Green-veined whites

27 Tuesday Sep 2022

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butterfly, British butterflies, Pieris napi, white butterflies, Green-veined butterfly

I don’t know what it’s like where you are but there seem to be gazillions of Small white butterflies around here at the moment, which is why, when I noticed a single Green-veined white butterfly, it stood out like a sore thumb. And then it occurred to me that I hadn’t really covered the various whites much on the blog this butterfly season. So, before all the butterflies fade away for the year, I am going to remedy that, and I will start by showcasing the Green-veined whites (Pieris napi), which are so much easier to identify precisely because of their ‘green veins’, which, the UK Butterflies website reminds me, are not actually green at all but rather ‘an illusion created by a subtle combination of yellow and black scales’. And here they are …

220927 green-veined white

Munch time

26 Monday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Linnet, Linnet eating seed

Three weeks ago, we enjoyed Linnets bathing. Today, we have one of a small flock stripping seeds from wildflowers, munching happily with its efficiently designed, seed-cracking beak.

220926 linnet

Along an old railway line

25 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, walks, wildflowers

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autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, wildflowers along former railway line

A railway line used to run along the south Wales coast from my town to the next large town but it fell victim, like so many other railway lines, to the Beeching cuts of the 1960s (the last passenger train ran on 4 May 1968). Part of that old line is now a well-used walking and cycle path, the rest runs through land that is both in private hands and owned by the Welsh government. When Covid first told hold and our county council stupidly closed the local country park (where people could exercise with space in safety), many locals began using the government land or either side of the old rail line. Though there are government plans afoot to turn this land into a cheap, nasty and overcrowded housing estate, in the interim local people continue to use the area for walking, both themselves and their dogs, which means it’s now also possible to access the old rail trail. Today’s little video shows the trail and the wildflowers that were still in bloom along it during a walk I took earlier this week.

Exciting news

24 Saturday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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bird conservation, birding, British birds, Into the Red, red-listed birds, supporting Britain's red-listed birds

I’m finally able to share some exciting news with you all. Back in June I was utterly astonished and hugely delighted to be invited by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) to contribute to their forthcoming publication Into the Red, ‘a collection of words and art inspired by Britain’s most vulnerable birds’. The book focuses on Britain’s red-listed birds, each one the subject of an original artwork and a piece of writing, prose or poetry, by 70 artists and 70 writers, some well-known, some not (like me). Profits from the sale of the book will be used to help these birds, to support the work being done to conserve and restore ailing bird populations.

220924 Into the Red

The official publication date is 4 October but you can see examples of the book’s interior pages right now, and pre-order your copies, by clicking on this link to the BTO website. I know times are tough for many people at the moment but, if you can, I urge you to buy the book so that, together, we can try to bring these vulnerable birds back from the edge of extinction. My sincere thanks!

Happy autumn equinox!

23 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn equinox, autumn flowers, British wildflowers, Cyclamen hederifolium, Wild cyclamen

Happy equinox! Today is the first day of astronomical autumn in the northern hemisphere, and what better way to celebrate than with some autumnal blooms, in this case some Wild cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium) flowers I spotted growing in a nearby green space earlier this week.

220923 wild cyclamen

Beach birding, 2

22 Thursday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Sully beach, Sully birds, Turnstone

As well as the Ringed plovers I blogged about yesterday, my walk along Sully beach produced over 30 Turnstones, my favourite beach birds, pottering along, poking under stones, pulling at piles of seaweed in their never-ending search for tasty invertebrates.

220922 turnstones

Beach birding, 1

21 Wednesday Sep 2022

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beach birding, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Charadrius hiaticula, Ringed plover, Sully birds

Ringed plovers are not common on my local patch. In fact, the only place I see them is amongst the rocks on Sully beach, and that’s exactly where these 15 were perched, snoozing, preening, balancing on one spindly looking leg, when I walked along the beach last week.

A Wheatear (right, front) shares the limelight with these 2 Ringed plovers.

Though their scientific name, Charadrius hiaticula, is a bit of a tongue-twister, they have, according to my Fauna Britannica, some wonderful vernacular names: bull’s-eye (Ireland); dulwilly and grundling (Lancashire); ringlestone (Yorkshire); sand tripper (County Down); shell-turner (Sussex); and wideawake (Somerset), to list just a few.

220921 ringed plovers (2)

Leafmines: Stigmella speciosa

20 Tuesday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Barred Sycamore pigmy moth larval mines, British leafmines, leafmines on Sycamore, leafmining moth larvae, Stigmella speciosa, Sycamore leafminer

While searching out Sycamore tarspot fungi on local Sycamore trees, I’ve also been keeping a look out for leafmines, specifically for the mines of the Barred Sycamore Pigmy moth, Stigmella speciosa. (You can see the very attractive adult moth on the UK Moths website by clicking here.)

220920 stigmella speciosa (1)

Although I’ve found the tarspot fungi, in varying quantities, on almost every Sycamore tree I’ve seen, the leafmines, though supposedly common, are not so easily spotted. Despite checking over a hundred Sycamore trees now, I’ve only found Stigmella speciosa mines in one location, where there were just three mines within the limits of my visibility. Perhaps more will turn up as I continue my search for Sycamore tarspot.

220920 stigmella speciosa (2)

Sitting quietly, with a Robin

19 Monday Sep 2022

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, communing with nature, robin

Today was a very good day to sit quietly in a peaceful spot. And I was blessed with the company of this little Robin that came and spent some time with me. As we silently communed, overhead the air was alive with hundreds, perhaps thousands of Swallows and the occasional House martin, all feeding up before their miraculous migration.

220918 robin

Seedheads: Rough sow-thistle

18 Sunday Sep 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, plant seeds, Rough sow-thistle, seedheads, seeds, wildflower seeds

At this time of year, when there are few wildflowers in bloom, the presence of Rough sow-thistle, with its glowing yellow flowers and fluffy white seedheads, is a lifesaver for thirsty bees and butterflies, and a boon for finches wanting to nibble at its seeds. And, for me, it provides yet another example of the sculptural beauty of the seedheads of plants.

220918 rough sow-thistle seedhead