255/365 Scarlet pimpernel

12 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers

Tags

Anagallis arvensis, British wildflowers, Scarlet pimpernel

It occurs to me that I should be posting about the last of the summer flowers before they disappear for another year. So, here’s a pretty little thing I always enjoy seeing – it’s Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis).

190912 scarlet pimpernel (3)

According to the First Nature website, ‘The genus name Anagallis comes from Greek and means “to delight again” – a reference to the reopening of the flowers each day when the sun comes out. The specific epithet arvensis means “of cultivated land”, which habitat is indeed commonly graced by these lovely little wildflowers.’

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)

250/365 Black and white

07 Saturday Sep 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Cabbage white, Large white

190907 large white (1)

I know the Large white butterfly is the bane of gardeners who like to grow their own cabbages, cauliflowers and broccoli but you can’t deny how lovely it is – or, rather, she is: the two spots and a dash on the upper forewings mean this is a female. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Large white with such black markings before – she must be newly hatched, which means she may be from a third brood. She was simply perfect!

190907 large white (2)

246/365 On the scabious

03 Tuesday Sep 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bees, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverflies, insects on scabious, Painted Lady, scabious, Small white butterfly

190903 devil's-bit scabious (1)

At this time of year, the delicate lilac tinge of Devil’s-bit scabious casts its imperial purple shadow across the meadows at Cosmeston and at Lavernock. I love it, and I’m not the only one.

190903 devil's-bit scabious (7)

It’s proving extremely popular as a late-summer early-autumn source of nectar for all manner of bees, butterflies and hoverflies. Here are a few I’ve seen in recent days …

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244/365 Autumn lady’s-tresses

01 Sunday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, flowers, nature, seasons, wildflowers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Autumn Lady’s-tresses, British orchids, British wildflowers, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, orchids, Spiranthes spiralis

Happy (calendar) Autumn!

190901 autumn lady's-tresses (1)

Today’s plant couldn’t be more appropriate – these are Autumn lady’s-tresses (Spiranthes spiralis). True to their name, they usually appear when the weather turns more autumnal, and their twirling spiral form apparently reminded their original namer of the ringlets once popular in women’s hairstyles.

Though they like to grow in very short turf, Autumn lady’s-tresses are themselves quite small and, surrounded as these were by other wildflowers, especially the superficially similar Eyebright, they weren’t easy to spot.

Luckily for me, when I was having an early wander around Cosmeston this morning, I bumped into a friend of a friend, who is extremely knowledgeable about the local flora, and he very kindly showed me where these gorgeous little orchids were growing.

190901 autumn ladies tresses (6)

243/365 Turn of the seasons

31 Saturday Aug 2019

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

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Turnstone

The yellowing of the leaves on the tree outside my window, my sightings of migrating birds, the cooler night-time temperatures have all been telling me for a couple of weeks that autumn is on its way, something the calendar will agree with tomorrow. But, for me, one of the true indicators is the arrival of the Turnstones, back from their breeding season in Greenland and northern Canada.

190831 turnstone

The five I spotted on the Ely embankment this morning still show some of their summer colouring but those chestnut feathers will soon disappear as the birds complete their moult into winter plumage. Welcome back, my little friends!

224/365 It’s autumn!

12 Monday Aug 2019

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Spotted flycatcher

Willow warblers are peeping from every bush, Blackcaps are chacking, Swallows and martins are swooping low over the fields at Cosmeston for last minute snacks before they cross their first stretch of water on their way south and, today, at Lavernock, I saw my first Spotted flycatcher of the year. Autumn migration is well and truly underway!

190812 spotted flycatcher

Winter 10 again

02 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, wildflowers, winter wildflower challenge

181202 Dove's-foot crane's-bill

Here are this week’s still-flowering wildflowers for Wildflowerhour’s #Winter10 challenge, found during my perambulations around my local patch. These are (I think): Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill (above), Bush vetch, Common chickweed, Daisy, Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Petty spurge, Red campion, a sowthistle (possibly Smooth sowthistle) (must pay more attention to the leaves next time), and Yellow corydalis.

Friday night discos

30 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, fungi, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bisporella citrina, British fungi, cup fungi, disco fungi, fungi on rotting wood, Lachnum virgineum, Lemon disco, Snowy disco

Discos seem appropriate for a Friday night or, rather, they would have in the 1960s and ’70s. But my discos don’t involve a multi-colour dance floor or a flashing-ball light or John Travolta-style dancing – my discos are fungi. Getting down and dirty in Cogan Wood earlier this week, selectively picking up small logs of rotting wood for inspection, I found two of these little beauties.

181130 snowy disco Snowy disco (Lachnum virgineum)

181130 lemon disco Lemon disco (Bisporella citrina)

Disclaimer: Fungi are notoriously difficult to identify and one thing I’ve learnt from dipping my toes into the mycological world is that one should always confirm one’s identification, especially of minute fungi like these, by microscopic examination. I have not done that so my IDs are not confirmed, just quite likely.

Cycle of life

28 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, trees

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

catkins, cycle of life, Pussy willow

As I look around me on my daily walks, I see dying leaves falling from skeletal trees, I note that the butterflies and most other insects have now disappeared, I watch the winter bird migrants munching on the final berries, and I notice how short the hours of daylight are becoming. Yet, in the midst of all this death, decay and gloominess, I am cheered to notice signs of life and renewal. It seems awfully early for Pussy willow – maybe it’s not that. Whatever it is, it’s lovely.

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