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earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Category Archives: 365DaysWildin2019

365/365 Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

31 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, winter

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, blackbird, British birds, dunnock, robin

From me and today’s small feathered friends, here’s wishing you a very Happy New Year. Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

191231 1 blackbird
191231 2 robin
191231 3 robin
191231 4 dunnock

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269/365 Still hovering

26 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British hoverflies, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Eristalis nemorum, Eristalis species, Helophilus pendulus, hoverfly, Syrphus species

Despite the wind and rain of recent days, which continued through part of today, when the sun came out at Cosmeston there were still a few hoverflies about. I’ve forgotten everything I ever knew about hoverflies, which wasn’t much, but I think these are Syrphus sp. (these usually need microscopic examination to identify to species), Eristalis sp. (my photo doesn’t show enough details to be sure which species this is – maybe E. tenax), Eristalis nemorum, and ‘The footballer’, Helophilus pendulus.

190926 hoverflies (1) 

190926 hoverflies (2)
190926 hoverflies (3)

190926 hoverflies (4)

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266/365 The charm of it

23 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, charm of Goldfinches, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Goldfinch

This charm of Goldfinches numbered at least 60.

190923 goldfinches (1)

They were feeding in the wildflower fields at Cosmeston this morning, plucking at fluffy seedheads, nibbling at the exposed seeds.

190923 goldfinches (2)

They were skittish though, constantly whirling about from one area to another, into the nearby trees and back again, chattering all the while. Such a pleasure to watch!

190923 goldfinches (3)

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264/365 Staying power

21 Saturday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly, Common blue, Common blue butterfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve

It was looking faded, jaded and more than a little tatty but this Common blue butterfly has certainly got staying power. Most of its species have died off now in my local area so it was a delight to see this little one today at Lavernock.

190921 common blue

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263/365 No parking

20 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Comma butterfly

It seems Commas don’t know their road code: no stopping on double yellow lines 24/7 if no signage. Or maybe this Comma thought the sparkling yellow paint was a flower. Luckily, this was on a quiet country lane with little traffic so the butterfly was in no danger. And it did look rather pretty, highlighted by the bright sunshine.

190920 commA (1)

190920 comma (2)
190920 comma (3)

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260/365 Stonechats

17 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, autumn migration, bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Stonechat

The Autumn migration flow of birds continued through Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, with several species reported: a Redstart, a Whinchat, a Spotted flycatcher and several Stonechats, two of which very kindly popped up in the hedge right in front of me.

190917 stonechat (1)190917 stonechat (2)

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257/365 Ivy bees

14 Saturday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature, plants

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, bees, British bees, Colletes hederae, ivy, Ivy bee, ivy flowers

I heard them before I saw them.

190914 ivy bees (7)

I’d been smelling the ivy flowers all day, as I walked one of my local circuits, though Cosmeston along to Lavernock and back to Penarth along the coastal path. But I hadn’t noticed any open flowers until I heard the loud buzzing coming from the ivy ahead of me on the path. It was alive with various species of bee and fly and hoverfly. And then I spotted what I was looking for – the ginger fluff and black-and-yellow-stripes of Ivy bees (Colletes hederae), my first for 2019.

190914 ivy bees (1)
190914 ivy bees (2)
190914 ivy bees (3)
190914 ivy bees (4)
190914 ivy bees (5)
190914 ivy bees (6)

You can find out more about these handsome creatures in my previous blogs here and here.

190914 ivy bees (8)

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256/365 Reed bunting

13 Friday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature, plants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Reed bunting, umbellifers

190913 reed bunting (1)

This is not the setting I would normally associate with Reed buntings – not a reed to be seen – but this little beauty seemed perfectly at home searching for insects amongst the umbellifers in Cosmeston’s west paddock this afternoon, and the colours made for good camouflage as well.

190913 reed bunting (2)

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254/365 The bramble lovers

11 Wednesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature, plants

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, autumn fruit, blackberries, bramble, British butterflies, butterfly, Red Admiral, Red admiral on bramble

190911 red admiral (1)

I think everyone would agree that blackberries, the fruit of the bramble bush, are delicious. I’m not one of those people who risks the almost obligatory scratches to go blackberrying at this time of year – I prefer to leave them to the birds and minibeasts. But, at Cosmeston yesterday, I’d been walking longer than I anticipated and my stomach was rumbling so I thought I’d grab a few to keep me going.

190911 red admiral (2)

Well, if looks could kill, I would never have made it home because these Red admiral butterflies were absolutely certain the blackberries belonged to them. And they weren’t going to relent, letting me get my hand really close to them without moving a millimetre. One even flew out and ‘buzzed’ me before re-settling on its chosen fruit. I got the message and left them to their feast.

190911 red admiral (3)

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253/365 Tachina fera

10 Tuesday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British flies, fly, parasitoid, parasitoid fly, Tachina fera

Flies are fascinating!

190910 Tachina fera (2)
190910 Tachina fera (3)

This bristle-backed orange-and-black beauty, Tachina fera, is commonly seen in Wales and England any time between May and October. These flies produce two broods over the summer months but their life cycle is perhaps not what you might think. Like almost 300 other fly species in Britain, these are parasitoids – the eggs they lay on plant leaves hatch as larvae that burrow their way inside the bodies of other larvae, the caterpillars of several species of moth, which they then proceed to eat to death. It’s a larvae-eat-larvae world out there, folks.

190910 Tachina fera (1)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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