Category Archives: autumn

333/365 A Bay full of birds

29 Friday Nov 2019

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What a wonderful long walk I had around Cardiff Bay today! Here are some of the birds I spotted along the way.

191129 1 goosander

There were nine Goosanders in total, four in the River Ely where it flows in to the Bay and another five further east, in the Bay proper.

191129 2 turnstone

My favourite little Turnstones, again four along the Ely embankment and more near Mermaid Quay.

191129 3 linnet

Linnets, a small flock of six flitting about the grassy slopes of the Barrage.

191129 4 pied wagtail

Pied wagtails – I lost count of these cheery little characters who appeared wherever I wandered.

191129 5 Great crested grebe

One of several Great crested grebes that live in the Bay, constantly diving for fish.

191129 6 black-headed gull

I was getting ‘the look’ from this Black-headed gull, in the pond at the wetlands reserve, for not supplying food!

191129 7 coot

This Coot was also hoping for food.

191129 8 chiffchaff

This Chiffchaff was a surprise – it’s either very late migrating or has decided to over-winter in Britain, as some now do. Interestingly, I saw a Chiffchaff yesterday too, in a different location.

191129 9 kingfisher

The best possible end to my walk – a Kingfisher peep-peep-peeped in to the pool near Hamadryad Park and perched on a branch over the water.

331/365 Groovy bonnets

27 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, fungi, nature

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Finally some fungi I can identify with confidence because, as Pat O’Reilly explains on the First Nature website,

Cap colour is rarely of much help when you are struggling to identify a Mycena, as they vary so much with age, location, humidity and growing substrate. If you look closely at the stem of a Grooved Bonnet you will see that it has longitudinal striations, whereas other common bonnet mushrooms have smooth stems.

So, the striated stems you can, hopefully, see in my second photo below prove that these lovely little bonnets I found growing in a tree in the grounds of a local church are … taaa daas! … Grooved bonnets (Mycena polygramma).

330/365 A good day for lichens

26 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, lichen, nature, trees

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191126 lichen (1)

‘There is a low mist in the woods—It is a good day to study lichens. The view so confined—it compels your attention to near objects—& the white background reveals the disks of the lichens distinctly—They appear more loose-flowing—expanded—flattened out—the colors brighter—for the damp—The round yellowish green lichens on the white pines loom through the mist (or are seen dimly) like shields—whose devices you would fain read.’  ~  Henry David Thoreau, A Year in Thoreau’s Journal 1851, Penguin, New York, 1993

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329/365 A nice bit of slime

25 Monday Nov 2019

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One of the advantages of all the recent wet weather is that it aids the development of slime moulds.

191125 slime mould (1)

I found this lovely stuff on some small dead bramble twigs during today’s walk along the south Wales coastal path.

191125 slime mould (2)

It may be Mucilago crustacea but I can’t be sure about that identification.

191125 slime mould (3)

328/365 Winter 10, 2019

24 Sunday Nov 2019

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Now that most insects have morphed in to their over-wintering pupae or are hibernating somewhere warm and dark, my eye naturally turns to whatever else I can find in the natural world around me and one of those things is the wildflower. You might think they, also, have faded away but, depending on the weather, there are usually flowers to be found all year round. If you don’t believe me, try following #wildflowerhour on social media, every Sunday night from 8 to 9pm, to see what folks have managed to find for the weekly #winter10 challenge. Here are my finds from this week’s local walks …

327/365 Stigmella leaf mines

23 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, insects, leaves, nature

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Before the heavy rain came in yesterday I managed a quick local walk, part of which was to look at maple trees for the leaf mines of a tiny moth called Stigmella aceris, which has slowly been expanding its range in south Wales. I didn’t find any on the few trees I looked at, though I will continue to look and will report back here if I do manage to find any.

I decided to switch my focus on to another of the Stigmella moth species, Stigmella aurella, the Golden pigmy moth, which lives its larval life in mines burrowed in bramble leaves. Though you might never see the adult moth, you will undoubtedly be able to find its leaf mines as they are common and widespread throughout most of Britain, and I easily found several examples during my local meander. Now to find the maple-leaf-burrowing variety!

326/365 Return of the Redshanks

22 Friday Nov 2019

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This morning’s stomp along the Ely embankment produced my first Redshank sightings there of the autumn / winter.

191122 redshank (3)

And they’re late – in 2017 I saw them first on 22 October and last year it was the 30th. Of course, other Redshanks may already have arrived in Cardiff Bay and I simply haven’t seen them.

191122 redshank (2)

This morning I saw three and, even better news, one of the birds was ‘Peter’, a ringed bird I’ve also seen in previous years (and blogged about here, and his life story is here). Welcome back, my Redshank friends!

191122 redshank (1)

325/365 Sleeping ducks

21 Thursday Nov 2019

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A freezing easterly wind was blasting anyone and anything foolish enough to be out and about today, which, of course, included me. At least I had the luxury of several layers of clothing, plus woolly hat, scarf and gloves.

For the Tufted ducks at Cosmeston, it was a case of lying low, in the lee of any vegetation that provided shelter, and trying to sleep, though with one eye open in case some kind person should toss them some seed.

*Note to self: Buy bird seed to take along on future winter walks.

324/365 Beetle tracks?

20 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, insects, nature, trees

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I don’t know which species of insect created these tracks under the bark on a fallen tree but I imagine it was some kind of beetle. I also don’t know if this damage caused the tree to fall, though it seems unlikely as this was quite superficial. Whatever the circumstances, the marks were lovely to behold.

191203 beetle tracks (1)191203 beetle tracks (3)191203 beetle tracks (2)

323/365 Autumn critters

19 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in autumn, insects, nature, plants

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It may be late autumn, with shortening days, chill winds and cooling nights but, when the sun comes out as it did yesterday, the insects also come out to warm themselves and feed. During my walk around Cosmeston I spotted a late Red admiral butterfly and then, further on, where ivy was still flowering, a host of flying mini-beasties: hoverflies, various bees and wasps. And, near them, tucked away further down on a bramble leaf, even a caterpillar, probably a moth larva though I’m not sure which species.