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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Grey heron

Garbage Bay

01 Tuesday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, Grey heron

Cardiff Bay has a reputation as a lovely area but the sad reality is that when you place a barrier across a bay into which two rivers discharge then the garbage that flows down those rivers, especially after raging storms and heavy rain, is bound to accumulate. And, though the local council does remove some rubbish, this particular corner of the Bay is never cleared. No chance of any lunch for the Grey heron here, I’m afraid.

220301 heron in rubbish

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Mr Grumpy

20 Saturday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Grey heron

If you think this Grey heron looks grumpy, you’re right. According to the lovely woman who pointed it out to me, her dog had disturbed the bird when it rushed into the brook and, having flown up into the tree above, the heron stood glowering at the three annoying animals below.

211120 grey heron

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52/366 Up close

21 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

adult Cormorant, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cormorant, Grey heron, juvenile Cormorant

During today’s wander around parts of Cardiff that I only occasionally visit, I managed to get very close to, and spend quite a long time watching, several birds. These are three: a Grey heron, and two Cormorants, an adult and a juvenile. It was magic!

200221 grey heron200221 cormorant adult200221 cormorant juvenile

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3/366 Stroll around Forest Farm

03 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks, winter

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Dipper, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Great spotted woodpecker, Grey heron, Kingfisher

Today’s was another merry meander, this time around Forest Farm Nature Reserve. The sun was actually shining for part of the time, which was a very pleasant change, and I was lucky with my bird sightings.

200103 1 dipper

As soon as I stepped on to the pedestrian bridge that crosses the River Taff from Radyr Station to Forest Farm, I could hear a Dipper singing – such a delightful melody! And there it was, sitting on a rock on the far bank, almost directly under the bridge. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the day.

200103 2 great spotted woodpecker

The little birds – the tits and finches, Robins and Wrens – were also very vocal and it wasn’t long before I had paused to hand out some sunflower seeds and enjoy their feasting. As I watched, I caught a flash of red – my first Great spotted woodpecker of the year. I also heard, then saw a Green woodpecker but wasn’t quick enough for any photos.

200103 3 kingfisher

I popped along to the second bird hide but all was quiet there and I’m not one to just sit and wait for the birds to come, so I headed along to wander the length of the old Glamorgan Canal, and back. I was soon lucky there too – a Kingfisher was flying and perching on low branches, trying to fish but being almost continuously disturbed by passing dogs and their walkers and noisy families.

Four hours later, I had dished out all of my seed offerings and managed to clock 30 species, four of which were new for 2020 and all of which were lovely to see. But the highlight of the day was probably the sight of 10 Grey herons in one huge dead tree (at one point also joined by a Buzzard but two Magpies soon saw it off)!

200103 4 grey heron
200103 5 grey heron

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274/365 Egrets and herons

01 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great white egret, Grey heron, Little egret, RSPB Lodmoor, RSPB Radipole

On the way to Portland last Friday our birding group stopped off at the RSPB’s Lodmoor Nature Reserve on the outskirts of Weymouth. It’s a wonderful environment for birds, with small lakes and large reedbeds, open saltmarshes and hedge-enclosed pathways, and it always turns up a good variety of birds.

191001 egrets

Now, I’ve only been in Britain four years so I don’t remember the ‘old days’ when twitchers would race across the country to see a Little egret or a Great white egret, but even I can see how much these birds have increased in number in a very short time.

191001 little egret (1)
191001 little egret (2)

At Lodmoor, there were several Little egrets (above) – I didn’t count the ones I did see, and I’m sure there were several lurking amongst the reeds that I couldn’t see and, amazingly, there were six (!) Great white egrets (below), for a time all congregated in one spot. Now, that was a sight to see.

191001 great white egret (1)
191001 great white egret (2)

I was also impressed by the large numbers of Grey herons, especially those at nearby RSPB Radipole, all lined up along the edge of the reeds, sheltering from the strong westerly winds.

191001 herons and little egret

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175/365 The eye of faith

24 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, Bittern, Black-tailed godwit, British birds, Cuckoo, Great white egret, Grey heron, Hobby, Marsh harrier, RSPB Ham Wall, Shapwick Heath, Whitethroat

You’re just going to have to believe me when I tell you that the photo on the left below is of a Cuckoo in a tree, and the photo on the right is of a Hobby in the same tree four minutes later.

190624 cuckoo
190624 hobby

Today’s photos were taken during yesterday’s Glamorgan Bird Club field trip to RSPB Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath on the Somerset Levels, a very watery place, as you can imagine, and one where, depending on the time of year, you’re almost guaranteed to see Marsh harriers, Bitterns, Great white and Little egrets. So, here they are, plus a couple of extras. It was a grand day out, as usual on these birding field trips.

A Grey heron hunts in one of the lush reens …

190624 heron in a reen

The obligatory blurry bittern fly-past shot.

190624 bittern flypast

The equally obligatory distant Marsh harrier shot … but I did manage to get two in one frame.

190624 marsh harriers

Great white egrets aplenty …

190624 great white egret

Black-tailed godwits and a couple of Lapwings doing a turn of the pond. And “Look at me! Look at me!” called the handsome little Whitethroat, so we did.

190624 godwits and lapwings
190624 whitethroat

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142/365 Birding at Magor Marsh

22 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, insects, nature, trees

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#365DaysWild, Glamorgan Bird Club, Grey heron, Little egret, Magor Marsh, Mistletoe, Sedge warbler

It was a cracking blue-sky day for our Glamorgan Bird Club trip to the Gwent Wildlife Trust’s Magor Marsh Reserve today, and what a fabulous place it is! A natural area of fenland, divided by the lush waterways of ancient reens, home to large areas of reed bed and magnificent wildflower meadows, interspersed with small wooded areas.

190522 reen

The bird list today was not extensive but I think it was the first time any of us had seen Little egrets nesting in Britain, and one of those was easy to see from the bird hide, and it was sharing its tree with a nesting Grey heron.

190522 nesting herons

Plus the reserve was alive with Redgies – Reed and Sedge warblers – and you know how much I love those little birds. One Sedgie even hopped out for a few photos.

190522 sedge warbler

And, because Bird Club outings are about more than just birds, when the bird life was a bit sparse we simply turned our attention to all the other interesting flora and fauna that surrounded us.

190522 mistletoe
190522 galls on blackthorn

Like a tree adorned with huge bundles of Mistletoe, and another, probably a Blackthorn, with what looked like galls affecting its fruit.

190522 damselfly
190522 beetle

And all the damselflies and beetles, bees and butterflies (though not as many butterflies as I was hoping for – I’m blaming the coolish wind). All in all, it was a pleasure to explore this lovely reserve and another most excellent field trip.

190522 bee
190522 small copper (2)

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11/365 Gull vs Heron

11 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, seaside, walks, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birtdwatching, British birds, Grey heron, juvenile Herring gull, Sully beach, walk from Sully to Penarth

It may have been grey and occasionally mizzling but that didn’t stop me enjoying a fabulous walk back from Sully beach to Penarth today. A tribe of 30 Turnstones flew in, as did 4 Grey plover and a little Dunlin friend; Rock pipits were flitting to and fro; there were 27 Curlew grazing on the playing fields – always a treat to watch; and I saw my first Kestrel of the year, perched on a high wire, watching. I did feel a little sorry for this Grey heron though, being harassed by a juvenile gull (Herring, I think).

190111 gull vs grey heron

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Who’s jealous then?

13 Tuesday Nov 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay wetlands, Grey heron

I wasn’t the only one watching the Great crested grebe fishing at Cardiff Bay wetlands on that sublime autumn day. This juvenile Grey heron flew in half way through the fishing session and settled itself first on one side of the small pool, then on the other.

 

181113 grey heron (1)
181113 grey heron (2)

And the heron watched in awe as the grebe caught fish after fish so effortlessly and in such a short space of time.

181113 grey heron (3)181113 grey heron (4)181113 grey heron (5)181113 grey heron (6)

I’m sure I detected a look of jealousy, and perhaps hunger, on that wide-eyed face!

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A walk along the Taff

10 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature, parks, trees, walks, wildflowers

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Tags

Bute Park, Carrion crow, Goosander, Green alkanet, Grey heron, Grey wagtail, Mallard, Mute swan, River Taff, riverside walk, Speckled wood, woodland trail

On Friday, after I’d paid a visit to the tree I’m following, I enjoyed a stroll along the trail in Cardiff’s Bute Park that meanders through mature woodland alongside the River Taff. Despite this summer’s drought conditions, the recent rains have revived the local trees and plants so everything was looking wonderfully lush and vibrant.

180910 Walk by the Taff (1)

A female Goosander sailing down river was a pleasant sight. Both males and females can often be seen on this part of the Taff from autumn through to spring.

180910 Walk by the Taff (2)

Near the far river bank, a Grey heron stood tall on one of the many exposed rocks and boulders. The river is quite low at the moment.

180910 Walk by the Taff (3)

There weren’t a lot of signs of autumn yet – only the leaves of the Horse chestnuts were yellowing and curling up and beginning to drop.

180910 Walk by the Taff (4)

A Speckled wood was well camouflaged on the woodland floor. There weren’t many butterflies around, just half a dozen Speckled woods and a few Small whites.

180910 Walk by the Taff (5)

A Mallard enjoyed a snooze near the river’s edge.

180910 Walk by the Taff (6)

I liked the colours and patterns of the pebbles and the occasionally blue sky reflected in the river water.

180910 Walk by the Taff (7)

This was one of two Mute swans feeding.

180910 Walk by the Taff (8)

I’ve seen this particular Carrion crow many times before when I’ve walked this way. I know it’s the same crow, not because of how it looks but because it has virtually no voice. It tries to croak but hardly any sound comes out.

180910 Walk by the Taff (9)

Most of the wildflowers have finished flowering but this Green alkanet was a pretty exception.

180910 Walk by the Taff (10)

Just a few hints of autumn showing here. I love how this path meanders through these magnificent trees.

180910 Walk by the Taff (11)

The woodland trail finishes just below Blackweir, where the current low water level means many rocks and boulders have been exposed. This was the perfect spot for a group of perhaps 20 Grey wagtails to fly-catch, and watching their aerial antics was the perfect end to my wander alongside the Taff.

180910 Walk by the Taff (12)

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About me

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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