Kingfisher at the confluence of Rhondda fach and fawr and later lovely views of 5 Goosander downstream at Britannia ( 2 pairs and a single drake who tried to join the gang but was given short shrift by one of the others )

Noticeable ramping up of birdsong in the garden over the last few days is great to hear. Song thrush now vocal and not just visible. Great tits have started to sing, as have a few blue tits and the robins never seemed to stop.

35 redwing ground feeding in the paddock yesterday. The flock has been moving around the surrounding fields for a while now and occasionally holds a couple of fieldfare.

Garden list for 2021 stuck at 28 for a while now and yet to see Red Kite or Raven which are daily birds throughout much of the year. Assume they are sticking to the higher ground further north at the moment.

A Green Sandpiper was at a shallow pool on Cog Moors between Sully and Dinas Powys today. Other species seen or heard on the moor included Mute Swan, Grey Heron and Cetti’s Warbler. In fields alongside the Cadoxton River there were Fieldfare, Redwing, Mistle Thrush and an overwintering male Blackcap. Along Green Lane there were three Jays, a Goldcrest and a small flock of Goldfinch. An egret spotted from Pop Hill was always distant and landed out of sight on Sully Moor.

There were 40 Pochard in total this morning, split roughly 50/50 between the two lakes – my highest count of Pochard here since a count of 37 in Feb 2019. The Tufted numbered about 200. There was 1 drake Wigeon on W lake, calling quite frequently and a couple of Teal skulking along the reed edges. In the snipe enclosure a pair of Bullfinch flew across one of the cut ‘rides’, a new bird for 2021, and there were 2 Green Woodpeckers there too. Loads of Blackbird in the park [I got up to about 20] and there were around 50 Redwing in and around W paddock.

On Sunday there were at least 600 Tufted Duck in total at Cosmeston (330+) and Cardiff Bay (270+). Other ducks in the Bay included:

• Ring-necked Duck resting on a trapped log just south of the flyover
• Female Goldeneye in the middle of the bay in very calm conditions
• Teal (Wetland reserve), Goosander (4 near Watermark building, 1 drake downstream from Pont-y-Werin footbridge on the Ely) as well as a few Pochard scattered about.

On the walk home it was approaching high tide as I passed Sully Island where there were 20 Curlew, 39 Ringed Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 14 Turnstone, 4 Shelduck, 92 Oystercatcher and a Grey Heron

On 10th a walk round and complete list produced 31 species. I added Reed Bunting for the year, and other highlights were all 5 thrushes incl 2 Song Thrush, 4 Mistle Thrush, lots of Blackbirds and a sprinkling of Redwing and Fieldfare, and 6 Greenfinch. Green Woodpecker as usual in W paddock, 13 Pochard, and a Common Gull on the W lake posts. The S end of W lake was partly frozen and had a bunch of Black-headed Gulls sitting on the ice.
On 11th there were 23 Pochard with the Tufties on W lake.

My brother sent me this photo this morning of this bird in his garden in Trealaw (Tonypandy). Is it a Merlin or a young Kestrel??

19-Snipe today,also 40/50 Redwings on the fairways of st mellons golf club.

On a walk from Boverton to Llanmaes and then through fields to Frampton this afternoon saw the following:-

Pair of Bullfinch beside the B4265 – the male was hovering above a Hawthorn / Ivy / Bramble branch dropping down now and then to apparently pick things off the tops of the leaves – at one time he was doing a good imitation of a Hummingbird as it picked things off the side of said branch.

Flock of 21 Skylarks disturbed in a stubble field, also 1 Reed Bunting and 2 Yellowhammers and a few House Sparrows in a nearby hedge.

Single Redwing feeding in a grass field- I have never come across one completely alone before.

On return journey 1 Little Egret flying west and later a single one stood in the Colhugh (?) stream just S of Llanmaes.

Two male Blackcaps in my Garden today.

A Rose /Ring Necked Parakeet in Thompsons Park.

At least 11-Snipe today along with a Kingfisher and m+f-Goosanders which flew in whilst i was there.11h20-12h30

37 species on yesterday’s walk to The Knap, Barry included:

• Mute Swan on the flat calm sea off Knap beach

• Adult Great Black-backed Gull on the shoreline below Knap Terrace

• 41 Tufted Duck on Knap lake (my second-highest count here in the last ten years)

• Adult Mediterranean Gull at Barry Docks

• 17 Redshank and a Raven at Barry Old Harbour

• Cetti’s Warbler singing at Cadoxton Ponds and a singing Goldcrest on Sully Moors Rd.

Highlights of a walk to Cosmeston on Thursday afternoon mostly in misty conditions were 22 Curlew on Sully playing fields (just as well they were there as Sully Island was invisible in the gloom), at least 29 Teal on Cosmeston’s partly frozen West lake and 31 Pochard, all but one on the East lake.

On 7th we walked along Penarth clifftop starting in sunshine and then the fog rolled in. I did get a first of the year Kestrel, and a Wren and the usual House Sparrowds were active in the clifftop bushes!
Today, 8th Jan we went back to Cosmeston. There were 2 Green Woodpeckers in W paddock [looked like a pair but couldn’t get close enough to be sure]. Heard 3 Nuthatches in Cogan Wood but not a single one showed! The lower Dovecote sloping field had a pair of Stonechat [new for year] and about 10 Fieldfare, and in the car park, Redwing were on the central grass area, and another new bird in the form of a Siskin was with Goldfinches in the car park trees. Siskin are a bit of a rarity there these days. A Song Thrush posed nicely in Ivy by the exit.

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Water Rail an immature bird, Goosander 8 three of which were drakes, also good numbers of gulls none of which were ringed.

On 4th Jan a Snipe flew out of the fenced in enclosure beyond the dragonfly pond [what I call the snipe paddock]. Then on 5th Jan there were 245 Tufted Ducks [230 on E lake and 15 on W lake], 26 Pochard [19 on E lake, 7 on W lake], the most this winter so far. Today, 6th Jan an adult Common Gull was on W lake for a short while [they have been in short supply this winter, even in Cardiff Bay], and a drake Wigeon was skulking around the reedbed fringe of W lake. Pic below of fem Blackbird in Cogan Wood and the ad Common Gull.

Barn Owl seen hunting two nights running (Sunday and Monday) about 2100 hrs. in the vicinity of the roundabout junction of B4265 and the new road to Aston Martin.

Good numbers of duck in the wetland reserve area including female ring necked duck, scaup, and pochard. Goldeneye out near the sails. Also rock pipits and a common gull (by Channel View). (I assume the l t duck is still around but didn’t spot). Good to see Matt and Peter – thanks guys (great start to my cycling/walking year list)

I would welcome any thoughts about what this bird is. A couple of knowledgeable friends have suggested a Great Grey Shrike. This would indeed be a unique siting if it is. I saw the bird at 15 30 on the 12th of December 2020 at the location pin drop.

Many thanks Helen

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On W lake this morning, there were 10 Teal, a pair of Wigeon, 9 Pochard, 100+ Tufties, and a Common Gull. A Cetti’s Warbler sang near the bird table and there were around 10 Chaffinch there. Someone has put up a couple of feeders and there was seed on the ground. In the total of around 120 Tufted Duck on both lakes, I would estimate that around 80% at least of them, are drakes.

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