Tag Archives: Glamorgan Bird Club

Birding along Rumney Great Wharf

07 Tuesday Aug 2018

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It was hot! In fact, it was not just hot, it was scorching but, along with 15 other brave souls, I joined the Glamorgan Bird Club’s outing last Sunday to walk part of the coastal path along Rumney Great Wharf. We started at Parc Trederlerch, where fishermen were trundling their mountains of gear to favourite sites for a day’s fishing, and Swans, Coots, Tufted ducks and Moorhens flocked to be fed by strolling families.

180807a Parc Tredelerch

From there we walked down towards the sea alongside Cors Crychydd Reen. Despite being choked with weed, the reen was home to Little grebes, Coots and Moorhens, all with young, as well as countless, though elusive Reed warblers.

180807b Cors Crychydd Reen

A Buzzard was hunting from a post overlooking the adjacent landfill site, where gulls, Swifts and assorted hirundines were diving and swooping for food.

180807c buzzard

Tucking in to the blackberries as we walked, we were charmed by the sounds of Willow warblers and House sparrows, Goldfinches and Greenfinches, like this one perched high in a tree.

180807d greenfinch.jpg

When we reached the sea wall, we turned left towards Newport. Here’s the view in both directions, firstly looking west over Cardiff Bay towards Penarth Head and then west across the very dry foreshore. The heat shimmer didn’t make bird-spotting easy.

180807e view west twds Penarth180807f view east

Linnets entertained us as they bounced around the bushes and reeds.

180807g linnet

We didn’t see a huge number of waders – maybe it was too hot even for them. A large mixed flock of Redshanks and Dunlins flew east, we had good ’scope views of Ringed plovers and Dunlins at the water’s edge, and gulls abounded. There was one Common gull amongst this lot perched on the posts and a Little egret further along doing the same.

180807h gulls

There were also a ton of dragonflies and hoverflies, bees and butterflies – I’ll post more on two of those lovelies in tomorrow’s blog.

And for those who like the nitty-gritty details – I saw 42 bird species: Black-headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Redshank, Swift, Common Whitethroat, Coot, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Green Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Shelduck, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, and Wren. Also seen by trip participants were Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue tit, Canada goose, Collared dove, Cormorant, Curlew, Great crested grebe, Pied wagtail, Skylark, Robin, Stonechat and Whimbrel, bringing the total club list to a very respectable 55 species.

Birding at Peterston & Pendoylan Moors

12 Thursday Jul 2018

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

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Yesterday I enjoyed another wonderful, if rather hot day’s birding with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, this time wandering a trail alongside the River Ely near Peterston-super-Ely and Pendoylan.

180711 2 red kites

On the way there, my friend John and I had incredibly close views of three Red kites and more of these magnificent birds of prey were gliding overhead during our walk.

180711 1 stock dove

We saw Stock doves (one pictured above) sitting obligingly close to Woodpigeons so we could see the differences in the two species.

180711 2 red fox

A Red fox was spotted trotting along in a distant field, its lunch in its mouth.

180711 4 meeting the locals

A large herd of large cows moved reluctantly away from the river so we could pass by. You’d have to be crazy to mess with this lady, who was keeping a steady eye on us in case we ventured too close to her calves.

180711 5 participants

The fifteen participants … well, fourteen really, as I was taking the photo.

180711 6 river ely

The meandering River Ely was running low due to the recent drought conditions here in south Wales.

As well as birds, we also saw lots of butterflies, including these: Cinnabar caterpillars, Comma, Green-veined white, Meadow brown, Peacock, and more Small tortoiseshell than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

180711 7 sandmartins

The highlight of the day for me was watching these Sand martins hawking for food over the fields and then returning to their burrows in the river bank to feed their hungry young. Magic!

Birding at Rhossili and Mewslade

02 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in birds, insects, nature, walks

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Yesterday was my second visit to Rhossili with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, though I still haven’t walked along this magnificent beach.

180702 1 Rhossili beach

Our group of 15 met in the National Trust car park at Rhossili, then slowly meandered along the cliff tops towards the point, birding as we walked.

180702 2 Heading towards the worm

I saw my first Choughs, Fulmars were spotted gliding majestically below us, and a Great black-backed gull flew in and landed on a headland.

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, here I also saw my first Grayling butterflies. The first, pictured here on a discarded Coke bottle, was spotted by eagle-eyed Tate, and the second by another birder, Rob.

At the point, we enjoyed superb views, and the last of the bright sunny weather, while eating our lunch. Then, despite the rain starting, 11 of our intrepid team headed across the causeway to The Worm, where their scrambling and climbing and drenching were rewarded with views of Guillemots, Razorbills, Puffins and Manx shearwaters.

180702 7 Crossing to The Worm

Three of us chose, instead, to do the circular walk around the headland, seeing lots of Linnets and Meadow pipits in the fields, a Kestrel hovering in search of prey, and two lovely fresh-looking Small tortoiseshell butterflies.

180702 8 Linnet

After some of the team returned from The Worm, four of us went for a brief visit to nearby Mewslade, a beautiful little valley that runs down to a sheltered cove. Here we had incredibly close views of a Lesser whitethroat feeding young, spotted two very yellow-faced Great tit fledglings in an area of burnt gorse, and watched more Choughs and another Kestrel flying through. It was yet another superb field trip with my bird club friends.

180702 11 Kestrel

Birding at Bargoed & Cefn Gelligaer

17 Sunday Jun 2018

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I was out birding again on day 17 of #30DaysWild, once again with Glamorgan Bird Club, this time to Cefn Gelligaer and the Bargoed uplands. And what a wonderful day it was, in spite of the light rain that set in after lunch (though that does mean I don’t have a lot of photos). One of our club members, Lee, guided us around his local patch and it was a real bonus tapping in to his local knowledge.

180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (6)180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (2)180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (5)

This is ‘big sky’ country, with a long history of human settlement, from the era of Megalithic chambered tombs through the years of Roman road-building to the coal mining of 19th and early 20th centuries. There are ancient trees, superbly crafted dry-stone walls, old droving roads and narrow green lanes.

As well as the 42 bird species we saw – a very respectable list, given the conditions – we also had a weasel checking us out, before streaking across the lane behind us, and I saw my first Welsh mountain ponies, very handsome little beasts with quite oddly shaped heads.

180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (11)180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (10)

Lee kindly gave us each a brochure for a walking trail that includes many of the local historical features so I will definitely be heading back for another look.

180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (9)

Spot the Stonechat

Here’s our bird list: Carrion crow, Mistle thrush, Lesser black-backed gull, Pheasant, Robin, Skylark, Wren, Starling, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Meadow pipit, Swallow, Willow warbler, Great tit, Great spotted woodpecker, Swift, Blackbird, Herring gull, Dunnock, Pied wagtail, Buzzard, Curlew, Red kite, Green woodpecker, Song thrush, Stonechat, Stock dove, Tree pipit, Redstart, Coal tit, Blackcap, Nuthatch, Long-tailed tit, Cuckoo, Blue tit, Linnet, Reed bunting, Whinchat, Magpie, and House sparrow.

180617 Birding Bargoed uplands (1)

Swallows swooping over the fields

Birding at Kenfig

16 Saturday Jun 2018

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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 bird180616 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.

Birding at St David’s Vale

26 Saturday May 2018

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I might also have called this blog post ‘One hundred and eighty!’. Let me explain …

180525 St Davids Vale (1)

Last Wednesday I joined fourteen other members of the Glamorgan Bird Club for a day’s birding in the stunning scenery of St David’s Vale, near Abergavenny. We walked part of an ancient hollow way …

180525 St Davids Vale (4)180525 St Davids Vale (6)

Beneath mighty oaks in an equally ancient woodland carpeted with bluebells …

180525 St Davids Vale (2)180525 St Davids Vale (3)

And then, as the sun broke through the low cloud that had earlier floated across the border from England, we climbed up on to the broad open moorland, with panoramic views all around and the impressive peak of Sugarloaf looming to our right.

180525 St Davids Vale (5)

Most of the birds mocked my photographic skills and no-so-long lens as they perched on distant tree tops and bushes but I was delighted to hear and then see my very first Wood warbler, and then, on the moorland, several beautiful Whinchats. And those two sightings brought my year list to – yes, you guessed it – one hundred and eighty!

Our keen amateur naturalists also spotted a Small heath butterfly and two Common heath moths (this is the male; the female landed on my trouser leg so another birder got that picture), and a Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly. And we were entertained by the bumbling flights of several Cockchafers (I’ll cover those in a future post.)

Small heath butterfly
Common heath moth
Broad-bodied chaser

Cockchafer

My bird list for the today was: Mistlethrush, Robin, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Great tit, Carrion crow, Meadow pipit, Willow warbler, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Blue tit, Blackcap, Skylark, Buzzard, Chaffinch, Garden warbler, Long-tailed tit, Wood warbler, Stonechat, Raven, Tree pipit, Linnet, Whinchat, Wren, Cuckoo, House sparrow, Pied wagtail, Dunnock, Magpie and Jackdaw. It was a perfectly wonderful day!

Glossy ibis

13 Sunday May 2018

Posted by in birds, nature

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One of the nearest and clearest avian encounters on my recent birding trip to England’s north east was our sighting of a Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) at Druridge Pools.

180512 glossy ibis (2)

This is a large bird, similar in many ways to a heron, but the Glossy ibis has a beautifully rich plumage in vibrant shades of bronze and green. The Glossy is not strictly speaking a British bird – it can be found in the warmer parts of Europe, Asia and the Americas – but these birds have been visiting Britain more frequently in recent years (I saw my first at RSPB Ham Wall last year).

180512 glossy ibis (1)

This particular Glossy ibis eluded us when we first arrived at Druridge – it had been scared off by photographers getting too close and a tractor driving by – but, luckily for us, it later returned to the site and was grazing within a few yards of the fence so we had outstanding views of it. I even managed to take a short video.

Birding at Craig Cerrig Gleisiad and Garwnant

19 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in birds, nature, spring, walks

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Derek the weatherman got the forecast absolutely right for our Glamorgan Bird Club trip yesterday: foggy and a bit mizzly until 10am, then the cloud lifted to leave clear blue skies and t-shirt weather – it almost felt like summer!

180419 Brecon in the distance

We twenty-two birding enthusiasts had headed north of Cardiff to the Brecon Beacons National Park – when the cloud lifted, we could see Pen-y-fan, at 2,907 feet (886m), Wales’s 10th highest mountain. The plan was to walk the lower slopes of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad National Nature Reserve, in the hope of seeing Ring Ouzels, Whinchats, Redstarts, Wheatears and possibly Pied Flycatcher, amongst other birds.

180419 Pen-y-Fan

Because of the damp weather and low cloud, we began the day by exploring the woodland around the Youth Hostel across the road from the reserve and immediately had superb views of Pied flycatchers, and not only male birds but also a female who was making a start on nest building. A Tree pipit sitting high on bushes in the neighbouring fields was also a year tick for me.

After a spot of early lunch back at the cars, we climbed the slopes into the dramatic landscape of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad, the southernmost glacial boulder field in Britain. Here we had Willow warblers singing all along the stream, and frequent views of Stonechats and Meadow pipits.

Some of the party went further up the track and were rewarded with views of distant Ring ouzels – I wasn’t one of the lucky ones, but it was great that others got on to them. Then, after regrouping back at the cars, some of us took a small detour on the way home for a quick visit to the Garwnant Forestry Centre, where we saw Grey wagtails and Dippers on the river and a Red kite and Sparrowhawk overhead. And we were very lucky that the resident Willow tit showed well for us near the Centre’s car parking area. It was another splendid day’s birding!

My species list for the day was: Red Kite, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Peregrine, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Willow Tit, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Wren, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Dipper, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Stonechat, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Tree Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, and Siskin. And other birds seen (but not by me) were: Kestrel, Marsh Tit, Wheatear, Skylark, Swallow, Goldcrest, Ring Ouzel, and Linnet.

180419 Willow tit

Birding in the Forest of Dean

10 Saturday Mar 2018

Posted by in birds, nature, walks, winter

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For my latest birding adventure, I joined 21 other members of the Glamorgan Bird Club and ventured across the border to England, to explore birding sites in the beautiful Forest of Dean, where the glorious tree-clad countryside was made even more lovely by the covering of snow that still lingered from the previous weekend’s weather bomb.

180310 snowy landscape (2)

The snow also meant two of the car parks we tried were closed and necessitated a long stomp along the forest trails to the viewpoint where we could search the skies for Goshawk – unfortunately, the birds weren’t seen, but what a wonderful walk it was! There’s just something about that snow-white coating that makes a landscape look magical.

180310 Cannop Ponds (1)180310 Cannop Ponds (2)

But I’m getting ahead of myself. We started off at Cannop Ponds, where I got my first sight of Mandarin ducks in the wild. These stunning birds are native to Asia – and I had first seen them in a bird park in Kuala Lumpur – but escapees from parklands and zoos have established breeding populations in Britain and, in 1971, the bird was added to the official British bird list, under category C1 (although introduced, the birds now derive from the resulting self-sustaining populations).

180310 Mandarin & other ducks (1)180310 Mandarin & other ducks (3)

At the ponds we also enjoyed good views of a resident Marsh tit before heading off along the forest trails. In a large clearing, one of our eagle-eyed younger members spotted another of our target birds for this trip, the Great grey shrike. Using bins and ’scopes we were able to watch the bird catch a tiny lizard and, its trademark action, impale its prey on a sharp twig.

180310 snowy landscape (1)180310 Great grey shrike

After our Goshawk-less stomp to New Fancy viewpoint, we returned to the cars and drove on to Parkend, where the local Hawfinches proved more cooperative, obliging with distant but dark views under the conifers by the cricket ground. They were the icing on the cake of another thoroughly enjoyable outing with my bird club buddies.

180310 Hawfinch

My list of species sighted is as follows: Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Mandarin Duck, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Grey Shrike, Magpie, Jay, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, and Hawfinch. And I was obviously not paying attention when others in the group saw (or heard) the Grey Heron, Stock Dove, Jackdaw, Mistle Thrush, Grey Wagtail, Greenfinch, and Bullfinch.

180310 Mandarin & other ducks (2)180310 Mandarin & other ducks (4)

Birding at Dryslwyn, Cilsan Bridge and Tregaron Bog

02 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in birds, nature, walks, winter

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Up at 6, collected at 7 and off we headed, west along the M4 for a 9 o’clock meet up with our other Glamorgan Bird Club buddies at the foot of Dryslwyn Castle in mid Wales. This was unexplored territory for me and the scenery of the Tywi (or Towy) Valley was simply stunning, with castles and monuments seemingly on every hill top and the beautiful River Tywi meandering through the valley below them. It was clear but cold, with a bitter wind, and heavy frost and thick ice still blanketing those spots the sun could not reach. Later, we moved on to Tregaron Bog, also known as Cors Caron National Nature Reserve, a fabulous area of marsh and wetland. And what a superb day’s birding we had!

180302 Tywi Valley (1)

A large flock of Lapwing on the fields next to the River Tywi, and a Grey heron flying in.

180302 Tywi Valley (2)

Ducks, geese and Little grebes in the river.

180302 Tywi Valley (3)

A Red kite looks for lunch from its perch on this big old dead tree.

180302 Tywi Valley (4)

Looking towards Dinefwr Castle, with two swans flying off (possibly Mute but we also saw Whooper).

180302 Tywi Valley (5)

A thrush checks through a mole hill for potential food.

180302 Tregaron Bog (1)

Too distant for clear shots, two Green sandpipers (and a Teal), from one of the hides at Tregaron Bog.

180302 Tregaron Bog (2)

Intrepid birders, well rugged up against the chill.

180302 Tregaron Bog (3)

Beautiful countryside around Tregaron Bog, where grazing ponies help to manage the wetland environment.

180302 Tregaron Bog (4)

A Red kite; one of several seen this day and spectacular birds to watch.

My species list for the day was: Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Pink-footed Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Goosander, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Cormorant, Red Kite, Hen Harrier, Buzzard, Lapwing, Snipe, Curlew, Green Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Raven, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Wren, Treecreeper, Starling, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Stonechat, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Bullfinch. A further 7 species were seen by other members of our group but not by me: Peregrine, Common Gull, Rook, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Nuthatch, and Greenfinch.