Tag Archives: Rock pipit

Pipits feeding their families

22 Friday May 2026

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As I mentioned in Tuesday’s blog (Skylarks and Stonechats), the area around the Ferrybridge Wild Chesil Centre is rich in birdlife at this time of year, the lush wildflowers and thick scrub obviously providing a rich diet of lurking insects for breeding birds to nourish their young. As well as the Skylarks and Stonechats, a healthy population of Meadow pipits also breeds hereabouts, and I caught this adult with a beak full of foraged food, just waiting for me to pass by before heading in to the undergrowth to its nest.

Later that day, as I sat on a boulder eating my lunchtime snack at Portland Bill, I was entertained by another member of the pipit family busily gathering titbits to feed its family. This Rock pipit looked gorgeous as it sat on a rock, surrounded by the delicate pinks of the lush flowering Thrift, waiting for a family of humans, who were clambering around the remains of a former quarry, to move away before flying down to its well-concealed nest to satisfy, if only momentarily, the hungry tummies of its chicks.

Earwig for lunch

19 Wednesday Mar 2025

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I’ve been walking across Cardiff Bay’s Barrage and back quite frequently in the past fortnight, searching the skies and the rocks for the migrating birds that normally appear around this time: Sand martins, Wheatear, Swallows and anything else that decides to drop in for a stopover on its flight north.

And that was what I was doing around midday today when I spotted two Rock pipits grazing on the Barrage’s grassy slopes. I sat on a conveniently placed bench and watched them for a while as they pecked and poked around the low-growing grasses and wildflowers.

Both were collecting invertebrates too tiny for me to see but then one Rockit, the birders’ abbreviation for Rock pipit, found itself an earwig. Though the little insect was squirming for its life, the Rockit had it grasped firmly and, for the earwig, there was no escaping its fate. A couple of quick whacks and down the Rockit’s hatch it went, a tasty lunchtime morsel.

Pip pip

29 Saturday Oct 2022

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The ubiquitous little brown birds of the Bay, the Rock pipits (Anthus petrosus), are often overlooked by birders but I rather like them. Whether grazing in the grass or dotting about on the rocks, they’re always active, and, it seems, frequently in competition with the local population of Pied wagtails, with whom they have minor noisy scuffles.

221029 rock pipit

118/366 A birding fix

27 Monday Apr 2020

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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.

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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

304/365 Portland pipits

31 Thursday Oct 2019

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During each of my three visits to Portland there has been a plethora of pipits, especially Rock pipits, like this one, using the stone walls of the lighthouse compound as its rocky shore, parachuting down on to the grass within to strut and probe, then popping back up to survey the scene … and the nearby photographer.

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19/365 Hopalong Rock pipit

19 Saturday Jan 2019

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It was lovely to catch up with my little friend, Hoppy the Rock pipit, as I walked along the Ely embankment today. It’s a month since I last saw him (and blogged about him – or her) and it’s always good to know s/he’s still doing okay. Today, little Hoppy was dotting around the apartment gardens and on to balcony railings quite fearlessly. I imagine the colder temperatures this week mean there’s not so much fodder at the water’s edge so Hoppy has to expand his/her grazing range.

190119 hopalong rock pipit

The gammy-legged Rock pipit

15 Saturday Dec 2018

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Last Monday, during my stroll along the Ely embankment path, I enjoyed a close encounter with this Rock pipit. It had ventured across the pavement at the top of the stony embankment and was poking about in a pebble-filled ground-floor garden in front of one of the tall apartment blocks that border the path. I guess, to a Rock pipit, one group of stones is as good as another to explore for insects.

181215 rock pipit (3)

The Rock pipit saw me approaching and quickly hopped back across to the safety of the embankment, where it would be easier to fly away. So, I moved to stand next to a lamp post, kept completely still and waited.

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As I’d hoped, the pipit decided I presented no immediate threat and, though it continued to keep a wary eye on me, it soon hopped back across to the garden again. So I was able to spend a delightful 10 minutes getting some photos and watching it foraging. It always amazes me how much food small birds like this seem able to find – tiny titbits to be sure but, presumably, enough to keep them alive.

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It was only when I got home and checked my photos that I noticed the bird’s gammy right leg, with its twisted misshapen claw. This had not seemed to be causing the bird any difficulty while I was watching it. And then something stirred in my memory – I was certain I’d seen this bird before. And, sure enough, when I checked through my Rock pipit album, I had photos of this same bird in this general area taken on 27 January and 11 March 2017, and 11 and 31 January, and 14 March 2018. I’m not sure how long Rock pipits usually live but this little bird has obviously been coping remarkably well with its disability.

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Same bird, 11 March 2017

Birding on Portland

01 Thursday Nov 2018

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From Lodmoor we continued on towards Portland, stopping for a scan through the few birds on the water and shore at Ferry Bridge (but there wasn’t a lot of be seen) and for a wander through the quarries looking for the reported Ring ouzels at The Verne (turns out we were in the wrong place but the Stonechats were nice to see). Friday ended with us all settled in our rooms at the Obs (Portland Bird Observatory) and off for a meal at The Pulpit Inn.

181101 birding Portland (1)

181101 birding Portland (2)

Saturday was our day for birding around Portland but the weather really was against us on this year’s trip. The strong freezing northerlies and clear skies meant most migrating birds were being driven on above our heads, rather than being caught in the nets at the Obs or stopping over somewhere on the island to refuel.

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With nothing much happening on the sea or in the Obs garden, we had a wander down to the Bill and along the shore. Rock pipits, pied wagtails and a confiding Kestrel were about all we found there – no Purple sandpipers to be seen.

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From the Obs, we drove to Pennsylvannia and walked down the track to Church Ope Cove, checking all the while for the Yellow-browed warblers that had been seen there – no luck, unfortunately, but it was a lovely walk, with stunning views, and we did see some Stonechats.

181101 birding Portland (7)

Another walk took us between the various quarries and past the remains of windmills to The Hump, where Yellow-browed warblers had also been reported. Once again we lucked out … but saw more Stonechats!

181101 birding Portland (8)

Having walked back to the cars, we drove on to The Verne, to look once again (in the right place this time) for the Ring ouzels, but they remained elusive. It was another good walk though, with more cracking views, out over the sea and along the coast over Chesil Beach.

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After a second look at Ferry Bridge (our first Knot of the trip spotted through the ’scopes), it was back to the Obs for the night and another meal, amidst much banter and laughter, at The Pulpit, though not before we indulged in a spot of Short-eared owl watching in the fields across the road from the Obs itself. Three birds seen flying – superb!

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My first Fieldfare of the season in the Obs garden

Friday’s walk 2: Rocky the pipit

30 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in autumn, birds, nature, walks

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Before leaving Friday’s walk along Sully beach, I have another bird encounter to share.

180930 Rocky the pipit (1)

There were a lot of Rock pipits foraging amongst the rocks and piles of seaweed, more than I have seen before on Sully beach.

180930 Rocky the pipit (2)

One bird was reasonably close to where I was sitting so I had the camera up, trying to get some photos of it, when I noticed what seemed like rather odd behaviour.

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The bird hopped down from the seaweed on to a flat stone and started to stamp its feet and shuffle back and forth, looking for all the world like it was practising its line-dancing moves.

180930 Rocky the pipit (6)

Because I had the camera up to my face and was zoomed in on this one bird – let’s call him Rocky – I didn’t realise that there was actually another Rock pipit standing very close by.

180930 Rocky the pipit (7)

Rocky was focused intently on this other bird. He puffed up his chest and strutted about and did some more line-dancing moves, but the other bird didn’t seem very impressed. If this had been springtime, I would have said Rocky was trying to impress a female but it’s autumn.

180930 Rocky the pipit (8)

Next thing, Rocky’s done with the dancing and flew straight at the other bird.

180930 Rocky the pipit (9)

They bumped chests, flapped wings and generally fluttered about for a couple of minutes, presumably each bird trying to assert its dominance through this display.

180930 Rocky the pipit (10)

The other bird relinquished the rock, and the seaweed, to Rocky, who looked rather pleased with his success. I’ve since read that Rock pipits can be very territorial so I assume Rocky was defending his patch on the beach from the intruder. It was certainly fascinating to watch.

Rocking the samphire

11 Tuesday Sep 2018

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This lovely blast of botannical sunshine I found flowering on the clifftops at Lavernock is Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum).

180914 Rock samphire (1)

I’ve never eaten it – apart from the occasional blackberry at this time of year, I’m not a forager – I like to leave things to be appreciated by everyone and eaten by the wildlife that needs it more than me (anti-foraging mini-rant over!) – but I believe it can be eaten as a vegetable and is also used in pickling.

180914 Rock samphire (2)

In fact, according to the Oxford Dictionary, the word samphire was once sampiere, from the French (herbe de) Saint Pierre or ‘St Peter(‘s herb)’. And in my trusty Flora Britannica, Richard Mabey writes

In the nineteenth century rock samphire from Dover and the Isle of Wight was sent in casks of brine to London, where wholesalers would pay up to four shillings a bushel for it. Shakespeare knew the plant from the south coast, and in King Lear, in a scene near Dover, has Edgar say to Gloucester, ‘half way down / Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!’

180914 Rock samphire (3)

Even if I did want to try this particular Rock samphire, its location is completely inaccessible to all but the most foolhardy. But one huge bonus of photographing a plant that grows along cliff edges is that sometimes, if you’re really lucky, a cute and curious little Rock pipit will pop up to see what’s happening.

180914 Rock samphire and Rock pipit