Tag Archives: Cormorant

Rafting Cormorants

06 Tuesday Dec 2022

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I’ve seen this behaviour by the Cormorants in Cardiff Bay many times. A few birds gather on the water, then more and more fly in from their various roosting spots to join in. Moving forward together across the water, each bird dives repeatedly.

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I assumed the Cormorants were either driving or following a school of fish below the water, and this would seem to be confirmed by a research paper I found online, which discusses a different species of Cormorant living around the Arabian peninsula. Here’s what they have reported:

… data suggest that the benefits of group foraging outweigh the costs of intense aggregation in this seabird. Prey detection and information transmission are facilitated in large groups. Once discovered, shoaling prey are concentrated under the effect of the multitude. Fish school cohesiveness is then disorganized by continuous attacks of diving birds to facilitate prey capture.

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74/366 Juvenile Cormorants

14 Saturday Mar 2020

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First, there was one juvenile Cormorant, sitting on the edge of the canal, keeping an eye on passers-by, ready to dive into the water if anyone came too close.

Then there were two, presumably siblings. Number two had been fishing, diving in the constant search for sustenance, though I didn’t see it catch anything.

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Deciding it needed a rest and to dry off, number two jumped up on the canal edge, and proceeded to shimmy and shake, the water droplets spraying in all directions, just like a dog shaking itself after a swim.

And then, as I’m sure you’ve seen all Cormorants and Shags do, number two spread out it wings to drip-dry in the weak sunshine, while number one kept a weather eye on me. Lovely creatures both!

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354/365 Bring on the breeding season!

20 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by in birds, nature, winter

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It’s not yet mid winter, not even the shortest day, and we’ve many long cold nights to endure before the first snowdrops of Spring start flowering, but this Cormorant doesn’t seem to know that.

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Though their breeding season can vary from year to year, it usually runs from March through to September, but this Cormorant doesn’t seem to know that either.

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Here it is, with its impressive shaggy white mane and fluffs of white feathers on its flanks, in full breeding plumage, sitting on the River Ely in south Wales, in mid December, ready for the breeding season to begin, waiting, waiting….

39/365 Who’s black-and-white?

08 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, winter

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I took advantage of a two-hour break in Storm Erik’s passage early afternoon to do a quick circuit of the Ely embankment, just in case the storm had driven in any unusual birds. Apart from a lot of Black-headed gulls and Coots taking advantage of the shelter afforded by Penarth’s cliffs and three Redshanks enjoying a companionable snooze, it was fairly quiet. But I did find this gorgeous Cormorant perched on a pontoon in the marina, drying its wings. They’re so often thought of as black-and-white birds but just look at how colourful its facial markings are.

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Birding at Garwnant and Rhaslas

19 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by in autumn, birds, nature, walks

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Clear blue skies, stiff  breeze and freezing cold, star birds and great company, long walk, Welsh upland scenery … it doesn’t get much better than yesterday’s Glamorgan Bird Club’s field trip to the forestry at Garwnant and Rhaslas pond, with a quick stop at the Llwyn-onn reservoir in between.

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It took us a while to leave the car park at the Forestry Centre as the birding got off to a cracking start with lots of Common crossbills coming in to feed on the cones of the tall conifers all around us.

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We headed out along one of the many walking trails, hoping for views of Willow tits. One person heard one but the bird didn’t reappear so we carried on a bit further to a high vantage point. From there we were rewarded with views of Kestrel, Buzzard and this magnificent Red kite.

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Retracing our steps, a couple of us who’d lingered behind heard the Willow tit calling, waved frantically to the birders ahead, and managed some good views of this increasingly uncommon little bird.

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We then walked a rectangular path, taking us out around more of the forest trails, seeing even more Crossbills and another couple of Willow tits, as well as many other species. After lunch back at the car park, we drove down to nearby Llwyn-onn dam for a quick scan for any interesting birds. The reservoir was looking gorgeous, with much more water than on our last visit.

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We’d hoped for a Water pipit … and there it was, though a very flighty bird that scarcely stayed still and kept flying off in various directions. I was pretty happy though as this was a lifer for me, and it was a year tick for several other birders.

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I really like how this photo of the Cormorant turned out. And there was a Common sandpiper just along the pipe from where it was perched.

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Then it was on for a quick check of Rhaslas pond before the light faded – sunset is around 4.15pm at the moment. It was bitterly cold up on the open moorland as you tell from how rugged up everyone was.

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Though there weren’t a huge number of birds on the pond, we did see several Goosanders, Wigeon, Tufted ducks and a solitary Goldeneye. It was a smashing end to an excellent day!

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Here’s my list of birds seen: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Goosander, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Red Kite, Buzzard, Kestrel, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit, Goldcrest, Wren, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Water Pipit, Chaffinch, and Common Crossbill. And somehow I missed the Starling, Song Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare.

Birding at Ogmore and Pant Norton

11 Thursday Oct 2018

Posted by in birds, insects, nature, walks, wildflowers

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Though a cool wind was blowing in off the sea, yesterday was a gloriously sunny day for our Glamorgan Bird Club outing to Ogmore. The fine weather also meant we had a great turn out of 26 people, more than usual for our field trips.

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We started off near Portobello House, scanning the dunes of Merthyr Mawr and checking the River Ogmore, where the ubiquitous Cormorants were adorning this big dead tree in the water.

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A Kestrel hovered over the dunes, and we witnessed a spectacular chase by a Sparrowhawk after a Meadow pipit – only very blurry photos of that, unfortunately. (The mipit escaped.)

Two Wigeon flew in to join the Canada geese, Mallards and gulls up river.

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After grazing along the muddy banks down river for a time, this Curlew flew upstream to find another place to feed.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, our birding trips are not just about birds. Many birders are also interested in flora and other fauna so, yesterday, Dave was able to point out to us the invasive Buttonweed (Cotula coronopifolia) (he was the first to spot this plant in Wales!) and a Musk thistle (Carduus nutans). And another of our keen-eyed birders spotted this Wall butterfly, only the second time I’ve seen one of these beauties.

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After a wander up and down the riverbank we headed across the road and up a track into a series of small valleys, an area known locally as The Pant. As well as many other small birds, there were several Stonechats popping up and down in the shrubs and bracken.

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And then, what for me was the highlight of the day, really close views of a Kestrel hunting for its lunch. This handsome young male caught three creatures – probably voles or other small mammals – in the space of 10 minutes or so. It was incredible to watch how this bird’s amazing eyesight enabled it to hone in so accurately on its prey and, though I can’t help but have some sympathy for its victims, to see what an efficient hunter the Kestrel truly is.

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My total number of species for the day was 41: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Eurasian Curlew, Greenshank, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Skylark, Long-tailed Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Wren, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, European Stonechat, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Bullfinch and Willow Warbler.
I must have wandered off when these birds were seen: Greenfinch, Stock Dove, Jay, Jackdaw, Rook, Raven, Goldcrest and Dunnock.

Birding at Llandegfedd Reservoir

20 Thursday Sep 2018

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Knock-you-off-your-feet wind gusts, persistent rain showers, slippery-with-mud woodland trails, cross-country orienteering along steep-sided reservoir banks and through much-overgrown long-under-used footpaths … these all added to an adventurous and exhilarating day’s birding on yesterday’s Glamorgan Bird Club trip to Llandegfedd Reservoir, north of Newport.

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The surrounding countryside is beautiful and the trail around the reservoir offers a good variety of different habitats, from woodland to wetland, for birds and other wildlife.

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Some of our ten intrepid birders heading through the woodland, while the wind roared through the tree canopy overhead.

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Looking back towards the dam you can see how low the water level is after this summer’s drought.

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One of our frequent stops to check what birds we could spot along the water’s edge. In the foreground a congregation of Cormorants and Black-headed gulls, in the background some of the 300-plus Canada geese, all hunkered down in the face of the gale-force winds.

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Can you spot the Wheatear that was dotting along the shore, prospecting for insects?

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Alan spotted an adult Yellow-legged gull (centre right, above) amongst the Black-headed gulls, a good opportunity to point out its diagnostic features to those unfamiliar with this bird.

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I don’t think I’d ever seen so many Canada geese in one place before. They sure can make a racket!

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Even the geese were struggling with the wind gusts – here you can see them leaning into the wind as they waddle along.

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And then someone spotted a Barnacle goose amongst all those Canadas and, though its origins were much debated – wild bird or escapee from a private estate or reserve? – seeing that lovely little Barnacle was the icing on the cake of a magnificent day for me, ’cause I sort of befriended the two Barnacle geese that used to be regulars at Roath Park when I lived in Cardiff. Seeing this bird was a nice reminder of those good times.

Full credit to the ten intrepid birders on yesterday’s trip as, despite the adverse weather conditions, we still managed to identify a very respectable 36 species. They were: Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon, Coot, Ringed Plover, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Yellow-legged Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Swallow, Long-tailed Tit, Willow Warbler, Wren, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Robin, Northern Wheatear, and Pied Wagtail.

Rye birds

27 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in birds, nature, seaside, weather

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My original title for this blog was ‘A mad Kiwi and an Englishwoman go birding in a howling gale’. I decided that was a trifle long but it was certainly an accurate reflection of our day at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Nevertheless, we persevered, though we did put off walking the beach-top path – I think we would’ve been blown all the way back to Rye township if we’d tried that.

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As you might expect, the birds were mostly hunkered down, sheltering where possible behind clumps of grass or huddled alongside sandy banks. Still, with brief stops here and there to scan the shingle and reeds with constantly watering eyes through fogging-up binoculars and short pops into hides (as much to warm up as to look out), we managed to clock up a total of 35 species. They were: Kestrel, House sparrow, Herring gull, Lesser black-backed gull, Black-headed gull, Mallard, Shelduck …

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Shoveler (above, seen through a netting fence), Brent goose …

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Wigeon (those handsome birds above), Oystercatcher, Carrion crow, Tufted duck …

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Redshank (always a favourite of mine), Coot …

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Cormorant (already beginning to nest in trees near Castle Water) …

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Great black-backed gull and Lapwing (both above), Little grebe, Mute swan, Teal, Little egret, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Green woodpecker, Great tit, Coal tit, Magpie, Mistle thrush, Pied wagtail, Greylag goose, Egyptian goose, Pheasant, and Starling.