Saturday 7 January 2017

200 Challenge! It starts... Jan 2017

2017 is the year of the 200 challenge, the gauntlet having been thrown down by Carly back in Decemeber. Mat Meehan has also started an office Patch Challenge, with a 3km sq. around the Bute Park office from work. Both should make for an interesting year!

January 1st was a washout, so I started the 200 as best I could from home, and with a quick soggy walk down to the Castle moat I racked up a reasonable start given the circumstances.

Jan 2nd was forecast to be nice, and it didn't disappoint. I set off on a chilly but bright and sunny morning down to Penarth Marina and the barrage to see the LTD, scaup and black redstarts. After parking up, and quickly adding a few more to the year list, I was soon on to the long tailed duck near the sails on the barrage. Initially blindsided by the LTD, I  realised that the 'tufties' behind him were in fact the scaup flock, and I was soon treated to getting shots with them all in one frame, from my perch behind an orange life buoy cabinet.



I then headed off to Plas Taliesin,  and was soon onto this cracking male black redstart!



A cracking start to the year all in all, and back home by 10.30 to enjoy the last day off before work.

Lunchtimes this week allowed us to get out and about over in Bute to nail the common species, but two chiffies at the bottom of riverside were a great addition, spotted by James as we headed back from Wok to Walk, having bumped into Dan. Jon C also scored a great one with a water rail along the Taff.

The best was yet to come as Fri 6th saw Waxwings finally rock up in Cardiff, reported in the Range car park on Newport Road. At midday, (fresh from their jaunt to see a GND on Llanishen res.) Carly, Emma, Heather, Carys and I piled into Carly's car and as Carly reversed out of the bay we stopped dead as we clocked a little bird in the middle of the  car park. I picked up the bins I had borrowed from the office and confirmed the little alarm that went off in my head - black redstart!! An excellent little addition to the Patch Challenge list. A worker from one of the neighbouring offices immediately spooked it, and we held our breath until we refound it just nearby, foraging on the disturbed ground in the residential back-lane.  

It turned out to be an easy enough trip to see the waxwings on Newport Road, as we saw a flock  in flight and then alighting on a tree outside the Range. A few other birders were present, and we enjoyed some good views in the drizzle. It called for a MCD's lunch so I smashed down a quarter pounder to celebrate.

Saturday morning I scratched the itch I had to try and take some shots as Jess wanted to go to Wilkinson, but unfortunately the light wasn't onside so this was about the best shot I took...





However, a cracking male kingfisher outside Wilkinson on Colchester Avenue more than made up for it!




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