Nature with Nev

Saturday the 30th saw an afternoon visit to Goldcliff where I saw my first Swallow of the year. The Glossy Ibis made an appearance again and this time it showed a little closer. At one point it was wing stretching and calling which looked more like a display than a general stretch. Either way, this is a great bird to watch and is quite a character in its own right. At 55-65cm in length with a wing span of 80-95cm and a weight of around 550-650g, they are a good sized-bird. The voice is a Crow like ' kra kra ' call although they are mostly silent.  Aquatic insect larvae and aquatic animals form the bulk of their diet, and there must be adequate food around the Gwent Levels as this particular bird has been frequenting the area for over a month now. The Glossy Ibis is found in its European breeding range between May and August, but individuals can turn up north and west of their normal range. They feed not necessarily close to roosting sites, so birds are often seen flying...

Birds can be very versatile when it comes to surviving on the food that is available to them. They are known for adapting to a variety of foods to ensure their survival. This has also proved the case with species being able to stay in the UK all year round as opposed to depending on the seasons. Take the Siskin or Common Crossbill for example. Here are two species that could be relied upon to arrive in autumn and winter during harsh times on the Continent when food was low and competition for food increased. The Siskin would arrive in the autumn and leave in the early spring, but now with milder winters and garden feeders, the Siskin's can, and do stay to breed here, and can be seen all year round. Similarly, with a high percentage of European Larch and Norway Spruce cones, the Crossbills have also stayed. Once in a while however, birds can surprise us with their choice of food. I have seen this in my own garden where our resident Treecreeper would cling to the wall (instead o...

This morning saw one of my best visits to Goldcliff in a long time, with sixty species seen on and around the lagoons and a mass of birds everywhere. In fact, myself and my birding friend Blair spent the first three hours of the visit routed to the Lapwing viewing screen, where an abundance of species awaited us. Knot and several Black-tailed Godwits En-route to the platform were Chaffinches, a Pheasant, Wrens, Blackbirds, Woodpigeons and Chiffchaffs - the latter in full song. Once at the platform where I joined Blair and another birder Paul, the scene before us was an awesome spectacle. Canada Geese and Mallards were scattered around the lagoon, but right in front of us was an excellent count of 321 Black-tailed Godwits, many of which are nearly in full breeding plumage and showing off their fine dark-red colouring. The Wigeon numbers have dropped since our Wednesday evening visit, but Shoveler, Teal and Gadwall were still plentiful. Lapwing were busy chasing off any Crows or Ra...

Goldcliff on Wednesday evening felt like a proper spring evening, and with my first Little Ringed Plovers of the year and a Sand Martin flying over, it certainly felt like. The Glossy Ibis came in to roost at 5.45pm adding a Continental feel to the evening. I even managed a shot at the above hovering Kestrel as the light was fading. What I particularly liked about the visit was seeing my first Wheatear of the spring - perched up on some boulders close to the seawall, and what a cracking male it was too, in fresh spring plumage and looking like it had just stepped out of the pages of a book.  What inspires me about these birds is that several days before it would have been feeding around the feet of Zebras on the African continent. It is a wary bird which ‘bobs’ it’s while body if disturbed, and if it feels threatened it dashes away low showing off the striking tail pattern. The call is a ‘ chak ckak’ but the alarm call is a ‘ weet chak chak’ . They are 14.5 – 15.5cm in leng...

JELLY EAR FUNGUS Saturday the 9th saw my good friend Glyn and I making our annual trip to meet up with Maureen and Michael from the Worcester area. I first met Maureen and Michael as part of the walking festival where I was leading several bird walks, and we have remained firm friends ever since. So, once a year we meet up at Tal-y-Bont on Usk where a coffee awaits us in the village shop which doubles as a post office. After a welcome coffee and a catch up we made our way into the countryside, where a walk of about three miles at a very steady pace awaited us. The weather had been miserable since dawn, but by 9.30am the worse of the rain had passed over and we were blessed with warm sunshine. The local Rookery was as active as ever and a grey Heron passed overhead towards the 'heronry' about a mile away. Other birds were soon added to the list including Blue Tits, House Sparrows, Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Siskins, Mallards, Crows and Robins. We entered the feilds an...