11 Thursday Jun 2020
Another day, another family of birds, this time a family of Whitethroats that entertained me during yesterday’s walk.
I was alerted to their presence in shrubs and low trees alongside the path by the odd contact call they make, a kind of buzzing or churring ‘tzzeeet tzzeeet’.
So, I stayed still, watched and waited, and was rewarded with good views of the two adults moving frantically about in the vegetation, trying to find enough insects to feed their three hungry youngsters.
15 Saturday Jun 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common whitethroat, Whitethroat, Whitethroat fledgling
Braving the continuing rain, I walked a new path today, one seldom walked by others judging by how overgrown it was. The choice was a good one. As well as a couple of unexpected butterflies and some gorgeous orchids, I surprised a family of Whitethroats, the two parents and their three fledglings (two of them pictured here) browsing amongst the low shrubs, scratchy brambles and prickly gorse bushes. I froze and, after a couple of minutes, they ignored me and continued searching for snacks. It was a real delight to watch them.
19 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, spring
Tags
#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common whitethroat, Grangemoor Park, Sylvia communis, Whitethroat
Did you know that the Whitethroat (Sylvia communis, also known as the Common whitethroat to distinguish it from the Lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca) is one of thirteen birds on the British list that has the colour white in its name?*
At least this is one bird that is relatively easy to identify, both because of that prominent white throat and because of its distinctive warbling song. And that’s how I managed to spot my first four Whitethroats of the year today at Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park, singing their hearts out, having just arrived back in the country after spending winter in the Sahel, just south of the Sahara.
* This is according to Stephen Moss’s excellent book Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How birds got their names, Guardian Faber, London, 2018.
31 Thursday May 2018
Tags
Azure damselfly, Bird’s-foot trefoil, Bugle, Common blue butterfly, Common whitethroat, Coot, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, cuckoo spit, Dingy Skipper, Flax, Hawthorn blossom, Large Red damselfly, Mallard ducklings, Scarlet pimpernel, Swallow, tadpoles
I literally dipped in and out of Cosmeston on 2 May, for a quick look at the dipping pond to see if I could spot any Water voles. I dipped on the voles but I did see Ma Mallard and her two gorgeous ducklings, and a gazillion tadpoles.
11 May I needed to stretch my legs after spending the previous day sorting out after my birding trip so off to Cosmeston I headed. I came in from the north end via Old Cogan farm, where a pair of Swallows was sitting on the wires. I suspect they nest in the old barn as I see them there often over the summer months.
Apart from those Swallows, it was quiet on the bird front and, as a cool wind was blowing, there were no butterflies about either. So, I took lots of photos of newly blooming wildflowers …
While doing that, I found an interesting little critter mooching around on some leaves (it looked like a weevil without a long snout but I haven’t positively identified it), and I spotted my first cuckoo spit of the season (I just know you’ll be delighted with that find!).
15 May A brief walk through on my way home from Lavernock. I wandered along the edges of Sully brook and then, once again, stopped for a few minutes at the dipping pond. The bad news was that mother Mallard only had one duckling remaining – fingers crossed it makes it to adulthood. The good news was that I saw my first damselflies for the year – both Azure and Large reds were out in numbers.
17 May I passed through Cossie again, this time on my way home from Sully. A Common whitethroat was showing well in the reeds near the cafe, and a Coot was shepherding her three young offspring around the west lake. The chicks were well developed, which bodes well for their survival.
20 May This time my 3-hour mooch was all concentrated at Cosmeston. I went early to avoid the Sunday crowds and the scorching sun, and walked the east and west paddocks from one end to the other and back again, along the various trails. I was looking particularly for orchids but saw only leaves, a few with the stalks of flower buds just emerging, and for butterflies. The Dingy skippers and Common blue butterflies were out in good numbers, and it was a pleasure to watch them flitting to and fro.
24 May I went early again to Cosmeston but not early enough, as the rain came in almost as soon as I arrived and I didn’t have a coat with me. I lingered long enough to enjoy the glorious Hawthorn blossom that covers the hedgerows like summer snow, before striding quickly homewards.
