29 Saturday Oct 2022
Posted in birds
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.
27 Monday Apr 2020
Tags
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.
This Starling had a beakful of caterpillar and flies so I presume it had hungry mouths to feed somewhere nearby.
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.
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.
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.
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.
31 Thursday Oct 2019
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.
19 Saturday Jan 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, winter
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ely embankment, Hoppy the rock pipit, Rock pipit, Rock pipit with damaged claw
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.
15 Saturday Dec 2018
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ely embankment, Rock pipit, Rock pipit with misshapen claw
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.
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.
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.
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.
Same bird, 11 March 2017
01 Thursday Nov 2018
Tags
birding, birding on Portland, birdwatching, British birds, Chesil Beach, Fieldfare, Kestrel, Portland Bill, Portland Bird Observatory, Rock pipit, Stonechat
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
My first Fieldfare of the season in the Obs garden
30 Sunday Sep 2018
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Rock pipit, Rock pipit behaviour, Rock pipit territorial behaviour, Rock pipits fighting, Sully, Sully beach
Before leaving Friday’s walk along Sully beach, I have another bird encounter to share.
There were a lot of Rock pipits foraging amongst the rocks and piles of seaweed, more than I have seen before on Sully beach.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Next thing, Rocky’s done with the dancing and flew straight at the other bird.
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.
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.
11 Tuesday Sep 2018
Posted in birds, nature, plants, wildflowers
Tags
British wildflowers, Crithmum maritimum, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Rock pipit, Rock samphire, samphire
This lovely blast of botannical sunshine I found flowering on the clifftops at Lavernock is Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum).
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.
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!’
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.
31 Saturday Mar 2018
Posted in birds, nature, walks, wildflowers
Tags
#BeastfromtheEast, Cardiff Bay, Colt's-foot, Ely embankment, Great Crested Grebe, Linnet, Pied wagtail, Redshank, River Ely, Rock pipit, snow in Penarth Marina, Turnstone
A month of superlatives!
4 March The coldest! My first visit of March was in the aftermath of ‘The Beast from the East’ and Storm Emma, a weather combination that brought Cardiff an unseasonal covering of snow, with deep drifts in places. As the east-facing embankment had been subject to the full assault of those storm systems, it was not surprising to see piles of the white stuff still blocking the road alongside Cardiff Bay, and there was a smattering on the embankment itself.
Though I wondered if the storm might have blown in some European strays or other unusual birds, I wasn’t really surprised to find that the very exposed embankment was almost bare of birds. A smattering of perhaps 10 Coots, a couple of Mallards and Mute swans, and two Pied wagtails were almost the only avian wildlife. Even the gulls were sparse.
9 March The contrast between today’s weather and last weekend’s was almost unbelievable: it was 12°C, the sun was shining and it felt positively Spring like. Maybe that’s why the birds were out in force, with five Redshanks – the most I’ve ever seen on the embankment at once, 3 Turnstones – two venturing well up the stones away from the water’s edge, 2 Grey wagtails and 1 Pied.
And just to prove that I don’t only look at the birds, I noticed the Red campion was already in flower and I was most surprised to see a large area of Colt’s-foot flowers. They must be tough to grow in such a stony bank.
14 March A bumper day along the embankment, in light drizzle, which almost put me off going out for a walk. I’m so glad I got off my chuff! There were 3 Redshank, 7 Turnstone, 2 Grey wagtails, 3 Pied wagtails, 1 Rock pipit, 4 Linnets, 1 Carrion crow, 4 Feral pigeon and, in the water adjacent, 8 Coots, 5 Great crested grebes, 1 Cormorant, 2 Mallards, and 6 Mute swans. The greatest variety!
20 March This was another day of cold winds, blowing directly across the bay and slamming into the embankment, so the few birds that were around were sheltering further up the river, and there weren’t many to be seen – a single Redshank looking very unhappy, perhaps still recovering from our second bout of snow this Spring, last weekend’s ‘Mini-beast from the East’, plus 3 Turnstones and 2 Grey wags.
24 March I was really heading across the Barrage in search of a Wheatear (more on that here) but figured I’d detour along the embankment path on my way, and I’m so glad I did as there were 10 Turnstones – a large number! – and a solitary Redshank bimbling along the shoreline.
28 March Fourteen (14!) Turnstones on the embankment during this day’s walk (the most I’ve ever seen on one visit), plus 2 Redshanks and a solitary Pied wagtail. What a way to end my monthly walks along this bay-side path!
03 Saturday Mar 2018
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Ely embankment, Grey wagtail, Redshank, Rock pipit, Turnstone
My first February wander alongside the River Ely was in the late afternoon of Saturday the 3rd. It was quiet – were the birds all watching Wales thump Scotland in the 6 Nations rugby, I asked myself? A faint peep alerted me to a Rock pipit tootling along the embankment path towards me. It had been minding its own business, looking for a lunchtime snack, when it suddenly realised there was a stonking great human standing on the path in front of it … at which point it flew off to the relative safety of the water’s edge.
Shortly afterwards, I could see a roundish form that might’ve been a rock but was, in fact, a Turnstone, the only one seen that day. And, as well as those two birds, one Pied wagtail and two Grey wagtails were in residence. One of the Greys had an interesting plumage aberration, as you can see below.
I was away for a week mid February so my next visit to the embankment was on Tuesday 20 February. A strong cold wind was blowing small waves on to the stony shore and, initially, there were no birds to be seen. But, about half way along the embankment path, I spotted a huddle of seven Turnstones, looking sleepy, enjoying a little bit of warmth from a shaft of sunlight that had reached their roosting spot from between the nearby houses. And, a minute or two later, I noticed one further Turnstone who was already meandering along, turning stones as it searched for breakfast bugs. Two Grey wagtails, hardy creatures, were also dotting about.
The twenty-seventh of February was a bitterly cold day, as Britain was in the grip of a severe blast of polar weather, blown across Europe from Siberia, and even Cardiff had a few snow showers that day (quite unusual in recent years). Hopefully, the birds had found somewhere more sheltered than the embankment, as the stiff easterly was so cold that icicles were forming on branches that littered the shoreline and there was a slab of ice at least a foot wide coating the rocks along the water’s edge.
In spite of those bitter conditions, I spied one Grey wagtail, one Turnstone, a pair of Coots, and a solitary Redshank. It made me feel cold just looking at that lovely bird standing in the icy water!
earthstar 
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