Caspian gull

06 Wednesday Jan 2021

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Caspian gull, Larus cachinnans

Gulls are tricky – I’m sure I’ve said/written that on here before – so, when I heard that a 1st winter Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) had been seen in Cardiff Bay, I enjoyed seeing other birders’ photos but didn’t for a moment consider going to see it. This was partly because it was only appearing at dusk, when it would fly in to spend the night with the other roosting gulls, and so I wouldn’t have time to see it and then walk home before it was fully dark, but mostly because I knew I wouldn’t be able to identify it even if I did go. So, imagine my amazement when, during a walk around Cardiff Bay on Monday, I bumped into my birding friend Graham, who was watching the Caspian gull, floating on the water only a hundred metres or so off the footpath, in the middle of the day. This was a lifer for me, so to say I was pleased would be something of an understatement!

210106 caspian gull

340/366 Ravens bonding

05 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Raven, Raven courtship, Raven pair bonding

When I walked across Cardiff Bay’s Barrage and back on Tuesday, I was thrilled to spot the resident Ravens hopping about on one of the gantries. Then, as I watched, they paused next to each other and began mutual preening and murmuring in low, sweet tones.

201205 raven courtship (1)

It’s believed Ravens mate for life but even life partners need to reaffirm their pair bonding and these actions, plus dramatic aerial displays, are all important aspects of Raven courtship.

201205 raven courtship (2)

If you’ve not heard the sounds I’m talking about, the Raven love speak, there’s a short audio piece on the Audubon website here.

330/366 The Bay on Monday

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, walks

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birding birdwatching, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay birds

Monday’s walk saw me striding out on a circuit of Cardiff Bay, a walk of just under 8 miles that day as I meandered here and there to look at particular things. (This panorama of the Bay was taken in April a couple of years ago and a few things have since changed but I just wanted to give those unfamiliar with the Bay a general idea of my walk. The Bristol Channel is to the right; Cardiff city centre at the top, slightly left of centre; the view is as seen from the town of Penarth.)

201125 1 Cardiff Bay

These are some of the birds I encountered on my circuit: three of four Redshanks that flew in to the embankment of the River Ely where it flows in to the Bay.

201125 2 redshank

A Grey heron using some of the old dock infrastructure as a lookout.

201125 3 grey heron

A pair of Goosanders on the embankment near Mermaid Quay – the red-headed female mostly snoozing, her partner using the time out of the water to spruce himself up.

201125 4 goosander female 201125 5 goosander male

One of a pair of Mute swans also preening, then snoozing.

201125 6 mute swan

One of many Great crested grebes that make their home in the Bay.

201125 7 great crested grebe

I counted 20 Turnstones in total on Monday; this one had lost a chunk of feathers on its back, perhaps an encounter with a bird of prey that the Turnstone was fortunate to survive.

201125 8 turnstone

And, last but probably the most numerous, one of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Black-headed gulls to be seen around Cardiff Bay.

201125 9 black-headed gull

303/366 Ring-necked ducks

29 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds

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Aythya collaris, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birding, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Ring-necked duck

I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) so I was delighted when, ten days ago, a juvenile female was spotted at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I managed to get a very distant view of it on 18 October.

201029 ring-necked ducks (1)

I’m the first to admit I would not have been able to identify this bird without the local, much more experienced birders sharing their photos on social media. When its head is tucked in, which seems to be most of the time, only its pale eye ring distinguishes this bird from the female Tufted ducks that surround it, at least to my inexperienced eye.

201029 ring-necked ducks (2)

Late last Sunday, 25 October, the exciting news came that a second Ring-necked duck had been sighted at Cosmeston, this one a 1st winter drake, so I headed along on Monday for a look. I got much closer views of the first bird, the juvenile, but couldn’t find the other – turns out, it had flown over to Cardiff Bay. This is a common phenomenon during the winter months – the various duck species fly regularly back and forth between the lakes and the Bay.

201029 ring-necked ducks (3)

So, for yesterday’s exercise walk I headed down to Cardiff Bay where, in spite of occasional heavy rain showers, I managed to locate both Ring-necked ducks, though this time the drake kept its head tucked in throughout my visit. That’s the juvenile braving the weather in the photo above, and the 1st winter drake below. If I manage to see the drake again and get a photo of it with its head up, I’ll be sure to share.

201029 ring-necked ducks (4)

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.