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Tag Archives: Coot

118/366 A birding fix

27 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Ely embankment, Pied wagtail, Rock pipit, Shelduck, starling, Turnstone

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

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73/366 Egg-citing news

13 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot on nest, Coot with eggs, Eurasian coot

Mr and Mrs Coot are pleased to announce the laying of three eggs! I can’t tell male from female Coot – I’m not even sure if it’s possible to tell which is which – but one of them was sitting tight on the nest when I visited this morning.

200313 coot (1)

However, this small area of water has two pairs of Coots in residence, and they are uneasy neighbours. First, they were simply trying to intimidate each other.

200313 coot (2)

Next thing you know, there’s a full scale battle underway.

200313 coot (3)

And the sitting Coot left the nest to join in the tussle, which is how I know there are three eggs.

200313 coot (4)

Luckily, the skirmish didn’t last long, and the eggs were soon safe and warm under their parent once more.

200313 coot (5)

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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.

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308/365 Birds of St James’s Park

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Bahama pintail, birding, birding in London, birds in St James's Park London, birdwatching, Black swan, Canada goose, Coot, Egyptian Goose, Greylag goose, Moorhen, Ring-necked parakeet, Shelduck, St James's Park London, Tufted duck

I’ve just returned from three days with two friends in London. We were doing touristy things as our Australian friend hadn’t been to London before but I did manage some birding during our walk through St James’s Park. Though abundant and obviously breeding locally, most of these cannot really be classed as wild birds but they’re lovely just the same.

191104 st james park

The birds we saw included Mute swan and Black swan, Black-headed gull, Moorhen, Egyptian and Greylag and Canada goose, Feral pigeon, Shelduck and some species of white duck that I don’t recognise, Grey heron, Ring-necked parakeet, Bahama pintail, Tufted duck and more. Unfortunately, the resident Pelicans were hiding on their island so we saw them not.

191104 moorhen
191104 egyptian goose

191104 greylag
191104 shelduck

191104 heron white ducks191104 ring-necked parakeet

191104 bahama pintail
191104 black swan

191104 can goose coot191104 tufted duck

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64/365 Coot in trash

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

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

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot nesting, Coot on nest, rubbish around bird's nest, rubbish in waterways

What can I say? Sometimes I get very angry at the human race!

190305 Coot in trash

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52/365 Nesting

21 Thursday Feb 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birds building nests, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, coot nest building

190221 Coot nest building

As we’ve had a very unseasonal high of 14°C today (this is still meant to be winter remember), it’s not surprising that birds’ thoughts are turning to nest building. Today, at Cosmeston, I saw Magpies and Carrion crows stick-carrying, a Blue tit with moss in its beak perched on the entrance hole of a conveniently placed nest box, and this Coot transporting bits of reed to a secretive location.

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Ely embankment revisited

15 Friday Jun 2018

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

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Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Cardiff Bay, Carrion crow, Coot, Ely embankment, feral pigeon, Linnet, Mallard, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, River Ely, Small tortoiseshell

My regular followers will remember that, over the winter months, when there were more birds around, I posted a regular monthly roundup of the action along the embankment where the River Ely flows in to Cardiff Bay. Today, for day 15 of #30DaysWild, I thought I’d take another look. Here’s what I found …

180615 1 Ely embankment

The embankment is a riot of colour, with both native wildflowers and garden escapees in full bloom.

180615 2 linnet

Two Linnets were foraging on flower seeds but were very skittish.

180615 3 wildflowers

Loving these Oxeye daisies.

180615 4 pied wagtail

A juvenile Pied wagtail was feeding near the waterline.

180615 5 feral pigeons

A flock of 7 Feral pigeons was also foraging amongst the flowers

180615 6 mallard

This Mallard had found a sunny spot for a snooze.

180615 7 mute swan

23 Mute swans were floating up the river, many taking the opportunity to preen as they went.

180615 8 coots

9 Coots were congregating at the water’s edge.

180615 9 small tortoiseshell

I saw my first Small tortoiseshell butterfly of the year.

180615 10 colourful embankment

Looking back up the river as an Aquabus shows sightseers the river. The black hulk is a new apartment block.

180615 11 carrion crow

And finally, a Carrion crow was prospecting for tasty morsels.

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Cardiff’s old canals

04 Monday Jun 2018

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

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Tags

#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 canal180604 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 canal180604 4 water lily in canal180604 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 6 common blue damselfly
180604 7 drake mallard

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.

180604 9 coot nest
180604 10 coot nest
180604 11 coot nest

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!

180604 12 coot
180604 13 coot
180604 14 coot
180604 15 coot
180604 16 coot
180604 17 coot

 

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May at Cosmeston

31 Thursday May 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, flowers, nature, reptiles, walks, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

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.

180531 1 duckling
180531 2 duckling
180531 3 duckling
180531 4 duckling

180531 5 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.

180531 6 swallows

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  …

180531 7 Bird's foot trefoil180531 8 Bugle180531 9 Flax180531 10 Scarlet pimpernel

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!).

180531 11 snoutless weevil lookalike180531 12 cuckoo spit

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.

180531 13 Azure damselfly
180531 14 Large red damselfly

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.

180531 15 Common whitethroat180531 16 Ma Coot and 3 offspring

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.

180531 18 Dingy skipper
180531 17 Common blue

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.

180531 19 Hawthorn blossom

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April at Cosmeston

30 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, insects, nature

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, Blackcap, British birds, Buzzards, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Hawthorn Shield Bug, Large Red damselfly, long-tailed tit, Swallow, Willow warbler

Easter Sunday – April the 1st this year – is not a particularly smart day to go to Cosmeston to spend a quiet, peaceful time with Nature, but I wanted to stretch my legs and public transport on Sundays is quite restricted. So, I passed through Cosmeston on one of my circular local circuits, avoiding the main paths, taking the fields less trodden. I still managed to spot a Long-tailed tit (below left) nest-building – it’ll be cosy with a few more feathers like that, and, with the help of my friend John, I heard and then spotted my first Willow warbler of 2018 (below right), a good start to the month.

180430 1 Long-tailed tit
180430 2 Willow warbler

180430 3 blackcaps

5 April  Another quick walk-through, to avoid the school holiday madness, but I did pause at the place I’d recently spotted a Hawfinch, to see if I could hear or see it. No luck with that but I did spot my first Blackcaps of 2018 (above), and there were Willow warblers and Chiffchaffs (below) aplenty!

180430 4 chiffchaff

8 April  Once again, I passed through Cosmeston as part of a longer walk, though I did linger for a short time by the west lake where I got talking to a fellow birder. From there, I had distant views of two Buzzards on the far shore – were they investigating a nest site? – and I got a fleeting glimpse and photos of a mysterious mammal swimming rapidly through the reeds. Was it a Water vole, a Stoat or a Mink? Debate raged on Twitter and Facebook when I posted photos and requested opinions but the jury is still out on its identification.

180430 5 buzzards
180430 6 unidentified mammal

11 April  Though the heavy rain of the previous night and morning had cleared, cloud cover was thick and low, making for a very gloomy walk around Cosmeston, and it was almost as if the birds were experiencing a similar dullness. Although I spotted several Blackcaps and many of the regulars (Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Robins, Chaffinches, etc), bird song was generally subdued.

180430 7 coot chick
180430 8 swallow

Highlights were my first Coot chicks of the season, with the attentive parents feeding three chicks near the former bird hide site on the west lake, and Swallows swooping and diving over both lakes. I tried for about 15 minutes to get photos of them but it was very difficult to keep up with their super speedy aerobatics, so a silhouette will have to do. There’s no mistaking that forked tail though.

I passed through Cosmeston again on 16 April, but saw nothing particularly noteworthy, and then had a break to see other sites and while a friend was visiting. My last visit for the month was today, 30 April. Though a cool wind was blowing it was fine, and warm in sheltered spots. And, though I could hear bird song all around, with the trees now rapidly greening, we’ve reached that time of year when the birds pretty much disappear behind the foliage.

180430 9 Large red damselfly

The good news is that this is also the time of year when the other flying creatures take over: today I saw my first damselfly of the year, a Large Red; the butterflies were out in numbers: Brimstones, Peacocks, Commas, a Large white, a couple of Orange-tips and several Speckled woods (I’ll do a separate post for those in a few days); and I also saw my first shieldbug of 2018, a Hawthorn. It was a lovely walk!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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