31 Thursday Aug 2023
Posted in birds
Every time I walk a circuit of Cardiff Bay I take a moment to check on these Tufted ducklings. Despite being confined in the now-flooded former Channel Dry Dock and living amongst human detritus, they have thrived, thanks to the parental care and constant vigilance of their mama. They should soon be able to fly and will then be able to escape their watery prison.
~ 7 August
~ 20 August
~ 24 August
30 Wednesday Aug 2023
Posted in geology
Geology fascinates me, and I am privileged to live in a geologically rich area, but it’s not a subject I know anything about so my geological blog posts on here are very few and far between. However, when a local birder posted on social media about a slab of rock he’d found on a local beach, and a local geologist later confirmed the find and shared a link explaining the rock’s origins, I just had to investigate.
The slab of rock was lying beneath the cliff at Penarth Head on the beach shown in the photo above. And, in fact, when I went and looked, I found several similar slabs. They had fallen from the top section of the cliff, which is known as the Lilstock Formation. Rather than attempt to explain the geology of these cliffs, it seems easiest if I refer you to the blog my geologist friend showed me: ‘Geological Walk at Penarth Head‘, published on the Geologists’ Association – South Wales Group website on 27 June 2021.
It wasn’t easy to capture in photographs but I hope you can see the ripple effect on the surface of these slabs. This is basically an ancient fossilised beach, the ripples caused by the action of water and tides on a muddy surface millions of years ago. The fact that I could touch a surface formed so long ago is something I find quite mind-boggling.
29 Tuesday Aug 2023
Posted in birds
The House martins that nest under the eaves of some of the houses and apartments around Penarth Marina are still busy feeding their young. These could be second broods, or possibly even third broods if the adults arrived back early enough. The RSPB website notes that the ‘fledged young from first broods often help their parents feed a second brood’. Good practice for their future breeding, I’m sure.
28 Monday Aug 2023
Posted in insects
Tags
British cicadellidae, British leafhoppers, leafhopper, leafhopper on Poplar, Poplar, Populicerus sp.
I found a new leafhopper species last week but, despite it having quite distinctive markings, I have not been able to identify it exactly. This is because there are several that look very similar and, even knowing the tree or plant they are on (in this case, Poplar), doesn’t help. One needs to examine their genitals to figure these little leafhoppers out.
There are five species of Populicerus showing in the Welsh database (Populicerus confusus, P. populi, P. albicans, P. nitidissimus, and P. laminatus), only four of which have been recorded in Wales (the first four in my list) and, of those, the numbers, except for P. confusus (64) are in single digits. That is likely to be a reflection of the difficulty of identifying the species rather than the populations of these leafhoppers.
All five species have similar markings but three have different colouring. However, Populicerus populi and P. laminatus are so similar that they require more intimate examination – the creature I found, the leafhopper shown here, is one of these two.
27 Sunday Aug 2023
Posted in wildflowers
This is a new plant for me, and I freely admit to having walked past it several times before finally noticing it, perhaps because it only flowers from July to September. It’s Common calamint (Clinopodium ascendens), a member of the mint family, the Lamiaceae, and, not surprisingly, its leaves when crushed smell deliciously of mint.
The plant in question, in the photo above, is the one with small greyish-looking leaves (though they’re actually green with white speckles) and even smaller pink flowers. My wildflower book says it can be found in a variety of habitats, from hedge banks and bushy areas to dry grassy scrubland and roadside verges. The plants I found were growing alongside an under-cliff path that leads to a local beach, so it seems this mint is very adaptable. Despite that, there are only 199 records in the Welsh biodiversity database, so perhaps I’m not the only person to walk past these plants without noticing them.
26 Saturday Aug 2023
I went looking and hoping for a Yellow wagtail – found none – but, all of a sudden, a bird flitted up from the grass not far ahead, disturbed by a passing dog, and my eye picked out a flash of white at its rear end. I had my binoculars to my eyes in seconds, scanned all around, but couldn’t relocate the bird. I walked on, keeping a careful eye out, noting the prospecting Pied wagtails and browsing Linnets, but no sign of that white bottom. I was about to turn around and head home when another roaming dog put all the birds up and she of the white rear end, this beautiful Wheatear, popped down quite close to me. My first of the autumn!
25 Friday Aug 2023
A chance glance over the edge of the bridge as I was walking home yesterday turned up this urban Fox, running down hill towards the bridge. It stopped, turning to face backwards to watch the approaching train, but it wasn’t at all phased by the noisy engine bearing down it, waiting till the last minute to leap into the bushes at the side of the tracks. And, as soon as the last carriage had passed, it hopped back on to the tracks again to continue its journey. Sadly, it didn’t look in the best of health, its hindquarters seemingly affected by mange.
24 Thursday Aug 2023
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
Tags
Autumn Lady’s-tresses, autumn orchids, autumn-flowering orchid, British native orchids, orchid, Spiranthes spiralis
Think of them as a palate cleanser; a floral pick-me-up; a Thursday tonic; a spiralling shot in the arm – the cheerful sight of Autumn lady’s tresses (Spiranthes spiralis) in full bloom amongst the lush grasses and wildflowers at my local country park. I hope you have some growing near you to help brighten your day!
23 Wednesday Aug 2023
Tags
Birch, British sawflies, Nematus septentrionalis, sawfly eggs, sawfly larvae, sawfly larvae on Birch, sawfly on Birch
The sawfly larvae are back!
You may remember my post last summer (Sawfly larvae on Birch, July 2022) about the black-spotted yellow-and-green larvae of the sawfly Nematus septentrionalis that were munching through the leaves of a local Birch sapling. Well, luckily, the sapling survived but it’s now providing a feast for this year’s brood of the same sawflies.
This time around I’ve found the larvae at a much earlier stage of development. And, destructive though they may be, they do look rather cute curled up in their individual holes in the leaves, and quite different in colour at this young age.
Plus, this time I spotted the eggs they emerged from – and some eggs yet to hatch, laid by the adult sawfly along the veins of the leaves.
I may sound a trifle over-enthusiastic about creatures that are basically eating a tree. But, last year, something ate most of the larvae before they consumed too many leaves and, as there are a good number of hungry Stonechats, Whitethroats, Green- and Goldfinches currently in this field, I think the sawfly larvae’s days are probably numbered.
22 Tuesday Aug 2023
Posted in birds, coastal fauna
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, British crustaceans, crab, gull catches a crab, Herring gull
I was searching through the gull flock that was poking around on the mud flats, looking for any unusual birds, when this third-summer Herring gull suddenly lurched forward, splashing through the mud and almost falling into a watery hole. When it stood erect I saw why – it had caught itself a crab.
Of course, all the other gulls then wanted a piece, and the crab catcher was forced to fly around the small bay a few times to get them off its tail. Luckily, most of the other gulls were younger and less experienced than it was, so it was able to settle and pull its catch in to bite-sized chunks – though not without very close scrutiny from the hopeful and hungry!
earthstar 
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