Tag Archives: spring migration

On the move

15 Tuesday Apr 2025

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I feel a little like this migrating Common sandpiper looks, ruffled, not at my best, discombobulated. If all goes to plan, I will be moving flats next week, and I’m up to my neck in cleaning, tidying, organising, packing, recycling, binning, repurposing, donating…. I’m sure you all know what it’s like. I just wanted to let you know that I’m trying to keep to my daily posting schedule (and those posts will appear below) but I may miss the odd day. Thanks to you all for following along with me here, and thanks, too, for your understanding.

Greenland Wheatear

12 Saturday Apr 2025

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I struggle to distinguish between the ‘usual’ Wheatears we see passing through my area and the Greenland Wheatear, one of four subspecies that has the scientific name Oenanthe oenanthe leucorhoa and is usually seen only in the spring as it heads from its overwintering locations in African countries like Kenya to its breeding grounds in Greenland, Iceland and north-eastern Canada. So, when one of our more expert local birders announced the arrival of this Greenland Wheatear on Cardiff Bay Barrage, I went down for a look.

It was certainly a very handsome bird, and I’ve since tried to familiarise myself with some its key features. Given the requirement for its long-haul flight, it’s probably no surprise that Greenland Wheatears are longer winged than the subspecies that fly from Europe to Britain to breed. The Greenland’s relatively large size, longer legs and upright stance are also diagnostic.

They are often described as rotund and pot-bellied, which this bird didn’t really seem to be, but then it had just flown all the way from central Africa so probably needed to feed up to replenish its fat supplies. Fortunately, it wasn’t too bothered by the numerous people and dogs walking in the area, and did seem to be finding plenty of insects to snack on. I’m not sure I could yet confidently identify a Greenland Wheatear without expert help, but this was certainly a stunning bird to see and watch and photograph.

Finally, a Wheatear

03 Thursday Apr 2025

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Maybe it’s because we’ve had a lot of fine clear weather and, rather than dropping down to rest in Cardiff Bay, they’ve continued their flights north. Maybe they just don’t like the look of the place, with the increasing numbers of people and out-of-control dogs. Whatever the reason, there’s been a notable absence of migrating Wheatears around the Bay this year, with just one bird noted a couple of days ago and then two, a male and a female, this morning. And that’s around two weeks later than usual – for three of the past four years, I’ve seen my first Wheatears on 20 March. Fortunately, I had already decided to walk around part of the Bay this morning so was there when I bumped in to the birder who’d just seen the male Wheatear, and here he is (the bird not the birder) …

Singing in the rain

03 Friday May 2024

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Thursday morning was looking grim and grey, with cloud so low it looked like fog, and a constant fine drizzle. But, when word came through that there was a festival of singing warblers at Cardiff Bay wetlands, I had to go. And it was absolutely amazing – with at least 14 newly arrived Sedge warblers singing alongside the resident Reed and Cetti’s warblers, as well as the more usual Blackbirds, Green- and Goldfinches, and Reed buntings, I may have got wet but was filled with wonder at the surround sound bird song. The Sedge warblers were mostly skulking but this Reed warbler, which had probably arrived a few days earlier and already established his territory, was enthusiastically advertising his presence.

240503 reed warbler

Distant birds

25 Thursday Apr 2024

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No doubt you will have realised how much I love birds, love looking for them, love finding them, love watching them and learning their ways, love getting good photographs of them. The latter, though, is not always easy, and for two days in a row I’ve seen some wonderful birds I don’t often see but both times they’ve been too distant to photograph well.

240425 whimbrel

Yesterday, at Sully Beach, it was Whimbrels, at least four of them, poking about in the piles of seaweed for crabs and other small morsels of food. But I hadn’t timed my visit very well – the tide was ebbing and already well out so the birds were distant. (I’m planning another visit or two in the coming days when the tides are higher so fingers crossed for better images.)

240425 common scoter

And today, in Cardiff Bay, two Common scoters popped in for a visit. These are birds I’ve only ever seen three times before and that was back in 2019, so seeing them was a real treat. Sadly, they were always distant and the weather was dreich: big dark clouds blowing a cool wind across the water, with frequent squalls.

Where’s Wally Whitethroat?

16 Tuesday Apr 2024

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The Brits amongst you, and maybe other nationalities (who might know him as Waldo), will no doubt have heard of ‘Where’s Wally?‘, a series of puzzle books where the illustrator has ‘hidden’ the character Wally in a huge crowd of people. Well, in my version, instead of looking for Wally in a crowd, I was trying to pick out my first (Common) Whitethroat (Sylvia communis) from where it was joyously singing in a scrambled mass of bramble scrub. If you look carefully, you might just be able to spot its head.

240416 wheres wally whitethroat

Sandwich tern

08 Monday Apr 2024

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I had a cracking walk around Cardiff Bay earlier today. I managed to pick out my first couple of House martins from the large numbers of hirundines flying over the water; I had a brief glimpse of an Otter; the Lesser scaup was still present and still snoozing; and, a particular highlight, the Sandwich tern that had been reported an hour or so before I got to the Barrage was still sitting on the buoys in front of the sluice gates. We rarely see Sandwich terns hereabouts, only on migration in spring and autumn, when they move from their overwintering spots on the coast of west Africa to their breeding colonies along Britain’s coastline, and vice versa.

240408 sandwich tern

The little group of birds on the buoys also included a bonus juvenile Common gull. In case you don’t know these birds, the photo above shows, from left, a Cormorant, 2 Black-headed gulls, the Sandwich tern, four more Black-headed gulls, the Common gull, and another two Black-headed gulls.

The Willow warblers have arrived

27 Wednesday Mar 2024

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When the alerts in my local WhatsApp groups started to ping yesterday morning with reports of Willow warbler sightings in my area, I had a good idea where I might find one, along the trail beside the River Ely. I’d actually walked that way a couple of times in the previous week, knowing the first arrival must be close. And, when I got there yesterday, bingo! This little beauty, having made the long journey from sub-Saharan Africa, was flitting through the trees, searching for insects, singing all the while. I never cease to be amazed by the wonders of Spring migration.

240327 willow warbler

Two Wheatears

21 Thursday Mar 2024

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When Spring migration draws nigh, I start watching more closely the social media posts from birders living along England’s south coast, as that gives me a fairly good idea about what might turn up on the south Wales coast a day or two later. So, after seeing reports of the first Wheatears arriving 7-10 days ago, I’ve been focusing my walks in the area of Cardiff Bay, as that’s the most likely place for me to spot one. And, finally, yesterday I spotted the first two on the Barrage, initially on the grassy banks but, as so often happens, loose dogs racing madly about scared the birds into seeking refuge amongst the outer barrier of huge boulders. These were two handsome male Wheatears, returning to breed after having spent their winter in sunny central Africa.

240320 wheatear

Name the singer

14 Thursday Mar 2024

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The occasion in this short video was the first time I heard this beautiful melody in 2024, on 3 March, about 10 days earlier than in previous years. The next day I heard two more, in different separate locations, the following day yet one more. The miracle of migration is just so incredible; every year I am amazed and overjoyed when the birds return and begin to sing. Can you name the singer, and have you heard one yet?