Tag Archives: Cardiff Bay

341/366 Blooming on the Barrage

06 Sunday Dec 2020

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During Tuesday’s walk across the Barrage in Cardiff Bay, I searched for as many wildflowers in bloom as I could find. I spotted just ten species, but it’s quite a small area and the grounds are frequently cut and strimmed by the Council’s grounds staff, so I thought that was a good number for the time of year. And the list included a few species I don’t see elsewhere, like Viper’s-bugloss (very stunted from the too-frequent cutting), Black nightshade, and Common stork’s-bill.

The wildflowers in the video are Daisy (Bellis perennis), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.), Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium), Viper’s-bugloss (Echium vulgare), Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), Smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), and Hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana).

330/366 The Bay on Monday

25 Wednesday Nov 2020

Posted by in autumn, birds, walks

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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 female201125 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

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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)

295/366 Salmon in the Bay

21 Wednesday Oct 2020

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During yesterday’s walk along the southern edge of Cardiff Bay, I spotted this huge metre-long fish cruising along sluggishly very close to the embankment. Turns out it was a Salmon, possibly returning to the Bay after having spawned somewhere high up in the River Taff.

201021 salmon

Sadly, this fish has probably now reached the end of its life … but what a life! As Will Millard kindly explained on Twitter, this Salmon may have

been born in the Taff, migrated to sea, possibly even as far as Greenland, to pile on weight, mass and muscle over a few years, before returning, hundreds of miles home to spawn and then die. It’s sad when any animal comes to the end of its life, but what a story & other life is sustained from the salmon carcass. In parts of Canada and Alaska whole forests gain massive parts of their nutrients purely from salmon dying at the end of the salmon run.

Will also explained that Salmon often develop skin infections during times of stress, which may explain the pale, ‘cotton wool’-like appearance of parts of its skin.

291/366 Back for the winter

17 Saturday Oct 2020

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It was wonderful yesterday to see that Goosanders are now returning to Cardiff Bay after their breeding season. I’m not exactly sure where these birds would have spent their busy summer months as, according to recent copies of the Eastern Glamorgan Bird Report, they haven’t been recorded breeding locally for many years.

201017 goosander (1)

Goosanders can often be seen in the Bay over the winter and, yesterday, three birds were fishing in the River Ely where it flows in to Cardiff Bay.

201017 goosander (2)

There were two females and this handsome bird, which I think is a male in eclipse plumage, i.e. transitioning from summer to winter colours. I took a little video of it preening, if you want to take a look.

(Apologies for the spot in the video – it’s inside my camera, rather than on the lens, but I haven’t been able to take my camera to be cleaned because of our lockdown restrictions.)

231/366 They’re back!

18 Tuesday Aug 2020

Posted by in autumn, birds, nature

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As well as seeing the Common sandpiper I blogged about yesterday, Friday’s walk along the Ely embankment made me smile for another reason – the Turnstones are back!

200818 turnstone (1)

Fresh from their breeding season in Greenland and parts of northern Canada, looking very handsome in their darker summer plumage, perhaps still a little weary from those long-haul flights, but they’ve made it.

200818 turnstone (2)

I love these characterful little birds. Most of the time they might seem a bit dull, plodding purposefully along the tide line, turning over pebbles and seaweed in their never-ending search for insect snacks, or sitting, a little hunched over, snoozing in the sun.

200818 turnstone (3)

Yet I’ve also seen a large group of them, in a coastal town in southern England, in the midst of a huge storm, when the ferocity of the waves had driven them up off the beach on to an expanse of grass where large puddles had accumulated, behaving like crazy kids, chattering away happily to each other while they ran in and out of the puddles, excited, splashing and flapping their wings, and so obviously having fun.

200818 turnstone (4)

There were four Turnstones on the embankment on Friday. Maybe they’re locals, or maybe they just stopped over for a rest before heading further south, but I’m sure I’ll be seeing many more of these special birds in the weeks to come.

176/366 Breeding grebes

24 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Monday’s walk was a delight, my first of the new-fangled socially distanced walks with a friend. As well as each other’s good company, we enjoyed a lovely wander around part of Cardiff Bay, including the wetlands reserve. There is always an abundance of Great crested grebes in the waters around the reserve and this day we also spotted two pairs breeding.

200624 great crested grebes (1)

One pair was perhaps making a second attempt, as this is late in the season to begin their breeding cycle. While one bird brooded their single (so far) egg, the other was keeping itself busy gathering extra materials to add to the nest.

200624 great crested grebes (2)

We then noticed another pair of grebes that already had two chicks (birders commonly call them ‘humbugs’ because of their striped colouring) and, while the two little ones sheltered on one adult’s back, the other went fishing for sprats for its offspring. It was wonderful to watch them.

200624 great crested grebes (3)

118/366 A birding fix

27 Monday Apr 2020

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I felt the need to see some birds today so headed down to Cardiff Bay for my exercise walk. First up, this pair of Shelducks were working their way around the water’s edge near the Barrage – first I’ve seen since the lockdown began.

200427 1 shelducks

This Starling had a beakful of caterpillar and flies so I presume it had hungry mouths to feed somewhere nearby.

200427 2 starling

At least fourteen Turnstones were picking and poking their way along the stones of the embankment, this one looking very handsome in its breeding colours.

200427 3 turnstone

This Coot was busy pulling bits of rubbish into the pile of sticks it has begun shaping into a nest. Its mate was nearby, hauling a branch to weave into the growing structure.

200427 4 coot

This was the first Rock pipit I’ve seen for a little while. It was busily prospecting for nibbles so perhaps it also has offspring to feed.

200427 5 rock pipit

Most of the wagtails have moved away to breed but this Pied wagtail looked very handsome amongst the Herb Robert and Red valerian that now covers much of the embankment.

200427 6 pied wagtail

88/366 Down by the riverside

28 Saturday Mar 2020

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Today’s exercise walk saw me up and out of the house by 7am for a stomp down to Cardiff Bay and the embankment path alongside the River Ely. There was, and still is, a bitterly cold wind blowing, pushing small waves up on to the stones of the embankment so I was surprised to see any birds there at all. But the further up river I went the more sheltered it became and the embankment foragers appeared.

200328 1 redshank

First up was this Redshank, poking about at the water’s edge, its feathers ruffled by the wind gusts.

200328 2 turnstones

Next, in a corner where rubbish often accumulates, three Turnstones were poking about amidst the branches and twigs, plastic bottles and other assorted detritus.

200328 3 mallard

Two Mallards came waddling hopefully up the stones while I was watching the Turnstones. Sadly, I didn’t have any seed for them today.

200328 4 grey wagtail

Lucky last, and most colourful, was this bright little button, a Grey wagtail, which was singing a little song to itself as it pottered along.

80/366 Today’s Bay birds

20 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by in birds, nature, spring

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Finally, we’ve had a rain-less day and, though there was a bitterly cold wind blasting across Cardiff Bay, I had to take advantage of the dry weather so walked an 8-mile circuit right round the Bay. The first highlight was my first two Wheatears of the year, a bit distant, and only popping up very briefly from amongst the huge Barrage boulders, but it was lovely to welcome them back for the summer.

200320 1 wheatear

The Bay was buzzing with Sand martins – I must’ve seen at least 20, perhaps more, at various times during my wander, and it was a joy to watch their aerial antics.

200320 2 sand martin

Though it’s now several weeks since the big floods pushed a ton of rubbish into the Bay, the huge accumulations have still not been cleared. In fact, most of the rubbish slicks have seen no clearance action taken at all. The ONLY positive thing about this is that the Goldfinches and Linnets seem to be finding plenty of food amongst the garbage.

200320 3 linnet

I simply had to include this male House sparrow, as today is World Sparrow Day.

200320 4 sparrow

This lovely female Stonechat was dotting back and forth across the footpath through the wetlands reserve, and let me get quite close for photos. There was no sign of the male today though.

200320 5 stonechat