May curlew

27 Thursday Apr 2023

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, spring migration, Whimbrel

I seem to have a habit of biannual posts about the local Whimbrel migration – see Whimbrel passing, 3 May 2021 – so, today, rather than the migration, let’s talk about some of the names for the Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), courtesy of the writing and research of Stefan Buczacki in his massive publication Fauna Britannica.

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Some of the vernacular names reflect the time of year these birds pass through on migration: May curlew, May fowl, May whaap (Ireland) and May bird (East Anglia); others their resemblance to their cousin, the Curlew: Curlew Jack (Yorkshire), Curlew knave (Cumberland), Curlew knot (Lincolnshire), and Half curlew (Norfolk, Suffolk).

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The name Whimbrel itself comes from the bird’s call, something of a whimper. Another version of this is, in fact, ‘Whimperel’, a name once used in Durham. Whatever you want to call it, this is a beautiful bird well worth spending time watching if you get the chance.

Reeling Grasshopper warbler

25 Tuesday Apr 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Grasshopper warbler, Grasshopper warbler reeling, Gropper, spring migration

I might have stubby legs but they can move quite quickly when the need arises. And, when I got a message that there was a reeling Grasshopper warbler at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park while I was walking along the local coastal path, the need to move quickly was strong. Luckily, I made it in time to hear, and even more luckily, see this visibly unostentatious little bird (the typical ‘little brown job’), though, as you can see from my photo, it was always partly obscured behind foliage.

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If you’ve never heard a Grasshopper warbler reeling, I made a little recording of this one. The reason for the bird’s name will immediately become obvious. And, something I discovered while watching this one, while its mouth was gaping wide uttering its unique song, its tail was quivering in time to the reeling.

Welcome, Whitethroats!

22 Saturday Apr 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common whitethroat, spring migration, Sylvia communis, Whitethroat

I love this time of year, when our migrating birds wing their way back to our shores for the breeding season. The latest migrant to arrive locally has been the Whitethroat (Common whitethroat, if you prefer) (Sylvia communis). I heard my first four days ago, on the 18th. It showed briefly, on a tree branch, but fairly quickly ducked back down into the scrub below. Then, yesterday, I heard three Whitethroats during my five-mile walk – they will continue to arrive for a few weeks yet, some passing through to other areas, some remaining to breed locally. The handsome little chap in my photo seemed to have found his happy place, a large area of impenetrable (to humans) trees and scrub. He was singing and songflighting, both claiming this location for himself and announcing his presence and many impressive qualities to any passing females. If I’d been a female Whitethroat, I’d certainly have been interested.

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Arctic tern

17 Monday Apr 2023

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Arctic tern, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, spring migration, spring passage

Terns of any description rarely visit Cardiff Bay but, if they’re ever going to, now, on Spring passage, is the time of year for it to happen … and it did, for two days at the end of last week. (Terns do sometimes pop in on Autumn passage as well, depending on the weather.) The Bay has some very keen and knowledgeable resident birders so when one of those, Gareth, put out the word that he’d seen a tern in the Bay, thought it was an Arctic tern but didn’t have his ‘scope with him, other locals quickly headed down with their equipment to check it out. Arctic tern it was! (Common and Arctic terns can be tricky to tell apart, and the term ‘commic’, a combination of their names, is used by birders when uncertain.)

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Unfortunately, I couldn’t get there that afternoon so imagine my delight when word came through from Gareth again the next day that the tern was still showing. Though rain threatened and did, in fact, interrupt play a couple of times, I managed to find the tern. Sadly, it wasn’t giving the close views it had the day before and was mostly a small dot on the other side of the water until, when it decided to fly onwards, it flew almost directly over my head. A head-terning moment!

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A line-up of Wheatears

30 Thursday Mar 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, spring migration, Wheatear

Another birder reported seeing two Wheatears in this particular field so I went for a look. And lo and behold, there weren’t just two Wheatears but three, happily lined up along the fenceposts (when they weren’t flitting down into the grass on either side, grabbing any insects they spotted).

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And then, blow me down, I spotted a fourth bird lurking on top of the bushes in the background – only a blurry photo of that one, so here’s the line-up again from a different angle, from when they flitted up to the top of the field. Birding magic!

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First winter Little gull

24 Friday Mar 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Little gull, spring migration

These photos are hot off the memory card, as we’ve had a lovely visitor in Cardiff Bay today, this beautiful first winter Little gull. The gull’s presence is not a huge surprise to local birders, as this is the time of year we often see one in the Bay. As the BTO website reports ‘This dainty gull is most often seen during its northward spring migration, when small parties can turn up along the coast or even at inland waters.’

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Little gulls are incredibly active birds: while the Black-headed gulls were happy to bob about on the water, pecking at titbits as they floated past, the Little gull was almost constantly in flight, skilfully weaving and diving despite the strong winds, dipping down to the water’s surface when it spotted something to eat. It was magical to watch, though the other gulls weren’t as happy to see this stranger as we birders were!

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There’s a Chiffchaff in my tree

22 Wednesday Mar 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, spring migration

There’s a Chiffchaff in my tree, chiffchaffing happily!

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That was my tweet this morning after I’d spent a joyous 20 minutes standing by the open window, watching this little bird flit about the cherry tree outside my living room, catching tiny insects and singing almost the entire time.

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Although some Chiffchaffs now overwinter in the warmer parts of Britain, most still migrate, and they began arriving back in my area in good number last Friday. After this morning’s home-based Chffichaff encounter, I went for a walk around Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, during which I heard and/or saw at least 23 more Chiffchaffs. Their song will soon become one of the commonplace sounds of spring/summer but, for now, it’s pure magic!

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First Blackcap

20 Monday Mar 2023

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, Blackcap, British birds, spring migration

I heard him before I saw him – in fact, it took a while to spot this little chap, who was mostly hidden amongst the greenery as he sang his little tune. Was he celebrating the fact that he’d finally arrived on land after his long migration flight? Or was he practising his melody in preparation for trying to woo a potential mate? Though some Blackcaps now over-winter here, they are mostly to be found feeding in people’s gardens, taking advantage of the goodies on offer from feeders. This little fellow was by the sea, with no houses or gardens nearby, which is why I’m fairly sure he was a newly arrived migrant. And he was my first Blackcap of the year. I look forward to seeing more.

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Farewell to the winter thrushes

06 Monday Mar 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Fieldfare, Redwing, spring migration

It’s now been over a week since I’ve seen any of the dazzling thrushes that brighten the local trees and fields during the darkest months of winter so I assume they are on their way back to their breeding rounds in Scandinavia. Farewell, and safe journey, to all the beautiful Redwings and Fieldfares. I’m already looking forward to seeing you again later in the year.

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First Whitethroats

14 Thursday Apr 2022

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bird migration, British birds, Common whitethroat, spring migration, Sylvia communis, Whitethroat

I was watching a Moorhen feeding its five tiny chicks when I heard it, the unmistakeable scratchy song of a Whitethroat (Sylvia communis), my first for 2022. And then, forty minutes later, I was walking along a hillside when I heard it again – not the same bird, of course, but my second scratchy tune of the year. As I’m still without a reasonable camera, today’s photo shows a Whitethroat I encountered last year.

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