Chicks of Cardiff’s canals

27 Thursday Jun 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot chicks, Mallard, Mallard ducklings, Tufted ducklings

As well as the Red-eyed damselflies I wrote about yesterday, my wander around Cardiff’s inner city canals also produced sightings of some delightful young birds and I had a wonderful time watching their antics, and their interactions with each other and their parents.

240627 coots

Three tiny Coot chicks were having a little swim with their doting parents. The chicks looked very young, were still relying on their parents to feed them, and, after about 15 minutes, the parents took their little family back to the nearby nest to preen and rest.

240627 ducklings

There were also two broods of Mallards, both with their mothers supervising them as they whizzed along the canals, nibbling at the weed, wobbling across lily pads. One mother Mallard had a brood of four ducklings, the other just one surviving chick.

Birding at Kenfig

16 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot chicks, Glamorgan Bird Club, Kenfig National Nature Reserve, Kenfig Pool, Sparrowhawk

For day 16 of #30DaysWild I joined my fellow Glamorgan Bird Club members for their monthly wander around Kenfig National Nature Reserve. It started grey and later rained a little, so conditions weren’t ideal for birding and, in the leafy fullness of summer, birds can often be difficult to spot anyway.

180616 1 Kenfig NNR

The plus side of this for me is that I get to practise my listening skills as I gradually learn to recognise more and more bird songs and calls. And, fortunately, Ceri had brought his ’scope along, so we could all take a look at those birds that were distant specks on the tree-tops.

180616 2 distant bird 180616 3 distant bird

The highlight for me was this Sparrowhawk that Rob spotted sitting on the shore of Kenfig Pool.

180616 4 sparrowhawk

Though its origin is unknown and so it might not be a wild bird, the Pink-footed goose was still a nice addition to the Canada and Greylag geese on the pool.

180616 5 geese

And you know I can’t resist the young ones: these are just a couple of today’s Cootlets.

180616 6 coot chicks

Considering the conditions and the time of year, I reckon we did pretty well to spot and/or hear a total of 47 species. As I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, my personal list was 43: Collared dove, Woodpigeon, Starling, Blackbird, Wren, Dunnock, Swift, Lesser black-backed gull, Willow warbler, Greenfinch, Blackcap, Carrion crow, Magpie, Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, House sparrow, Song thrush, Skylark, Whitethroat, Robin, Stonechat, Linnet, Herring gull, Great tit, Buzzard, Raven, Lapwing, Sand martin, Coot, Mallard, Canada goose, Sparrowhawk, Greylag goose, Mute swan, Pink-footed goose Grey heron, Pied wagtail, Reed warbler, Chaffinch, Herring gull, Cormorant, Great crested grebe, Blue tit.

Cardiff’s old canals

04 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff's canals, Common blue damselfly, Coot, Coot chicks, Coots nesting, feral pigeon, Fringed water-lily, Little Venice, Mallard, vegetation in canals

I had to go in to Cardiff city today to do a few chores so, for day four of #30DaysWild, I thought I’d take a wander along the old canals, an area known locally as Little Venice. The area closest to the main road is quite unkempt, but, except for the human rubbish, I like how overgrown it is – and I’m sure the wildlife does too – and the submerged plants are particularly lovely at the moment, with long streaming fronds covered in pretty white flowers.

180604 1 flowering plant in canal 180604 2 flowering plant in canal

The canals flow in a couple of different directions, both ultimately emptying into East Bute Dock, where once a million tons of coal a year was loaded on to waiting ships. The canals are bordered by various types of accommodation and office blocks, have footpaths along both sides, and in places are adorned with beautiful, currently flowering native Fringed Water Lily (Nymphoides peltata).

180604 3 canal 180604 4 water lily in canal 180604 5 water lily in canal

The canals also support a range of wildlife. Drake mallards snoozed on the warm stone edges, Common blue damselflies flitted back and forth, and a feral pigeon strutted towards me, hopeful of a spot of lunch.

180604 8 feral pigeon

The big drawcard of these waterways for me, though, is that Coots can usually be found nesting here, often very successfully. In their large sturdy nest structures, built of sticks and plant material and human detritus, I’ve seen broods of up to 6 chicks.

Today there were two pairs with quite well-grown young, and three more birds sitting, possibly with little ones tucked under their wings. And very cute they all were too!