More feathered friends from Forest Farm

19 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

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birding, birds, birdwatching, blackbird, Blue tit, British birds, bullfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, little grebe, long-tailed tit, nuthatch, robin, wren

Many birders ignore what they consider the ordinary birds, the backyard birds, in favour of the rare and unusual. To me, that’s a bit like only being interested in famous movie stars and ignoring all the supporting actors, the bit players, the extras. I adore all birds but I am particularly charmed by the ordinary birds – every day they make me laugh and smile, their gorgeous colours and intricate plumage delight my eye, their melodies are better than any man-made music. So, for me, yesterday was another magical day with these beautiful extra-ordinary birds at Forest Farm Nature Reserve.

a male bullfinch, such a handsome chap

a little wren foraging in the undergrowth

another handsome fellow, a male chaffinch

Mr Blackbird keeping an eye on me

a dunnock – such a darling!

one of the cutest of them all, a blue tit

Mr Greedy, the nuthatch

a Little grebe is well camouflaged amongst the reeds

another cutie pie, a long-tailed tit

no day’s birding would be complete without a robin or three

The Grey Heron

18 Thursday Feb 2016

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Ardea cinerea, birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Grey heron

160218 grey heron (1)

The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is the most widespread large predatory bird in Britain and it’s flourishing, with an estimated 12205 occupied nests in 2010. Herons nest communally, usually in tall mature trees, and some heronries are known to have been in continuous use for hundreds of years. The largest in Britain is in a private wood on the north side of Budworth Mere, in Cheshire, though I saw very few heron during my frequent walks along the southern shores of that lovely lake last winter.

160218 grey heron flying

This is a bird the Brits used to eat – from the early medieval period right through to the nineteenth century it was an important and relatively expensive table item. Historically, the heron was a favourite victim of falconry and, so that the wealthy could enjoy their sport, its protection was enshrined in law (being found guilty of a second offence could result in the loss of the right hand, a third in death!). Once falconry lost its popularity, the heron lost its protection and, in fact, now the bird often gets persecuted by fishermen who accuse it of taking ‘their’ fish. Personally, I think it’s the heron’s fish.

160218 grey heron (2)

Conversation with robins: 3

15 Monday Feb 2016

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birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, conversations with robins, robin

Forest Farm Nature Reserve, a few days ago

160215 robin conversation (1)

Me: ‘Hello, robin. Nice to see you again.’
Robin: ‘Hello, lady. It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?’

160215 robin conversation (2)

Me: ‘It sure is. And before you ask, I’ve run out of bird seed.’
Robin: ‘Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???’

160215 robin conversation (3)

Me: ‘I’ve been walking for a couple of hours, and I’ve already given my seed to other birds. I’m sorry.’
Robin: ‘But it’s cold and I’m starving and I’m such a cute little robin.’

160215 robin conversation (4)

Me: ‘Yes, you are. And I’m sorry you missed out.’
Robin: ‘But I haven’t eaten anything all day.’

160215 robin conversation (5)

Me: ‘You pooped! Right in the middle of our chat, you pooped!’
Robin: ‘So? A bird’s gotta do what a bird’s gotta do!’

160215 robin conversation (6)

Me: ‘I guess you had had something to eat after all.’
Robin: ‘Oh … well … maybe something small … hours ago.’

Eight interesting facts about blackbirds

11 Thursday Feb 2016

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birding, birds, birdwatching, blackbird, British birds

160211 blackbird (1)

1 The oldest ringed blackbird to have been recovered in Britain was more than 20 years old.

2 Blackbirds most often sing after it has rained.

3 In the Roman Catholic religion, St Kevin of Glendalough is the patron saint of blackbirds. The legend goes that a blackbird laid an egg in Kevin’s hand when his arms were outstretched in prayer and he remained in that position until the baby bird hatched.

4 Albinism and leucism are common in blackbirds, and many birds have small white patches of feathers.

160211 blackbird (2)

5 The blackbird is the national bird of Sweden.

6 The blackbird is the most numerous breeding bird in the British Isles, with a population of around 6 million pairs.

7 The song Sing a song of sixpence (a pocket full of rye, four-and-twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie) was not a coded message used to recruit crew members for the notorious 18th-century pirate Blackbeard. That was an invented urban legend that many people now believe. The true meaning of the rhyme is much debated.

8 Vernacular names for the blackbird include colly (in Gloucestershire), merle (Ireland and Scotland), Zulu (in Somerset) and ouzel.

160211 blackbird (3)

The black-headed gull duo

06 Saturday Feb 2016

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birding, birds, birdwatching, black-headed gulls, British birds, gulls, Roath Park Lake

Roath Park Lake, in Cardiff, last week …

160208 black headed gull song (1)

A Gull: ‘Is she still there?’
Gull Y: ‘Yep.’
A Gull: ‘What’s she doing?’
Gull Y: ‘Just pointing that black thing at us. Why do they do that?’

160208 black headed gull song (2)

A Gull; ‘I dunno. Ignoring them doesn’t seem to work either.’
Gull Y: ‘Shall we give her something to look at then?’
A Gull: ‘Righto. We could do with some practice.’
Gull Y: ‘Yeah. Let’s fly down by that tree and give her a blast of our new number.’

160208 black headed gull song (3)

A Gull: ‘The skies are alive with the sound of gull song.’
Gull Y: ‘With songs we have sung for a million years.’

160208 black headed gull song (4)

A Gull: ’The lakes fill my heart with the sound of gull song.’
Gull Y: ‘My heart wants to eat every fish it sees.’

160208 black headed gull song (5)

A Gull: ‘Well, a little appreciation would be welcome.’

Chatting to a nuthatch

03 Wednesday Feb 2016

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birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, nuthatch

Forest Farm Nature Reserve, a few days ago …

160203 nuthatch (1)

Nuthatch: ‘Oi, you there. The lady with the camera.’
Me: ‘Well, hello to you too, nuthatch. How’re you doing today?’

160203 nuthatch (2)

Nuthatch: ‘Never mind the pleasantries. Where’re the sunflower seeds? Don’t ya know I prefer sunflower seeds?’
Me: ‘Sorry, I don’t have any seeds.’

160203 nuthatch (3)

Nuthatch: ‘Well, if you want photos, you’ve gotta pay, y’know. Is this my best side?’
Me: ‘You’re very demanding. Yes, very handsome.’

160203 nuthatch (4)

Nuthatch: ‘Sunflower seeds or nyjer seeds are best. I’ll take this stuff if I have to but I prefer the seeds.’
Me: ‘I’ll make sure I bring payment next time. I like your bling.’

160203 nuthatch (5)

Nuthatch: ‘The bling? Well, I would’ve preferred black m’self but they don’t give you a choice, y’know.’
Me: ‘Silver goes well with your colouring. Thanks for the photos. ’Til next time.’

The moorhen, the gallinule and the pukeko

31 Sunday Jan 2016

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birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, New Zealand birds, Peruvian birds, Pukeko, Purple Gallinule

The British moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) looks very familiar to me as we have a similar bird in my native New Zealand, and I remember also being surprised during a visit to the Amazon jungle when I lived in Peru to see a bird I recognised from home – their purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) looks remarkably like the New Zealand pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus). All three birds make the same high-pitched squeak and have that same cheeky strut, continuously flashing their white undertail as they sashay along, though there are some colour differences. The beaks of each are different, and the plumage of the moorhen seems much less vibrant to my eye.

New Zealand pukeko (above) & purple gallinule, from the Peruvian Amazon (below)

160130 Purple gallinule Manu

The moorhen (below) is widespread throughout Britain, second only to the mallard in the extent of its habitable range. Prior to 1954, when nest predation was made illegal, eggs were regularly taken for food – apparently they go well with bacon! The bird itself can be shot and eaten during the season, though I’m not sure how palatable their strong dark meat would be, and I really can’t imagine how anyone would want to kill or eat a bird that is so pretty and so highly entertaining.

160130 moorhen

Birding at Forest Farm

29 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

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birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, dunnock, Great tit, nuthatch, robin

Forest Farm Nature Reserve, just north of Cardiff, is one of my favourite places, for a wander alongside the old Glamorgan Canal, for ferreting amongst the undergrowth for fungi, for enjoying the fresh air and an invigorating walk, and for photographing the local birds. With three bird hides and numerous informal feeding places scattered throughout the reserve, it’s almost impossible not to see birds. Mostly, they’re the familiar woodland and garden birds but Forest Farm is also well known for those extremely skilful anglers, the gorgeous kingfishers.

Here are some of the more common birds I photographed yesterday.

Mr Greedy, the nuthatch

Mr Hungry, the dunnock

Mr Handsome, the great tit

Mr Grumpy, the robin

Mr Scruffy, the great tit

Conversations with robins: 2

27 Wednesday Jan 2016

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birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, robin

Roath Park Wild Gardens, after a drenching from Storm Jonas …

160128 robin (1)

Me: ‘Hello, robin. How are you doing today?’
Robin: ‘I’m a bit hungry, lady. Do you have food for me?’

160128 robin (2)

Me: ‘No, sorry, I haven’t been to the shop to buy more birdseed yet.’
Robin: ‘Well, that’s a bit slack, especially when you expect us robins to pose for your photos.’

160128 robin (3)

Me: ‘Yes, I know. I’m sorry. I could scuff up some leaves for you. There are probably plenty of worms under there.’
Robin: ‘That would be good. Your shoes are already covered in dirt so a little more wouldn’t hurt.’

160128 robin (4)

Me: ‘It is rather muddy on these paths after all the rain that came with Storm Jonas.’
Robin: ‘It wasn’t very nice for us robins with all that wind, either. But thank you for the leaf scuffing.’

160128 robin (5)

Me: ‘I’ll leave you to fly down and look for worms, then. See you again soon.’
Robin: ‘Tra la la la la.’

Not one but three

24 Sunday Jan 2016

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bird identification, birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, Pochard

I saw my first male Pochard on Roath Park Lake three weeks ago and was charmed by his handsome colours and markings. During my frequent subsequent walks around the lake, I keep seeing him and always stop to say hello and, as he comes very close to the lake edge, to take more photos. As I only ever see him on his own each time, albeit in different places around the lake, it never occurred to me that there was more than one bird … until today, when I looked more closely at my photos. Can you see the differences?

160124 pochard males (1)

Each of these birds – it seems there have been at least three! – has different markings on its bill, and this patterning of dark and light pigmentation on the bill is the main way to distinguish individual ducks of many species when conducting field surveys and research. So, if ducks used ID cards, they wouldn’t need finger prints or retina scans, they’d need bill prints!