41/366 Gulls at the beach

10 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, gulls on beach, gulls on mudflats

Storm Ciara has been blasting us with gale-force winds, heavy showers and stinging hail again today but I managed a brisk walk down to Cardiff Bay without getting drenched (though I did have to shelter from the wild weather for 30 minutes as a squall roared through – it was loud and dramatic).

200210 black-headed gulls (1)

The sheltering gave me the chance to watch the Black-headed gulls tackling the weather – their aerial control was incredible, though even they were struggling at times, and the majority of the gulls were hunkered down on the beach and mudflats, prospecting for mid-morning snacks.

200210 black-headed gulls (2)

32/366 Grey wagtails

01 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Grey wagtail, wagtails

Grey wagtails are tough little birds. It was blowing a gale here today, yet these small creatures were still out foraging along the water line of the Ely embankment, poking their needle-thin beaks between pebbles and, sadly, amongst the human detritus, to find the tiny invertebrates they feed on.

200201 grey wagtail (1) 200201 grey wagtail (2)

It amazes me that such small birds can fly so well in gusty conditions yet, with a flash of their bright yellow underbellies and a blast of their cheery call, they seemed to move further along the stony shore with ease.

200201 grey wagtail (3)

Two of the birds pictured here are from today, the other three are photos taken during recent walks along this same path, as I’m always happy to pause and watch these cheery little bobbers.

200201 grey wagtail (4) 200201 grey wagtail (5)

14/366 Peter and friends

14 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Ely embankment, Redshank

200114 redshank (1)

During my early morning walk my little Redshank friend Peter (the bird ringed at Peterstone in 2016, hence my name for him) was on the foreshore where the River Ely flows into Cardiff Bay.

200114 redshank (2) 200114 redshank (3)

And he wasn’t alone – his companions included 5 other Redshanks, 21 Turnstones (a large number for this site), 1 Pied and 5 Grey wagtails, 7 Great crested grebes, 2 Mute swans, 7 Mallards, 5 Goosanders, and the usual large numbers of Coots and gulls.

200114 redshank (4) 200114 redshank (5)

Were there so many birds because they were all sheltering from Storm Brendan’s wild winds or is it simply that I need to walk early more often?

200114 redshank (6)

2/366 New Year Plant Hunt

02 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers, winter

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Cardiff Bay, New Year Plant Hunt, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers

While I was walking around Cardiff Bay yesterday, not only was I keeping an eye on the sky for birds, I was also looking down a lot, trying to find as many wildflowers in bloom as possible for the New Year Plant Hunt – to be honest, it’s amazing I didn’t fall over, with my head bobbing up and down like one of those nodding dogs you used to see in the back windows of cars (some of you may be too young to remember those!).

The New Year Plant Hunt actually goes on for four days, from the 1st to the 4th, so you’ve still time to join in. The event is run by the BSBI, the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland, and aims to ‘find out how our wildflowers are responding to changes in autumn and winter weather patterns’. You can read all about it on their website, and follow along on the social media of your choice.

I was surprised and delighted with my haul from yesterday, finding 28 (!) wildflowers in bloom. My tentative identifications are: a thistle species; Common ragwort; Winter heliotrope; Red clover; a Gorse species; Daisy; one of the Cat’s-ears (I think); a member of the carrot family, perhaps one of the parsleys; Bristly oxtongue; Red valerian; Hemlock water dropwort; a dandelion species; Black nightshade; a sowthistle species; a mayweed, I think; a buttercup species; Bramble; Sea radish; a hawkweed species; Groundsel; Petty spurge (with a rust fungus); Narrow-leaved bittercress; White melilot; Yarrow; Oxeye daisy; Common kapweed; Shepherd’s-purse; and Herb Robert.

333/365 A Bay full of birds

29 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Chiffchaff, Coot, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Kingfisher, Linnet, Pied wagtail, Turnstone

What a wonderful long walk I had around Cardiff Bay today! Here are some of the birds I spotted along the way.

191129 1 goosander

There were nine Goosanders in total, four in the River Ely where it flows in to the Bay and another five further east, in the Bay proper.

191129 2 turnstone

My favourite little Turnstones, again four along the Ely embankment and more near Mermaid Quay.

191129 3 linnet

Linnets, a small flock of six flitting about the grassy slopes of the Barrage.

191129 4 pied wagtail

Pied wagtails – I lost count of these cheery little characters who appeared wherever I wandered.

191129 5 Great crested grebe

One of several Great crested grebes that live in the Bay, constantly diving for fish.

191129 6 black-headed gull

I was getting ‘the look’ from this Black-headed gull, in the pond at the wetlands reserve, for not supplying food!

191129 7 coot

This Coot was also hoping for food.

191129 8 chiffchaff

This Chiffchaff was a surprise – it’s either very late migrating or has decided to over-winter in Britain, as some now do. Interestingly, I saw a Chiffchaff yesterday too, in a different location.

191129 9 kingfisher

The best possible end to my walk – a Kingfisher peep-peep-peeped in to the pool near Hamadryad Park and perched on a branch over the water.

283/365 Nom, nom, nom

10 Thursday Oct 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, gull scavenging dead fish, Herring gull, juvenile Herring gull

191010 herring gull (1)

It’s difficult to share this juvenile Herring gull’s enthusiasm for the large dead fish it had discovered on the embankment of the Ely River where it flows in to Cardiff Bay, but food is food and the bird’s scavenging was removing a potentially very smelly object from the foreshore. Well done, that gull!

191010 herring gull (2)

122/365 On the rocks

02 Thursday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Barrage, Cardiff Bay, spring migration, Wheatear

190502 wheatear

Finally, I spotted a Wheatear on the Cardiff Bay Barrage rocks this morning. Other birders have been seeing them on and off for a month or so now, as they pass through on their way back from wintering in central Africa to their breeding grounds in Britain’s sunlit uplands. I certainly didn’t expect to find one this late in the spring, so I count myself extra lucky to have seen this little beauty today.

107/365 Merry as a martin

17 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birds nesting in Cardiff Bay, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Sand martin

I braved the school holiday crowds for a walk around part of Cardiff Bay today ’cause I wanted to see how the Sand martins were settling in to their chosen nooks and crannies. It was a delight to see so many of these charming little birds swooping back and forth over the waterways, merrily chattering all the while, and they seem to be actively nesting in almost every one of the old docks.

I watched them for a long time and loved every moment but I couldn’t help but feel sad that so few of the people there today even noticed them. They were missing something very special.

106/365 Snoozing

16 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, female duck, female mallard, Mallard, sleeping duck

190416 female mallard

Some days, when it’s grey and misty and still a bit damp from the morning’s rain, the best thing to do is tuck your head under your wing and snooze the afternoon away – at least that seems to have been the opinion of this female Mallard on the Ely embankment today.

99/365 Yellow dishwashers

09 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea, Yellow dishwasher

190409 grey wagtail (1)

I knew that one of the Pied wagtail’s vernacular names is Polly dishwasher but I’ve only just found out today that its cousin, the Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea), is sometimes known as Yellow dishwasher … and Barley bird, and Gypsy bird, and Winter wagtail, and Oatseed bird. Such fascinating names, and such pretty little birds. These two, a male (above) and female (below), were picking their way along the rocks of the Ely River embankment in Cardiff Bay this morning.

190409 grey wagtail (2)