Highlights: A first-winter drake Lesser Scaup was found at Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve (31st). The two Ring-necked Ducks remained at Lisvane Reservoir. A pair of Garganey called in briefly at Kenfig Pool (28th). A first-winter Caspian Gull was identified at Cardiff Bay. Up to eight Waxwings lingered at Cosmeston, often feeding on rose hips. Two Woodlarks were discovered in stubble at St Mary’s Well Bay (3rd).
Other Sites: Long-tailed Ducks were at Roath Park Lake and Kenfig Pool. A Scaup was also at the latter site, with one at Cardiff Bay too. Four Great White Egrets dropped in at Kenfig Pool, while another was on the substantial flood at Sker, which also attracted a Greenshank and three Black-tailed Godwits. Two or three passage Little Ringed Plovers visited the Watermill, Ogmore Estuary. An Osprey was at Llwyn-on Reservoir. Two Little Gulls frequented Cardiff Bay. First records included Willow Warbler at Kenfig (23rd) and Cuckoo at Heol-y-Cyw (31st). A Short-eared Owl was at Rumney Great Wharf. A Water Pipit was noted at Ogmore Estuary. Black Redstarts were at Llantwit Major and Cardiff City Hall, both males. Cosmeston held a Hawfinch. Summary by Paul Roberts
A few Sand Martins were entering nest holes in the old feeder dock by Tiger Yard (was Dr Who). Fem Wheatear and a White Wagtail were on the inner barrage rocks by the sails, and a Rock Pipit gave a song flight over the outer barrage rocks.
News from today via outher channels. A drake Lesser Scaup was at Cardiff Bay Wetland Reserve, and Waxwings were till hainging around at Cosmeston, seen this morning in trees by the concrete road that runs past the Medieval Village. I oassed there late morning but couldn;t find them. At the dipping pond a pair of Moorhens have 5 tiny chicks.
Thanks to the 16 souls who came to KNNR today and walked out to Sker and those who stayed to view Kenfig Pool. Pretty successful even tho the tide was falling, with 45 species in all [subject to scrutiny]. At Sker there were at least 6 Wheatear around the farm area and a Greenshank accompanying a Redshank, was an unexpected bonus on the flood. At Sker Pt we had a flock f 28 Golden Plover that eventually settled and another flock of around 50 flew over. Alan Rosney managed to wheedle out 4 Purple Sandpipers with Turnstones – I managed to see one but sadly not everyone managed to get eyes on. There were 2 Ringed Plovers and a few Oycs. On the pool, 2 prs of Wigeon, 4 Shoveler, a few Gadwall, 1 drake Scaup, 4 Goldeneye but sadly no hirundines. Seversal Willow Warblers were singing. All in all an enjoyable few hours, and surprisingly warm. A few record shots posted below, individually casptioned where necessary. The sun corona/halo was impressive. John WIlson Full list here[subject to anything I’ve forgotten]. At the perched pipit is a Meadow although I did wonder whether it might be Tree, but concensus was Mipit. Bottom pic possibly a WIllow Warbler due to the primary extension.
A request from your committee. Can you help GBC to function in 2024-2025 by taking on the essential role of Treasurer, as our current treasurer Ceri Jones, retires at the upcoming AGM. Both members and non-mebers are welcome. If it’s not for you perhaps you could spread the word, or put someone in touch if you know anybody with a financial background who would be willing. Ceri is obviously on hand to give guidance.
Re the AGM, watch out for the notice with full details, which will be published here and linked to from Facebook and ‘X’.
In the cold this morning there were around 30 Sand Martins feeding over E. lake and over the trees on the west side, plus more over W. lake and some at some height above. Two Chiffchaffs and 2 Blackcaps were singing and a Sparrowhawk hunted along the edge of Cogan Wood by the dragonfly pond.
Highlights: A drake Green-winged Teal was briefly at Kenfig Pool (25th). A Red-necked Grebe remained at Llanishen Reservoir. Two Ring-necked Ducks were still at Lisvane Reservoir, with a drake also found at Roath Park Lake. Cattle Egrets comprised two at Sully Moors and two at Cosmeston. A Siberian Chiffchaff was at Kenfig Rivermouth. An Egyptian Goose appeared at Flemingston Moor. A Long-tailed Duck made several visits to Kenfig Pool, where two Bitterns were also noted. A Scaup was at Cardiff Bay. Flooding at the Watermill, Ogmore Estuary, attracted up to 25 Grey Herons and 12 Little Egrets, both site high counts. Wintering Common Sandpipers were logged at Cardiff Bay and Ogmore Estuary. A Yellow-legged Gull was at Cosmeston. A Short-eared Owl was seen a couple of times at Lamby. A smart male Black Redstart graced Cardiff City Hall. A Firecrest occurred at Kenfig. Hawfinches were observed at Fforest Ganol and Cosmeston. Summary by Paul Roberts
A good turnout of 19 folk met at the New Fancy View viewpoint north of Parkend at 10 a.m. on a still grey, but at least dry, day. We scanned and scanned for about an hour but sadly had no luck with the hoped for Goshawk despite this being the place to look for them. Perhaps the cold grey still conditions, and the resultant lack of lift, had put them off. There was even a lack of Buzzards. We did log a few species such as a couple of Ravens, Jay, Magpie, Crow, Mistle Thrush, fly-by Chaffinches, & Goldfinches and unexpectedly a pair of Goosander. A Coal Tit was feeding as we walked back down the steep access path. Next we headed for RSPB Nagshead with the rather ambitious hope of finding Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. We walked the long trail, returning via the incredibly muddy lower section. No LSW sadly, but good numbers of common woodland species including Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Wren, Song Thrush & Blackbird. Back to Parkend and the green by the cricket pitch, surrounded by tall trees, a Hawfinch spot. Some seed was distributed on their favourite feeding log. We waited quite some time before any bird at all was seen, then a few Chaffinch and Greenfinch came in, plus a lone male Bullfinch, but no appearance by the big beaked one. There was a lighting ‘smash & grab’ visit by a Marsh Tit which although incredibly brief, was identifiable by its obvious extensive bright white cheeks. After a while a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard and then seen in one of the tall trees, before flying off. Just as we had given up and were about to leave, a Sparrowhawk flew through. Final stop was Cannop Ponds where we were at least guaranteed a good number of species. We parked up by the stone works at the southern end of the valley, where there are feeders, and predictably there were many Chaffinches and Tits coming down to feed on seed spread on the boulders by the lake. In Alders nearby there were a few Siskin, and a Dipper was spotted by the pond outlet, which was quite a torrent. On the water we had our first Mandarin and a couple of Little Grebes were diving. A couple of folk drove up to the northerly car park and the rest of us walked along the lakeside path. This gave us nice views of a pair of Goosander [presumably the ones we had seen at New Fancy]. A lakeside viewpoint gave very close views of Mandarins and a pair of Gadwall. By the northern lake the feeding station by the entrance road eventually gave up the regular Marsh Tit plus the usual Chaffinches and Blue & Great Tits. We had nice views of a Dipper by the stream that exits down towards the lower lake. Back at the stone works end we were greeted by an incredible 20+ Mandarins, mostly drakes, out on the grass beside the the lake, plus one cheeky one up on the fence below the seed feeder, mopping up the spillages. A couple of Greylags and a pair of Mute Swans and a few Mallard completed the wildfowl species. Last but not least were Coot & Moorhen and a pair of Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
A Whstsapp message popped up whilst I was having breakfast. Local birder Graham Smith had found 4 Waxwings on the W. paddock hedge. Fingers crossed when I eventually set out, then it started to rain!. Ploughed on with Poppy the pooch in tow, squelching through the mud of the paddock, I eventually found the birds sitting atop a Silver Birch overlooking the dragonfly pond. They were quite settled there, occasionally dropping down to grab rose hips. I tied Poppy to a bench nearby then using a bush as cover, managed to get a few photos despite the rain. In the top right pic, the lowest bird is a Redwing.
Not in S. Wales, but a club trip. We had a big turnout for the trip to the Forest of Dean yesterday – 19 folk. A dull, still, but thankfully dry day. Sadly we ‘dipped’ on the key species – Goshawk and Hawfinch … and the mythical Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! Even so we logged 41 species. Stars of the show were the Mandarins at Cannop Ponds – see the photos. There were around 20 by the stone works, a large group of them on the grass by the lake. One cheeky male was up on the fence below the bird feeder, picking off the spillages! I did have a pic of that but it was pretty poor so it was binned. Here’s the list: https://drive.google.com/…/1ZMJS1H4Gv…/view…
There’s a live indoor meeting on Tuesday next week, 5th March at 7:30 p.m. Club member & trustee Paul Denning will be giving an illustrated talk on “The Wildlife of Crete”. Paul’s wildlife interests are broad so this will cover a lot more than just birds. The venue is Pencoed Rugby Club which is in Felindre Road on the left shortly after turning left at the first roundabout on the A473 after leaving the M4 northbound from J.35. The post code is CF35 5PB.
There’s good news to share about the breeding Swift colonies of Pyle & Kenfig Hill and Porthcawl and for local residents who want to help them. GBC Trustees, a club member and a local swift champion have been working with Pyle Community and Porthcawl Town Councils for the past couple of years, resulting in each of them declaring their communities and the town “swift friendly”. With support from Bridgend Local Nature Partnership, and particularly Bridgend County Borough Council’s Biodiversity team, funding from Welsh Government’s Local Places for Nature scheme has been secured. This means anyone living in Pyle, Kenfig Hill or Porthcawl (in the streets where swifts are known to breed) can have a swift nest box and its installation, at no cost. If you, or anyone you know, lives in the above areas and might be interested in this offer, get in touch with the rCouncil Clerk named on each leaflet dispoayed below. If you wish to download a copy click this link. Then you’ll be on your first step to helping swifts (unless you already are!). Maybe you can spare some time to help out either of these projects, especially if you live in or near Pyle, Kenfig Hill or Porthcawl. Why wait any longer? Get in touch with Strinda Davies and you’ll be given a warm welcome. Advice on how to make your community ‘swift friendly’ (if you are fortunate to have them, as they’re not to be found everywhere) is on offer from the club. Strinda Davies and Mary Gallagher have recently started helping a Bridgend town resident conserve the swifts breeding along the river. Could you be next?” PS click the image below to display a larger view.
A walk round E. and W. lakes at Cosmeston this morning to avoid the extremely muddy paddocks. The female Scaup was still present on E. lake and was more active than yesterday when she was asleep all the time, plus I had my camera today. The Great Crested Grebes are displaying most days. Of other interest, on blossom at the back of W lake I had my first hoverfly of the year, so I’ll have to start tuning in to those again. I think this one was the ‘Common Drone Fly’ i.e. Eristalis tenax [fingers crossed]. The last pic is of a distant lone Buzzard keeping an eye on the plantation.
There’s a field trip to Forest of Dean next week, on Thurs 29th Feb. Meet 10 a.m. in the New Fancy View car park north of Parkend. Follow the B4231 up from Lydney then head north to where indicated on the map. The car park is on the right about 500m after you turn left off the road that runs up from Parkend. As usual, please let me know if you intend coming. I am unlikely to do any pickups from St Margaret’s Road due to traffic between Penarth and there. John Wilson – johndw1948 at gmail dot com
As usual we hope for Goshawk & Hawfinch, Marsh Tit, Mandarin and dare I say Lesser Spotted Woodpecker? Haven’t had one there for years……
Walked along the Sully foreshore from the cricket pitch car park to the carvans and back along the rocky shoreline. Pretty high tide so just 7 Oystercather, 12 Turnstone, a couple of Curlew, 2 Rock Pipits and a Grey Wag to see, plus around 6 Pied Wags near the parking area.
Walked thru Cogan Wood late morning after squelching along the path past the dragonfly pond and failing on Hawfinch, although we did flush a Green Woodpecker. Delighted to have good views of 2 obliging Marsh Tits along the slope up to the exit at the SE end of the wood. Didn’t take camera due to rain threat, nor any seed but they actually followed us up the slope right to the junctiojn with the path that goes round the back of W lake. W lake had 3 drake and 1 duck Pochard. Earlier in the morning Wayne Strong had a fem Pintail on W lake that flew off towards Cardiff and presumably the Bay.
Tomorrow’s trip to Newton Pt. Just a heads up if you were thinking of coming and not let me know [or indeed even if you have], in view of the dire forecast for tomorrow, we’ve decided to cancel the trip. John W
The Siskins were back in the Alder near the dipping pond this morning, quite high up but I managed to get 4 half decent shots out of a load taken. The Little Grebes are very active and vocal at the moment, and the Great Cresteds have been practice displaying.
There’s a local field trip on Thursday 15th next week, to Newton Point near Porthcawl, the main aim to see roosting waders, hopefully including Purple Sandpipers. High tide is either side of 10 a.m. so I suggest meeting up at 9, or as close to that as traffic allows. The meet point is on Beach Road, which starts at the green in the middle of Newton village. The double yellow lines do not have effect in winter so you can park all the way along to the far end, away from the houses. I don’t envisage this being an all day trip. Please let me know if you intend coming. johndw1948 at gmail dot com
Cosmeston yesterday & today. A Common Gull yesterday allowed some nice shots. There haven’t been many this winter. Today a Water Vole was swimming by the dipping pond boardwalk and I managed to grab a shot before it disappeared beneath. In an Alder there, there were c20 Siskin feeding but they flew off N towards the golf course. Up by the dragonfly pond quagmire, there were a few Fieldfare and Redwing, and 2 Green Woodpeckers. One of the Gret Crested Grebe pairs have been doing some preparatory displaying recently, and the Little Grebes have been very vocal.
Glamorgan Bird Club 
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