Grey Herons are in decline. It’s important we know where they breed.
We know of only 5 heronries in our region. Are there others out there we don’t know about?
This spring, when you’re out birding, please keep an eye out for heronries and message us if you find one. Thanks 🙏
Contact points: GBC Trustee and BTO Heronries Census Organiser for Mid & South Glam, Strinda Davies [strinda.davies@glamorganbirds.org.uk] or local BTO rep Daniel Jenkins-Jones [eastglamwebs@gmail.com].
First, we have an in person indoor meeting on Tuesday next week, 4th Feb, 7:30 at Pencoed Rugby Club [upstairs room]. Local birder Amy Schwartz will be giving a presentation on “Eastern Australia”, which will no doubt feature some antipodean avifauna. The venue is just N. of J.35 of the M4 in Velindre Road, CF35 5PB
Second: We have arranged a bird watching walk on February 16th (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.) in conjunction with the Restore the Thaw project team. They have set up an eventbrite invitation for attendees. If you are interested, please follow the link below. Numbers will be restricted, so get in early if you are keen to come along. As per usual, wet weather gear and sturdy walking boots will be required. We may be able to loan binoculars if needed.
I dropped down to the Bay on Weds to try & see the pair of Scaup only to find they had absconded! Wandering round to the Prospect Place area it was nice to see 7 Goosander [6 fems and 1 male]. A few of then hopped up onto the floating pontoon there to rest & preen – and have a go at some of the gulls already in residence! The male was particularly smart. it was rather alarming to see a Herring Gull flying around with a blue streamer of rubbish – it flew quite freely but there’s always the danger of getting it tangled when it lands.
The water levels have lowered as the is maintenance work being carried out this does not seem to both ethe birds. Teal 20 most we have seen here Pochard 1 Shoveler 7 Little egret 1 Tufted Duck 80 Coot lots Moorhen 12 Herring Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls one of the latter colour ringed. And a small flock of Long-tailed Tits feeding in a tree close by.
This afternoon at Parc Slip there was a kingfisher on the wetlands pool. It was sometimes on the post on the right in the water from the hide nearest the centre.
There were at least 6 lapwing on the island and other birds on the water were a little grebe, tufted duck, wigeon, mallard, coot and a moorhen.There was also a male stonechat on the scrapes.
Apologies for short notice – it’s been a busy few days.
There’s a scheduled field trip to Rumney Great Wharf next Sunday 2nd Feb. This is to coincide with high tide for wildfowl & waders. High tide is at 09:38. Meet 9 a.m. in the car park at Parc Tredelerch, just off the roundabout on Lamby Way where the recycling centre access is. The sea wall can be very muddy so wellies or waterproof footwear are necessary. Access from the car park is a walk along Wentloog Avenue and then along the track alongside Cors Crychydd Reen up to the sea wall. Plse let me know if you intend to come. John Wilson johndw1948 at gmail dot com
Nice sunny walk at Cosmeston this morning. E. lake was dead calm, hence I got a nice Great Crested Grebe reflection. A Marsh Tit plus Coal, Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits , and a Nuthatch, were coming to seed on a gate by the S. end of Cogan Wood. I managed to get one shot of the Marsh Tit without any seed in the image. There was a Common Gull on the W. lake posts and I was told of 2 poss 3 on the kayak launching ‘dock’ on E. lake. Other than that, the usual Tufties and Pochard were on W. lake and more Tufties on E. lake.
We’re sorry but the scheduled Walk for Women tomorrow at Cosmeston has been cancelled due to the forecast. We don’t seem to be having much luck with the weather thus far! Apologies that when this was posted on Fri I typed ‘tomorrow’ by mistake, and used the wrong date in the header . It’s all correct now.
A few photos from Cosmeston in the last few days. The Common Gull was the first one I’d seen there for quite a while. Water Rails have been quite vocal for the last couple of weeks, but the one sneaking round the edge of the dipping pond was the first I’d actually seen. The Wren actually kept still for a while so I managed to get some nice shots – it was foraging around in Sully Brook near the Medieval Village. The Water Vole showed this morning, feeding quietly amongst the vegetation at the edge of the dipping pond. Finally, the Cogan Wood Marsh Tit was coming down for food for 4 photographers already there when I arrived. It never stays long – it’s a bit smash & grab with the food. The only shot I got was taken one-handed on full zoom as I had the dog on a short lead in the other hand! She was very patient and laid quietly on the ground.
Today a bit of “Homer Simpson style of Birdwatching” that from warm of car that good and snack at hand that bad
Finally Birds come to you
We had an excellent bird walk this morning, 22 folk came, including some new folk – welcome!- and saw or heard 57 species between us the most I’ve ever recorded for a Saturday Kenfig walk! We went to Sker to catch the falling tide, then to the pool. The highlights were – a Great White Egret, a Purple Sandpiper, and John spotted a Bittern flying towards us giving everyone great views.
Full List – Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan , Shoveler , Gadwall , Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard , Teal , Pochard , Tufted Duck Goldeneye , Goosander , Feral Pigeon , Woodpigeon, Collared Dove , Water Rail , Moorhen, Coot , Great Crested Grebe , Golden Plover , Ringed Plover, Curlew , Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper , Black-headed Gull , Common Gull , Herring Gull , Great Black-backed Gull , Cormorant , Bittern , Great White Egret , Grey Heron , Sparrowhawk , Kingfisher , Kestrel , Jay, Magpie, Jackdaw , Carrion Crow , Blue Tit , Great Tit , Long-tailed Tit , Wren , Starling , Song Thrush , Mistle Thrush , Blackbird , Robin , Stonechat , House Sparrow, Dunnock , Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Pied Wagtail
With thanks to John Western and John Wilson for leading, also to folks who helped with ID , and of course everyone else for coming along. Jean Haslam
We had a very successful monthly walk at KNNR this morning in the very dull conditions. I didn’t do a proper head count but I think there were just short of 20 folk. We went straight to Sker Pt, finding Stonechats on the way. At Sker I managed to wheedle out 4 Purple Sandpipers, one of which showed very nicely for some. Also there, were c.10 Curlew, 4 Golden Plover, 4 Turnstone, 7 Ringed Plover and 2 Grey Herons. Surprisingly there were no Oycs. Back at Kenfig Pool, careful scanning eventually gave us the 1st yr drake American WIgeon along with a good number of [Eurasian] Wigeon, Gadwall, Shoveler and a few Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard and a few Goldeneye, including 2 drakes. A Great White Egret lurked in the western reeds. I was getting tired and about to leave, but had another scan and there, out of the far reed fringe, a Bittern burst out and was suddenly flying towards us in the hide. I called it and thankfully everyone got on it, as it flew across the pool and dropped into the western reeds. A bonus bird! 2nd Edit: species count updated from 49 t0 57 Here’s the list, which I’ll keep up to date with any ‘extras’.
A pleasant walk across the barrage in the sunshine, with a snack in the Norwegian Church. First checked the beach below Penarth Head for the recent Black Redstart & failed to find it. At the Cardiff inshore end of the barrage, there were 3 Goosander [2f, 1m]. Whatsapp then told me the Black Redstart had been seen, so checked again on the way back. Met another Penarth birder [and GBC member] and we found it on the second concrete groyne across the beach. Pleased to get a lift up the hill back to Penarth centre so thanks Richie.!
Most noticeable today were Bullfinches of which I saw 4: – 1 in the hedge at S. end of W paddock, 2 together in N. end of W. paddock central hedge and 1 feeding in the scrubby ground cover in W paddock near the mile road. That one I managed to get some nice pix of, and they clearly show it suffering from trichomonsis, which may account for it being more confiding than the species is usually.
On Thursday it was very foggy and difficult to see anything at all!
Today, late morning, there was an active feeding flock of Goldfinch and Siskin in tree tops at the north end of Cogan Wood. Also in the wood, a male Bullfinch, Coal, Blue and Great Tits, a single Redwing and 3 Jays.
On 11th Jan I had a brief view of a Hawfinch in tree tops 50m past the dragonfly pond. There were c.250 Tufted Ducks on W lake plus 8 Pochard, 2 each of Little and Great Crested Grebes and a pair of Bullfinch was in the west paddock hedge.
On 12th Jan there were 8 Gadwall on W lake and a single Common Gull on the W lake posts.
Several hundred, probably at least a thousand Jackdaws swirling in a tight flock over Newton Nottage area of Porthcawl yesterday evening. Not quite as impressive as a Starling murmuration but pretty impressive nonetheless.
Yes fur not feather but worth showing
Kenfig NNR: A first-winter drake American Wigeon, discovered at the Pool in late November, reappeared there after a short absence, subsequently staying the rest of the month. A White-fronted Goose circled the Pool but chose not to land (10th). A Cattle Egret was briefly present (9th). Sightings from Sker included Black-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver and Little Gull. A Bittern was seen at the Pool. A Hen Harrier frequented the southern dunes. A Merlin was logged. Both Siberian Chiffchaff and Firecrest were trapped for ringing.
Cardiff: A female Ring-necked Duck was present all month at Lisvane Reservoir, bar for one brief sortie to Cardiff Bay. A Grey Phalarope was a fleeting visitor to Lisvane Reservoir (2nd). At Llanishen Reservoir a Black-throated Diver took up residence (9th onward), but three Black-necked Grebes there were only transient (5th). Several Caspian Gulls were identified in the Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve roost. A Red-breasted Merganser arrived at Cardiff Bay (22nd), having previously been at Cosmeston, while a Scaup lingered too.
Other Sites: Five Velvet Scoters flew down channel at Lavernock (30th), with another seen drifting north off Penarth Pier the same day. A Black-throated Diver arrived at Barry Waterfront (25th). Common Sandpipers were at Ogmore Estuary and Penarth Marina. A Little Gull was off the promenade at Porthcawl. Black Redstarts were at Nash Point and Porthcawl. Wandering Dartford Warblers were located at Rest Bay and near Pyle & Kenfig Golf Clubhouse. One or two Hawfinches were seen sporadically at Cosmeston. A Snow Bunting was heard over Mynydd Pwll-yr-lwrch.
Summary by Paul Roberts
A sparkling afternoon for birding here today -in spite of it being a bit busy and the tide just coming in. A lovely sunset too.
We found plenty of gulls- Herring and Black-Headed, at least 15 Turnstone, numerous Oystercatchers, a few Sanderling, 6 Curlew, Carrion Crow, 2 Dark -Bellied Brent Geese, and a Redshank,
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