The months of September and October has been a period of transition as Summer gives way to Autumn on Roath Lake!!
One of the most special things I have really been fascinated at observing has been the late arrival of a Grebe chick, who it has been a joy to observe as the nest was on the branches of the fallen tree close to the path and so could easily be seen.
The above photo shows the chick finding its swimming legs towards the end of the month, as it follows the adult Grebe about.
Another wonderful spectacle has been the opportunity to see the Heron out fishing on the open lake with the advent of October. This has come about as a result of the parks department lowering the water level on the lake to do annual maintenance, as a result the water round the islands was virtually drained. Normally the heron hunt from the cover of the trees on the island, but were forced out onto the open water to fish! I had always thought there were about four heron but on several occasions I have counted twelve herons!
It is also lovely to see the return of the cormorant in larger numbers as they begin to return to their winter roost in the park. They seem such a clumsy bird when it comes to seeing them try to land in a tree and there is nothing more wonderful than watching them gracefully circling above the water as the sun begins to set. Look out for them fishing in the lake too!
This pastel painting was created as the sun was lowering I was particularly interested in observing the feuding between the two family groups of grebe that both roost within the confines of the fallen tree!
The left hand picture shows the older grebe family finding shelter within the confines of the fallen tree. While the picture on the left shows the parents of the young chick defending their territory.
In the above painting I added one of the heron as it flew into the tree to hunt, then a second arrived as can be seen in the picture on the right. In the background of the picture can be seen the young family of grebes too!
Can you spot the Cormorant fishing a long side the heron?
In the right hand photo Little Grebe who have recently returned to the lake having left to nest on quieter waters a long side one of the young Great Crested Grebes.
While the lake has been low it has a wonderful opportunity to see the heron on the open water but I am very saddened to report the Councils decision to remove the fallen tree that has appeared often on the site. I may report on this issue further in future postings, but in the photo on the right you can see the work to remove it going on to remove?
How do you view this decison by the Council?
Here is one of my latest pieces of work which has been formed in felt to show the heron.
Finally a successful catch .... towards sundown!
