COSMESTON LAKES
Two lakes, woodlands, hut circles and a medieval village
Extending for some 250 acres at the southern edge of Penarth, the dominant feature of the country park opened in 1978 are two lakes, former quarry workings which commenced about 1890. The circuit of these is about 1.25 miles, while the surrounding area includes a reconstructed medieval village, visitor centre and café. Water sports are prohibited on the western lake, which can be overlooked from several observation platforms and a hide; rare visitors have included Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Night Heron, Pied-billed Grebe, Wryneck, Yellow-browed Warbler,
Bearded Tit and Daurian/ Turkestan Shrike.
WHERE TO WATCH 1
You barely have to leave the car before encountering the gull flock: Bonapartes, Glaucous, Iceland, Kumlien’s, Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls have all delighted vigilant observers here.
2
Close by the north-east corner of the lake is the haunt of diving ducks, especially during the winter months. Little more than a decade ago Pochard peaked at 350, but now less than a tenth that number winter at Cosmeston; the decline in Wales is the steepest in any part of Great Britain and part of a similar rapid fall in numbers across the whole of Western Europe.
By contrast, there is better news concerning the Tufted Duck, which nests at Cosmeston. Thirty years ago the winter population here was in single figures; more recently numbers have reached 300, with similar increases elsewhere in Wales. Scarce visitors have included Ferruginous Duck, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck and Lesser Scaup, the latter the first for East Glamorgan.
4
There can be few finer experiences throughout the spring than to view the courtship display of a pair of Great Crested Grebes, a performance lasting several minutes as striking as any Strictly Come Dancing routine first described in a landmark paper in 1914 by Julian, later Sir Julian, Huxley as the ‘weed ceremony’ when the pair collect weed before swimming to meet each other in the ‘penguin dance’.
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If you can tear yourself away from the water’s edge, the woodlands and scrub are always worthy of attention and the delights of summer visiting Blackcaps, Garden Warblers, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. Later in the summers Swifts, Swallows and Martins will prominently hawk for insects over the lakes.