71/366 A Spanish fritillary

11 Wednesday Mar 2020

Tags

Argynnis pandora, butterfly, Cardinal fritillary, European butterfly, Mediterranean fritillary

I’ve never purposefully gone butterflying anywhere in Europe but I have taken photos if I’ve seen interesting butterflies – or any other critters – on my very occasional visits. And this is one such, taken in the botanical gardens in Madrid in June 2014. I believe this is a Cardinal fritillary (Argynnis pandora), and, given the prominent scent brands on its upper wings, I can confidently say it is a male.

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According to the UK Butterflies website, the Cardinal, which they call the Mediterranean fritillary, has twice been seen in Britain: near Tintagel in Cornwall in August 1911 and in Lulworth, Dorset in August 1969, though the website also notes ‘This species is considered a very rare immigrant that is, undoubtedly, mistaken for a Silver-washed Fritillary and is therefore under-recorded.’

200311 cardinal fritillary (1)

70/366 Nostoc

10 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

cyanobacterium, Nostoc

Nostoc: noun; a microorganism composed of beaded filaments which aggregate to form a gelatinous mass, growing in water and damp places and able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere (Oxford Dictionary).

200310 nostoc (1)

According to my totally unscientific observations, the organism that has benefitted most from this year’s almost constant wet and relatively mild weather is the cyanobacterium, Nostoc. I’ve been seeing huge viscous masses of it wherever I go, especially on concrete and gravel pathways, on steps, in gutters, wherever the atmosphere is damp, the environment water-logged.

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You can read more about Nostoc in my April 2018 blog ‘Gloop’.

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69/366 First Chiffchaffs

09 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, spring migration

Spring migration is underway! Our county bird recorder yesterday reported seeing his first Sand martin for 2020 and today I’ve seen my first Chiffchaffs, newly arrived from overwintering in the warm countries around the Mediterranean or perhaps somewhere in west Africa. Such long migratory flights by such little birds – incredible!

200309 chiffchaff (1)

I saw or heard five Chiffchaffs during my walk along the coastal path this morning and then another three at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. Above is number three and below is number seven. Hearing them singing their ‘chiff chaff’ song made my heart spring!

200309 chiffchaff (2)

68/366 Pavement plants

08 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#PavementPlants, #WildflowerHour, British wildflowers, Coltsfoot, Common cornsalad, Daisy, dandelion, Herb Robert, Lesser Celandine, primrose, Red dead-nettle, Shepherd's purse

Now that Spring has sprung, the folks who run #WildflowerHour on social media are issuing weekly challenges for followers to focus their searches around. This week it was #PavementPlants, searching for any plants in bloom that were growing in the cracks or along the edges of their local pavements. Challenges like this do mean you get some odd looks from people when you’re photographing your finds but I’m very used to that these days.

Here’s what I found: Coltsfoot (I love how tenacious these plants are – they were pushing up between the cracks in an old set of steps connecting two local streets); Common cornsalad; Daisy; Dandelion; Herb Robert; Lesser celandine; Primrose; Red dead-nettle; and Shepherd’s-purse.

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67/366 Wild word : dioecious

07 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, trees

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#WildWords, Dioecious, male yew flowers, Taxus baccata, yew tree, Yew tree flowers

Dioecious: adjective; (of a plant or invertebrate animal) having the male and female reproductive organs in separate individuals (Oxford Dictionary).

My example today is the Yew tree (Taxus baccata), which has male and female flowers on separate trees. The male flowers are out now on a couple of trees in my local park – the female flowers may also be out but I didn’t look for them. The males are rather more showy and obvious, especially when they’re not soaking wet and their yellow pollen is blowing in the wind.

200307 Yew male flowers (2)

66/366 Three Brown rats

06 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in animals, mammal, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

brown rat, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Rattus norvegicus

I found some kind soul had left a scattering of bird seed and peanuts, still in their shells, on the dirt by the side of the east lake at Cosmeston, when I walked there this afternoon. A Mute swan, a couple of Mallards and a few Tufted ducks were milling around at the water’s edge, presumably having just been fed, but they couldn’t reach these extra seeds. The food didn’t go to waste though. As I watched, first a set of twitching whiskers and then a pair of dark bulging eyes appeared over the edge of the bank … a Brown rat!

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And then another …

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And another … three Brown rats! One at a time, they ran out, grabbed a peanut shell, and scurried away to stash their finds somewhere safe. And on they went until all the peanuts had disappeared. They were so cute to watch.

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65/366 The oldest plants

05 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, plants, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Equisetum, fossil plants, Spring has sprung, world's oldest plants

‘The oldest surviving family of plants on Earth is the Equisetum – the horsetail. The fifteen or so species that persist today have known 395 million years of Earth’s history.’ ~ Hope Jahren, Lab Girl: A story of trees, science and love, Fleet, London, 2016.

To my eye, Equisetum has an ancient look to it. The plant was on this planet long before humans and I’m sure it will be around long after humans have passed. Its spears are pushing up everywhere now, a literal sign that Spring has sprung.

64/366 ‘A wonderful bird’

04 Wednesday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#WorldWildlifeWednesday, American white pelican, Great white pelican, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, pelican

A wonderful bird is the pelican,
His bill will hold more than his belican,
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I’m damned if I see how the helican.
~ The Pelican, Dixon Lanier Merritt, American poet

I met the stunning Great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) above at the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in Malaysia in May 2013. The great thing about the bird park was its huge aviaries, where the birds had plenty of space and a relatively natural environment to roam in. The American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), below, were gathering to roost on the Fox River, in De Pere, in the US state of Wisconsin in July 2015.

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I can’t help but wonder what the pelican with its beak open is doing – scratching an itch?

63/366 Small and white

03 Tuesday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature

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Tags

British wildflowers, Sweet violet, violets, white violet

Roses are red, violets are white
If you’re confused, that’s alright.

200303 white sweet violets (1)

Though most violets are usually, well, violet coloured, some can be much lighter shades of lilac and Sweet violets (Viola odorata) also have a white variety. I was surprised and delighted to find good numbers of these gorgeous white beauties growing alongside a local pathway yesterday. In fact, as it’s a route I walk often, I was particularly surprised that I haven’t noticed their presence in previous years.

200303 white sweet violets (2)

62/366 A flying start

02 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Alexanders, dandelion, flies, hoverflies, solitary bee

A little bit of sunshine and a sheltered spot, plus a few blooming wildflowers – in this case, dandelions and Alexanders, alongside a south Wales coastal road – and out came the flying critters: solitary bees a’buzzing, various species of flies a’flying and hoverflies a’hovering. Spring is off to a flying start!

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