29 Saturday Oct 2022
Posted in birds
The ubiquitous little brown birds of the Bay, the Rock pipits (Anthus petrosus), are often overlooked by birders but I rather like them. Whether grazing in the grass or dotting about on the rocks, they’re always active, and, it seems, frequently in competition with the local population of Pied wagtails, with whom they have minor noisy scuffles.
28 Friday Oct 2022
Tags
Ballerina waxcap, British fungi, British waxcaps, Hygrocybe calyptriformis, Large red slug, Pink waxcap, waxcap fungi
Two slugs in one week – what were the chances? But when I glimpsed this gorgeous Pink waxcap (also known as the Ballerina waxcap) (Hygrocybe calyptriformis) almost hidden in a small grassy hollow and gently smoothed back the grass around it to take my photo, I found this Large red slug nestled alongside. If a slug could smile, this one would be grinning from ear to ear, and I imagine the waxcap had mostly been consumed by the next morning.
27 Thursday Oct 2022
Posted in insects
Shots like this usually go straight into the recycle bin but something stopped me deleting this one. Yes, it’s blurry, the ivy is out of focus, but I really like the sense of movement as the butterfly, a Red admiral, began to fly to another flower. What do you think? Save or delete?
26 Wednesday Oct 2022
Posted in birds
The look: ‘Do you have any food for me?’
The glare: ‘Why don’t you have any food for me?’
My small black friend and I have become better acquainted since the summer and, these days, as soon as I walk in to its territory, it flies over. Call me crazy but I talk to it and, when I remember, I take it a few morsels of food. When I forget … well, the photo above tells that story.
25 Tuesday Oct 2022
Do you remember my plug for the beauty of a local field full of Ragwort (Seedheads: Ragwort, 11 September)? Well, as I expected that field is now alive with seed-eating birds, enjoying the bounty provided by the Ragwort. Numbers of Goldfinches and Linnets are increasing daily as the news goes out in the bird world that there is food aplenty. And, though it’s not such good news for the seed-eaters, the local Peregrines and Sparrowhawks are also benefitting from the increase in the small bird population.
24 Monday Oct 2022
I was rather concerned when, last month, I read a report that ecologists were concerned the slug and snail populations may have been devastated by the summer heatwaves and drought (The Guardian, 27 September 2022). Though I’m sure many gardeners would rejoice at this news, their slimy little enemies do play an essential part in our ecosystems, breaking down vegetation and aerating soils, as well as being food for birds, hedgehogs, etc. Fortunately, for the slugs and snails, they are apparently excellent reproducers so their populations should bounce back next year. Still, I was really pleased to spot this handsome Large red slug (Arion rufus) sliding along the path during yesterday’s walk.
23 Sunday Oct 2022
Posted in autumn, wildflowers
If proof were needed to confirm how mild this autumn has been so far then this is it: 48 species of wildflower still in bloom during this past week (and I know for certain that I’ve missed a few of the smaller ones I’ve seen during my wanders).
22 Saturday Oct 2022
Tags
autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Fieldfare, Redwing, winter thrushes
The strong easterlies of the last three days, 19th to 21st inclusive, have seen a huge influx of winter thrushes arriving in Britain. The BTO’s Birdtrack blog reports that the reason for such a large arrival is undoubtedly to do with the weather but is also linked ‘to the almost total failure of rowan berries across Scandinavia, where large flocks have already been recorded further west and south than is usual for the time of year’.
Although that blog only mentions the arrivals on England’s east coast, we’ve also seen huge numbers streaming through here in south Wales. Though these thrushes are mostly nocturnal migrants, they often continue their flights for the first few morning hours, before finding somewhere to feed and roost for the rest of the day. During my local walks, particularly in the coastal fields and at Cosmeston, I’ve seen flocks of 50-100 birds constantly passing overhead.
The birds have been a mix of Redwings and Fieldfares but, yesterday, the majority were Fieldfare. Though they were all quite flighty – and a hunting Sparrowhawk kept unsettling the flocks, it was simply amazing to see so many of these beautiful birds. I hope to share better photos of both Fieldfares and Redwings in the coming months.
21 Friday Oct 2022
Lemon Disco (Bisporella citrina) – I used probably in the title because I can’t confirm that identification microscopically – is one of the most common discos. And, at this time of the year, when the daylight hours are shortening and the weather can be wet and grey, it’s a delight to find these bright bursts of yellow, sometimes in their thousands, during a woodland wander.
20 Thursday Oct 2022
Posted in birds
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, colour-ringed birds, colour-ringed gull, colour-ringed Lesser black-backed gull, Lesser black-backed gull
Whenever I spot a colour-ringed gull, I always try to get photographs of the ring so I can report the sighting and find out the bird’s history. Sometimes that history is quite exciting, with birds being reported from foreign shores, but this particular seabird, a Lesser black-backed gull spotted at Roath Park lake last week, is a bit of a stay-at-home.
According to Peter Rock, urban gull expert and ringing scheme organiser, the gull was ringed in Cardiff in 2020 but has only ever been sighted at the lake. Peter does say that it might ‘set off late to spend its winter somewhere unknown’ … or it might just hang around in Cardiff all year, as many gulls do. If I visit the lake during the winter months, I will certainly be looking out for it.
earthstar 
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