16 Sunday Feb 2020
Storm Dennis has dumped a huge amount of rain across Wales this weekend, on to ground already saturated by the rain from Storm Ciara and, sadly, this has led to severe flooding in some south Wales communities. I am fortunate to live in a town which, although by the sea, is mostly built upon the clifftops, between 30 and 70 metres above sea level, so we have escaped with just a little surface flooding. And that, as you can see, can provide some very attractive reflections.
15 Saturday Feb 2020
Tags
British insects, Common Green Shieldbug, Green shieldbug, Palomena prasina, sunbathing shieldbug
Obviously, these photos were not taken today, as Storm Dennis is currently blasting the British Isles – though, in truth, here in south Wales we are not getting quite as much rain as I expected, nor are we being battered as severely as we were by the fiercely gusting winds that accompanied last weekend’s Storm Ciara, for which I am extremely grateful.
My photos of this Common green shieldbug (Palomena prasina) were taken a week ago, on a warm (for the time of year) sunny day. And, as I have just read in a tweet by SEWBReC, our local biodiversity records centre, that ‘Now is a good time of year to spot shieldbugs sunbathing on (rare!) sunny days’, I thought I would make this little sunbather my critter of the day.
14 Friday Feb 2020
Love is in the air for the Black-headed gulls, as many have already completed the change to their breeding colours, their head plumage morphed from (mostly) winter white to the chocolate brown (not black) of summer. It’s little wonder people find identifying (not sea)gulls confusing when they are so misleadingly named.
Here’s a link to a blog from 2016 that shows the change process in photographs.
13 Thursday Feb 2020
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Green woodpecker, Green woodpecker pooh, signs of Green woodpecker, woodpecker holes in dirt
Even if I hadn’t heard the Green woodpecker yaffling as it flew from the paddock ahead of a dog and its walker passing through, I would have known the bird had recently been there. For, as I strolled along the boundary path, every patch of bare earth had punched into it the tell-tale holes of the woodpecker’s probing beak as it had searched beneath the ground for ants and other insects.
And, always quite close to those scatterings of holes were the bird’s droppings, with their characteristic hook at one end – just like a stick of candy, someone once told me, though undoubtedly the taste would be rather different. If you look closely at my photos, you might just make out the carapaces from the bird’s feasting.
12 Wednesday Feb 2020
Tags
Before you think you’re reading the wrong blog, this is not a weather report!
It’s just that I was surprised during today’s woodland walk (in sunshine, though with a very chilly breeze blowing) to see that smatterings of yesterday’s hail were still lying amongst the vegetation in more sheltered areas.
And, not only that, but there were also two small drifts, a couple of feet across, of the snow that must have fallen on Monday night while I was sleeping. I noticed traces of it on some shady rooftops yesterday but thought it would all have melted away by now.
The fact that both hail and snow have survived is certainly proof, which today’s numb fingertips can confirm, that the temperatures have been much cooler this week.
11 Tuesday Feb 2020
Today’s walk around some of central Cardiff’s lovely parks was peppered with light hail showers but that worked in my favour because it meant there weren’t many other people out walking and so the birds weren’t as disturbed as they might have been. And that meant I was able to get quite close to some of the large flocks of Redwings that were grazing on the grassy meadows and playing fields. What handsome birds these winter visitors are, with their distinctive pale face stripes, their rusty flanks and their ‘tseep tseep’ calls.
10 Monday Feb 2020
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, gulls on beach, gulls on mudflats
Storm Ciara has been blasting us with gale-force winds, heavy showers and stinging hail again today but I managed a brisk walk down to Cardiff Bay without getting drenched (though I did have to shelter from the wild weather for 30 minutes as a squall roared through – it was loud and dramatic).
The sheltering gave me the chance to watch the Black-headed gulls tackling the weather – their aerial control was incredible, though even they were struggling at times, and the majority of the gulls were hunkered down on the beach and mudflats, prospecting for mid-morning snacks.
09 Sunday Feb 2020
Posted in nature, spring, wildflowers
Tags
Alexanders, British wildflowers, Cherry plum blossom, crocus, Dog's mercury, Lesser Celandine, snowdrop, Spring blossom
This week’s wanderings produced sightings of two new wildflowers for the year, Dog’s mercury (Mercurialis perennis), thriving under a hedgerow, and Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum), an exceedingly common plant along the local coastal path.
I’d seen Crocuses already but this swathe, growing on a small green in the village of Michaelston-le-Pit, was a lilac delight.
Not a wildflower, but the local Cherry plum trees have burst into bloom this week. They say Spring to me!
Snowdrops are out en masse now, and more and more bursts of bright yellow Lesser celandines can be found, sprinkled along paths and in the local woodlands. So cheery!
08 Saturday Feb 2020
Tags
birding, birdwatching, Blue Tom, British birds, dunnock, Dunnock's vernacular names, Hedge Betty, Hedge Mike
The Dunnock has some wonderful vernacular names. From my Fauna Britannica: Billy (Oxfordshire); blue Isaac (Gloucestershire); dickie (Lancashire); hedge Betty (Warwickshire); Philip (Ireland); blue Tom (Stirlingshire); hedge Mike (Sussex) – these are just a few of the 49 names listed, from all parts of Britain. It’s no wonder, as the Dunnock is one of the most common of British birds.
It may be dun coloured (hence its most common name, though some people still call it by its former name of Hedge sparrow) but its small frame is packed with character.
This particular bird was so intent on blasting out its song today that it almost ignored me, standing on the muddy path in front of it. Another Dunnock was singing its territory and attractiveness as a mate from a nearby bush so I think there was a little competition going on.
07 Friday Feb 2020
Grebes were much in evidence today.
As well as these two Great crested grebes, I saw several other pairs, some displaying and, once, a couple of males engaged in a noisy dispute, over a fine nesting spot perhaps.
Making a lot of chattering noise as they swam, two Little grebes also seemed to be searching for potential nest sites amongst the reeds. We might be expecting a mighty storm in the next couple of days but the birds are thinking it’s Springtime.
earthstar 
You must be logged in to post a comment.