Grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) on the neighbour’s roof on the first day of December
It’s that time of year when I start to see birds again. The greenery that has been hiding them all summer has now fallen away to reveal our winged friends. They have probably been there all along, just not noticed since last spring.
In particular, it’s “that time of year” when I see the yellow-breasted grey wagtail (Motacilla cinerea). This isn’t the first time I have mentioned it in my blog, either. I wrote about it in November 2013 (here) and in February 2015 (here).
Yellow wagtail in November 2013
Yellow wagtail in February 2015
I understand that grey wagtails are in the highlands in summer and lowlands in winter, so assume they are passing through when I see them as spring turns to summer or autumn turns to winter.
Then there are the birds that are ever present in my garden…
Male blackbird (Turdus merula) on December 1
Collared doves (Streptopelia decaocto) on December 1
Of course they are not alone – every day I see the magpie (Pica pica), wood pigeon (Columba palumbus), robin (Erithacus rubecula), dunnock (Prunella modularis), nuthatch (Sitta europaea), great tit (Parus major), blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and coal tit (Periparus ater).
And always there are the squirrels…
Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) on December 1
The first day of December – for meteorologists also the first day of winter – was very cold and foggy here in Cardiff. We walked along the River Taff path but I didn’t feel much like taking pictures until I saw our old friend the grey heron…
Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) on the river, December 1
I say “old friend” because we very often see this heron or one just like it on a rock where the river bends. A few weeks ago it was accompanied by a cormorant. It’s a shame I can’t disguise all the guano they spill on to the rocks!
Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) and cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), on November 3
A closer look
I have also written about the cormorant before (here)…
Cormorant on the river, October 2015
The River Taff coming down from the formerly industrial valleys is very clean these days and, I suppose, full of fish…
The Squirrelbasket 
Enjoyed reading this blog. having moved to a new home with a new garden I am waiting in anticipation to see what birds will visit.
Great! I hope you find some interesting ones over the winter…
Best wishes 🙂
Great pictures, especially the grey wagtail!
Thank you.
I can’t get enough of them!
Best wishes 🙂
I’ve never seen one of those yellow wagtails. One of my planned projects for retirement is studying more birds, butterflies and bumble bees. There are so many varieties, I’d love to be able to identify them.thanks for sharing your lovely photos. Karen
Good luck with your project!
I have given up on trying to identify all the different bees!
Best wishes 🙂
I love watching the birds through the seasons as well. There are plenty of resident birds, and then the ones that come for summer or for winter. Although I am told that our American robins, while present year round, are not the same robins in summer as winter, and same for the Oregon juncos. Without banding individual birds there’s no way to know that!
Thank you for adding your observations!
I know what you mean about the seasons, it’s like the blackcaps we sometimes have. Whenever I see them I assume they are the same “friends” I have seen in that place before.
All the best 🙂
A good selection of birds there, lovely images of the wagtail.
One of my favourites as I see it so rarely 🙂
How lovely that you got some good shots of a grey and yellow wagtails. The ones that visit our garden (and spend a lot of their time near the pond) are very shy.
Thanks – and I am now following your blog 🙂
Thanks!
Nice blog, love nature and photography myself. You’re warmly invited to my page https://www.facebook.com/sarahrowlandtreasuredcaptures/
Great! I think I’m following you on Facebook now (but I’m never quite sure – I understand Twitter better!)
All the best 🙂