvenile Moorhen was perched on the low ironwork structure that fences off the water outlet. It was preening vigorously but paused when it became aware it was being watched, so I took a few photos.

The lake is home to many geese, both Canada and Greylag, the numbers varying depending on the time of year. Some birds, semi-domesticated, remain year round; others are wild birds that leave to breed elsewhere but return to winter at the lake. Many of the Greylags are white, their ancestors probably farmed geese, but some retain the grey colour and patterning of their truly wild predecessors. I liked the way these two seemed to be striking a pose.

First Turnstones of the autumn

17 Thursday Sep 2026

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A shorter post today after the verbal diarrhoea of the last few days …

Just to say I’ve finally seen my first two Turnstones of the autumn, tootling along the Ely embankment on the edge of Cardiff Bay, a location we usually see these waders throughout the colder months. Winter is coming!

An unexpectedly super day’s birding

15 Tuesday Sep 2026

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Last Wednesday, the day after the excitement of the White-winged black tern, I caught the train to north Cardiff, intending to do my usual walk down to Roath Park Lake, maybe have a mooch around the trees at Cathays Cemetery and Heath Park before catching the train home, but all that changed when I got to the reservoirs.

First, as I walked a circuit of Lisvane Reservoir, I noticed our county bird recorder Phil and another man staring intently at the vegetation along the perimeter fence. Local birder Simon had spotted a Redstart and they were hoping it would reappear. Though it was obviously being put off by the almost constant parade of walkers along the footpath, our patience was eventually rewarded during a lull in pedestrians, and the little beauty sat obligingly on the perimeter fence for a few photos, before disappearing once again. This was my first Redstart of the year so I was well pleased.

Then, Phil spotted a Wheatear flying out to one of the artificial islands and back again to the bank of the reservoir so, after thanking Simon and finishing our chat, I went to try to re-find that and, hopefully, get a closer look. It was very active but I managed to catch up with it on one of the steeper sides of the reservoir.

Next, I tried for some photos of the single late Swift that was flying around over the water with the Sand and House martins, but failed. So, then, I spent a little time watching the still-present Grey phalarope, hoping it would swim or fly a little closer – it didn’t.

At that point, I decided it was time to leave the reservoir enclosure but, ever the optimist, I thought I would have a look along the outside path in case the Redstart was showing out there – it wasn’t. By that time though, it was gone noon so, rather than continue with my initial plan, I figured that, as I was here, I might as well have a walk around the meadows north of the reservoirs, something I used to do often when I lived in the Roath Park area when I first moved to Cardiff but hadn’t much lately. And I’m so very glad I did, as I had only reached the end of the first meadow when I spotted a (the same?) Redstart in the trees ahead.

I’d only seen Redstarts flying from bushes to the ground and back again before but this bird was flying out from the trees well above my head height, putting on a spectacular display of fly catching, its red-coloured underparts flashing vibrantly each time it flew. It was incredible to watch, particularly as it was often accompanied by one or more Chiff/Willows (what birders say when they’re not sure whether they’re seeing Chiffchaffs or Willow warblers) also feeding on the abundance of flying insects.

I watched the Redstart and its smaller companions for quite some time, spellbound, thinking what an amazing day this had turned into, but it wasn’t over yet. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed yet another bird fly catching from the tree tops to my left, a distant Spotted flycatcher to polish off what had been an unexpectedly super day’s birding.

Lifer: White-winged black tern

14 Monday Sep 2026

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At 9:02 last Tuesday morning, a WhatsApp message and back-of-camera photo came through from local birder Gareth: ‘I think this could be a juv ww black tern in Bay’. A flurry of posts followed from our local experts, agreeing with his identification, and then querying which would be the best location to see the bird from. More posts rushed in as excited birders started arriving: ‘flown towards the Barrage’, ‘can be watched from Penarth Marina with scope’, and, at 9:40, a slightly desperate ‘can you still see it?’.

Though I knew it would be a long shot for me to be able to spot the bird in Cardiff Bay using just binoculars, as I’d never seen a White-winged black tern I had to try. Being a pedestrian (and so not being able to drive quickly from place to place), it was also tricky knowing where to head, as the bird seemed to be moving about a lot, but the Barrage was closest so that’s where I went. And, miraculously, despite the distance, I managed to spot the bird almost immediately; having watched the Juvenile Black tern on Lisvane Reservoir very recently, it was easier to lock on to that distinctive swooping and diving flight pattern all tern species have.

After I’d watched the tern for a while, hoping in vain that it might come closer, and checked the Barrage for other birds, it was still only late morning, and the tern had moved from the Bay to the River Taff, flying back and forth just north of the A4232 road bridge. I thought I might have closer views in that location, so off I stomped.

As it turned out, the views were only marginally better as the bird was feeding on the opposite side of the Taff; if I’d gone to that side of the river, I would’ve had the sun in my eyes, so I stayed on the west side. Despite the distance, the bird was still a delight to watch, its flight so agile and energetic. In fact, I couldn’t help wondering how it was finding enough insects to create the energy to power its almost constant flight, but such is the way of terns.

Later, the facts rolled in. The records showed that no White-winged black tern (Chlidonias leucopterus) had ever been seen in Cardiff Bay before, and it was 33 years since an amazing three birds had visited Kenfig National Nature Reserve, further west along the Glamorgan coast. It was a brilliant find by Gareth, a suitable reward for all the hours he puts in checking for birds in the local area. And if you’re wondering, as I was, why it’s called a White-winged black tern, check out the photos on eBird of this tern in full breeding plumage – it’s a stunner!

The time of the phalaropes

13 Sunday Sep 2026

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If you’ve been following here for a while, you might remember my previous encounters with phalaropes, those tiny birds that usually get sighted on British waterways during the month of September as they migrate south from their breeding grounds in the Arctic to their over-wintering sites in warmer climes, in the Arabian Sea and off the coast of Africa.

Last year we were treated to four phalaropes popping in to Cardiff: the Lifer: Red-necked phalarope (blogged on 23 September) and, published the next day, Two Grey phalaropes (though three birds actually featured in that blog as a bonus Grey phalarope was found feeding on the River Taff for a couple of days); and the previous year, we had a Juvenile Grey phalarope visit the seaside town of Barry during the end of August holiday weekend. I’m tagging those previous posts here as all of those birds provided much closer, more confiding views than the bird that is currently still on Cardiff’s Lisvane Reservoir, having arrived on 3 September so, if you want to see what a Grey phalarope looks like, click on those links.

Our latest Grey phalarope is spending almost all of its time floating and flying back and forth in the middle of the reservoir, making it very difficult to see at times; during my two visits, I’ve actually lent my binoculars to a few curious non-birders because they haven’t been able to spot the bird with the naked eye. Still, I’m not complaining – any opportunity I get to spend time watching a phalarope is time well spent in my book.

Juvenile Tufted ducks

11 Friday Sep 2026

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I’ve been to north Cardiff, to the Lisvane and Llanishen Reservoirs, a few times recently – about which more anon – and each time I’ve visited I’ve been captivated by a resident family of Tufted ducks.

These ducks don’t often breed locally but, this summer, a pair hatched six ducklings from a nest on one of the artificial islands in Lisvane reservoir.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing them when they were very young – I’m told they looked like six tiny bundles of fluff, which would’ve been wonderful to see.

In the photos shown here, they are about 4½ weeks old so almost fully fledged, but still showing a little of their baby fluff and downy feathers.

No one’s quite sure whether all six ducklings have survived. That might sound odd but, as they are no longer sticking together in one family group, and the reservoir’s quite large, it’s difficult to check all their locations at one time. I spotted four individuals during this particular visit, and a local birder told me he thinks there are still at least five, which is a very good survival rate. Mum and Dad Tufted duck have obviously done an excellent job raising, instructing, and watching over their little family.

One very confused Shag

09 Wednesday Sep 2026

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Last Friday evening word came through on my local WhatsApp birding group chat that a Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) had been sighted on the River Taff. Shags are rare locally – we see on average one a year somewhere around Cardiff Bay (see A Shag even closer, September 2025, and The Birding begins, January 2024) – but this particular Shag was even more rare than usual; it had joined the regular flock of Mute swans, Mallards, Canada geese, Feral pigeons and assorted gulls coming to bread on a local slipway.

This I had to see, plus I knew the site would allow very close views of the Shag, and the location was one I often pass during one of my regular walking circuits, so I headed that way the following morning. As you can see from my photos, the Shag was still present.

There had been a suggestion put forward that the bird couldn’t fly but I don’t know how it could have got to this site if that was the case. It certainly looked healthy enough, its eyes clear, its feathers glossy, and it was preening a lot. The major concern was its behaviour – no Shag should ever come to bread, and its confused behaviour could perhaps indicate illness of some kind.

Fortunately, access to the slipway had been restricted by chain and padlock, so the Shag wasn’t being threatened by boats being launched, but dogs and people remained a threat. While I was watching the bird, two women with two very young girls walked part of the way down the slipway, the children chasing the pigeons. I politely, but firmly, asked the women to stop their children from doing that because of the danger to the ‘sick’ bird. I half expected to be abused, but they withdrew. Why people let their children chase birds at all is beyond my comprehension.

But I digress. When I passed the slipway yesterday, the Shag was no longer there, and today I’ve seen a report of a Shag in the sea off Cardiff Bay. There’s no way to tell if it’s the same bird but I certainly hope it is, and that this indicates it’s okay. Fingers crossed it never tries to eat bread again!

Even more Spotted flycatchers

04 Friday Sep 2026

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Not just ‘more’ Spotted flycatchers – the most Spotted flycatchers I’ve seen in one day. Ten, in fact.

A pair at the first location, along a hedgerow at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

Then four together at the second site, along the woodland edge at Lavernock Nature Reserve.

And another four together at my final location, a hedgerow in the coastal fields.

What an absolutely brilliant day I had watching these stunning little birds feeding up before their long migration flights!

Spotted flycatchers in the garden

02 Wednesday Sep 2026

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It happened in August 2025, and again in May this year so, whenever I’ve been home lately, I’ve been keeping a keen eye on the garden. And last Sunday, 30 August, it happened again, not one but two hungry Spotted flycatchers feeding very actively along the woodland edge. They were entrancing to watch.

I took these photos from my living room and bedroom windows as there’s no real cover in the garden and I didn’t want to disturb their fly-catching – they needed the food for their migration journey more than I needed closer photos. And, after grabbing a few images, I put the camera down and just enjoyed their aerial prowess until the growing dusk made viewing difficult and the birds disappeared to roost a while in the vegetation, before they flew onwards during the dark of the night.