Pretty cold today. Highlights were 2 Redpolls on a treetop in the Snipe enclosure, one a smart male. Sadly too far away and too quick to fly off for a photo. Also 3 Snipe flew out from there. The other highlights were a pair of GC Grebes displaying on W lake, and a pair of Gadwall there too, and there was a Grey Wagtail in the now smelly Sully Brook by the park entrance, where I saw the 2 Water Rails recently.
The hybrid aythya duck [probably a Tufted x Pochard] was in E. lake on 1st Mar.
A few shots below of the rather elusive Water Rail in Sully Brook, which this morning was preening in dense vegetation.
40 Fieldfare in W paddock plus a few Redwing and a Mistle Thrush. A pair of Little Grebe together on W lake with some whinnying. Pair of Mute Swans copulating. There were 5 Shoveler on E lake [3m, 2f], a Grey Wagtail in Sully Brook near the park entrance and a Water Rail again.
Highlights: A productive spell at Cardiff Bay produced a second calendar-year Bonaparte’s Gull, the long-staying Caspian Gull, two Little Gulls, the wintering female Ring-necked Duck, a Scaup, two or three Siberian Chiffchaffs and the first UK Sand Martin of the year (19th). The Ogmore Estuary Kumlien’s Gull (first seen in early January) called in there occasionally, but also made forays to Cosmeston and Sker. Two Whooper Swans were briefly at Llwyn-onn Reservoir (1st). A maxmum of 43 Brent Geese was at Aberthaw, while a family party of five commuted between Newton, Ogmore Estuary and Sker. A Scaup was on the pools at Rhoose Point. Two Red-breasted Mergansers flew past Rhych Point, Porthcawl. Cold weather saw some Little Egret movement, with sightings from some less usual locations, such as Llynfi Valley (the first record for the valley), Monknash, over Llanishen and in Bryngarw Country Park. A Marsh Harrier was a good find at Mynydd Pwll-yr-lwrch, above Maesteg. Wintering Common Sandpipers were noted at Green Point and Ogmore Estuary (two). The best Purple Sandpiper tally was 11 from Sker. A count of 17 Jack Snipe was made at Llanharry. Water Pipits were present at Green Point and Ogmore Estuary. Black Redstarts occurred at Gileston (two), Southerndown, Sully and Cathays. The first Wheatear was an early arrival at Southerndown (27th). Firecrests were observed at Forest Farm and Burrows Well (Merthyr Mawr Warren), where a Siberian Chiffchaff was also seen.
Summary by Paul Roberts
Glamorgan Bird Club is very excited to promote one of our upcoming events. As part of our on-going Swift project, we have the founder of the Swift Conservation organisation, Edward Mayer, presenting an on-line lecture “Swifts- birds we can help”. Edward will be telling us all about this charismatic urban bird and the work that is going on to conserve them. Edward set up “London Swifts” in 2002, which later morphed in to “Swift Conservation” in 2008 www.swift-conservation.org As a former urban planner he has a great understanding of the built environment and consequently the conservation of urban wildlife. The talk will be via Zoom and will take place next Tuesday, 2nd March at 7:30 p.m. If you’d like to attend please contact Alan Rosney or John Wilson to arrange an official invite.
Click here for a pdf of a resumé of what the presentation is about.
Click here for Edward’s CV.
A few vocal Fieldfare and Redwing around S edge of W paddock this a.m. but highlight was great views of 2 Water Rail scuttling along the ditch on the RHS as you enter the park, by the low concrete parapet. No. 72 for the year I think.
5 poss 6 Buzzards circling at Cosmeston this morning. A pair were cirlcing together again over Cogan Wood. A Peregrine whizzed past one of the circling pairs.
Late morning circuit of Cosmeston as usual. Took some sunflower hearts to put on a stump in Cogan Wood, and the Marsh Tit appeared. First time I’ve seen it there since 2019! Images are a bit ‘noisy’ as they are big crops at 1000 ISO. A pair of Great Crested Grebes in full regalia were displaying on W lake and an adult Common Gull was on the posts. There were 32 Pochard. The Crow is ‘Beaky’ who hangs around the park entrance and the car park, so named due to the extended sharp hook at the end of his or her upper mandible. He/she is very confiding.
Just the usual wildfowl today, with small birds not being very showy in the strong v cold easterly. Only interest was a drake Shoveler in with the Tufties and Pochard, all sheltering on the lee side of the mile road, on W lake. A pair of Great Crested Grebes there were displaying. Three cob Mute Swans were doing some ‘busking’. Got a nice shot of a Song Thrush by the site office, although when I processed the image I found that it had lost its tail [cat?]. Highlight was a very confiding Wood Mouse right by the side of the exit road.
On 2nd I watched a female Great Spotted Woodpecker chipping away at a tree in the wooded area behind the bird table. Today, 7th Feb, in a very cold easterly wind a quickish circuit round both lakes. There were 22 Pochard on W lake in nice light so managed some nice shots of a couple of drakes. They were closer than usual but still needed a biggish crop. Two Little Grebes were in the bay and there were 3 Gadwall. A lone Redwing was in leaf litter by the high path at the back of W lake.
Highlights: A Russian White-fronted Goose remained at Kenfig, with a flock of 21 seen flying past Sker. Brent Geese comprised a maximum of 25 Pale-bellied at Aberthaw and a family group of five Dark-bellied commuting between Newton Point and Ogmore Estuary. Cardiff Bay hosted Ring-necked Duck, Long-tailed Duck and Scaup. Two Red-breasted Mergansers were seen off Porthcawl. The Ogmore Estuary Goldeneye flock peaked at 39. A Black-throated Diver was off Sker. Single Cattle Egrets were found at Bonvilston and Dinas Powys. Bitterns were observed at Cardiff Bay and Kenfig. Two Marsh Harriers frequented Kenfig. Two Common Sandpipers were on the River Cynon at Mountain Ash, while at least two were still wintering at Ogmore Estuary. A Green Sandpiper was at Cog Moors. A juvenile Caspian Gull was regular at Cardiff Bay, with another individual of the same age seen on one day only. This site also held up to six Yellow-legged Gulls, while another was noted at Cosmeston. A juvenile Kumlien’s Gull was seen regularly over a couple of weeks at Ogmore Estuary, but also called in briefly at Kenfig Pool. An Iceland Gull was seen in flight only at Rumney Great Wharf. A Short-eared Owl was reported at Rhoose. One or two Water Pipits were at Ogmore Estuary. Black Redstarts were logged at Rumney Great Wharf, Gileston and Cwm Mawr. Firecrests graced Penarth Head and Kenfig. A minimum of 10 Hawfinches turned up at Cosmeston.
Summary by Paul Roberts
Nothing too exciting at Cosmeston this morning. An adult Yellow-legged Gull was on E lake way out in the middle, and an adult Common Gull was a bit closer[see pic]. There are currently 2 prs of GC Grebes, 1 pr of which were displaying although I missed the crucial bit. W lake had 3 Gadwall, 2 drake Shoveler, and 21 Pochard of which only 4 were females. One GCG was diving near the main bridge.
As already alerted, here’s the invite to the above talk by Paul Bowden. The room will open at 7 p.m.. Please make sure your audio is muted whilst the talk is in progress. You can join either by entering the ID and password or clicking the link.
Glamorgan Birds is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: GBC talk Northern Africa
Time: Feb 2, 2021 19:00 London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88458752820?pwd=NHpneE5IaTVIRDMrK1E2RVVlZVlvZz09
Meeting ID: 884 5875 2820
Passcode: 225492
A late morning figure-of-eight walk round the lakes to avoid the mud! An adult Yellow-legged Gull was on E lake, and there were 2 Common Gulls on W lake, an adult and a 2nd winter. There were 2 pairs of GC Grebes, a pair of Gadwall and the usual Tufties and Pochard distributed between both lakes. Too cold to stand and count them!
Before the drizzle set in this morning, 3 Hawfinch flew back & forth over the trees behind the dragonfly pond but didn’t settle. A Green Woopecker was in the same area.
Following our successful last couple of Zoom talks, we have another, on Tuesday next week, 2nd Feb, when club member Paul Bowden will be giving us an illustrated talk about birding in northern Africa – Morocco, Libya and Egypt. Some warmer climes to take us away from the cold & damp. It will start at 7:15 p.m. A link to join the meeting will be put on here and our Facebook page, and also in the list of meetings under ‘Events’, on Sunday 31st Jan.
Bumped into local birders Mathew Meehan and Alex Bevan [not literally!]. Matt informed me that the Hawfinches were still around [now c.10 birds]. After a few minutes standing in the rain, 3 suddenly appeared in the tree tops, then dropped out of sight, then 5 more appeared and sat in the top twigs of a tall tree. I managed to fire off a few record shots. They were at the top of 40-50ft high trees and about 100 – 200m distant, and against a light sky. So 2 ‘as taken’ shots below and 2 mega crops from effectvely the same shots. Camera was at max Zoom [600mm DSLR equiv]. One crop shows a bird just as it dropped off its perch, showing the very distinctive broad white wing bars. The cropped perched in the open shot shows the charateristic short tail with a white terminal band. Apologies to those familiar but if you’ve not seen one before these are features to look out for if and when you get the chance. Also present on W lake were a pair of Wigeon, a pair of Gadwall and 2 pairs of Shoveler. Very thin sprinkling of snow.
Nothing too exciting but a nice sunny walk. The House Sparrows in the clifftop bushes were enjoying the sun, and a Common Gull flew by as we walked along the esplanade. So clear that both bridges were visible – the first time in ages.
Late morning before the rain. No show by any Hawfinches this morning, although I didn’t linger very long. Couple of Rooks in field beyond far end of W paddock was a year tick. W lake had 1 drake Wigeon and 1 drake Gadwall by the posts and a Common Gull on the posts. Little Grebe was whinnying frequently. There were 40 Pochard – 35 on E lake and 5 on W lake, all drakes exc 5. It was sunny, but dark clouds to the NW had a rainbow which was reflected in the dragonfly pond.
Glamorgan Bird Club 
You must be logged in to post a comment.