Black-tailed godwits fighting

25 Wednesday Mar 2026

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birding, birdwatching, Black-tailed godwit, Black-tailed godwits fighting, British birds, Limosa limosa, Lodmoor Nature Reserve, RSPB Lodmoor

The vibrant russet-coloured summer plumage of the Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) is simply stunning, so it was a real treat to see several of these handsome birds in their breeding regalia on three separate days last week at RSPB Lodmoor. The first time I spotted them, they were quite distant but, on the second occasion, last Thursday 19 March, the godwits were feeding much closer to the path, and I managed to get some reasonable photos.

You’ll notice that not all the birds have moulted in to summer plumage; those that haven’t may be juvenile birds or perhaps non-breeding adults. During my visit to Lodmoor last Saturday, the 21st, I was enjoying watching one of those birds busily probing for food very near me when another Black-tailed godwit flew in.

Immediately, the peace was shattered. For some unknown reason, this interloper was spoiling for a fight, and it attacked the other bird. The situation turned dramatic very quickly. Beaks and claws were used as weapons, wings flapped violently; they really looked like they might hurt each other.

Though it seemed much longer, after no more than a minute had passed, the interloper flew off and the first bird started feeding again. But then, back came the second bird, clearly in the mood for a scrap. I should’ve switched to video but was so caught up in watching them that I didn’t think to do that, so I’ve made a short slideshow of the photos I took that weren’t a complete blur. You’ll be pleased to know that the interloper once again flew off after just a minute or two, and neither bird appeared to be hurt.

Singing from every tree top

24 Tuesday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Greenfinch, Lodmoor Nature Reserve, RSPB Lodmoor

The first thing I noticed, the first birds I heard as I approached RSPB Lodmoor on the first visit (last Monday afternoon, 16 March) of my most recent visit to Weymouth was the male Greenfinches that seemed to be singing from every tree top and tall shrub.

Singing Greenfinches may not sound too exciting to many of you but these birds were in serious trouble until very recently, and they are still red-listed in the UK, their population numbers plummeting due to the disease trichomonosis, which causes lesions in a bird’s throat and gullet, eventually leading to the bird not being able to feed and ultimately to its death. The disease is often more prevalent in garden birds because many people who feed their local birds don’t wash the feeders often enough, leading to the disease being passed on through contact with contaminated surfaces.

Fortunately, the Lodmoor Greenfinches have no need to visit the gardens of the houses that line one side of the reserve as they seem able to source enough food from the local vegetation; I spotted them picking out any remaining Hawthorn berries for the seeds within, and also picking at Blackthorn blossom, presumably for the newly forming fruit within.

I often find Greenfinches to be flighty birds but these males were so busy singing for mates and feeding up that I was able to get what are probably my best photos of them, and you can easily see why they are called Greenfinches.

Turtle bug

23 Monday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in insects

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shieldbug, British bugs, British shieldbugs, Turtle bug, Podops inuncta

I found this little bug dead when I was picking up small rotting logs to see what might be lurking beneath, in a meander around Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park three weeks ago. I thought it was a Tortoise bug (Eurygaster testudinaria) and recorded it as such but my identification has since been corrected.

Turns out I had confused Turtle with Tortoise! This is, in fact, a species of shieldbug, a Turtle bug (Podops inuncta). Though I don’t think it’s clear in my photos, this species has ‘two small projections on the pronotum at each side of the head’ (thank you, Nature Spot).

The habitat in which I found it also fits with what the Nature Spot website says: ‘it is strongly ground-dwelling and rarely found unless searched for’; that explains why I’ve never seen one before, and encourages me to keep lifting up those small rotting logs.

Springtime invasives

22 Sunday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring

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invasive plant, non-native invasive plant, Three-cornered leek, Allium triquetrum, Spanish bluebells, Hyacinthoides hispanica

Yes, the sight of a large field of flowering bluebells is the epitome of springtime but not when they are Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica), which are highly invasive non-native plants, and I do wish people in their home gardens and local authorities in public parks would stop their mass plantings of this species, especially if the area is near a woodland. As well as being invasive and out-competing native British bluebells, Spanish bluebells will also hybridise with them thus threatening the genetic integrity of the native species.

And the same goes for Three-cornered leeks (Allium triquetrum). They do look attractive, and many people who don’t know their plants well get one whiff of these plants and think they are Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), but Three-cornered leeks are another highly invasive non-native plant that will spread like wildfire if left unchecked. In fact, they are now such a problem that they are listed in Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it an offence to plant or cause them to grow in the wild.

Singing Dunnocks

21 Saturday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, dunnock, Prunella modularis

If you live in the UK, you may not necessarily have realised it but I’m sure most of you will have heard at least one singing Dunnock already this year; they’ve been singing here in south Wales for at least a month, and, in fact, the epithet modularis in their scientific name (Prunella modularis) is Latin for ‘modulating’, i.e. varying the strength, tone, or pitch of your voice, something the Dunnock is very good at.

Today’s ‘did you know?’ information comes from the Woodland Trust website:

Dunnocks can raise several broods of chicks per year. This means the population can be maintained despite some nests being taken over by cuckoos.

As I’m sure most of you are aware, the Cuckoo practises brood parasitism, laying its eggs in the nests of certain other bird species, and then taking no part in the rearing of its offspring.

New cat: Large yellow underwing

20 Friday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in insects

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moth larva, Large Yellow Underwing, moth caterpillar, Noctua pronuba, Large yellow underwing larva

When the days are wet and/or gloomy, insects hiding deep in the vegetation and birds difficult to see and/or photograph, I often resort to getting my hands dirty, turning over small boulders and/or picking up small logs and fallen branches to see what lies beneath. This is a recent, rather unexpected find from one of those days, the larva of a Large yellow underwing moth (Noctua pronuba), which, apparently feeds at night and hides underground – or, in this case, under log, in the daytime. You can see images of other larvae and the adult moth on the UK Moths website but I’ve also posted images here, in my blog Moths Matter, August 2023.

Curious Coal tit

19 Thursday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, coal tit, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Periparus ater

During a recent walk through the woodland at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, this little Coal tit (Periparus ater) popped up to say hello. Well, that statement’s probably not entirely accurate – I imagine it was much more interested in whether or not I was carrying any seed or other delicious titbits a small hungry bird might like to eat. And, as this particular Coal tit paused long enough for me to take its photo (which they often don’t do), I happily rewarded its curiosity.

Today’s amazing bird fact is brought to you courtesy of the BTO’s Facebook and Instagram accounts (posted in January 2026). Did you know that, although the average Coal tit has a two-year lifespan, the oldest Coal Tit yet recorded in Britain and Ireland ‘was ringed in Argyll & Bute, and recorded alive in the same place 9 years, 2 months and 25 days later!’

A huddle of 7-spots

18 Wednesday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in insects, ladybird

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7-spot ladybird, British ladybirds, Seven-spot ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata

When the sun deigns to appear from behind the seemingly interminable clouds, ladybirds venture out to sit on leaves, especially Stinging nettles I’ve noticed, to soak in the sun’s warmth. Yet our spring weather is currently so fickle that many ladybirds are still, as they frequently do during the colder winter months, happily huddling together, like these five 7-spots (Coccinella septempunctata) I spotted last week in a local park.

Busy Blue tits

17 Tuesday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, Blue tit, British birds, Cyanistes caeruleus

The garden is busy with birds, large and small, flitting about the branches of the trees and large shrubs, peeking in to conveniently sized niches and crevices or picking out the perfect little twigs and small branches to fit into their planned constructions, searching for moss and lichen and dropped feathers to soften the interior of their chosen cavities or nests for the eggs and chicks soon to be laid within. Amongst them are the crevice-nesting Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), lots of them, chasing each other, singing out their partnership claims, advertising their personal charms. I’m convinced, but did you know (thanks to the Woodland Trust website for this interesting snippet):

Like all birds, blue tits can see ultra-violet light – the front of their head glows brightly under UV light, and this is how females are thought to choose their partners.

Cuttlebones

16 Monday Mar 2026

Posted by sconzani in molluscs

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beach finds, beach fossicking, British molluscs, Common cuttlefish, cuttlebones, marine fauna, mollusc, Sepia officinalis

I’m heading south to Weymouth again today so, by the time this post is published, I’ll hopefully be heading back from my first walk around Lodmoor. Maybe, as I headed to my guesthouse, I’ll have crunched my way along the pebbles at the top of the beach and found more of these Cuttlebones, the shells from inside the Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), a type of cephalopod, the class of mollusc that includes the octopus and squid. (The photos here show both sides of the same cuttlebone.)

I first saw cuttlebones when I was a child. My nana, who lived just a couple of houses away from us, used to have a Budgerigar as a pet (she probably had several over the years but they were always called Johnny), and she used to buy cuttlebones to put in the cage. Budgies, and possibly other caged birds, gnaw on the bone to get the calcium and other minerals they need.