Wier'd Day In Bute Park

What a nice morning I had.

Me and Dawn woke up to dusting of snow, and it was snowing steadily when we got up. Just to show how the weather in Wales can change quite quickly as you head towards Cardiff and you lose "altitude" from the valleys, by the time we reached the M4 the snow had become rain, by the time we got to Cardiff it wasn't even raining.

We had a date with Dan from RSPB Cymru. I am doing a talk and walk around Bute Park in Cardiff, and Dan offered to give me a guide tour and some top tips on what we could see and say about the bird life there.

We spent a very pleasant hour walking around the River Taff from Cowbridge Road East, to Blackweir (pictured) and back. We saw some cracking species, although the Dipper erm ... dipped on us! The pair of Goosander, female Sparrowhawk, Tree Creeper and the flock of 30 thrushes which included all the species (Blackbird, Song and Mistle Thrush and Redwings) being the undoubted highlight of the day.

I only took the pocket camera with me, as it was too wet and cold when we left Tonyrefail, wish I had now, as the Goosanders would have made a decent picture.

All in all, a cracking morning, slightly sullied by the fact we went Waxwing hunting after a tip off. We didn't see any, but they have just appeared on the bird lists for EXACTLY where we were this morning. I still remain in the never seen a Waxwing club! Hurumph!

We have Red Snow Warnings in place for South Wales tonight, with a foot of snow predicted for our area. The whole of the Valleys area has descended into a collective madness, and all the Tesco and Asda stores around here have been stripped bare of milk, bread and vegetables. Utterly bonkers!

I am hoping for a good set blip opportunities tomorrow in the snow!

The bird list for the day follows for those who care.

Goosander
Tree creeper
Grey heron
Grey wagtail
Black h gulls
L t tits
Great tit
Redwing
Fieldfare
Mistle Thrush
Song Thrush
Sparrow hawk
Wood pigeon
Herring Gull
Jay
Blue Tit
Jackdaw
Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Mallard
Magpie
House sparrow
Wren
Comorant