From garbage to glorious

09 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, parks

Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, Blackcap, Brimstone butterfly, Common blue butterfly, Common spotted orchid, Emperor dragonfly, Grangemoor Park, Holly blue butterfly, Large skipper, long-tailed tit, Meadow Brown, Pyramidal orchid, Southern marsh orchid

Day 9 of #30DaysWild saw me at Grangemoor Park, a place that used to be Cardiff’s rubbish dump: when it closed in 1994, it contained an estimated four million cubic metres of garbage, both commercial and household. Now, it’s not only a public park but also a SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), and is home to a wonderfully diverse range of flora and fauna. My photos show just some of what I discovered there today …

Large skipper butterfly

One of seven Meadow brown butterflies seen today

Male Common blue butterfly

Holly blue butterfly (and tiny friend)

Brimstone butterfly (one of my favourites)

Emperor dragonfly. There were many other dragonflies and damselflies at the pond but they were a bit distant for photos.

One of four newly fledged Long-tailed tits, foraging with their parents

Female Blackcap busy foraging for her family

Pyramidal orchids

Bee orchid – love their ‘faces’!

Southern marsh orchid (I think)

Common spotted orchids

April at Cosmeston

30 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, insects, nature

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birding, birdwatching, Blackcap, British birds, Buzzards, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Hawthorn Shield Bug, Large Red damselfly, long-tailed tit, Swallow, Willow warbler

Easter Sunday – April the 1st this year – is not a particularly smart day to go to Cosmeston to spend a quiet, peaceful time with Nature, but I wanted to stretch my legs and public transport on Sundays is quite restricted. So, I passed through Cosmeston on one of my circular local circuits, avoiding the main paths, taking the fields less trodden. I still managed to spot a Long-tailed tit (below left) nest-building – it’ll be cosy with a few more feathers like that, and, with the help of my friend John, I heard and then spotted my first Willow warbler of 2018 (below right), a good start to the month.

180430 3 blackcaps

5 April Another quick walk-through, to avoid the school holiday madness, but I did pause at the place I’d recently spotted a Hawfinch, to see if I could hear or see it. No luck with that but I did spot my first Blackcaps of 2018 (above), and there were Willow warblers and Chiffchaffs (below) aplenty!

180430 4 chiffchaff

8 April Once again, I passed through Cosmeston as part of a longer walk, though I did linger for a short time by the west lake where I got talking to a fellow birder. From there, I had distant views of two Buzzards on the far shore – were they investigating a nest site? – and I got a fleeting glimpse and photos of a mysterious mammal swimming rapidly through the reeds. Was it a Water vole, a Stoat or a Mink? Debate raged on Twitter and Facebook when I posted photos and requested opinions but the jury is still out on its identification.

11 April Though the heavy rain of the previous night and morning had cleared, cloud cover was thick and low, making for a very gloomy walk around Cosmeston, and it was almost as if the birds were experiencing a similar dullness. Although I spotted several Blackcaps and many of the regulars (Blackbirds, Dunnocks, Robins, Chaffinches, etc), bird song was generally subdued.

Highlights were my first Coot chicks of the season, with the attentive parents feeding three chicks near the former bird hide site on the west lake, and Swallows swooping and diving over both lakes. I tried for about 15 minutes to get photos of them but it was very difficult to keep up with their super speedy aerobatics, so a silhouette will have to do. There’s no mistaking that forked tail though.

I passed through Cosmeston again on 16 April, but saw nothing particularly noteworthy, and then had a break to see other sites and while a friend was visiting. My last visit for the month was today, 30 April. Though a cool wind was blowing it was fine, and warm in sheltered spots. And, though I could hear bird song all around, with the trees now rapidly greening, we’ve reached that time of year when the birds pretty much disappear behind the foliage.

180430 9 Large red damselfly

The good news is that this is also the time of year when the other flying creatures take over: today I saw my first damselfly of the year, a Large Red; the butterflies were out in numbers: Brimstones, Peacocks, Commas, a Large white, a couple of Orange-tips and several Speckled woods (I’ll do a separate post for those in a few days); and I also saw my first shieldbug of 2018, a Hawthorn. It was a lovely walk!

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January at Cosmeston

01 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, blackbird, British birds, chaffinch, coal tit, Common Gull, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Gadwall, Great tit, long-tailed tit, Marsh tit, nuthatch, Pochard, Reed bunting, robin, shoveler

180201 1 Long-tailed tits & Blackbird

7 January Gale-force winds were blasting across the exposed areas around the lake today but, with blue skies overhead, the park was full of people out walking, despite the chill. The wee birds were hungry and I was greeted with much happy peeping wherever I scattered seed and virtually mobbed at the dragon tree in Cogan Woods, by Great, Blue, Coal and Long-tailed tits, Dunnocks and Robins, Chaffinches and Nuthatches, Blackbirds and a Reed bunting were all happy to accept any tasty little morsels.

On the lakes the birds were mostly hunkered down, as it was too windy for flying. Teal, Gadwall, Pochard and a Shoveler were some of the highlights.

17 January After much scrutinising of the huge numbers of gulls that you nearly always find at Cosmeston, I spotted my first Common gull of the year.

180201 10 Common gull

23 January A regular Cosmeston-going birding friend had reported an adult Yellow-legged gull the previous day and I fancied a good walk so I headed to Cossie for a look. These was no sign of the gull but I was delighted to see one of the Marsh tits that frequents a particular spot in Cogan Woods, and it became bird number 67 on this year’s list, before I strode quickly home in pouring rain (yep, drenched!).

180201 11 Marsh tit

I’ve been to Cosmeston a couple more times this month but those outings were more about braving the rain to satisfy my cravings for fresh air and exercise than nature-watching, particularly as it’s been too wet to have camera and binoculars out and about. Let’s hope February is a bit drier.

December at Cosmeston

28 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, mammal, nature, parks, winter

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, brown rat, bullfinch, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Fieldfare, Great spotted woodpecker, long-tailed tit, Marsh tit, nuthatch, Stonechat, Tufted duck

It was fairly quiet bird-wise on my first monthly visit to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on 2 December, though there were still good numbers of the various thrushes (Mistle, Song, Redwing and Blackbird) around. A Great spotted woodpecker in the west paddock was a nice surprise – I initially thought it a Jay when I saw that peachy belly. The Tufted ducks amused, as always, and, while I sat watching them, the Brown rat I’d seen before at that particular spot came snuffling around for food. There were two more rats foraging by the boardwalk near the café.

171228 Cosmeston (1)

It’s a thrush takeover! On 6 December, I’d scarcely left the house to walk to Cosmeston than I was spotting Redwings, Song thrushes, and a Mistle thrush, plus Goldfinches and Chaffinches, in the trees just across the road. And when I got to Cosmeston it was more – much more – of the same, plus the first Fieldfares I’ve seen there. In Cogan Wood, the little birds were hungry so I shared my flapjack with them – there were even two Nuthatches and a half dozen Long-tailed tits picking up the crumbs on the ground. And the prize for the most colourful birds goes to the pair of Bullfinch that were munching on hogweed seeds.

On 15 December, I finally got a reasonable, though not brilliant photo of a Fieldfare – they are very skittish so it’s hard to get close to them. I finally found a spot behind the berry trees they were feasting in, then just had to be patient and wait for one to pop up to the top of a tree.

171228 Cosmeston (8)

In Cogan Wood, one of the resident Marsh tits popped out to say hello – first sighting I’ve had since earlier in the year as they seem to disappear during the breeding season. And there was a Stonechat at the top end of the west paddock. There had been a pair of Stonechats in that area in the autumn but they seemed to have disappeared when the park staff mowed that field, so it was good to see one there again.

Something else happened at Cossie during this visit, something that’s never happened to me before. A squirrel climbed up my leg, not once but four times – the first time it grabbed my finger, the second time it touched my camera. I didn’t have food but it obviously thought I did. It certainly made me laugh.

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.

171207 Forest farm birds (8) 171207 Forest farm birds (7)

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!

171207 Forest farm birds (9) 171207 Forest farm birds (6)

November on the Ely embankment

30 Thursday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Ely embankment, Lesser black-backed gull, Linnet, long-tailed tit, Redshank, River Ely, Rock pipit, Turnstone

171130 9th Ely embankment

The 9th of November was a ‘5 Turnstone, 2 Rock pipit, 1 Grey wagtail’ kind of day at Cardiff Bay, with a cool wind blowing through huge banks of clouds and the odd rain shower. That didn’t deter the birds browsing along the embankment edge though.

On the 15th, a beautifully marked Song thrush was feasting on berries in the small front garden of one of the apartments that sits on the edge of the embankment (see Berries and Birds a few days ago), and, as well as 2 Rock pipits and 6 Turnstones, there were 3 Redshank grazing along the water’s edge – a nice treat. Also, a Lesser black-backed gull was looking exceedingly pleased with itself for finding a huge dead fish and vociferously defending its prize with loud screeching.

On the 17th – a ‘3 turnstone’ day – the star of the show was a lovely little Linnet. I’d seen a family party of parents and two fledglings grazing amongst the rocks here back in August so perhaps this bird was one of those.

My last November wander by the Ely was on the 25th, when 3 Turnstones, 2 Linnets (nice to see them again), 2 Pied and 2 Grey wagtails, and 1 Redshank were joined by a Dunnock and a small flock of Long-tailed tits passing through the shrubs edging the walkway. Also, something freaked out a group of Coots and, rather than ‘run’ rapidly across the top of the water as they usually do, they actually flew. I’d never seen coots fly before.

171130 25th Long-tailed tit 171130 25th Flying coots

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.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

27 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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Aegithalos caudatus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, long-tailed tit

I tried to make this sequence of photos into a gif file, one of those ever-so-short movies that can either be fun or very annoying when you’re scrolling through your social media feeds. Sadly (or luckily, depending on how you look at it), I only have an old, poor-woman’s version of photoshop and, though I faithfully followed the tutorial, my gif-making efforts failed. So, you’ll just have to use your imagination to envisage how this tiny and ever-so-cute Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) was rocking back and forth on its twig in order to get a better look at the seeds, its avian opposition and the human who was lurking nearby. It was gorgeous!

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Juffits & fuffits & long-tailed chitterings

24 Thursday Mar 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, nature photography

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birding, birds, birdwatching, British birds, long-tailed tit

160324 long tailed tit (1)

It’s taken me many months of following these little birds to get any half decent photographs. The Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) rarely keeps still, spending most of its day with its extended family of 10 to 20 birds, flitting and fluttering through trees, shrubs and hedgerows, chattering all the way. In fact, that’s often how you first realise they’re about, by their very characteristic call, which the BTO website describes as ‘a sharp tsurp, repeated several times’.

most of my photos are like these, of tits behind twigs in trees

They are probably the cutest of Britain’s small birds, like little bundles of fluff with tails too long for their bodies, and, judging by the long list of charming common names they have attracted, I’m not the only one who thinks they’re cute. These are just a selection from the list in Buczacki’s Flora Britannica: in Yorkshire, they’re known as ‘Bottle jugs’; in the Midlands, it’s the ‘bottle tom’, the ‘bottle tit’ and the ‘bum barrel’; in Warwickshire, the ‘buttermilk can’; in East Lothian, the ‘feather poke’ and the ‘fuffit’; in Warwickshire, the ‘hedge mumruffin’; in Nottinghamshire the ‘jack-in-a-bottle’ and the ‘juffit’; and in Shropshire and Worcestershire the ‘miller’s thumb’ and the ‘long-tailed chittering’.

160324 long tailed tit (3)

160324 long tailed tit (4)

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.