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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Pied wagtail

Chissicking all the while

01 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Pied wagtail

I enjoyed a fabulous walk along Sully beach on Monday, seeing 2 Curlew, a Grey plover, 4 Dunlin and at least 6 Ringed plover, which is a good number and variety for a beach that is, these days, often empty of birds due to disturbance by walkers and dogs off their leads. Sadly, those birds were all quite distant for photographs but this gorgeous little Pied wagtail was much more obliging, walking jauntily along the top of a nearby stone wall, chissicking all the while.

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Meet Stumpy

20 Thursday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Pied wagtail

I first met Stumpy in early February 2020 – nicknamed Stumpy because of the damage to its left leg, which now ends in a stump, no claw.

220120 stumpy (1)

Almost two years and several sightings later, this charming little Pied wagtail is still going strong. In fact, it’s a friendly little thing and quite fearless: if I stand completely still, it will walk past within inches of my feet.

220120 stumpy (2)

These particular photos of Stumpy were taken a couple of weeks apart, the first on 22 December last year and the second, just a couple of weeks ago, on 6 January.

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Post-fledging dispersal

21 Wednesday Jul 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Pied wagtail, post-fledging dispersal

Here’s another young bird that’s going through its post-fledging dispersal phase. Pied wagtails can be found around Cardiff Bay throughout the year and have bred successfully many times, so I think this little fledgling should be able to find a place of its own without venturing too far afield.

210721 pied wagtail fledgling (1)

210721 pied wagtail fledgling (2)
210721 pied wagtail fledgling (3)

210721 pied wagtail fledgling (4)

From a photographer’s perspective, young birds can be a delight when they are less wary of humans, and this bird was no exception. Though it had definitely noticed me, it began to walk up the stone embankment towards me, so I managed to get some reasonably good images. And I very much enjoyed getting such close views of it poking and prodding about the rocks for edible titbits.

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Sigl-di-gwt

08 Saturday May 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Pied wagtail, Sigl-di-gwt, Welsh name for Pied wagtail

When I read Skomer Island’s Twitter post giving the Welsh name for the Pied wagtail, I just had to share it and, of course, some of the many photos I’ve been accumulating of these little cuties. And that Welsh name? Sigl-di-gwt which, apparently, means ‘Shake-yer-bum’. Just perfect!

210508 pied wagtail (2)210508 pied wagtail (3)210508 pied wagtail (4)210508 pied wagtail (5)

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Grazing

18 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birds, Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, Meadow pipit, Pied wagtail, Stonechat

Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve is not just about wetlands; there’s also a large swathe of grass where, during spring and summer, Bee orchids thrive (when the council operatives don’t cut them!) and where wildflowers bloom in abundance (ditto!). At the moment many hungry small birds can be seen in this area (when they’re not disturbed by dogs that should be on their leads in a nature reserve), searching for much needed insects and seeds. During my recent walks along the adjacent footpath, I’ve enjoyed seeing a pair of Meadow pipits, a male Stonechat, and several Pied wagtails grazing contentedly together.

210118 meadow pipit (1)
210118 meadow pipit (2)

210118 stonechat

210118 pied wagtail (1)
210118 pied wagtail (2)

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336/366 Wagging all the way

01 Tuesday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Pied wagtail, urban birds

When days are short and skies are grey, a bobbing, tail-wagging, chissicking Pied wagtail is sure to bring a smile. There are always a few Pied wags around in the summer months but, come the chilly days of winter, many more come to town, where it’s slightly warmer and the urban pickings presumably a little richer.

201201 pied wagtail (1)201201 pied wagtail (2)201201 pied wagtail (3)

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210/366 Today along the Ely

28 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ely embankment, Great Crested Grebe, House martin, Mute swan, Pied wagtail, River Ely

This morning’s wander took me down to Cardiff Bay to walk the path along the embankment of the River Ely, my first walk that way for a while, as there tend to be less interesting birds to see during the summer months and more people to avoid. And so it was, though there is never nothing to see.

200728 4 house martins

200728 1 house martins
200728 2 house martins
200728 3 house martins

House martins were still filling the air with their calls and zipping swiftly back and forth, hunting low over the water then taking insects back to feed their young, which must be second or even third broods now.

200728 5 swan

Large numbers of Coot and Mallard were feeding on the water weed or sitting preening on the water’s edge of the embankment, and several Swan were floating regally past. A couple fell out and were half-heartedly chasing each other.

200728 6 juvenile gcg200728 7 gcg

I saw only three Great crested grebes, a low number for this location. Two were adults and one a well grown juvenile that was snoozing amongst the weed.

200728 8 pied wag

And I saw only two Pied wagtails, which is also a small quantity for the embankment. Their jaunty striding back and forth always makes me grin.

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118/366 A birding fix

27 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Coot, Ely embankment, Pied wagtail, Rock pipit, Shelduck, starling, Turnstone

I felt the need to see some birds today so headed down to Cardiff Bay for my exercise walk. First up, this pair of Shelducks were working their way around the water’s edge near the Barrage – first I’ve seen since the lockdown began.

200427 1 shelducks

This Starling had a beakful of caterpillar and flies so I presume it had hungry mouths to feed somewhere nearby.

200427 2 starling

At least fourteen Turnstones were picking and poking their way along the stones of the embankment, this one looking very handsome in its breeding colours.

200427 3 turnstone

This Coot was busy pulling bits of rubbish into the pile of sticks it has begun shaping into a nest. Its mate was nearby, hauling a branch to weave into the growing structure.

200427 4 coot

This was the first Rock pipit I’ve seen for a little while. It was busily prospecting for nibbles so perhaps it also has offspring to feed.

200427 5 rock pipit

Most of the wagtails have moved away to breed but this Pied wagtail looked very handsome amongst the Herb Robert and Red valerian that now covers much of the embankment.

200427 6 pied wagtail

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333/365 A Bay full of birds

29 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

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.

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92/365 Barrage wags

02 Tuesday Apr 2019

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

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Barrage, Pied wagtail, wagtails

190402 pied wagtail (1)

Over the past couple of weeks local birders have been finding migrating Wheatears stopping over on the huge pile of rocks that is the Cardiff Barrage, the man-made structure that was built in the 1990s to cut Cardiff Bay off from the Bristol Channel and turn it in to a virtual lake. The Wheatears are returning from over-wintering in tropical Africa and, after taking a short breather on the Barrage, they head further north to their breeding grounds in- and up-land. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate any Wheatears today but the many Pied wagtails were entertaining, flitting busily hither and yon.

190402 pied wagtail (2)190402 pied wagtail (3)

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sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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