Shortish morning visit produced 10 Redwing and 12 Fieldfare feedig on worms on W paddock, plus 4 Mistle Thrush and 6 Greenfinch feeding with them. W lake had just 2 Pochard in a quick check as I rushed to avoid the rain.
Author: John Wilson
Birder and traveller
Upcoming field trip – Sun 15th Jan
Hi all
Advanced notice that there’s an all day field trip to Whiteford Point on the Gower, followed by a dusk watch for harriers at Llanridian Marsh, on Sunday 15th Jan – i.e. next Sunday.
High tide is at approx 11 a.m. so I’d suggest getting to the Whiteford Beach car park at Cwm Ivy at 09:30 as it’s a long walk. The map below shows the location of the car park [field] which many will be familiar with. Points to note:
1. It could be v muddy, esp the section after the conifer plantation to the point itself, so wear suitable waterproof footwear. The walk is approx 4 km each way:
2. There’s a steep [tarmac] hill immed after the car parking field which is fine at the start, but has to be walked up at the end of the return from Whiteford Point. And I mean steep!:
3. Because this is a westerly location for me, I can’t pick up anyone from St Margaret’s Rd as it’s in the wrong direction:
4. I haven’t been for a couple of years but theI assume parking field is still a sloping grass field which can be slippery so be judicious as to where and how you park [as long as it’s neatly].
Please let me know if you intend coming. John Wilson
Indoor meeting, Tues 10th Jan
There’s an ‘in person’ indoor meeting on Tues 10th Jan next week, which is an illusfrarted review of 2022 with images of many birds that were seen during the year and no doubt other highlights of the year. It will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be at Pencoed Rugby Club which is at 31 Felindre Road, Pencoed, CF35 5PB. Come off M4 at J.35, go north on A473 and take 1st exit at the first rbt and the Rugby Club is almost immediately on the left.
I’m currently in Norfolk and will still be on the night so please direct any queries to one of the committee:
December 2022
Highlights: Two female Ring-necked Ducks remained at Lisvane Reservoir. An adult Caspian Gull was identified at Cardiff Bay (8th), where the long-staying Whooper Swan was still present. A Cattle Egret was briefly at Porthcawl (15th). Scarcities from Kenfig comprised Whooper Swan (8th only), Yellow-browed Warbler and two Siberian Chiffchaffs at the pool, plus a Snow Bunting at Sker.
Other Sites: The Brent Goose flock at Aberthaw peaked at 15 (10 of which were Pale-bellied), while a single juvenile Dark-bellied lingered at Ogmore Estuary. The only Scaup was at Cardiff Bay. Two Eiders and a Red-breasted Merganser were noted at Sker. Great Northern Divers were sighted on various dates at Kenfig and Sker, although it is not known how many individuals this relates to. Bitterns were found at both Kenfig and Cardiff Bay, where three Great White Egrets were seen flying over (15th). Both Marsh Harrier and Short-eared Owl were observed flying in off the sea at Sker (4th). A male Merlin was hunting at Portobello, Ogmore Estuary. A Whimbrel appeared to be attempting to winter at Sker. Common Sandpipers were frequenting Ogmore Esuary, Cardiff Bay and Lisvane Reservoir. A Little Gull stopped off at Kenfig Pool (24th). Water Pipits were made up of two at Ogmore Estuary and two at Aberthaw. Black Redstarts had a good showing, with records from Cardiff Bay (maximum three), Cardiff City Hall, Barry, Aberthaw (two), Nash Point, Southerndown (two), Bridgend (two locations) and Lock’s Common, Porthcawl. Firecrests were logged at Cathays Cemetery, Aberthaw (two) and Pant Norton. Up to four Hawfinches were at Cosmeston.
Summary by Paul Roberts
Cosmeston & Cardiff Bay
20 folk enjoyed the nice sunny day for the first GBC outing of 2023. We spent 3 hours at Cosmeston, slightly irritated by the loud gunfire due to a local clay pigeon or pheasant shoot, which seemed to have kept some birds away or at least hidden in cover. West lake had the usual Tufties plus 8 Pochard and 6 Gadwall, 4 Great Crested Grebes and 2 Little Grebes and a brief Kingfisher was seen by a few. A small flock of Teal few around [possibly disturbed from a pool hidden in Cogan Wood by the gunfire, but they didn’t drop in]. In Cogan Wood after some patient watching most had views of a Marsh Tit as it dashed in and out to snatch up sunflower hearts deposited in a favourite place. The same location produced Blue, Great and Coal Tits, plus Long-tailed Tit and Nuthatch. West paddock gave us Green Woodpecker but no Hawfinch showed.
Some of us went over to Cardiff Bay by the Ice Rink where we saw the female Scaup and 2 female Goldeneye and a fly-by drake Goosander. After that, round the other side at Porth Teigr, by Roath Basin, we had nice views of the male Black Redstart.
In all we logged 47 species – the full list is here.
Cardiff Bay barrage & Porth Teigr
Cardiff Bay Barrage – Penarth > Porth Teigr & Adventurer’s Quay & back. A Grey Wag was by R. Ely mouth at Penarth Marina, 3 Pied Wags on Barrage, 1 Common Gull on the buoy ‘chain’ and 64 Cormorant on the inner ‘jetty’. 2 prs of Goosander in the Bay nr the feeder dock [and 1 fem offshore in the channel]. Male Black Redstart showed well in the usual place opp Adventurer’s Quay apartments. Also noted were Great Crested Grebe, Mute Swan, Coot, Moorhen, Crow, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull. Feral Pigeon.
Cosmeston
Back at ‘Cossie’ over the last couple of days, there have been up to 7 Pochard on W lake plus around 30 Teal, ususally skulking around the edges, also 5 Gadwall and the usual Tufted Ducks, 2 Great Crested and 2 Little Grebes and small numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare. Also since boxing day, Hawfinch have been seen again in the same area that they have appeared for the last 2 winters, in trees on the N edge of Cogan Wood, about 50m beyond the Dragonfly Pond. I haven’t seen them myself although I did check this morning but it was very windy so not ideal.
First outing of 2023
The first outing of the new year will be a simple local trip covering Cosmeston Lakes CP and if time permits, Cardiff Bay, on Mon 2nd January.
I think the easiest option is for all to meet in the car park at Cosmeston at say 9:30 a.m. [to avoid rush hour as the traffic can be a problem].
There is a charge for parking at Cosmeston now, £1 for up to 2 hours or £2 for up to 4 hours and the machines can take contactless payment. I’d think 2 hours shd be adequate but be aware that although it’s free up to 10 a.m. you still need to cover being there after 10 if you arrve at 09:30. It’s only £1.
Current birds around at the moment are a few Pochard, Tufties, around 30 Teal, Redwing Fieldfare and Hawfinch have started to appear again in the last couple of days.
For Cardiff Bay it depends what is around as to where to park. Certainly not in the barrage car park at Penarth [it’s expensive]. Recently there have been Goldeneye and a Scaup off the Ice Rink area, Common Sandpiper & Turnstone by Penarth Marina and of course there’s Bleck Redstarts over by Porth Teigr. There’s fee free parrking for all these localities.
As always, let me know if you intend coming. John Wilson
Cosmeston
Minus 2 deg when I got to Cosmeston this morning. FIrst seen on west lake was a flock of c.60 Teal and two female Shovelers, the first I’ve seen here this winter. Part of the small bay around the posts was frozen over with a bunch of Black-headed Gulls sitting on the ice. In east paddock three Song Thrushes were feeding, one allowing a few photos.
Rhymney Est. – WeBS count
Finally got to do my delayed WeBS count at Green Point this morning [delayed from Sunday 11th when I had a prior engagement]. Monday was a no go as Rover Way was closed and traffic was chaotic. First off were c.800 Redshank wiht about 20 Dunlin with them. As I’ve seen before they kept flying around and alighting on the water & swimming around befofre settling on the shore again. There was just 1 Curlew. Teal were present in good numbers with c.110, and other widlfowl comprised 50 Shelduck, 40 Shoveler, 24 Mallard, and 30 Pintail. It was v v cold with a stiff NE breeze.
Slimbridge 10th Dec
We had a successful Club trip to Slimbridge WWT today despite the cold and much of the wet areas there being frozen over. 14 participants logged a total of 65 species, highlights being a good number of the Russian race of White-fronted Geese, Barnacle Geese, Cranes, a 1stW drake Scaup, Peregrine, Kingfisher, Water Rail, a very obliging Snipe, and many others. A few pix of birds that were close enough, are below. Here’s a link to the trip list: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NsWPXxVBs1SzsfAdCnqhcziHCdGlOLCb/view?usp=share_link
Lavernock WT reserve
Had a walk round the reserve this morning for a change. First bird was a very busy Goldcrest although the only photo I got made it look like a Ruby-crowned Kinglet [USA!]. Also noted were 2 Bullfinch, a Green Woodpecker, Great and Blue Tits, and lots of Blackbirds, of which one was very confiding as it fed on Ivy berries.
Cosmeston
A quick walk round with Poppy the pooch this morning. Couldn’t relocate the Jack Snipes of yesterday. There were a lot of Blackbirds about including the very confiding pictured one by the Mile Road [those pix are as taken and not cropped]. The cold snap had brought in 57 Tufted Ducks on E lake – all drakes excepot for 7 females. I saw just a single Fieldfare in W paddock.
Cosmeston
Great excitement yesterday at Cosmeston when local birder Graham Smith found a Jack Snipe roosting on the ground using a thermal imager. I went down to try & see it but typically it was so well concealed and camouflaged I couldn’t find it. Remarkably today he found there were 2 there! Another visit and another local Penarth birder Annie Irving was at the spot and eventually got me on to the more visible one and then finally the well hidden one. My 2 best cropped images below plus the uncropped versions for comparison. Both the uncropped ones were taken at equiv of 600mm . In the one with the arrow the birds head is just belwo left of the arrow head, in the gap in the blades of juncus. Having seen the more visible one today I realised that I had seen it yesterday, but only the two parallel straw coloured stripes which I thought were dead vegetation! As I walked through teh open aprt of W paddock there were a few Redwing and Fieldfare feeding but they soon cleared off, but I did manage a couple of shots of a Fieldfare – such smart birds. Click each image for a bigger one.
Cosmeston
Had a walk through Cogan Wood this morning to keep out of the chilly easterly. Good decision as it happens. I was kneeling down taking some pix of the Turkey Tail fungus shown, which was on a stump that is also used to put down seed for the tits & finches. Suddenly I heard a strident “pitchü, pitchü” call and looked up to see a Marsh Tit flitting about in the bushes a few feet away. It was very insistent and clearly expecting some seed, which I didn’t have. I last saw one there in Jan this year. The light was pretty poor so I was glad to get some half decent shots The Great and Blue Tits along the path thru the wood are very tame and will come and sit on your hand if you have seed.
November 2022
Highlights: Scarcities at Kenfig were a Glossy Ibis in flight over the pool (19th), a juvenile Sabine’s Gull at Sker (10th) and a Red-backed Shrike (found in the southern dunes in October), reportedly around until early in the month. Cardiff Bay held two Caspian Gulls (adult and 2nd-winter), a Red-necked Grebe (11th), a Leach’s Petrel moving down channel from the barrage (2nd) and the long-staying Whooper Swan. Leach’s Petrels were also recorded from Lavernock on several dates (notably four on the 9th), with Black-throated Diver (9th) and at least two Siberian Chiffchaffs also present. Two female Ring-necked Ducks frequented Lisvane Reservoir. A flock of six Waxwings flew over Maesteg (16th). A Swift species (Common or Pallid) was over Wildmill, Bridgend (1st).
Other Sites: Single Dark-bellied Brent Geese were at Cardiff Bay, Ogmore Estuary and Sker, where Red-breasted Merganser and Great Northern Diver were also logged. Another Great Northern Diver was briefly on Llanishen Reservoir (27th). A Red-crested Pochard, three Bitterns and a Great White Egret were at Kenfig. A male Merlin was at Sker. A coordinated count in the Ely Valley revealed a total of 11 Green Sandpipers. Common Sandpipers comprised two at both Ogmore Estuary and Lisvane Reservoir. Purple Sandpipers at Sker peaked at 14. A Great Skua was seen heading from Sker towards Porthcawl. Little Gulls had a good showing, with records from Ogmore Estuary (two 1st-winters), Sker (adult and 1st-winter), Kenfig Pool (1st-winter), Porthcawl (adult) and Cardiff Bay (1st-winter). The Cardiff Bay roost held a maximum of 16 Yellow-legged Gulls. Late Arctic Terns were seen at Gileston (9th) and Kenfig Pool (15th-19th). Two Water Pipits turned up at Ogmore Estuary. Black Redstarts occurred at Penarth (three), Cardiff Bay (two), Porthcawl (two), Coity and Nash Point. An estimated 10,000 Redwings moved over Lavernock in 90 minutes (1st). Ring Ouzels passed through at Dunraven and Maesteg. Firecrests graced Pant Norton, Ogmore (two) and Swanbridge. Hawfinches were Fforest Fawr, Lavernock and Cosmeston.
Summary by Paul Roberts
Field trip 10th Dec – Slimbridge WWT
There will be a visit to Slimbridge WWT on Saturday 10th Dec [this is a revised date from the originally scheduled date of Sun 11th which is an important winterf WeBS count day].
The reserve opens at 09:30 so I suggest trying to get there at around that time, which using Cardiff as a start point, means leaving at around 8 a.m. To car share be at the usual Whitchurch end of St Margaret’s Rd at 8 a.m. and please:
1) email me if you are inteding to come and
2) say whether you will go straight there or wish to car share – I can take 3 passengers.
If you are not a member of WWT, the entry fee is £15 [or £16.50 if you gift aid it].
My email – johndw1948 at gmail dot com [please only email as it’s onerous to try & keep tabs on all modes of communcation].
Zoom talk – Tues 6th Dec – 7:30 p.m.
There’s a Zoom talk next week on Tues 6th Dec, when Mark Eaton of the Rare Birds Breeding Panel will tell us all about the work they do in collecting, analysing, reporting and archiving rare bird breeding records in the UK.
There’s more info on their website here: https://rbbp.org.uk/
The talk will start at 7:30 p.m., with the Zoom room opening about 15 minutes before that. If you would like to ‘attend’, please email me for teh login details – johndw1948 at gmail dot com.
Trip to Peterston Moors Sun 27th Nov – Cancelled
Having just been in discussions with Alan Rosney who knows the site very well, we have regretfully decided to cancel Sunday’s trip for safety [and indeed access] reasons. More rain is forecast for Saturday night and given what we had yesterday, last night and today, it is highly likely that the area will be flooded, or at least an absolute quagmire.
Sorry to disappoint but we feel that it’s for the best. John Wilson
Cosmeston
Between 4:10 and 4:30 this afternoon, a minor murmuration of around 400 Starlings over E lake that finally settled in the lake side edge of the E lake reeds by the boardwalk.
Glamorgan Bird Club 
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