Tag Archives: Cardiff Bay birding

Birding around the Bay

13 Saturday Nov 2021

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Some recent sightings from my circuits around Cardiff Bay …

211113 common sandpiper

Common sandpiper, an unexpected sighting, as I was under the impression that these birds migrated to Africa to over-winter

211113 coot

Coot: often overlooked, frequently fractious, undeniably handsome

211113 crow

Carrion crow, frequently seen poking about on the stone embankments around the Bay

211113 goosander

Goosander, likely an eclipse male, i.e. in the process of changing from summer to winter plumage

211113 grey heron

A Grey heron – presumably the same Grey heron – that I’ve seen a couple of times lately on the dolphins and pontoons near Mermaid Quay

211113 mute swan

A Mute swan reflecting

211113 pied wagtail

A Pied wagtail preening

211113 ring-necked and tufted ducks

The currently resident Ring-necked duck with one of its Tufted duck friends

211113 rock pipit

Rock pipit, one of a healthy population of these birds that inhabit the unhealthy, rubbish-filled peripheries of Cardiff Bay.

First autumn Redshank

02 Tuesday Nov 2021

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The weather has really turned autumnal over the past few days, with strong winds and heavy rain. As stormy weather means birds sometimes need to seek shelter and a place to rest, it can lead to interesting bird sightings, so I ventured out between squalls for a look. There was nothing particularly unusual but it was a treat to see my first Redshank of the autumn sitting on the embankment where the River Ely flows in to Cardiff Bay.

211102 redshank

Peachy

28 Thursday Oct 2021

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She may be called a Black redstart but the female of the species is a mostly non-descript little grey bird, though she does have the characteristic peach-coloured bottom indicated by the ‘redstart’ name (the Anglo-Saxon phrase for red tail, red steort, morphed into the word redstart).

211028 black redstart

This particularly bird was first noticed on Cardiff Bay Barrage a week ago but eluded all efforts to re-find her (by several birders, not just me) until, much to my surprise and delight, I found her again in the same location Tuesday morning. And, since then, she’s disappeared again – she’s small and can easily flit into the gaps around the huge boulders of the outer Barrage and has, perhaps, half a mile of rocks to forage amongst, so it’s really not surprising. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

The entertainer

23 Saturday Oct 2021

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A Black redstart was reported from Cardiff Bay barrage so off I stomped to try to find it. Despite much searching, scanning with my bins, and walking back and forth, I failed to find it (I was somewhat gratified to learn later that more experienced birders had also not found it). But there was a small bonus, in the form of this delightful Stonechat.

211023 stonechat (1)

It was very active, flitting frequently between shrubs and rocks and back again, quarrelling with one of the resident Rock pipits, and being told off by a stroppy Robin. Luckily for me, in the middle of this flurry of activity it came to rest quite close to where I was standing and I managed to get a few nice photos. It was very entertaining!

211023 stonechat (2)

Shoveler

16 Saturday Oct 2021

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The highlight of yesterday’s stomp around Cardiff Bay was this male Shoveler quite close to the boardwalk at the wetlands reserve.

211016 shoveler (1)

He was standing on a submerged log, body up out of the water, so he could preen. As you can see, he was looking a bit scruffy, only part way through the moult to winter plumage (shown below in a photo taken in December a couple of years ago), and was mostly still wearing his breeding colours. He was having a good scratch and preening with that large beak, shedding several feathers during the time I watched him.

211016 shoveler (2)

The return of the Ring-necked duck

07 Thursday Oct 2021

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Many local birders, including our county bird recorder, seem to agree that this Ring-necked duck is the same bird that spent much of last winter in Cardiff Bay in the company of the large Tufted duck flock. She appears to have remained in the company of those ducks over the summer and now returned with them to over-winter in the Bay and on other local lakes and reservoirs. Long may she linger!

211007 ring-necked duck (1)

211007 ring-necked duck (4)

Humbug

05 Tuesday Oct 2021

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It seems late in the season to be seeing a juvenile Great crested grebe that’s still constantly nagging its parent for food and still sporting the head stripes that have earned these birds the nickname ‘Humbug’ (for those unfamiliar with the word, it’s a black-and-white-striped boiled sweet) but there are still a couple in my area.

211005 great crested grebe (1)

I presume these juveniles are the result of second breeding attempts by the adult birds after their first attempts have failed. Their parents may not agree but I think they’re incredibly cute!

211005 great crested grebe (2)

Confiding Wheatear

01 Friday Oct 2021

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During a recent circuit of Cardiff Bay, I spent a wonderful 30 minutes with this very confiding Wheatear.

210926 barrage (1)

Though it was naturally very wary of the noisy people and dogs passing by, as I was quiet and non-threatening it allowed me to get quite close.

211002 wheatear (2)

As I watched, it went scurrying across the grass after flying insects, dipping and flashing the white under-tail feathers it’s named for, constantly checking the sky for signs of danger.

211002 wheatear (3)

And I particularly loved how, when there was no higher object to pop up on, it hopped on to a small rock to try to survey its surroundings. Magical moments with a special little bird!

211002 wheatear (4)

Little egret

16 Thursday Sep 2021

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I don’t walk around Cardiff Bay often during the summer months as I dislike the crowds and the clutter of event equipment, choke on the smell of the herbicides the Council uses to kill off the real wildflowers to create artificial ‘wildflower meadows’, and fear for the safety of the birds when blasted by jetboating thrill seekers. Fortunately, the coming of the cooler weather brings some relief from much of that human activity and so I begin again to explore the Bay.

210916 little egret (1)

And, on my very first walk along the Barrage in some time, I got lucky: a Little egret was standing in amongst the crowd of gulls on one of the floating platforms by the locks. At one point the gulls chased off the intruder but, after a short circuit of the Barrage, it and they returned to the platforms. Little egrets are relatively common birds in Britain now but are not seen often in Cardiff Bay, so this was a very welcome 2021 patch tick for me.

210916 little egret (2)

The return of the Turnstones

06 Friday Aug 2021

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That sounds like a movie title, and the journey Turnstones make to their breeding grounds (in northern Europe, Greenland and North America) and back would undoubtedly make a good wildlife documentary. But a filmmaker I am not. I am simply excited to see these beautiful Turnstones have returned to their usual stone-turning antics on the embankment where the River Ely flows in to Cardiff Bay. Many are still sporting the remnants of their bright breeding plumage, which they will gradually moult in the coming weeks.

210806 turnstone