Encounters with grebes

28 Saturday Jan 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, little grebe

I’ve had two interesting encounters with Little grebes in the past week. The first was being relatively close to this little cutie having a bath, a delightfully splashy affair.

230128 little grebes (2)

Then, a couple of days later, I noticed this gang of Little grebes floating along the River Taff. At this time of year they often seem to congregate around the area where the Taff flows in to Cardiff Bay (I counted 28 thereabouts recently). I don’t know the reason for this but I wonder if it is some kind of pre-breeding behaviour, where the single grebes come together to appraise each other, looking for potential mates.

230128 little grebes (1)

Dabchicks

12 Saturday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis

The Little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) is also commonly known as the Dabchick, though it has a wide variety of other vernacular names. Its scientific name, according to professor Wikipedia, is a combination of Ancient Greek and Latin: takhus means fast, bapto means ‘to sink under’, rufus is red and collis comes from the Latin for neck – so, fast diving red-neck. It’s aptly named. Although these cute little grebes are widespread and common, they are ‘seen infrequently as they live on waterways where there is dense aquatic vegetation’, according to Fauna Britannia, though I would modify that to read that they are seen infrequently close up because they dive rapidly as soon as they realise someone is near.

221112 little grebe

38/366 A day of grebes

07 Friday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Great Crested Grebe, grebes, little grebe

Grebes were much in evidence today.

200207 great crested grebe (1)

As well as these two Great crested grebes, I saw several other pairs, some displaying and, once, a couple of males engaged in a noisy dispute, over a fine nesting spot perhaps.

200207 great crested grebe (2)

Making a lot of chattering noise as they swam, two Little grebes also seemed to be searching for potential nest sites amongst the reeds. We might be expecting a mighty storm in the next couple of days but the birds are thinking it’s Springtime.

200207 little grebe

360/365 Christmas birding

26 Thursday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay walk, Cetti's warbler, Common Gull, Great spotted woodpecker, Grey wagtail, Linnet, little grebe, Moorhen, Stonechat, Turnstone

Normal weather service (i.e. wind and rain) has resumed here today but yesterday, Christmas Day, was glorious – blue skies, cold but no wind, so I took myself on a 6-hour 8½-mile walk right around Cardiff Bay. I saw 44 species of bird (and dished out some Christmas seed to a few), and had some nice chats to random strangers. The birding highlights included …

Grey wagtails and my favourite little Turnstones on the Ely embankment

191226 3 linnets

Seven Linnets in a tree

A Moorhen and a Little grebe at Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve

191226 6 great spotted woodpecker

The day’s surprise, a Great spotted woodpecker in trees, also at the wetlands reserve

Two Cetti’s warblers seen (and more heard), plus a lovely male Stonechat

191226 9 common gull

A Common gull puddling for worms with the Black-headed gulls in Hamadryad Park

Fish for lunch again?

25 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, little grebe, Little grebe chick, Little grebe feeding chick, Tachybaptus ruficollis

Last Saturday we had photos of a Great crested grebe feeding its youngster. Today I spent a delightful 20 minutes watching a Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) catch and feed fish to its offspring. Here are some photos …

180825 Little grebes (1)

The adult Little grebe, on the left, is still in its summer/breeding plumage. I’m not sure if it’s a male or female as, from various websites I’ve checked, their plumage appears to be the same, and both parents share the incubation and care of their young. The little one was constantly peeping at its parent for food so the adult was diving in search of the small fish and aquatic invertebrates they like to eat.

180825 Little grebes (2).jpg

This is looking hopeful.

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A not-so-small fish!

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The youngster waits not-so-patiently for its parent to subdue the fish.

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The handover.

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Waiting to see if the young one can/will swallow the fish or drop it.

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Still waiting …

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The little one is struggling with the size of the fish but, at this point, the parent has given up waiting and dived down to find more.

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One more big gulp and it’s down! I wonder how many fish it eats in a day.

January on the Ely embankment

30 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Carrion crow, Ely embankment, Goosander, Grey wagtail, little grebe, Pied wagtail, Redshank, River Ely, Rock pipit, Turnstone

31 December 2017 I’m being a bit sneaky here as I managed to fit in one last walk along the embankment before the start of 2018 but after I’d written my December summary. So, on the last day of last year there were 5 Turnstones, 2 Redshanks, 2 Pied wagtails and 2 Grey wagtails, 1 Rock pipit and a couple of Crows.

1 January 2018 The very next day, New Year’s Day, I passed this way as part of a complete circuit of Cardiff Bay. It was a glorious blue-sky day but there were just 3 Turnstones present.

180130 Ely embankment birds (5)

11 January This was another glorious day and another circuit of Cardiff Bay, though in the opposite direction. And it was a bumper day for the Ely embankment, with four Redshanks (including the ringed bird, shown above, which I’ve seen and written about previously), 6 Turnstones, 1 Pied and 4 Grey wagtails, and a Rock pipit.

16 January With 40-mph winds blasting down from snow-covered areas further north, the air temperature was hovering below zero when I walked along the embankment late morning. I wasn’t surprised, then, to find very few birds around – a single Turnstone that was wandering along half way up the embankment (not wanting to put its feet in the chilly water?), which was good for me as it was closer for photos, and just two Grey wagtails. There weren’t many birds on the river either, just a couple of coots, one Great crested grebe and several Black-headed gulls looking hopefully in my direction.

180130 Ely embankment birds

20 January I didn’t get out till late afternoon as it had rained most of the day, so the light was going as I strolled along the embankment path. But I was pleasantly surprised to see a few birds: my friends the Grey wagtails never disappoint (two of those); just one Turnstone poking away amongst the stones; and two Redshanks, including my little buddy the colour-ringed bird. Floating along the river were a Little grebe, a Great crested grebe and a pair of Goosanders – the latter were scared away by a boat cruising by and flew off towards the other side of Cardiff Bay, where I had seen a pair a week or so previously – perhaps the same birds.

25 January I detoured along the embankment on my return from a longer walk and was delighted to find six Turnstones (lovely to see so many), two Redshanks (but not my little ringed mate), two Grey and two Pied wagtails.

A gathering of grebes

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, little grebe, Roath Park Lake, Tachybaptus ruficollis

Six is the highest number of Little grebes (Tachybaptus ruficollis) I’ve ever seen in one group – these were on Roath Park Lake a couple of days ago – but the really tricky thing was to get them all above water and in shot at the same time!

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One, two, plus two with their heads below water … and two circles of bubbles.

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One up, three on their way under … and two nowhere to be seen.

180125 Little grebes (3)

Nope!

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Almost!

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YES! Success at last.

On a grey Bay day

04 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

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birding, birds, birdwatching, black-headed gulls, British birds, Canada geese, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Cormorant, fog, Great Crested Grebe, little grebe, long-tailed tit, Moorhen, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, starling, walk around Cardiff Bay

171104 1 Cardiff Bay fog

Thick fog hung over Cardiff Bay as I set out on a round-the-bay circuit yesterday morning and, though the fog thinned as the day went on, the day remained grey. Still, never let it be said that grey is boring. Birds there were aplenty (and wildflowers, too … but that’s for tomorrow’s post).

This cormorant was enjoying a successful spot of fishing in the old Penarth dock area, though it was slim pickings for the three Little grebes around the corner in the River Ely.

All around the Bay, on almost every man-made structure and clump of rocks near the water, Pied wagtails bobbed, wagged and ‘chisicked’.

Coots were even more numerous, and an occasional Moorhen prospected along the shoreline.

171104 5 Cormorant 171104 5 Flock of Canada geese

As I was watching this Cormorant drying its wings, our peace and tranquillity was interrupted by the loud honking of a large skein of Canada Geese flying in from the west.

Where concrete and buildings dominate the shoreline and there’s a notable absence of trees, the birds have adapted and perch on tree-like things.

I saw perhaps half a dozen Great crested grebes around the Bay: I always admire how long they can stay underwater when fishing. Mute swans were more numerous. They are birds of such contrasts, looking anything but decorous when flaunting their glorious white bottoms as they feed, yet the picture of elegance when preening.

171104 8 Black-headed gull (3)

The most abundant came at the end of my walk. It was standing room only for the Black-headed gulls on the Barrage.

October on the Ely embankment

31 Tuesday Oct 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, coastal fauna, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Great Crested Grebe, Linnet, little grebe, Pied wagtail, Redshank, River Ely, Rock pipit, Turnstone, Wheatear

At least once a week I take a turn along the embankment where the River Ely flows out into Cardiff Bay as it makes a nice circular walk from my home on the cliff-top above in Penarth. (It’s good exercise too, as what goes down there must walk back up!) I always record what I see – usually birds – so thought I would share my sightings in an end-of-monthly post.

A variety of birds make their home in this stretch of water, which they share with a yachting marina and associated water traffic coming and going. There are almost always Turnstones in varying quantities (from one to nine), Mallards, Mute swans, one or two Great Crested Grebes (including their progeny this year), a proliferation of Coots, the occasional Cormorant fishing, usually a couple of Grey wagtails and a couple of Pieds. Gulls fly overhead and there are plenty of hirundines, in the season.

2 October: A Wheatear, an unusual visitor, almost certainly on a migration stopover, was dotting about on the embankment stones; a Pied wagtail was doing its morning stretches, and a Rock pipit was browsing for titbits.

171031f Little grebe

16 October: This was the day before ex-hurricane Ophelia made her presence felt, the day of the jaundiced yellow sky and the rusty red sun, which you can see reflected in my photo of the four Little grebes that were sheltering from the incoming weather. A juvenile Grey wagtail was dotting along the embankment, calling incessantly for its parent; and a Great crested grebe was enjoying a very successful fishing session, coming up with fish in two successive dives.

171031h Linnet

22 October: The day after Storm Brian I walked the embankment to see if any unusual birds had been blown in. The usual suspects were present, except that, most unusually, there wasn’t a single Turnstone. A solitary Linnet flitted back and forth from pavement to stones, and three rather exhausted-looking Redshanks dozed warily along the water line. One of these was colour-ringed and might possibly be the bird I saw back in March but I couldn’t see its rings well enough to be sure.

171031i Redshank

More feathered friends from Forest Farm

19 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

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birding, birds, birdwatching, blackbird, Blue tit, British birds, bullfinch, chaffinch, dunnock, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, little grebe, long-tailed tit, nuthatch, robin, wren

Many birders ignore what they consider the ordinary birds, the backyard birds, in favour of the rare and unusual. To me, that’s a bit like only being interested in famous movie stars and ignoring all the supporting actors, the bit players, the extras. I adore all birds but I am particularly charmed by the ordinary birds – every day they make me laugh and smile, their gorgeous colours and intricate plumage delight my eye, their melodies are better than any man-made music. So, for me, yesterday was another magical day with these beautiful extra-ordinary birds at Forest Farm Nature Reserve.