10-3-12, Last Orders Please.

Its been a bit of a chore to keep this blog going so I have decided to call it a day. Thanks for reading, and happy birding.

7-3-12, Whitemoor Haye.

A bonus hour spare tonight so I went and lingered around the pool area before a quick drive around the lanes to mop anything else up before the faded. Birds noted around the pool/woody area were 8 Mallard with another 12 being seen sitting in a field with Mute Swans, 8 Tufted Duck, 4 Teal, Chaffinch, Magpie, Pheasant, Carrion Crow, Black Headed Gull, Linnet, Stock Dove, Wren, 1 calling Grey Partridge, Goldfinch, Canada Geese, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Treecreeper, Great Tit, Robin, Yellowhammer, Woodpigeon, Song Thrush, Cormorant, Pied Wagtail and Long-tailed Tit. Driving around the lanes and I could only add 163 Mute Swan, 1 Little Owl, 18 Fieldfare, a single Kestrel, 1 Grey Heron, about 500 Golden Plover, 2 Buzzard and a couple of Blackbirds.

5-3-12, News.

Well yesterdays fishing match was bloody horrible. Very cold and very wet but at least I caught some fish.
I am thinking about buying a camera, new or second hand, for my digi-scoping and I was wondering what kind of cameras people were using with their scopes. I have been scanning the internet and trying to see what other people use. I currently have an Opticon EA80. Your comments would be well received.

3-3-12, Whitemoor Haye.

My last day of a 13 day run of working and I was pretty shattered (nothing to do with the late night curry and beers last night) but managed to drag myself around my patch after finishing work and what a difference a day can make. Yesterday I was walking around in a jumper but today it was woolly hat and fleece time. Birds noted around the pool area were Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, 12 Tufted Duck, 12 Mallard, 2 Oystercatcher, Lesser Black-backed Gull, about 100 Golden Plover flew over the pool before heading towards Croxall but another circa 525 were noted in other fields, 1 Cormorant, Wren and Linnet. On to the lanes and I added Pheasant, 170 Mute Swan, Blackbird, Stock Dove, 2 Grey Partridge, Pied Wagtail, Starling, about 2500 Woodpigeon flew out of a wood just beyond Sittles Farm, about 60 Lapwing, Robin, 1 Buzzard, 1 Grey Heron, Rook, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, 1 Little Owl, Yellowhammer, Skylark, 74 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing, Magpie, Song Thrush, Jackdaw and Great Tit.

Thats my birding done for the weekend as I have a fishing match tomorrow.

2-3-12, Whitemoor Haye.

I managed to finish a little but early from work so I was at Whitemoor Haye for about 3.45 and the weather was very pleasant so I was looking forward to a decent walk around my local patch. I started around the pool and noted the following. Wren, Robin, Carrion Crow, 8 Tufted Duck, 32 Pochard, 2 Oystercatcher, Blue Tit, Great Tit, 58 Wigeon, Blackbird, Magpie, 14 Mallard, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese, a single Curlew which I first heard then saw flying out of a far field and headed south, Black Headed Gull, Dunnock, Lesser Black-backed Gull, a single Treecreeper in the wood by the pool, Goldfinch and a few Skylark starting to get territorial. Onto the lanes and I added 5 Grey Partridge, 139 Mute Swan, one Raven flying over, Pheasant, about 250 Golden Plover, about 200 Lapwing, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, 1 Little Owl, 2 Buzzard, Stock Dove, Starling, Fieldfare, Jackdaw, Rook, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Collared Dove, Song Thrush, 1 Corn Bunting and a few Greenfinch. On my way home I stopped at the quarry pool to see if I could add anything else and a pair of Teal were near the bank. An excellent couple of hours.

26-2-12, Whitemoor Haye.

After the highs of last weeks twitch is was down to the usual stuff. Saturday consisted of work and then having a few beers whilst watching Wales put one over the English then Sunday was more work but I managed to get around Whitemoor before having a rest. Birds noted were Wigeon,Mallard, Rook, Redshank and a single Oystercatcher around the pool. There was a few ducks present until a group of at least twelve peole walked from behind the quarry having a small walk around the quarry. Out of bounds for birders, obviously ok for Gypsies hunting hares and robbing diesel and the people from the outdoor centre by the lake.
Birds added around the lanes were Blue Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Starling, Carrion Crow, Robin, Woodpigeon, 177 Mute Swan, 4 Grey Partridge, Herring Gull, Wren, Blackbird, about 70 Golden Plover however I spoke to a couple of odd chaps hanging round the lanes at Whitemoor (!!!!!!!!!!!!) and they had seen a couple of much larger flocks, about 350 Lapwing, Magpie, Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Stock Dove, Reed Bunting, 2 Little Owl, Kestrel, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Fieldfare, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Black Headed Gull, Moorhen, Pheasant, Meadow Pipit and a few Dunnocks.

18-2-12, Rhiwderin.

There was really only one place to be this weekend and that was on a cold, wet and windy bryn bach or small hill to the non educated. Yep it was a normal day on the outskirts of Cardiff where a Yankee warbler had turned up along with most bloggers!!!! A group of us headed down to the village early Saturday in full excitement but this was soon extinguished after a couple of hours on site in strong wind and rain, not good conditions and the bird remained hidden. With the conditions deteriorating more then group made the decision to do a bit more birding in the area but birds noted here were Dunnock, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Siskin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Song Thrush, Buzzard, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Pied Wagtail, Goldcrest, Magpie and Black Headed Gull. The forecast was to brighten up later so it was off to the car and on to another site.

Cosmeston Lakes CP.

This was a small nature reserve just west of Cardiff and was a temporary home to a Lesser Scaup. Within minutes of arriving the Lesser Scaup was found in with the Tufted Ducks over the far side of the lake so we headed off to get a better look.

Unfortunately my digi-scoping skills deserted me this weekend so this was the best shot I got of it but it was a real cracking full plumaged male bird. After feasting on it we headed back to the car when one of the group found a bonus Mediterannean Gull.
There was also a Whooper Swan on site but if this was gonna be claimed as a year tick then I was going to have the Tawny Owl that had just flown down from a tree and landed on a chaps hand who was, and I am sure very glad he was, wearing a thick glove on one hand!!!!! Other birds noted here were Mute Swan, Coot, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Canada Geese, Robin, Pochard, Great Crested Grebe, Magpie, Common Gull, Moorhen, Jackdaw and Herring Gull.

Cardiff Bay.

With the weather still rubbish we headed for Cardiff Bay where a Bonapartes Gull had been present. We parked up by the barrage and had a walk but we failed to locate a helipad whwre the bird was present, let alone the bird itself. But here the weather was rubbish. Birds noted were Black Headed Gull, Curlew, Cormorant, Pied Wagtail, Rock Pipit, Turnstone, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull and Carrion Crow. Oh well, at least there were a couple of year ticks in there. We was at the far end of the barrage when news come through that the star bird had been seen briefly. That was enough.

Rhiwderin.

The car park was now closed as cars couldnt get in or out of the car park so we parked up in a side street, over a stile a in minutes we were with the gathering masses all trying to look in a small ditch adn it was not long before a small browny green bird with an obvious yellow chest quickly popped onto a perch before dropping down again,a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT. This was a 1st winter male blown in from America and it was a real stunner. Like a muppet I had bought all of my gear bar my bins, and all of the gear bar my bins were no good. I tried some photos but the bird was very mobile, only perching for a milli second before back down on the ground. It was chasing small flies and many people commented on the flycatcher like feeding. We watched the bird for about 30 minutes before it had had enough and started feeding along teh hedgerow. As we headed back down the hill to the car park it had moved 200 yards in the space of a couple of minutes and the masses were in hot persuit. We went home. Many thanks to the driver and his navigator for the day, great fun.