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!

230330 wheatears (2)

The days of the Wheatears

16 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Wheatear

I’ve been trying to work out what the optimum conditions are for bird migration, and it seems to be a combination of a clear night followed by a sunny day, with just the right amount of wind – at least, that seems to be what Wheatears like as, both on Wednesday and today, they have been moving through in reasonable numbers, with some stopping off locally en route to their southern over-wintering grounds. These are a few I’ve been privileged to spot in recent days …

220916 wheatear

First Spring Wheatear

12 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, spring migration, Wheatear

I was just about to head home from Cosmeston when I got word there was a Wheatear in the southern end of the west paddock – I was at the northern end. Back I stomped and splashed – it’s exceedingly muddy there after all the recent rain – and enjoyed close views of this very handsome bird, as well as a lovely catch up with a female birding friend. I’ve since seen reports of Wheatears in other locations today – Spring migration has begun!

220312 wheatear

Confiding Wheatear

01 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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autumn migration, birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, migrating birds, Oenanthe oenanthe, Wheatear

During a recent circuit of Cardiff Bay, I spent a wonderful 30 minutes with this very confiding Wheatear.

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Though it was naturally very wary of the noisy people and dogs passing by, as I was quiet and non-threatening it allowed me to get quite close.

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As I watched, it went scurrying across the grass after flying insects, dipping and flashing the white under-tail feathers it’s named for, constantly checking the sky for signs of danger.

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And I particularly loved how, when there was no higher object to pop up on, it hopped on to a small rock to try to survey its surroundings. Magical moments with a special little bird!

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First Wheatear

24 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, spring migration, Wheatear

Monday was warm and sunny, at last – sunny days have been few and far between so far this month – so I decided to walk a circuit of Cardiff Bay, hoping this might be the day I would see my first Wheatear of the year.

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I was already on the Barrage, bins out and scanning, when I got a message from a fellow birder that a Wheatear had just been reported. As I checked further along the Barrage, I could see someone, off their bike, camera with long lens in hand – that had to be where it was.

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It only took a few minutes to reach Tate, one of our star local birders, whose keen eyes had found this stunning male Wheatear. We’re lucky that these birds sometimes stop off for an insect break on the Barrage rocks before continuing their migration flight to their breeding grounds further north. Such a treat to see!

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115/366 Short but sweet

24 Friday Apr 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Grangemoor Park, Wheatear

When out for my walk in Grangemoor Park yesterday, I had paused to watch a Whitethroat songflighting when I suddenly had the feeling I was being watched. And, indeed, I was, by this handsome Wheatear. It sat still for quite some time, perhaps exhausted from its migration journey, but then along came a dog-walking woman calling loudly for her wayward dog and off the bird flew. It was a delightful, if too short encounter.

200424 wheatear

80/366 Today’s Bay birds

20 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, house sparrow, Linnet, Sand martin, Stonechat, Wheatear

Finally, we’ve had a rain-less day and, though there was a bitterly cold wind blasting across Cardiff Bay, I had to take advantage of the dry weather so walked an 8-mile circuit right round the Bay. The first highlight was my first two Wheatears of the year, a bit distant, and only popping up very briefly from amongst the huge Barrage boulders, but it was lovely to welcome them back for the summer.

200320 1 wheatear

The Bay was buzzing with Sand martins – I must’ve seen at least 20, perhaps more, at various times during my wander, and it was a joy to watch their aerial antics.

200320 2 sand martin

Though it’s now several weeks since the big floods pushed a ton of rubbish into the Bay, the huge accumulations have still not been cleared. In fact, most of the rubbish slicks have seen no clearance action taken at all. The ONLY positive thing about this is that the Goldfinches and Linnets seem to be finding plenty of food amongst the garbage.

200320 3 linnet

I simply had to include this male House sparrow, as today is World Sparrow Day.

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This lovely female Stonechat was dotting back and forth across the footpath through the wetlands reserve, and let me get quite close for photos. There was no sign of the male today though.

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122/365 On the rocks

02 Thursday May 2019

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

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Barrage, Cardiff Bay, spring migration, Wheatear

190502 wheatear

Finally, I spotted a Wheatear on the Cardiff Bay Barrage rocks this morning. Other birders have been seeing them on and off for a month or so now, as they pass through on their way back from wintering in central Africa to their breeding grounds in Britain’s sunlit uplands. I certainly didn’t expect to find one this late in the spring, so I count myself extra lucky to have seen this little beauty today.

103/365 Distant, blurry and bottoms

13 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

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birding, birding at Marshfield, birding at Pilning, birdwatching, British birds, Corn bunting, Little ringed plover, Red-legged partridge, Redstart, Ruff, Wheatear, Yellowhammer

Distant, blurry and bottoms. These three words tell the story of the photographs I took on today’s Glamorgan Bird Club trip to Marshfield and Pilning, both places across the border in Gloucestershire. But don’t be misled by the (lack of) quality of my photos – it was a superb day, with birds I don’t often see at Marshfield (Yellowhammers, Corn buntings, and Red-legged partridges), as well as several Wheatears and a stunning male Redstart. And at Pilning, at the water’s edge between the two Severn bridges, I was able to add Little ringed plover, Yellow wagtail and Ruff to my year list. And as for those photos … well, see for yourself …

190413 1 yellowhammer

The blurry bottom of a Yellowhammer

190413 2 wheatear

A distant, blurry Wheatear

190413 3 corn bunting

The distant, blurry bottom of a Corn bunting sitting on top of a tree

190413 4 redstart

There’s a distant Redstart in this picture

190413 5 red-legged partridge

The blurry bottoms of two Red-legged partridges as they flew away

190413 6 little ringed plover

A distant, blurry Little ringed plover

190413 7 ruff

A very distant, very blurry Ruff

Friday’s walk 1: along Sully beach

29 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, walks

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Dunlin, Ringed plover, Sully, Turnstone, Wheatear

I try to time my walks at Sully with a mid-morning high tide – that way I don’t have to get up too early for the bus and I miss the early morning dog walkers. Yesterday was one such day and, though there was a cool wind blowing, it was a lovely day for a long walk. At first, I just sat and scanned the beach and the shoreline and the sea.

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Several Turnstones were browsing the big deposit of seaweed the tide had rolled in and then this Dunlin flew in to join them.

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With my bins I followed it in and saw it plop down to join a small number of Ringed plovers by the water’s edge. To me, their dark eye masks make Ringed plovers look like bandits, though very tiny and very cute bandits to be sure.

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One of the banditos only had one leg but it seemed to be managing to hop along okay. That made me think of Hop-along Cassidy but I was mixing up my masked men – the Lone Ranger was the one who wore the mask and, of course, he was no bandit.

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At that point a dog and its owner came tootling along the beach, which put all the birds up … and I realised there were, in fact, two Dunlins (the two lower birds in the centre of this photo).

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I took this opportunity to walk further along the beach and found myself a spot on the stone wall edging a slipway, a location where my birding friend Ceri said he’d seen a large number of waders the previous day. I hadn’t been sitting there long when a Wheatear flew right over my head and on to a boulder about 10 metres in front of me. I’m not sure who got the biggest surprise!

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A large group of waders flew across from Sully Island and landed on rocks near the water. They were a bit far away to see clearly but most seemed to be Ringed plovers, a group of perhaps 30.

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People walking along the coastal path above me scared my little Wheatear friend away but then I realised there were actually two birds flitting along the rocks and scrub.

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They’re such lovely little birds and this one managed to catch itself a snack, which reminded me that it was almost lunchtime, time for me to be moving along on my walk. More tomorrow …

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