Owen's Wildlife 2024 (7 Viewers)

[Owene]

Nice to start a new thread on here and to hit that point of the year where almost every bird you see is notable. I'm planning on recording the same categories as the last few years and like last year including any other wildlife that excites me even if it doesn't make the lists.

I've set myself a few targets for the year, 500 bird species 100 lifers and 50 mammals and butterflies are the raw number ones. Should probably make them fairly easily if booked trips go ahead. I'd also really like to see at least one new Odonata species in the UK and to do something about my photo ticks. White Admiral and especially Roe Deer are really standing out as annoying me, I've probably seen Roe more than any other deer species but it's the only one I dont currently have a photo of (Think I have taken at least one in the past but lost it) and generally getting photos of some of the 78 british ticks I have seen but not photographed.

My main targets are the four remaining ones of the 10 categories I've had on my fridge as life time goals for a few years. Shoebill, Giraffe, Primate and wild feline. Got a trip to uganda booked for the autumn that will be the only shot at those.

My other booked trips for the year are 7 days in estonia in March/april hopefully for sea ducks, grouse, owls and woodpeckers. a week in snowdonia with a few days in dublin in may, a family holiday to inland Eastern France in July and a west wales pelagic. No idea how much the French trip will contribute but hopefully something nice.

 

[Owene]

January 1st

Dodging rain all day and mainly doing family stuff but still managed to get 45 minutes out with binoculars in late morning around Cardiff Bay. Only managed flight views of the wintering black redstarts but got much nicer ones of a common sandpiper and a smart Grey Wagtail. A family trip to my mums for tea conveniently took us past a waxwing flock. They, like us, were mainly trying to see out the rain and weren't anywhere near as entertaining as the ones I saw a few weeks back in Norfolk but they're still waxwings so still gorgeous birds.

The weather seems likely to play it's part for the next few days as well but it was good to get the ball rolling.

1 Herring gull
2 feral pigeon
3 magpie
4 Lesser black backed gull
5 Black headed gull
6 dunnock
7 house sparrow
8 starling
9 jay
10 mallard
11 tufted duck
12 mute swan
13 cormorant
14 coot
15 wood pigeon
16 raven
17 Crow
18 meadow pipit
19 black redstart
20 pied wagtail
21 grey wagtail
22 rock pipit
23 redshank
24 common sandpiper
25 blue tit
26 coal tit
27 Chaffinch
28 blackbird
29 robin
30 goldfinch
31 waxwing
32 moorhen
33 sparrowhawk
34 kestrel
35 great crested grebe
1 grey squirrel

Birds 35 Mammals 1 Total 36 Lifers 0

 

[Owene]

January 2nd

More horrible weather, popped out for a walk around Llanishen Reservoir. got totally soaked and failed to see the great northern diver thats been there for a while. Did manage Ring necked duck and a few common species. the cafe was definitely the highlight

36 Ring necked duck
37 pochard
38 canada geese
39 little grebe
40 great black backed gull
41 greylag
42 jackdaw

birds 42 mammals 1 total 43

 

[Owene]

January 3rd

Managed 90 minutes around the bay without much joy. Heard only Cetti’s and wren. Probable great tit and Reed bunting and another soaking.

43 long tailed tit

Birds 43. Mammals 1. Total 44 lifers 0

 

[Owene]

4th January

My first visit of the year to Cosmeston lakes just outside penarth. It's a great place for birding but you do have to time it right to miss the crowds so hadn't been so far this year.

The common and woodland birds I'd missed so far were soon appearing but the early highlight for me were some nice, albeit obscured, views of a Water Vole. The section where I normally see them was flooded and I guess it was taking advantage to forage in some places a short distance away. Nice to get one early on as they become a lot harder as the vegetation grows.

Spent a very enjoyable hour or so scouring the woods for Marsh tit, no luck unfortunately but lovely and calm and tons of other birds and probably the most fun ive had birding this year so far.

The wood has had small numbers of wintering hawfinch for the last few years but its been a bit hit and miss getting onto them so I was very pleased to come across one in a small tree with a bunch of goldfinch. Not really a bird I ever miss for the year, we have another good site nearby, but still one of the highlights of winter birding.

A lovely sparrowhawk flew slowly over head and that reminded me that one of my goals for the year was to finally get photos of species I've never got in the past. I was too slow on the uptake for the sparrowhawk but it did pay off when I kept the camera to hand and managed to finally get a photo of a cetti's warbler. Nice to knock one of my list of unphotographed birds.

44 great tit
45 song thrush
46 redwing
47 nuthatch
48 wren
49 goldcrest
50 hawfinch
51 cettis warbler Photo tick
2 water vole

birds 51 Mammals 2 total 53

 

[Owene]

Very enjoyable trip across the border today with Rich of these parts.

Started in Portbury to take in the Black necked Grebe, it showed very well with a nice supporting cast of common wildfowl and waders looking very nice in the sunshine. Somehow despite the light I managed to only get quite rubbish photos but it was still nice to see my first one in the UK not at sea for quite a few years. Lovely thing.

We tried across town for purple sandpipers but there was way too much exposed rock with fishermen on most of it so decided it was probably a high tide destination. Did add curlew and oystercatcher though.

Burnham on Sea and its oft returning Kentish Plover has been getting a real reputation with south wales birders, it convinced one they would never connect with a bird in somerset and others had dipped 5 or 6 times over the last few years. Birdguides was promising it was right by the sea rescue centre, including in a message timed while we were stood by it with no other birders in sight. Eventually I picked it up on steart island and had a few others agree it was the bird. Followed it for quite a while without losing faith in it before it eventually moved on. Totally happy if every other Kentish plover I see for the rest of my life is overseas and despite a decent supporting cast of waders and pintails if I give Burnham a miss for a while.

Headed inland through some incredibly flooded countryside to catch the once unthinkable sight of 600 cattle egret surrounding one somerset field. amazing to see how well they're doing but despite having three egret species (and grey heron) in sight from one spot the highlight was definitely three beautiful Glossy Ibis feeding in the flood and sunlight about 10m from the car. Their reflections were perfect.

Heading north we dipped a lesser scaup at chew valley, although did manage goldeneye and greater scaup (and for Rich a common sandpiper year tick) and then to the very site faithful Long tailed Duck at Barrow Gurney.

A slightly dislodged car panel and the fading sunlight meant we didnt head on as planned for the Richard's Pipit in Gloucestershire but it was still a great day despite one final dip when we had a look for the Cardiff Black Redstarts that I saw a few days ago.

A great day out that really kick started my year list even if it remains far behind Rich's.

52 collared dove
53 black necked grebe
54 lapwing
55 gadwall
56 wigeon
57 shoveller
58 shelduck
59 reed bunting
60 snipe
61 oystercatcher
62 curlew
63 buzzard
64 kentish plover british tick
65 avocet
66 grey plover
67 ringed plover
68 knot
69 pintail
70 great white egret
71 cattle egret
72 glossy ibis
73 grey heron
74 little egret
75 goldeneye
76 scaup
77 long tailed duck
78 fieldfare
79 linnet
80 teal

birds 80 mammals 2 total 82


#

 

[Owene]

Back at work today. Think I had a parakeet on the way home but the only confirmed addition was

81 rook

Birds 81. Mammals 2. Total 83

 

[Owene]

January 11th

Put the car in for a service first thing and then news came out of a Red Necked Grebe on Llanishen Reservoir, found by the county recorder. Quite stressy timing.

Got word that it was done at about half 11 so put my camera in a rucksack and took the train to the garage. Hopefully wouldn't be a scope job. I thankfully hadn't taken my spare binoculars out of the car when I put it in for the service.

Driving over word was that it had gone missing but it was picked up on the other of the sites two reservoirs. Very distant, could make out the bill with bins and get a record shot or two but had to rely on borrowed scope views for real views.

Set off to have a look for the Great Northern Diver that had been there a while and i'd previously dipped because of rain and when I got back to the car park the grebe had relocated to be practically the closest bird. Absolute point blank views. Pair of Ring necked ducks very close as well.

It was only my second British red necked grebe. Will hopefully see some abroad this year but I doubt if they will be as close or as satisfying and its the sort of bird where really focusing on a single bird is the best experience anyway,





Nice to see some familar faces there too including Rich .

82 Red necked grebe
83 Great northern diver.

birds 83 mammals 2 total 85

 

[Owene]

Had an enjoyable visit to Llanelli WWT. Parenting meant I didn't get there especially early and the low tides and glare meant that it wasn't the wader or harrier extravaganza I had hoped for but the passerines around the centre made up for it. Lots and lots of thrushes and finches, Its a lot quieter than slimbridge and usually thick with wild birds in every hedgerow.

Found a brief perched merlin in the scope on the saltmarsh and had nice views of a feeding greenshank but the direct sunlight made things quite difficult and I didnt manage a lot of the regular species that were presumably on the estuary.

Lots of greenfinch around the site which was very pleasing to see with large numbers on the feeders but lots spread out everywhere you went. Had nice views of a pair of treecreepers.

84 greenfinch
85 merlin
86 greenshank
87 treecreeper

birds 87 mammals 2 total 89

 

[Owene]

January 13th

As far as the UK goes my targets this year are quite varied, I'd like to get to 220 birds which would be a personal best and I'd like to do something about the birds I've seen but not photographed. I'm very much not a photographer, its probably only 2 years since I started regularly carrying a bridge camera and i'm not that concerned with how the pictures turn out but I'd like to have recognisable self took photos of the species I've seen. There's obviously a bunch i've seen overseas that I might not get another shot at so trying to clear up the british ones is the best approach.

My main targets for today were photos of Marsh Tit and Brambling. Brambling especially is a bird I've only rarely seen and never come close to a photo so I did some checking on the glosterbirder site for some likely places.

Marsh Tit was up first, saw one very quickly at Cannop Ponds and while I was watching I got chatting to a bristol birder who was also after brambling and knew one of the sites I'd been recommended. We met up at Serridge Ridge and completed a long circuit, lots of good woodland birds but we only got Brambling right at the end when the prospect of Plan B had been raised. In fact we kept hoping for chaffinchs only to have group after group of crossbill instead. Not the usual way round.

The brambling seemed to make up a good proportion of a mixed group and we got to watch them feeding in leaf litter for quite a while.

The two main targets obtained I moved on to Slimbridge after lunch and had a very enjoyable few hours ambling around. Lovely light and a lot of friendly people, including an old work colleague which was nice.

Managed most of the specialities, four visits to the willow hide didn't produce a water rail and the white fronts were very distant from the main observation tower, as well as a lovely Spotted Redshank. As always there were a few mystery birds dotted around. Staff seemed to be talking up the snow goose as having acted very warily since arrival and there were also some whooper swans and a pink foot. Obviously the Ross' goose and bar headed were still around too. For now (and probably for good) I'm counting the whoopers as there are always odd pairs dotted around the west country in winter and leaving the others for the moment.

Left a little before sundown and drove very slowly back to the motorway as one of my biggest targets this year is a photo of Roe Deer. No luck, had them almost immediately once I joined the M5 and couldn't stop. Still a very enjoyable day, the forest of dean sections were lovely and the dodgier slimbridge stuff was still nice.

photos to follow

88 Mandarin
89 Marsh tit photo tick
90 Lesser Redpoll
91 Great spotted woodpecker
92 siskin
93 crossbill
94 Brambling + photo tick
95 pheasant
96 Spotted redshank
97 bewicks swan
98 crane photo tick
99 barnacle goose photo tick (should get some Cat A later in year)
100 golden plover
101 black tailed godwit
102 white fronted goose
103 whooper swan
104 kingfisher
? snow goose
? pink footed goose
3 Roe Deer

Birds 104 mammals 3 total 107

 

[Owene]

slimbridge

 

[Owene]

Forest of dean

 

[Owene]

January 18th

Headed west today to try and get some of the remaining low hanging fruit of the year listing game. Kidwelly Quay was very very frosty, which brought the snipe out in the open. In fact despite a few year ticks standing watching a group of 5 snipe feeding quite close in front of me was the highlight. Lovely to really watch them and admire their patterning.

With some help from Bernie Beck I picked up a very distant Long Tailed Duck and a few red breasted merganser. It's the site for merganser in south wales and while I'll almost definitely see some in Estonia its a useful tick in the numbers game that is my and Rich's year list race.

The quay is about 50m from a small sewage works and as every winter it was packed full of insect eating birds. Chiffchaffs were the year tick, a few present with one looking quite sibe as well as goldcrest, wren, dunnock and robins.

Next stop was the totally frozen over Llyn Lech Owain. 45 minutes in the hide didn't bring the hoped for willow tits but a lovely bullfinch and dozens of common tits and finches.

Home to Penarth where I had a quick look along the marina for turnstones. Didn't manage any but had a few pairs of goosander and more chiffies one being stalked resolutely by a cat. Met a friendly birder looking for the visiting Black necked grebe and gave it a quick look but only Great Crested and little for me.

Nothing amazing bird wise but really enjoyed watching the many species I saw. the mixture of frost and sunshine made everything seem exciting. Also getting halfway to my UK year target of 220 was nice. Hopefully get a few mammals and 3 or 4 other common species tomorrow.

105 dunlin
106 red breasted merganser
107 red kite
108 chiffchaff
109 bullfinch
110 goosander


Birds 110 Mammals 3 total 113







##

 

[Owene]

19th January

Spent most of the day today at porthcawl but the plan was to spend a little time at Forest Farm first and put out some seed to try and see a few small mammals which are usually fairly easy close to the hides. No luck at all, the vegetation was well back and the ground very icy so i guess the behaviour I saw last time I was there in the autumn wasn't as applicable in winter. At least the birds really enjoyed the seed.

Did manage stock dove and mistle thrush, neither really the easiest around me so decent additions.

Made it to Newton Point Porthcawl for high tide and almost immediately found a Black Redstart in a seafront garden. There have been wintering ones very nearby in two recent years but I'm pretty sure this was the first sighting this winter and there wasn't one last year so a nice self found bird and despite seeing one in cardiff in the first few days of the year I hadn't got great views or any photos of that one so this one made up for that.

Some nice waders on the beach but it wasn't an especially high tide and the purple sandpipers weren't pushed into view. Also no sanderling a bird I usually see in decent numbers there.

Popped to the other side of porthcawl to have a look for med gulls and found some absolute stunners. A quick walk along the seafront brought some photogenic starlings and weirdly out of place kingfishers but still no purple sandpipers.

Having started the day dipping mice news broke late on of bigger mammals to dip further west tomorrow.

111 stock dove+
112 mistle thrush
113 common gull
114 turnstone
115 Mediterranean gull

 

[Owene]

20th january

My wife has a couple of wildlife related things on her target list. See a whale in wales and see humpback, blue or sperm whale anywhere in the world being the main ones. So when a humpback whale was showing well in Fishguard on Friday it was her rather than me who was most fired up for a twitch.

Got there early this morning but no sign at all. Probably a good thing as far as the whales health goes and we’d already started planning an Iceland trip next year to see them but it still would have been amazing to connect.

4 grey seal. Was the only consolation other than my wife starting to use the word ‘dipped’

Birds 115. Mammals 4. Total 119 Whales 0

 

[Owene]

January 27th

An afternoon that was all about harriers.

Had a brief look for water pipit and spoonbill without luck but then got word that the Gower pallid harrier was showing. I was about 4 minutes away and if I’d not bothered with the spoonbill would have been there for it.

Apparently it had gone to ground behind some brambles. 90 minutes later it came up again. Thankfully dry and fairly warm minutes with good company who I’d not seen for a while.

Watched it fly in the scope for about half a minute. Beautiful bird and a much more rewarding experience than the one I ticked in Norfolk in December. Fumbled for a shot but didn’t get on it before it went down and stayed down as long as I was on the site.

Did have a pair of marsh harrier and prolonged scope views of a ringtail hen harrier. Oh and distant Merlin chasing a pipit around high up.

Stopped off at Crofty as someone had mentioned Brent geese. Didn’t take my camera out for what I hoped would be a short visit in fading light and had a point blank adult male hen harrier. Totally stunning.

No sign when I went back for my camera.

So a great three harrier day with good company with no real supporting cast or pictures. My view mainly looked like this. Very happy though. Beautiful bird




116 marsh harrier
117 pallid harrier. Welsh tick
118 hen harrier

Birds 118 mammals 4 total 122

 

[Owene]

February 1st

A nice day spent at local sites today, didn't see too many new species but it was just nice to get out in the sunshine. The highlights were probably spending time watching the fulmar colony at Nash Point, where I'm pretty sure I also had a brief porpoise but I'll wait till a confirmed one, and watching a circling peregrine causing absolute mayhem in a gull roost at Aberthaw.



119 Stonechat
120 fulmar
121 peregrine













Birds 121 Mammals 4 Total 125

 

[Owene]

February 2nd

My birdguides nearby birds app is set to about 25 miles I think but living five minutes walk from the coast a lot of that area is actually across the Bristol Channel. So the small group of Cirl Buntings in Stolford Somerset have been showing up since they were found last week. Despite involving crossing the severn bridge and some Hinkley Point traffic it's not actually a bad drive so I paid a visit this morning. A nice spot with a lot of curlews and I soon found the buntings feeding on the coast path. Lovely close views with the male especially cool to see. Hopefully they will stick around and we'll get a bit of expansion along the channel coast.

Having decided to go see the Buntings because it would save me a trip to Devon I then drove down to Devon on some very vague Franklin's Gull news on the bird news apps. It would have been a lifer and was only 50 minutes away at that point but I wasn't especially hopeful and despite it being good to see Devon and Twitter birding mainstays Rob and Steph Murphy there wasn't any sign of a Franklin's Gull. Possible misidentification was the last I heard.

Heading back homeward I stopped off at Greylake for some good scope views of the Baikal Teal. Far far closer than when I saw it a few years back and able to knock another seen but unphotographed bird off my hit list. Albeit quite sleepy photos. I did see it stir a few times in the scope and enjoyed getting my head around how it looked to the point that the back pattern is now as good as the unmistakeable head for picking it out. No sign of the really hard ID challenge, the drake Green Winged Teal, in the thousands of Eurasian Teal but a good visit all the same. Two quality additions to the year list

122 Cirl Bunting +
123 Baikal Teal + photo tick





Birds 124 Mammals 4 Total 128

 

[kb57]

Looks like a great view of a male Cirl bunting - this would be a lifer for me, it's something I'm going to have to make an effort to get in southern Portugal this year.

 

[Owene]

Looks like a great view of a male Cirl bunting - this would be a lifer for me, it's something I'm going to have to make an effort to get in southern Portugal this year.

Yes it was very close, I've seen them on top of hedges in the past so had decent views but never as close as that. Birdguides said they were coming to seed but I got there quite early and didn't see any but I guess theyve got used to feeding on the path. I'm not really a fan of all the slightly different buntings but Cirl is a really nice looking one.