My first semi-decent Pic’s

This is my First Post of uploading Images, So excuse the Poor Photo, Male Sparrow Hawk taken over Bridge Road Old St Mellons, Noticed it flying around, luckily it landed in a tree about 50yds from Me. Cheers Bob.

Very frosty morning at Cosmeston during the Dec 15-17 cold snap – minus 3 deg. There were 57 Teal on W lake, about 120 Tufted Ducks, an unusual sight of 8 Song Thrushes feedijng together n W paddock with 3 Fiedfare.

It was a crispy cold Christmas walk yesterday. Excellent views across the partly frozen pool, then from high in the dunes.

Twelve folk came along, and enjoyed the mulled juice and mince pies in the hide, along with a few other folk in there!

We found 40 species, the highlights being- a flying Bittern, a Chetti’s Warbler showing well at the bottom of the reeds by the ‘beach’, good views of some well-coloured Redwing in front of the hide, and several waterfowl walking about in the frozen part of the pool.

Full list Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Jay, Jackdaw, Starling , Lapwing, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, LongTailed Tit, Chetti’s Warbler, Redwing, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black -Backed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Mute Swan, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Bittern, Moorhen, Goosander, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Stonechat, Wren, Dunnock, Greenfinch, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Cormorant, House Sparrow, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Blackbird, Chaffinch.

With many thanks to Dave Carrington for leading.

Snipe flew up from near cafe and a report of another in a field just to the west. 6 Lapwings heard and seen and a report of c. 100 Lapwing in the Colhugh valley yesterday. 2 Ravens croaking over, 1 female Stonechat only. Finished off by walking up the Colhugh valley “accompanied” for a while by a confiding, fishing Kingfisher with the low sun catching its colours beautifully.

4-Common Gulls amongst several hundred Herring and Black Headed Gulls on the lake which was 90% frozen over.10h30-11h00

Found at Parc Slip on 15 Dec 2022

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.

I made a brief morning visit on a very very cold day, to walk our dog Poppy, but didn’t linger too long – the cafe was too tempting.! On W lake there was a sleeeping Common Gull [not to so common these days] and a female Pochard was still present from yesterday. From the middle viewpoint on the Mile Road, I saw a Kingfisher whizz across W lake. 3 Gadwall were present yesterday but I didn’t notice them this morning. Most interesting was in a corner of W paddock where there were 8 Song Thrushes feeding together, with a couple of Redwing. I’ve never seen that many Song Thrushes together before – they’re usually pretty solitary feeders.

A brief morning visit on a very very cold day, so didn’t linger too long – the cafe was too tempting. On W lake there was a sleeeping Common Gull [not to so common these days] and a female Pochard was still present from yesterday. From the middle viewpoint on the Mile Road, I saw a Kingfisher whizz acfross W lake. 3 Gadwall were present yesterday but I didn’t notice them this morning. Most interesting was in a corner of W paddock where there were 8 Song Thrushes feeding together, with a couple of Redwing. I’ve never seen that many Song Thrushes together before.

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.

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

Thurs 8 Dec 3 Ad w med Gull 8 Common 2 GBB and 1 LBB in large Gull flock, 5m +13f Goosanders. Juv Brent Goose with Canadas

Fri 9 Dec Watermill flood Juv Brent Goose, 2 L Egrets, 2 M. Thrush 4 Redwing

Ogmore 2 ad w + one 2nd w Med Gull, Kingfisher, 5f + 2 m Goldeneye

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.

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.

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.

A leucitic Black-headed Gull bill and primary colour normal wings and mantle snow white. A Ringed-neck Parakeet was making its presence known by calling continuously. Also, Water Rail Great Crested Grebe and 14 Tufted Ducks

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.

Kestrel hovering over B4265 quarter of a mile west of railway bridge on west side of Llantwit 10.30 Saturday.

Yesterday there were 2 pairs of Gadwall on E lake, but not seen today. There were also c.50 Tufties recently but now only a few remain. Wayne Strong had 3 Wigeon this morning but they weren’t showing when I was there at around 11:45, but poss skulking in the W lake reeds? A Gadwall appeared to be ‘walking in water’ in the W lake bay [actually standing on a part submerged one of the posts]. Mowing of W paddock was in progress and a few Redwing and Fieldfare were watching from trees lining ther Mile Road, presumably waiting to drop down to snaffle disturbed worms etc. In a finished area there were around 20 Pied Wagtails and a few Meadow Pipits feeding. In the already mown E paddock a Green Woodpecker was foraging. A couple of shots below of that bird – they are very wary on the ground so difficult to approach even with extreme caution. I got to within about 80m before grabbing some pix, but even these are biggish crops. This is a female [no thin red stripe in the moustache].