Roath Park ... bird actiivity as the Morning Dawns

Sharing a special time with the Birds ... when the park is relatively quiet.

These summer days the park gets much use from all quarters, and even the lake itself does not offer much refuge for the wildlife as punters take to the water in many forms of boat!

Here the young signets are curiously followed by a boat !

While on Bank Holiday Monday birds try to find a quieter spot as a festival goes on in Wardown Park in Luton.

Thus this morning I got up before dawn, cycling to the park at about 4.30am to see what goes on while most of us sleep!

I was initially surprised to find the number of Coots who were roosting on the bank alongside the swans, normally these birds are predominately on the water!

Prior to the sun rising some of the most active movements were with the geese with their goslings. Most years the council control the numbers but this year there seem to be many more families of gosling being reared in the park than previous years. One wonders if this is deliberate?

As the sun rose many of the Canada Geese flew from the island onto the lake. and as i walked round I saw the one Canada goose family with their one gosling swim across from the island.

While most of the park birds were busy making the most of the quiet, the gulls went about going through all the rubbish and spreading bags and rubbish ad hock around the bins.

Starlings were busy collecting swan feathers to line their nests in the eves of neighbouring houses.

It was fascinating watching the pair of Grebe in the area of the lake round the lighthouse where all the grebe on the lake come to fish, with the one carrying the young chicks which had been born the week before, while the other hunted fish to bring to those she carried on her back. The above painting was made at a country park in Blaenau Gwent a fortnight ago when i spotted the young grebes with their distinct black and white plumage being fed in a similar way. It was very interesting to observe a pair of Grebes still going through the full mating ritual so distinct to the grebe down at Cardiff Bay wetlands only the previous evening! One can only wonder if altitude plays apart or if is pure coincidence ... could it be that the Grebe migrate towards the coast in search of suitable sites to build their nest?

The one successful pen and cob were to be found with their four signets on the lake side. The pen was shielding them initially under her wing, but soon began preening her wing to reveal her young family that had begun hatching a week ago.

The pen soon stretched her wings before she was joined by the cob as she led the happy family group into the lake.

At just before eight o'clock, as I made to return home for breakfast the adult grebes were making the most of the quiet waters to teach their young to be confident in the water as the two chicks could be seen diving.

It is amazing to see how adaptable birds can be to live alongside and accomodate human activities, as many of our decreasing areas of wetland will experience similar pressures.