Tag Archives: nesting birds

Nests

09 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in birds, nature, spring

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Just like their makers, nests come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re made of all sorts of materials: twigs and branches, feathers, moss, paper and plastic, mud. They can be seen high in trees and on buildings, hidden secretively away in hedges and behind reeds, or plonked in a hole in a concrete platoon, as I saw some Coots do recently in Cardiff. Some are messy and loosely constructed, others are cosy and snug, still others are miniature works of art.

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This is prime bird-nesting season so it’s quite likely you’ll see nests when you’re out walking. Please stay well away and do not disturb parents, eggs or babies. In Britain (and I’m sure in most countries) it is, in fact, an offence under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to ‘intentionally take, damage, destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built’ and to ‘intentionally take or destroy  the egg of any wild bird’. (You can read more details here.) And, rest assured, my photos were all taken with a long lens, well away from the birds, so as not to disturb them.

A mulish Magpie

15 Thursday Mar 2018

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Spring is definitely in the air here in south Wales. Wildflowers are wakening and blossom is bursting, migrating creatures are on the move and those that don’t migrate are thinking about procreation. For birds, that means nest building, and this Magpie obviously had some rather grandiose ideas about the size of nest it was going to construct. But had it bitten off more than it could chew?

 Success!

180315 Magpie nest building (9)

Cute coots!

08 Sunday May 2016

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Around the British Isles, near rivers and lakes, ponds and meres, reservoirs, flashes and gravel pits, the Eurasian coot (scientific name Fulica atra, and commonly just called coot) can currently be found nesting. In shallow water, sometimes using the support of an underwater obstacle (two pairs in Cardiff are using the lights that illuminate the council building!), they build nests of sticks and grasses, and bits of human detritus like plastic, paper and other assorted rubbish.

160509 cute coots (1)160509 cute coots (3)

Mrs Coot lays between 5 and 10 eggs then incubates these for around three weeks, while hubby brings her food and continues to beautify the nesting platform. Though exceptionally cute, the chicks are bizarre-looking wee things, little bundles of black fluff with reddish-orange heads and a ruff of yellow feathers around their necks. The vibrant colour fades during their two-month fledgling period and juveniles look more greyish-brown, with a lighter throat and face.

Though both parents feed the chicks, they rarely all survive. This can be due to predation by Lesser black-backed gulls, mink and pike, though sometimes, if there is a lack of food, coot parents will occasionally kill their own chicks, sacrificing one for the good of the others.

160509 cute coots (7)

In nesting news …

23 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by in birds, nature, nature photography, spring

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I checked out the nesting neighbourhood again a couple of days ago so here’s the latest family news.

160423 grebe

At the original three-nest site: the Mute swans appear to have abandoned their nest, which was empty – maybe they just weren’t ready for parenthood. The Great crested grebe that had chicks but lost them was still sitting on her second nest, and she was sitting tight again so I still don’t know what she’s sitting on.

The Coots that had three chicks in my last update now have just one chick remaining. The family has left the nest, though are still in the same general area. Both parents are actively feeding the little guy but, sadly, I’m not overly optimistic about its chances as there were a lot of gulls, flying overhead and perched on nearby lamp posts, just looking for the right scavenging opportunity.

160423 coot B

Nearby, at the other Great crested grebe nest, the grebe has been usurped by a Coot. Her partner was about and feeding her but she didn’t stand up so I have no egg update for her.

I recently learnt of another Coot nest, also nearby, and seeing that was the highlight of the afternoon. Six chicks, all well developed and seemingly ravenous, were frantically being fed by both parents. Very cleverly, the parents were keeping them sitting under a lip of concrete at the water’s edge, so they were quite well protected. Let’s hope they continue to thrive.

News from the nesting neighbourhood

10 Sunday Apr 2016

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160410 nesting neighbours (1)

It might not look like much but this is Cardiff’s Nest Central! The white blob in the upper left of my photo is a Mute swan, happily ensconced on her nest platform and very well hidden from passing pedestrians. In the more open areas at the front, we have a Coot perched on top of her well-engineered pile of twigs and assorted rubbish and, at the right, a Great Crested Grebe, sitting on her rather more modest nest creation.

160410 nesting neighbours (2)

This is the Grebe pair’s second nesting attempt of the season – I was lucky enough to see the four eggs they produced first time around and, apparently, the eggs did hatch but the chicks were lost to a predator/s (possibly a large pike). It’s great to see they’re trying again.

The Coots have been more successful, at least so far, with two healthy looking, very cute chicks. I guess it helps to have a high nesting platform to keep the chicks out the water until they’re larger.

Please note: These photos are taken at a distance, using a long lens, and then cropped. This site is in a public place, with frequent foot traffic, but I still make sure my visits are brief. At this time of year, it is particularly important not to disturb nesting birds, and it is, in fact, a criminal offence to disturb birds on the Schedule 1 list (see link for more information). Please respect the birds.