First hoverfly

03 Friday Feb 2023

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British hoverflies, Eristalis pertinax, Eristalis tenax, hoverfly

During Monday’s walk along the local section of the Wales Coastal Path, I spotted my first hoverfly of the year, and immediately got the identification wrong. It seems that every winter I forget the basics for these creatures and have to refresh my memory over and over again (old age, or hoverfly blindness?).

230203 eristalis tenax (1)

In my defence, these are two very similar species but it took a friendly follower on Twitter to remind me that, for the hoverfly I found, the ‘feet are darker than E.[Eristalis] pertinax and it has a bendy rear tibia and hairy bands on its eyes so this is Eristalis tenax‘. (The ‘foot’ is the final segment of the leg.) To remind me, and help you, I’ve included comparison photos below – Eristalis tenax, he of the darker front feet, is on the left, and Eristalis pertinax, with the pale feet, is on the right.

230203 eristalis tenax and pertinax (2)

Woodlouse: Porcellio spinicornis

02 Thursday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British woodlice, Common striped woodlouse, Philoscia muscorum, Porcellio spinicornis, woodlice, woodlouse

I’ve been leaf diving again, just ten minutes spent picking up and thoroughly examining soggy Sycamore leaves during one of my local walks.

230202 Porcellio spinicornis

So well camouflaged was it that I almost missed this little mini-beastie, which I initially thought was a Common striped woodlouse (Philoscia muscorum) but, on closer inspection of its antennae, I now think must be Porcellio spinicornis. According to the Naturespot website, the distinguishing characteristic is the number of flagellal segments at the tip of the antennae: Porcellio spinicornis has two, while Philoscia muscorum has three. If I’d known this at the time, I would’ve taken better close-ups but I’ve tried to illustrate the differences below.

230202 woodlouse antennae

Song vs Mistle

01 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, comparing Song and Mistle thrush, Mistle thrush, Song thrush

While we’re on the subject of Song thrushes …
I know many people have trouble working out whether the bird they’re seeing is a Song thrush or a Mistle thrush. As I’ve managed to get reasonably close photos of both recently, I thought I’d post a blog comparing the two.

230201 song and mistle thrush (1)

The Song thrush (left) is smaller than a Blackbird, has arrowhead-shaped markings on its upper breast, its tail is the same colour as the rest of its back, and the edges of its wing feathers are a pale orange-buff colour. The Mistle thrush (right) is larger than a Blackbird, has breast markings that start off looking like sharp thorns then become more rounded and often smudge together, its tail tends to be a different colour to its back, and its wing feathers are usually edged in white. Also, the Mistle thrush has a very upright stance and often looks like it has a bit of a pot belly. The British Trust for Ornithology has an excellent short video on YouTube if you want to learn more.

230201 song and mistle thrush (2) – Song thrush, top, and Mistle thrush, below

Song thrushes are a’singing

31 Tuesday Jan 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Song thrush

When a bitterly cold wind is making the tips of your nose and fingers feel like ice, it may not feel like Spring is just around the corner but the birds seem to think it is. I’ve seen Magpies fiddling sticks into years-old nest structures, and heard Dunnocks and tits singing for potential mates. And, yesterday, this beautiful Song thrush was sitting atop a big mound of scrub and bramble, singing his heart out. I wasn’t the only person to stop, look and listen.

230131 song thrush

Down the hatch

30 Monday Jan 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, nuthatch

A Nuthatch doing what its name implies, eating nuts (though I have a feeling the name actually comes from the way the bird hacks in to a nut before eating it).

230130 nuthatch

First Primroses

29 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in wildflowers

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British wildflowers, primrose, spring flowers, spring flowers in January, winter colour

I went hunting spring wildflowers on Friday but was, for the most part, disappointed. There was an abundance of Lesser celandine leaves but no sign of any flowers, and the merest sprinkling of Snowdrops, though no open flowers. I was, however, much more lucky with Primroses, with a single plant flowering amongst a sea of plants on a grassy hillside in a local park.

230129 primrose (1)

And then a circuit of the yard around a local church brought another plant flowering amongst the graves. Spring is coming …

230129 primrose (2)

Encounters with grebes

28 Saturday Jan 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, little grebe

I’ve had two interesting encounters with Little grebes in the past week. The first was being relatively close to this little cutie having a bath, a delightfully splashy affair.

230128 little grebes (2)

Then, a couple of days later, I noticed this gang of Little grebes floating along the River Taff. At this time of year they often seem to congregate around the area where the Taff flows in to Cardiff Bay (I counted 28 thereabouts recently). I don’t know the reason for this but I wonder if it is some kind of pre-breeding behaviour, where the single grebes come together to appraise each other, looking for potential mates.

230128 little grebes (1)

Fern Friday: Hart’s-tongue

27 Friday Jan 2023

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Asplenium scolopendrium, British ferns, fern, Fern Friday, Hart's tongue

Perhaps, when I began these Fern Friday blogs, I should have started with the fern with the most basic shape, the one with the long simple leaf shaped, apparently, like the tongue of a deer (commonly called a hart in former days), the Hart’s-tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium). As it grows everywhere in Britain except in the colder far northern regions, and can be found draping stone walls, in woodland, under hedgerows, in roadside ditches, I’m sure this fern will be familiar to most of you.

230127 hart's-tongue fern

Hart’s-tongue has featured on this blog before, in particular because its glossy leaves provide a home to several species of leafminers, including these two Leafmines: Psychoides filicivora 3 January 2022 and Leafmines: Chromatomyia scolopendri 1 March 2021.

Feasting Chiffchaff

26 Thursday Jan 2023

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Chiffchaff, Chiffchaff fly-catching, over-wintering Chiffchaff

So many flies, so little time …
Although the majority of Chiffchaffs still migrate to warmer southern climes for the winter, increasing numbers can now be seen over-wintering locally. This little beauty was feasting well on the hundreds of tiny gnat-like flies that had emerged in Monday’s sunshine.

230126 chiffchaff

A Water vole does lunch

25 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in animals, mammal

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Tags

British mammals, Water vole

I was listening to a Water rail squealing from the reeds growing alongside a local brook, getting tantalising but very fleeting glimpses of it moving stealthily along the water’s edge, when I realised I could hear another sound, a slight but regular rustling. I scanned the edge of the brook again and there, sitting in plain sight, was the well-camouflaged brown blob of a Water vole, munching contentedly on a green reed. It made for a much more obliging photographic subject, and a very cute one at that.

230125 water vole