Weevil: Sitona species

09 Monday Feb 2026

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Here’s another of last year’s new finds, which I think is a Sitona lineatus weevil but that hasn’t yet been confirmed, hence today’s blog title of Sitona species. I found this little creature on the local park railings at the end of April last year but had been holding off posting about it pending verification, or not. It seems, however, that no one is currently checking weevil records.

If this is, in fact, Sitona lineatus, its common name is Pea leaf weevil, and the Naturespot website says it is the most common of the Sitona species. Although the website provides a list of features to look for to identify this species – straight sides to the wing cases, moderately bulging eyes, alternating light and dark longitudinal stripes, etc., some of those features, like ‘flat bristles on the front half of the wing cases and slightly raised in the rear half’, are shared by other Sitona species. Naturespot reports that ‘dissection is often necessary to confirm’ which species you have found, and I prefer to leave all the lovely little creatures I find alive and plodding along.

Primulaceae

08 Sunday Feb 2026

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Primulaceae is the collective name for the members of the Primrose family, and I was delighted, during the several hours today when there was no rain, to find the two most common Primulaceae species in flower.

I found Primroses (Primula vulgaris) in several locations – in a local park where they may originally have been planted or may be wild (the park is mostly wild so it’s difficult to be sure); along the fence line of a horse paddock; on the edge of a small woodland, and under trees in another park.

And it was a very nice surprise to also find Cowslips (Primula veris) in bloom, growing on a grassy, south-facing slope behind a local hospital. I only spotted three plants there today, where once Cowslips and Primroses were abundant. I’m fairly certain the diminished numbers can be attributed to the mismanagement of the green spaces around the hospital (in the wildflower area one of those generic signs has appeared, saying the cutting regime has been changed to benefit the flora and fauna, which seems to mean they completely abandon the area, when they should really be cutting and removing the clippings in the autumn). Still, it was a wonderful treat today to see the sun in the sky and these little drops of sunny yellow at my feet.

Paddling Black-headed gull

07 Saturday Feb 2026

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Having written just three days ago, in my post Paddling Herring gull, that I’d not seen a Black-headed gull paddling on the grass, imitating the effect of heavy rain hitting the ground in order to encourage earthworms to rise to the ground surface, the very next day I watched this bird doing just that. The video is just 30 seconds long but I watched the bird for about 5 minutes and, though, as you’ll see, the gull has a moment of being somewhat uncoordinated, it was mostly paddling quite forcefully. I didn’t see it have any success in that time. Mind you, I didn’t see any of the surrounding flock of Black-headed gulls, foraging conventionally, find any worms either.

Good weather for Tripe

06 Friday Feb 2026

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Mist, rain, drizzle, fog, mizzle … almost every single day this year our weather has been some variation or other of wet. Some might say this is good weather for ducks, though most of the ducks I see look as miserable in the rain as most of the people I see.

This is, however, good weather for a lot of fungi and, during a recent walk, I noticed how lush and plump this Tripe fungus (Auricularia mesenterica) was looking.

Bug: Stenotus binotatus

05 Thursday Feb 2026

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I’ve just realised that I have a few bug finds from last year that I haven’t yet shared, which is actually something of a relief, as I’ve been struggling to find creatures to share with you all (apart from my beloved birds – there are always birds!). So, here is a plant bug Stenotus binotatus, which I found in a local field back in June. The adults can be seen between June and September, and can be found in grasslands, where they feed on the flowers of the grasses that grow there.

Paddling Herring gull

04 Wednesday Feb 2026

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On a steep grassy bank above a children’s playground, I often see a pair of Herring gulls paddling for earthworms. It’s fascinating behaviour; sometime somewhere one very smart Herring gull realised that earthworms rise to the surface of the soil when it rains and it could fool earthworms into thinking it was raining by stamping its feet rapidly on the ground, thus imitating the sounds and vibrations caused by rain hitting the ground. Other Herring gulls saw how effective this was and learned to do the same. And I’ve also seen Lesser black-backed gulls using this technique, though not Black-headed gulls – perhaps they’re not smart enough to learn, or maybe their bodyweight isn’t sufficient to have the desired effect. And if you’re wondering whether or not the behaviour is effective, in this one-minute video you’ll see the Herring gull nabs three juicy earthworms.

Wintering Blackcaps

03 Tuesday Feb 2026

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Even in my short time living here in Wales, I’ve noticed an increase in the number of Blackcaps spending the winter in our parks and gardens rather than making the relatively long flight to the south of the Iberian peninsula and northern parts of Africa.

This change in migratory behaviour is, no doubt, due in part to the changing climate, the warmer temperatures meaning locally bred birds can find enough food to survive, particularly in south-western Britain. As an article on the Bird Guides website points out, ‘since the end of the Second World War we have been creating a winter feast for Blackcaps by planting berry bushes in our parks and gardens and keeping our bird tables well stocked’.

Scientific research and ringing recoveries have also shown that many of the Blackcaps found in Britain in winter hail from parts of central Europe. (The BTO website has a pdf with a map showing the various directions of Blackcap migration and movement, to and from Britain, Europe and North Africa, and within Europe itself.)

In my local area I know of more than five Blackcaps that are spending the winter hereabouts, three of which I’ve seen and photographed (the first on 9 January, the second on the 19th and the third, the female, on the 30th) and two others that I’ve heard making their characteristic ticking sound but that I didn’t actually manage to locate in dense vegetation. I’m already looking forward to seeing more of these birds when those that did migrate further south return to our shores in the spring.

Barkfly: Ectopsocus briggsi agg.

02 Monday Feb 2026

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I wasn’t even aware of the existence of barkflies until a few years ago and I’ve not yet seen more than a handful of the 100 species to be found in Britain. Like most insects, they can be difficult to identify, and today’s little beastie is no exception. In fact, three species – Ectopsocus briggsi, E. petersi and E. meridionalis – have been lumped together into one aggregate name Ectopsocus briggsi agg. for recording purposes. I’ve seen these tiny (just 1.5 – 2mm) barkflies several times before this latest sighting on 30 January but I’ve not managed any good images before now.

Spring messengers

01 Sunday Feb 2026

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Times have changed since Gilbert White noted 200 years ago that ‘the average first flowering [of Lesser celandines] around his Hampshire village of Selbourne was 21 February’ and even since Richard Mabey wrote Flora Britannica, published in 1996, as he has written that late February ‘is still the time celandines begin to bloom across much of southern England in a typical year’. Now, just 30 years later, the Lesser celandine plants growing here in south-east Wales have begun flowering in the past week, more than three weeks earlier than that previous average, and this despite the distinct lack of sunshine in recent weeks. Of course, I’m not complaining – these tiny bursts of yellow are the very best messengers of the Spring to come.

Kestrel 2026 : 86

31 Saturday Jan 2026

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Probably due to the almost constant wet weather, I’ve not seen as many new bird species this January as I did in the previous two years. I imagine the storms also have something to do with this; though three named storms have hit the UK already this year, and caused enormous damage in the locations they’ve hit hardest, those storms have mostly passed us by here in south-east Wales. And though I’m not complaining about that, it is often stormy weather that brings the more unusual birds during the winter months.

This beautiful Kestrel was my most recent find. It was a complete surprise too, which is always a bonus. I’d been for a wander around the less muddy parts of Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and was walking through the area where there’s a dipping pond when I noticed the Kestrel sitting on top of a spindly tree. As you can see, it didn’t stay long but it was a joy to see.