K is for Kingfisher

16 Monday Dec 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Glamorgan Canal, Kingfisher

Kingfishers featured on this blog back in January (Flashes of teal, 20 January), though I’ve actually enjoyed even better sightings of these stunning birds during several recent visits to Forest Farm Nature Reserve in north Cardiff. The reserve is a well known local hotspot for these birds, and some Kingfisher aficionados spend hours sitting in the hides there, hoping to get the perfect diving photo. Personally, I prefer walking the canals to try to find these beautiful birds in a less contrived situation, and that’s exactly where the sequence of three images below was taken. I managed to catch the moment the bird spotted a fish and began its dive but, sadly, both its speed and my slow reaction meant I didn’t capture the instant the bird hit the water. Still, it was a magical moment.

241216 k is for kingfisher

Flashes of teal

20 Saturday Jan 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm Country Park, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Kingfisher

My most frequent views of Kingfishers are as passing piping flashes of teal, streaking around the edges of Cardiff Bay. So, it was a delight, on Thursday, to walk along the Glamorgan canal at Forest Farm Country Park and find one sitting on a branch, staring at the water, intensely focused on finding its next meal.

240120 kingfisher

Streaks of teal and turquoise

20 Thursday Jul 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Kingfisher

I timed yesterday’s arrival at the second hide at Forest Farm Nature Reserve perfectly – some birders sit patiently in the hide for hours waiting for a Kingfisher to fly in and perch on the strategically placed stick.

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And, in fact, I was doubly lucky as I later had two Kingfishers streak past as I walked along the canal path. They are the most gorgeous birds!

230720 kingfisher (2)

A Kingfisher treat

12 Monday Sep 2022

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Kingfisher, Parc Tredelerch

As well as the phenomenal Black terns I shared on Saturday, my visit to Parc Tredelerch produced another avian treat, this Kingfisher, at first perching on the edge of the boardwalk, then, later, appearing right in front of us as we searched the skies for the terns. Most of my recent views of Kingfishers have been of a fleeting flash of teal streaking rapidly past, so it was especially nice to have this one sit a short while quite close by.

220912 kingfisher

A flash of turquoise

28 Monday Jun 2021

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birding, birds at Forest Farm, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Kingfisher

I mentioned in Saturday’s blog that I saw one particularly beautiful bird during my visit to Forest Farm Nature Reserve on Thursday, and this is it, a Kingfisher.

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And I was lucky – I saw it twice, visiting the ponds in front of first one bird hide and then the other.

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It didn’t linger long at either, announcing its departure with the trade-mark peep, peep, peeping as it flew off with a flash of vibrant turquoise.

210628 kingfisher (3)

3/366 Stroll around Forest Farm

03 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks, winter

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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)!

333/365 A Bay full of birds

29 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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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.

A halcyon day

22 Monday Jan 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Alcyone, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ceyx, Forest Farm, Glamorgan Canal, Greek myth about kingfisher, Halcyon, Halcyon days, Kingfisher

Did you know that the word halcyon is Greek for kingfisher?

180122 Kingfisher (1)

It comes from an ancient myth about Alcyone and her husband Ceyx who angered the gods by calling each other Zeus and Hera. The real Zeus and Hera were livid and punished the couple by killing Ceyx, using a thunderbolt to sink Ceyx’s ship.

180122 Kingfisher (2)

Overcome with grief at the news, Alcyone jumped into the sea and also drowned. Impressed by Alcyone’s love and compassion, Zeus and Hera transformed the couple into vibrant blue birds, the kingfishers that delight all who are privileged to see them.

180122 Kingfisher (3)

But life was not all plain sailing for the newly transformed kingfishers as Zeus declared that Alcyone could only lay her eggs in winter, at a place close to the shore where Ceyx’s body had washed up. This caused Alcyone further grief because the winter storms kept washing her eggs away.

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Eventually, Zeus relented and decreed that there would always be a period of fourteen days in the middle of winter when the seas would be calm enough for Alcyone to lay and brood her eggs.

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This period of calm came to be known as the period of halcyon days. And, though the wind was strong, gusty and icy cold for my walk along the Glamorgan Canal at Forest Farm Nature Reserve on Friday, yet it was a day of seeing beautiful kingfishers so I feel I can still call it a halcyon day!

Birds of Forest Farm

07 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, bullfinch, dunnock, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Great spotted woodpecker, Great tit, Kingfisher, long-tailed tit, Moorhen, robin, treecreeper

I had a meeting at Forest Farm last Friday so, of course, I took the opportunity while I was there to have a wander around the trails and along the Glamorganshire Canal. And it was wonderful, though I did come away feeling a little guilty. We’d had a week of low temperatures, with overnight frosts, and there was a bitterly cold wind blowing. It was obvious the wee birds were cold and hungry but I hadn’t taken any seed with me. Here are a Long-tailed tit, a male Bullfinch, a Dunnock, a Robin and a Great tit.

171207 Forest farm birds (1) 171207 Forest farm birds (2) 171207 Forest farm birds (3) 171207 Forest farm birds (4) 171207 Forest farm birds (5)

The water of the canal was sheltered from the breeze and very still, making for some stunning reflections (thank you little Moorhen). And I was treated to excellent views of a female Kingfisher, who sat for at least 15 minutes on her branch. From the way her feathers were fluffed up and she was hunched over her ‘toes’, I figure she was feeling the cold as well.

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The Great spotted woodpecker was a treat, as were the Treecreepers – at least four of them, perhaps a family group, were actively scuttling up the branches in one small area by the canal. It was a grand day – my meeting went well and the birding was even better than expected!

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Birding at RSPB Lodmoor

19 Thursday Oct 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Canada goose, Great white egret, Kingfisher, Lesser yellowlegs, Mediterranean gull, RSPB Lodmoor, Teal, Tringa flavipes

171019 RSPB Lodmoor

On the way to Portland Bird Observatory last Friday we called in at the RSPB’s Lodmoor Reserve, just outside of Weymouth, to see if we could catch a glimpse of one of their rare visitors, a Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), a bird that’s usually more at home in the Americas. Our views weren’t super clear – my photos were taken through tall grasses and bramble – but it was great to see one of these occasional visitors to Europe.

As well as the Lesser yellowlegs (and the Gadwall I blogged about earlier in the week), there was an abundance of other birdlife.

171019 Various birds

Large numbers of Canada geese flew in while we walked the trails, and there were numerous Teal and Tufted ducks.

171019 Canada geese

171019 Teal

A few Mediterranean as well as the more common gull species …

Ruff, Snipe, Little and Great white egrets puddled about in the lagoons; a very confiding Kingfisher posed for photos; two Marsh harriers glided over the distant reed beds; and a Spoonbill was a nice, though distant sighting. I recorded over 30 species of birds at Lodmoor and that was without walking right around the reserve.