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Tag Archives: Penarth marina

39/365 Who’s black-and-white?

08 Friday Feb 2019

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cormorant, Cormorant's facial plumage, Penarth marina

I took advantage of a two-hour break in Storm Erik’s passage early afternoon to do a quick circuit of the Ely embankment, just in case the storm had driven in any unusual birds. Apart from a lot of Black-headed gulls and Coots taking advantage of the shelter afforded by Penarth’s cliffs and three Redshanks enjoying a companionable snooze, it was fairly quiet. But I did find this gorgeous Cormorant perched on a pontoon in the marina, drying its wings. They’re so often thought of as black-and-white birds but just look at how colourful its facial markings are.

190208 cormorant

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23/365 Blackbird heaven

23 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, plants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, blackbird, blackbird eating berries, British birds, Penarth marina, Pyracantha berries

Four Blackbirds, three males and a female, are currently sharing the colourful and obviously delicious (to Blackbirds) bounty of these Pyracantha bushes in Penarth Marina. Nom, nom, nom!

190123 blackbird heaven

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The marina sparrows

08 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, plants

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, house sparrow, pampas grass, Penarth marina, sparrow, toetoe

At one end of my regular walk along the embankment of the Ely River where it flows in to Cardiff Bay, near the entrance to Penarth Marina, is a huge stand of what I presume is a type of pampas grass. I always look at it, partly because it reminds me of my New Zealand home (where we would call this by the Maori name Toetoe) and partly because it is often covered in House sparrows.

181208 marina sparrows (1)

The birds seem to adore this grass. The sturdy stems provide convenient perches on which to sit and cheep their continuous sparrow conversations, and they pluck away at the fluffy plumes, presumably extracting edible seeds to munch on. And, when threatened by the local ginger-and-white cat, which is frequently to be seen staring hungrily in their direction, the sparrows can easily flit into the dense vegetation of the grass clump to escape the cat’s clutches.

181208 marina sparrows (2)
181208 marina sparrows (3a)
181208 marina sparrows (4)
181208 marina sparrows (5)
181208 marina sparrows (6)
181208 marina sparrows (7)
181208 marina sparrows (8)
181208 marina sparrows (9)

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My first Black redstart

06 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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Tags

birdwatching, Black redstart, British birds birding, passage migrant, Penarth marina, Phoenicurus ochruros

On the first day of my recent short break in East Sussex, I got a text from a birding friend, checking that I’d seen the news that a female Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) had been seen in the Penarth marina area. As I’m probably one of the few people these days who doesn’t have a smartphone, I was offline throughout my holiday so, no, I hadn’t seen the news, and I just had to cross my fingers that the bird stayed around for a week until my return.

180306 Black redstart (1)

I got lucky! The morning after I got back, I was up and out early, down the hill, bins out and looking. She took a while to find but find her I did.

180306 Black redstart (3)
180306 Black redstart (4)

The Black redstart is a spring and autumn passage migrant and an uncommon winter visitor to Glamorgan, though in recent years birds have been seen in and around the Cardiff Bay area during the winter months. It’s a small bird, about the same size as a Robin, and, as you can see, the female is rather nondescript, mostly grey, with a reddish tail. As she positioned herself on the rooftops so she could spot any passing insects and was almost constantly on the move, my photos are not great but it was a real pleasure to catch up with this little beauty.

180306 Black redstart (2)

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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. And I am living proof that Kiwis really can fly.

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Recent blog posts

  • 51/365 Tawny! February 20, 2019
  • 50/365 Conifer mazegill February 19, 2019
  • Birding at Dryslwyn and Kidwelly Quay February 18, 2019
  • 49/365 With laser-sharp chants February 18, 2019
  • 48/365 Prints in the mud February 17, 2019

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