Firecrests galore!

10 Tuesday Feb 2026

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Firecrest, winter birding

I’m lucky if I see one Firecrest each year, as they tend only to be seen in my area during the winter months and can be extremely elusive. So, when one of our expert local birders let me know that he’d seen five (!) in a nearby park, I was optimistic – surely, I could find at least one. Four park visits later, with zero Firecrest sightings, I was beginning to despair but I figured I’d give it just one more try before I gave up. And I’m so glad I did as that one day I saw four Firecrests, two in one area and two on the other side of the park, more than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

Getting good photographs of the Firecrests was another matter. These are tiny birds, and very active, flitting constantly through the vegetation in search of food. I did actually manage images of all four birds, most blurry, two with only partial views of the birds, but one, the one shown above, where you can actually see the whole bird and recognise it. Phew!

Target acquired

14 Wednesday Jan 2026

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, female Stonechat, Stonechat, winter birding

I do love it when a plan comes together. I’ve now found most of the common bird species that inhabit my local area so I’m being more focused when planning my daily walks, trying to look specifically for particular species. This is when it helps that, after 10 years in the area and many hundreds (thousands?) of miles of walking its trails, I know my patch very well.

Though I try to avoid going to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park at the weekend (too many people and dogs), last Saturday was a glorious sunny day, the forecast for the following week looked quite grim, and I knew that the outer fields were usually relatively empty of visitors.

That was also where I figured I had the best chance of finding my target species, the Stonechat, as the habitat of the tree plantation that was planted about five years ago is perfect for chat species; they can perch up on the shrubs, tall grasses and smaller saplings while looking for insect prey to flit down and snap up. As soon as I went through the kissing gate into the plantation up she popped, this gorgeous female Stonechat; it was the perfect birding moment. And my pleasure continued as she moved around the field, with me following discretely behind, admiring her hunting skills and looking for photo opportunities. I particularly like my second photo, with the blurred pink hips of a Field rose as her backdrop. .

Goldeneyed gals

16 Friday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Goldeneye, winter birding

As their usual waterways freeze over and temperatures plummet, many birds are forced to move to find open water and places to feed. Though it’s certainly not pleasant for the birds, one of the huge pluses for those who love birding is that, in places like Cardiff Bay, having several days in a row of freezing temperatures can bring in the rarities. And, that’s exactly what happened today, with not one but four Goldeneyes present, a pair that I didn’t manage to see and these two females. I spent a delightful half hour watching them diving and preening and sailing back and forth just outside the iced-up waters along the Barrage. Magic!

221216 goldeneyes

Brambling!

08 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, Brambling, British birds, winter birding

This was Tuesday’s magical moment – well, actually, about 30 minutes of moments grinning like a Cheshire Cat while standing in the bitter cold, but what better reason to get frost bite than a Brambling!

220108 brambling (1)

These beauties are rarely seen in my part of south Wales. Bramblings breed in the far north, in parts of Scandinavia and Russia, heading south to Britain during our winter, so are often seen passing through when the weather starts to turn cold here. And local birders did report seeing them and hearing their distinctive calls in November-December 2021 (I also had a flyover sighting of two birds in December). But then they disappeared, presumably flying further afield in search of their favourite food, Beech mast, which is sparse locally this winter.

220108 brambling (2)

Presumably, a combination of a lack of food elsewhere and the increasingly cold weather is why some birds are now returning and being seen, with their cousins the Chaffinches, coming for seed from garden feeders and in other locations where people put out food for small birds in the winter. This is one reason I always carry some seed with me on winter walks. You never know what you might be lucky enough to see.