NFY: Ringlet

29 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? It was 16 June and I was considering where to go for my daily walk. I figured it must be about time for the first Ringlet butterflies (Aphantopus hyperantus) to emerge so checked my spreadsheet for information about dates and locations. There was one particular spot at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park where I’d seen my first Ringlets in previous years so I decided to head in that direction.

Success! This beautiful creature, the only Ringlet I saw that day, not only appeared exactly where I’d hoped and expected it to be but it also posed nicely for photographs, something the newly emerged males rarely do, so enthusiastic are they to find females to breed with.

The dragon king

28 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

I saw my first definite Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) at the beginning of June (I had fleeting glimpses of likely candidates at the end of May but couldn’t be sure) but, as they spend the majority of their time patrolling their chosen territory, it took 25 more days to get a decent photo.

For most of the 20 minutes I spent yesterday alongside the River Ely at Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park this particular dragon was also constantly flying along and back, along and back over the same piece of water close to the water’s edge but, then, just as I’d decided to head homewards, it veered in over the patch of scrub and wildflowers behind me and disappeared.

I had watched, hoping it would settle somewhere, and I was lucky. Not only had it perched somewhere reasonably accessible but it also stayed put as I slowly, carefully, silently approached, and these images are the happy result. I did have to chuckle when I looked at the photos later and noticed the little colony of aphids on a stalk very close to the dragon’s head. If it had settled just a little to the left, it could have eaten lunch while it rested.

A one-legged wagtail

27 Saturday Jun 2026

Posted by in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

During the summer months I don’t often walk along the embankment of the River Ely where it flows in to Cardiff Bay as most of the birds I like to see there are elsewhere, busy breeding the next generation. However, during this past week, while we’ve been melting under the record-breaking temperatures of our second heatwave of 2026, the Ely embankment made for a pleasant and relatively short early morning walk before I retreated from the burning sun.

And, of course, there were still birds to be seen: Mallards snoozing close to the water’s edge; Coots ditto, until a passing dog walker’s mutt barked at them, scaring them in to the water; a couple of Great crested grebes diving often for sprats; and this handsome male Grey wagtail, standing guard over his two youngsters who were chasing each other with the mad exuberance of youth out over the water and back again.

Though Grey wagtails can be quite skittish, this one seemed more confiding. And then I noticed why that was – it only had one leg. This didn’t stop it from moving about but, when it was still, it was obviously more comfortable sitting with its body touching the ground. And, considering this bird had raised two healthy youngsters, it was obviously able to live a full life, which was very reassuring to see.

NFY: 2 Small butterflies

26 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Ten days ago, on Monday 15 June, I caught a couple of early morning trains heading up one of the south Wales valleys to meet a friend for a walk and catch up. My concern that we were probably a little late for the butterflies we might have hoped to see proved to be well founded – we would have looked earlier but I had avoided all-day walks during the heatwave and the previous week had seen a lot of rain, which is not the weather for butterfly hunting.

However, we got lucky! Just as we approached the kissing gate in to the fenced area of Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve, a small butterfly flitted up from the path ahead of us. This was my first Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) of the year, a relatively common butterfly and not one most people would get excited about, but it’s a species that is no longer found in the coastal location where I live so I was very happy to see it. We carried on.

As we walked along the rather lumpy-bumpy, soggy-boggy tracks across the main field, my heart skipped a beat each time a little orange butterfly appeared near us. They all proved to be Large skippers, always nice to see but not what we were hoping for. Then, finally, towards the middle of the field, something bigger fluttered up and around the vegetation. Though the brief season for Marsh fritillaries had obviously already finished, we had found the last remaining Small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene) of the year at this site (a fact confirmed later during a conversation with a local ecologist who told us both of the fritillary species had already finished and was surprised we had spotted anything).

Slightly squished

25 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

When I checked my spreadsheet of dragonfly sightings that morning, I realised that the date was about right for seeing my first Black-tailed skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) so I was keeping a look out as I walked the tracks through the fields at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park that Sunday, 14 June. And I did find one – in fact, it’s a miracle I didn’t stand on it when I walked along the fence line of the dragonfly pond, as the dragonfly was almost hidden amongst the grasses on the ground at my feet. When it didn’t fly away, I realised there must be something wrong with it and put my finger down for the poor creature to cling on to. I gently moved it to a nearby fence post but I could see that it was injured, or hadn’t developed properly, as the end of its tail was a bit squished – maybe an earlier visitor to the pond had, in fact, stood on it. As you see, I did take a few photos, but I wasn’t very hopeful that it would survive.

NFY: Small skipper

24 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects, wildflowers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

The butterflies are emerging in a steady flow now; for four days in a row last week I saw a new species each day – one day I saw two. My first two Small skippers (Thymelicus sylvestris) popped up at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park on Sunday 14 June; the beautiful creature shown here was the second of them. Although I did get a reasonable photo of the first Small skipper I saw, I’ve chosen these images for two reasons. Firstly, with the butterfly perched feeding on a Pyramidal orchid, this scene is much more photogenic.

Secondly, if you look closely at my second photo, you’ll notice that the butterfly has something attached to the end of its proboscis. These are pollinia, little packets of pollen that some flowers have specifically to aid in pollination. When a creature like a bee pokes its head into the flower, the sticky pollinia will attach themselves to its head and so, when the bee next pokes its head into a flower, the pollen from the first flower will rub off onto the second. Bee orchids also have these pollinia, and I’m guessing this lovely Small skipper has a particular preference for feeding on orchids.

A sweet young Robin

23 Tuesday Jun 2026

Posted by in birds

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Is this not the sweetest little Robin you’ve ever seen?

I simply can’t walk past a juvenile Robin without stopping to say hello.

Though their feathers look nothing like those of adult Robins – no red breast to be seen, they already act like adults: confiding, curious, bobbing their heads and flicking up their tails.

And so, of course, I had to stop, pull out my camera, and take far too many photos while this sweet young Robin posed like a professional model.

NFY: Clouded yellow

22 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

Saturday week ago I walked one of my regular circuits, touching the edge of Cardiff Bay near the swimming pool and ice rink, following the riverside Taff Trail a while, then veering inland across a recreation area called The Marl and around the edge of Grangemoor Park. As I walked the path between the pool and the ice rink, something small and light coloured fluttered up from a scruffy area that has been colonised by a colourful mix of wildflowers. A Clouded yellow (Colias croceus)! I don’t usually see these butterflies until much later in the summer so I’m guessing this gorgeous burst of sunshine in insect form was blown north by the heat-wave southerlies during the last week of May. Fortunately for me, the butterfly settled again very quickly and close to the path so I was able to get a few photos.

Orchids at Grangemoor Park

21 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by in flowers, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

During a recent wander around Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park, I was delighted to spot four different species of Britain’s native orchids. I thought our unseasonal heatwave in late May might have caused the orchids to frizzle but I think the fact that the record-breaking high temperatures were followed immediately by a week of rainy weather has meant that the orchids growing at Grangemoor and in other local parks are looking particularly lush this year. Here’s a selection …

Bee orchids (Ophrys apifera)

I have an ambition to get a photo of all three species – Bee, Common spotted and Pyramidal – growing together but I’ve yet to find them. These are Common spotted and Bee.

Another Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsia)

Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis), in the usual pink colour

White Pyramidal orchids – I’ve seen these given the scientific name Anacamptis pyramidalis var. albiflora (on the FirstNature website), but that name is not included in the list for recording purposes.

Southern marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa). These hybridise easily with Common spotted so it took a while to find a true Southern marsh.

Orange-tip larvae

20 Saturday Jun 2026

Posted by in insects, plants, wildflowers

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Adult Orange-tip butterflies may now have died away for this year but not before completing their life’s purpose, mating and egg-laying to ensure the continuation of their species. (The egg shown below was photographed on Garlic mustard on 15 May.)

Orange-tips overwinter as pupae, not something I’ve ever seen but, if you look now at the plants their larvae munch on, you’ll probably spot caterpillars of various sizes.

Their favourite larval plants are Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) and Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) but they will also use other crucifers: Hedge mustard, Winter-cress, Turnip, Charlock, Large bitter-cress and Hairy rock-cress, according to Peter Eeles in Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies.

Looking at the excellent photos in Peter’s book, I think the larvae shown in my photos are all late instars; the larvae go through five different stages before they pupate. Eeles writes that the pose shown in the photo above is characteristic of a 5th instar larva.

I’ve made myself a note to look for a pupa near the many Garlic mustard plants on which I found these larvae, though I’m not very hopeful of finding any, as Eeles notes that the larvae often travel quite a distance to find a suitable plant; they don’t use the larval plants as these die back during the winter months.