Three more hoverflies

06 Saturday Mar 2021

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British hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus, Eristalis tenax, hoverfly, Meliscaeva auricollis, spring hoverflies

These three are often the first hoverflies seen in the springtime as they all over-winter as adults, so it’s no surprise that I’ve now seen these three species as well my first for 2021, the Melanostoma scalare I blogged about 10 days ago (First hoverfly, 25 February). We’ll need a bit more sun and warmer temperatures before more hoverflies are out and about though.

210306 Episyrphus balteatus Episyrphus balteatus

210306 eristalis tenax Eristalis tenax

210306 Meliscaeva auricollis Meliscaeva auricollis

Fern not fungi

05 Friday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in plants

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fern, fern frond

Each week I try to find some new or interesting fungi for my Friday post but this week I’ve failed miserably. So, here’s a lovely fresh ready-to-unroll fern frond instead.

210305 fern

Nest-builders at work

04 Thursday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birds nesting on houses, birdwatching, British birds, Collared dove, nesting birds, urban birds

I didn’t turn up any interesting birds during my woodland walk on Tuesday but, on my way home, I spotted a pair of nest-building Collared doves at work. One, perhaps the male, was flying out to collect the materials – I spotted a lot of pine needles – and the other, I’m guessing the female, was sculpting the nest, poking and prodding, sitting and twisting around to form the bowl. Now I know where they are, I’ll be keeping an eye out for chicks.

210304 nest building

Common pocket-moss

03 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in bryophytes

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British mosses, Common pocket-moss, Fissidens taxifolius, moss

I was searching for the leaf mines on Hart’s-tongue ferns that I blogged about on Monday when I spotted this little moss. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to identify it, as I’ve discovered mosses can be rather tricky, but I took several photos anyway.

210303 Fissidens taxifolius (1)

When I later checked out this species, the Fissidens, on the Nature Spot website, I realised I was on a hiding to nothing. Still, I recorded seeing the moss at species level and filed away my photos.

Then I got a notification about my record: the expert checking it had been able to make a more exact identification. So I can say positively that this is Common pocket-moss (Fissidens taxifolius). If you want to go down the rabbit hole that is moss identification, you can read more about it here.

500!!!

02 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, robin, Robin Redbreast

In the world of social media, reaching 500 followers means I’m very small fry as a blogger but, to me personally, it’s a huge deal, and I just want to say a sincere ‘thank you’ to you all for supporting my attempts to share the beauty, the fascination, the mystery of the natural world around us. Your follows, likes and comments are all very much appreciated. Diolch!

210302 robin

Leaf mines: Chromatomyia scolopendri

01 Monday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

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Agromyzidae, Chromatomyia scolopendri, Hart's tongue, leaf mine on Hart's tongue, leaf miners, leaf mines, leaf-mining fly larvae

Another week, another leaf mine – in fact, lots of mines in the glossy, lush leaves of Hart’s-tongue ferns (Asplenium scolopendrium).

210301 Chromatomyia scolopendri (1)

I have actually blogged about these before (Leaf mine in Hart’s-tongue, January 2018) but those finds were made in Somerset and I’m now finding lots of these mines in my local area in south Wales. The mines are made by the larvae of the fly Chromatomyia scolopendri, one of the Agromyzidae family of flies, and their long, winding gallery mines are unmistakeable.

You can read more about these flies on the newly launched Agromyzidae Recording Scheme website, and, if you’re interested in finding out which leaf mines to look out for and when, the scheme has a page that lists which species are most commonly recorded each month. Can you find Chromatomyia scolopendri mines in your area?

Wild blooms

28 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, plants, wildflowers, winter

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Tags

British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter colour, winter wildflowers

The results are in! After a concerted effort to check as many different local habitats as possible, walking 31.5 miles over 5 days, I managed to find 29 different wildflowers in bloom this week. Two (Ragwort and Smooth sow-thistle) were too distant for good photos; the other 27 feature in this week’s little video. I hope you’re also seeing plenty of flowers in your areas now too.

The 27 are: Alexanders, Barren strawberry, Colt’s-foot, Cow parsley, Cowslip, Creeping buttercup, Daisy, Dandelion, Dog’s mercury, Field speedwell, Forget-me-not, Gorse, Groundsel, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Lesser celandine, Opposite-leaved golden-saxifrage, Petty spurge (with little yellow spots of the rust Melampsora euphorbiae), Primrose, Red dead-nettle, Red valerian, Shepherd’s-purse, Snowdrop, Spurge laurel (a shrub really but I’m including it), Sweet violet, Three-cornered leek, Wavy bitter-cress, and Winter heliotrope.

Mossy gravestone

27 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in bryophytes, nature, plants

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moss, moss on gravestone, mosses

Graves may not be everyone’s idea of wildlife-friendly spaces but I’ve found cemeteries and grave-filled churchyards can hold some interesting, often unusual flora and fauna.

210227 mossy gravestone (1)

Mosses grow very easily on next to nothing. They have no roots, and only need moisture and shady conditions to grow.

210227 mossy gravestone (2)

I presume the indentations of the inscription on the gravestone, though shallow, would be deep enough to accumulate a little moisture and a modicum of dusty soil, and that’s all these little mosses required to thrive. The churchyard is also well shaded by hedges and tall trees, as well as the church building itself – again, perfect for the mosses.

210227 mossy gravestone (3)

Some people might think mosses and lichens should be scrubbed off gravestones or sprayed with chemicals to kill them. Not me. I can think of nothing nicer than to have my gravestone be home to little beauties like these, and my personal details spelled out in mosses.

210227 mossy gravestone (4)

Nipplewort Rust

26 Friday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi, plants

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British fungi, Lapsana communis, Nipplewort, Nipplewort rust, Puccinia lapsanae, rust fungus

I was almost home from today’s 7-mile walk when I spotted the subject of this post, lots of pink gall-like bumps on the leaves of a group of plants I quickly realised were Nipplewort (Lapsana communis).

210226 nipplewort rust (2)

And that clinched the identification of the bumps, especially when I turned a leaf over and spotted the little yellow dots. These are the aecia, cup-shaped structures in which aeciospores are produced. (And, as you can see, this particular leaf was also home to a tiny spider.)

210226 nipplewort rust (3)

These Nipplewort plants were absolutely covered in rust fungi, Nipplewort Rust (Puccinia lapsanae), a rust I’ve seen before but never in such quantity.

210226 nipplewort rust (1)

First hoverfly

25 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in spring

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Tags

Alexanders, British hoverflies, Chequered hoverfly, first hoverfly of year, hoverfly, Melanostoma scalare

Yesterday’s exercise walk was a long meander around local paths looking for wildflowers in bloom (those pictures will be coming on Sunday), and in the process I spotted my first hoverfly of the year, this tiny Chequered hoverfly (Melanostoma scalare), nectaring on Alexanders. With temperatures forecast to rise and the prospect of some sunshine over the coming days, I’m hoping for more … and maybe even my first butterfly of the year. Fingers crossed!