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~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Category Archives: autumn

New year, first mammals

03 Tuesday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in autumn, mammal

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British mammals, grey squirrel, rabbit

It probably comes as no surprise that the first mammal I spotted this year was a Grey squirrel – it’s certainly the mammal I see most often.

230103 grey squirrel

And that wee beastie was followed closely by the second mammal of 2023, a Rabbit, this one enjoying a snooze in some very welcome sunshine yesterday.

230103 rabbit

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Homage to autumn

27 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, trees

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autumn colour, autumn leaves, autumn trees

As today is the last Sunday of autumn  I thought I’d pull together a little video of this year’s display of trees and their leaves, from the brown and bland to the rosy red and spectacular. Come scuff some leaves with me …

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Lurking beneath

23 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, leaves

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British bugs, British shieldbugs, Elasmucha grisea, leaf-turning, Parent bug

This is my favourite time of year for leaf turning, not only because it’s the best time of year to search for leafmines but also because you never know what you might find lurking beneath. In this instance, a rosy red Parent bug (Elasmucha grisea), which overwinters as an adult bug, was hiding away beneath the leaves in a well-vegetated spot.

221123 parent bug

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Frost and flowers

20 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, frost, frosty leaves

Yesterday saw our first real frost of the season, with the ground crunchy and vegetation covered in a sparkling layer of ice crystals.

221120 frost

Despite these signs of the cooler weather to come, there were still plenty of wildflowers in bloom so, as I meandered up and down the east and west paddocks at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, I photographed those I found: Blue fleabane; Bramble; both Creeping and Meadow buttercups; the ubiquitous Daisy and Dandelion; one or two Devil’s-bit scabious and Flax flowers hanging on in the more sheltered spots; Wild carrot enjoying a second flowering; and Yellow-wort, whose little bursts of bright sunshine yellow dotted much of the west paddock.

221120 cosmeston wildflowers

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Caterpillars in November

16 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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Knot grass larva, Knot grass moth, moth caterpillars, moth larvae, Noctiud caterpillar

Though I know many Lepidoptera over-winter as caterpillars, and this has been a particularly mild November as well, it was still a surprise to see these two caterpillars on one of my recent walks. From previous sightings, I knew that the black, red and white hairy beastie was the larva of a Knot grass moth (Acronicta rumicis) but I didn’t recognise the other one. One of my Twitter pals was able to tell me it’s one of the Noctuid species of moths but wasn’t able to be more specific, but I’ve just ordered a book I’ve long desired, The Field Guide to Caterpillars of Great Britain and Ireland, so will hopefully be able to update this post soon.

221116 noctuid sp knot grass

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Flying autumn leaves

13 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, trees

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autumn, autumn colour, autumn leaves, falling leaves, flying leaves

‘Autumn leaves don’t fall, they fly. They take their time and wander on this their only chance to soar. Reflecting sunlight, they swirled and sailed and fluttered on the wind drafts.’ ~ from Where the crawdads sing, Delia Owens, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 2018

221113 autumn leaf

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Dusky puffball

11 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, fungi

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British fungi, Dusky puffball, Lycoperdon nigrescens, puffballs

As you can see, the Dusky puffball (Lycoperdon nigrescens) is very similar to the Common puffball but its skin is darker. Specimens are primarily found in coniferous woodland (mine was fruiting in a section of a local cemetery planted with various species of conifer), though these flexible puffballs can also be found growing amongst the dunes at the seaside and in the acid soils of heathland. According to Pat O’Reilly in his book Fascinated by Fungi, these fungi emit ‘an unpleasant gassy smell’ when their flesh is cut. I didn’t check!

221111 Dusky Puffball

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Tooting Teal

10 Thursday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British ducks, Roath Park Lake, Teal

I could hear them tooting from the other side of the road so quickly got my camera out and headed across to Roath Park Lake. There were six Teal in total, four males and two females. One pair was drifting off to one side together but it was the other three males that were making all the noise.

221110 teal (1)

The second female, a delicate brown-and-grey beauty, was the subject of their intense attention. All three males were circling her, making their distinctive tooting call and flinging back their heads. I had never seen this behaviour before but their display was unmistakeable. Each was trying, but seemingly failing to impress the female. They were certainly presenting her with some very handsome choices, and I was definitely impressed.

221110 teal (2)

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Twenty two

09 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, ladybird

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British ladybirds, Harlequin ladybirds, ladybirds

I know the weather’s been mild – we haven’t even had a frost here yet – but I still didn’t expect to see a bunch of ladybirds on nettles as I walked through a local park on Monday afternoon. Initially I thought there were just one or two but the little red dots just kept on appearing so I retraced my steps to where I’d seen the first one and counted. Twenty two! Sadly, they were all the invasive Harlequins but hopefully that means the native breeds are all tucked up somewhere safe for the winter.

221109 ladybirds

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Leaves as lungs

07 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, weather

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fallen leaves, leaf art, mud, muddy leaves

I’m not actually a fan of mud. It clings to my shoes, leads to more frequent clothes washing, makes pathways impassable, occasionally causes me to slip and slide and fall over on my backside. But, when I noticed a patch of fallen leaves lying in mud, I rather liked how they looked, how the mud helped to highlight the veins. And, when I got home and looked more closely at my photographs, this one leaf looked to me like a lung. And so I manipulated the image, cropping the photo then flipping it horizontally and pasting the two parts together. Et voilà!

221107 muddy leaves

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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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Recent blog posts

  • Encounters with grebes January 28, 2023
  • Fern Friday: Hart’s-tongue January 27, 2023
  • Feasting Chiffchaff January 26, 2023
  • A Water vole does lunch January 25, 2023
  • A cool cloud January 24, 2023

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