Very quiet at the moment bird-wise but here’s a few Corvid pix. A juvenile Crow was ‘anting’ in the empty car park [3 images of the bird by the kerb stones]. You can see the ants on the plumage if you look carefully. And the remaining two are portraits of a Cosmeston regular who hangs out around the entrance and car park and by the ‘swan feeding’ corner of E lake. He’s known to afficionados as ‘Beaky’ due to the extra long hook on the tip of his upper mandible. I say ‘he’ but of course its impossible to sex them on outward appearance as far as I know. For good measure there’s a nice photo of a confiding female/imm Blackbird I saw by the coast parth at Sully on Saturday 6th.

4 Green Woodpeckers seen yesterday [5th] in a wet walk – 2 in E. Paddock and 2 in W. paddock. Today, 6th, small nos. of House Martin, Sand Martin and Swallow over W lake and the NE corner of E lake. There are 100’s of spikes of Pyramidal Orchid in E paddock – I don’t understand why these are doing well but the Bee Orchids have suffered or not appeared at all in the dry weather.

First visit yesterday to the barrage since lockdown started. Managed a shot of a pair of House Martins doing some refurbishment on a house in Penarth Marina. By the water taxi embarcation jetty a Mute Swan with 6 cygnets. At the Cardiff end of the barrage a Common Whitethroat was singing at the top of a tree and a rather tatty looking male Blackbird was on one of the old mooring posts. A Cetti’s Warbler was singing just before the old Roath Dock. Plenty of Sand Martins nesting in the holes of Roath Dock. No sign of any Swifts at all.

Rather hot walk this morning and not much excitement. There were 19 Canada Geese, a lot more than in recent weeks [no-one to feed them!] and 8 Mute Swans, Great Crested Grebe pair still have the two remaining young which are now 2/3 their size, 2 Little Grebes [no sign of any young as yet], 1 Cormorant [there were 4 y’day], a pair of Tufted Duck on E. lake, 3 Swift over W lake. Not many small birds – 2 Blackcap heard, 1 Reed Warbler seen brifely from a distance, at the dipping pond.

Managed a few shots of a Reed Warber this morning, in the small reed fringes by the now defunct first viewpoint as you exit the wooded path that passes the bird table. A few Swallows over the lake and the Gt Crested Grebe pair that had a record 4 chicks now only have 2, which are now about 2/3 adult size. I saw a KIngfisher briefly over W lake yesterday. Have not encountered the three juvs again but I expect they are around.

On 19th there were 2 juv Mistle Thrushes near the dragonfly pond. Ads were frequenting this area earlier in the year so I suspect they have bred poss in the edge of Cogan Wood. Also 1 Buzzard over.
On 20th E lake had 11 Canada Geese.
Finally I have now received confirmation that the Stonechat breeding success is the first recorded breeding of this species at Cosmeston. Also to update the record, they were in fact first discovered by local birder Graham Smith, so well done Graham.

There were around 10 Swifts flying around this morning, so I experimented trying to get some flight images. Other birds this morning were a male Stonechat feeding 2 juvs near Cogan Wood. I was alerted to their presence yesterday by my friend Wayne Strong. Couldn’t find them y’day but succeeded this morning. Am currently making enquiries as to whether this is a first for the site. Also in the same area, 2 Linnets, unusual at Cosmeston in the summer, a Reed Warbler seen singing in the reeds by the adjacent Sully Brook and a Common Whitethroat there too. Leps seen were Common Blue, Dingy Skipper and Brimstone.

Cosmeston this morning. A Small Copper butterfly was very nice, and a pair of Hairy Dragonflies were over the dragonfly pond plus a Large Red Damselfly nearby. At the main bridge I saw a first, then a second Kingfisher whizz round into the small adjacent inlet on the E. lake side. I crept round and found them sitting in the shade over the water, and then noticed a third. They were in deep shadow but I took a couple of photos with the cam zoomed out to 600mm, and they are young birds, so the pair have had three young this year! I saw one adult carrying a fish a couple of weeks ago. One pic shows all three birds almost as taken [small crop] and the second, the two sitting together – much bigger crop. Also 2 Swift feeding over W lake, and the 4 GC Grebe chicks still doing well. Finally the park is now officially re-opened to pedestrians and cycles. Quite rightly the car park remains closed. The boardwalks are closed as they are too narrow for safe spacing.
Also a nice Dog Rose from the othe day.

2 Jays, 1 Sparrowhawk having a right old barney with a Crow, 20-30 Sand Martin, 3 House Martin and 2 Swift, 2 Goldfinch, 4 GC Grebe chicks growing well, several Blackcap singing and other usual suspects. Mute Swans still staying away, although 6 present today and a couple of Canadas.

Complete list of 23 species. Common Whitethroat 1, Dunnock 1, Blue Tit 1, Blackbird 1, Jackdaw 20, Carrion Crow 4, Magpie, LBBG Gull, Herring Gull, Coot with young, Little Grebe 2 ads, GC Grebe 2 [just the pair on a nest – couldn’t see the ad with 4 chicks], Reed Bunting 1m, Cormorant 1, Mute Swan 3 [no-one to feed them so I guess they’ve all gone to the Bay or Knap Lake], Canada Goose 3, Buzzard 1, Sand Martin 10, House Martin 1, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Robin [heard only].
On the way home, Lesser Whitethroat singing in trees to the right of the entrance to Glamorganshire Golf Club.

Along the coastal path by Sully sports grounds there were 3 Whimbrel, and there were 9 Oystercatcher initially on Sully Island beach but then flew along by Sully Bay as the tide began to fall.

Highlights from this morning. Nice close view of the GCG family. 20-30 Swallow, 3 House Martin, 6 Sand Martin, 2 Swift, more hirundines much higher up, 2nd GCG pr on nest and a further pair. Green Pecker and Lesser Whitethroat heard.

This morning’s tally – nothing v exciting except the unexpected 2 Red Kites circling over nearby Penarth Cemetery allowing a few quickly grabbed shots, then drifting off quite high towards the town. Cosmeston itself had a very hot crow!, fem Mallard with 7 ducklings, the CG Grebe pair still have 4 humbugs and another pair have a nest on W lake bay, and a big silver bird flew over several times.

Caught up with a spring passage Whimbrel this morning during our walk. Tide was out but the bird flushed from just in front of me like a Jack Snipe, as I crept up the banking to look at the beach. A few Oycs around but couldn’t locate any Ringed Plover or Grey Plover that Ceri Jones has seen recently, but only had bins and tide was way out. Had a nice Common Whitethroat in amongst Alexanders growing on waste ground between two of the bungalows. Plenty of Swallows too.

Finally caught up with Swift this morning, with 3 circling around over Cosmeston, seen from Lavernock Rd. Also 3 house Martin and a few Swallow.

The Great Crested Grebe pair were a little closer today, and they have 4 chicks – this is the largest hatched clutch I have seen here – previously it has been max 3. Managed to see a Reed Warbler scrambling around in the W lake reeds. Also flying around W lake was a Common Sandpiper looking for somewhere to land.