113/365 Superb Sully stroll

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

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

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#365DaysWild, Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, birdwatching, British birds, south Wales coastal path, Sully, Sully beach, Whimbrel

I caught the bus to Sully this morning, walked along to the western end of the bay, then retraced my steps and walked along the coastal path all the way back to Penarth, about 7½ miles in total. And it was superb, especially the stroll along Sully Bay. I’d timed my walk to be there just before high tide, as that often pushes the birds up closer to the path that runs along the top of the beach, and this was a high high tide so, with some stealthy sneaking along behind the trees, I managed to get really close to a flock of six Whimbrels.

And, to my delight, the Whimbrels had two Bar-tailed godwits with them. I’ve never managed to get so close to either species before so I was really chuffed. And, if you’re wondering why the godwits don’t look the same, the bird on the left (below) is a male in his summer breeding colours, while the bird on the right might be a juvenile or a non-breeding adult.

112/365 My first damselfly

22 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

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#365DaysWild, British damselflies, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, damselflies, damselfly, Large Red damselfly, Pyrrhosoma nymphula

Our warm Easter weekend weather has certainly brought out the critters. Today I spotted my first damselfly of 2019, this lovely Large Red (Pyrrhosoma nymphula). Woot!

190422 Large red damselfly

111/365 Reed warbler

21 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 6 Comments

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#365DaysWild, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British warblers, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Reed warbler

There are thirteen species of warbler that regularly breed in Britain and I find them some of the trickiest to identify as several are typically LBJs, little brown jobs.

190421 reed warbler (1)

The Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) is, I think, one of the easier, partly because of its recognisable warble and partly because it lives up to its name by living almost exclusively in reeds.

190421 reed warbler (3)

But it’s an elusive little bird so I’ve never managed to get clear photos of it … until today, when this little beauty was so intent on finding food that I was able to watch it for over ten minutes. Just perfect!

190421 reed warbler (2)

110/365 A smelly Saturday

20 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, plants, spring

≈ 6 Comments

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Alexandra Park, British flora, Bute Park, Ramsons, Roath Park, smelly plants, Wild garlic

It doesn’t matter what name you call it by – Ramsons, Londoner’s lily or Wild garlic – it smells. Some people even find the smell overwhelming but I don’t mind it, and when you see Ramsons flowering en masse, they’re really very lovely.

190420 ramsons (1a)

According to Richard Mabey in my ever-useful Flora Britannica, Ramsons were ‘unmistakable and abundant enough to figure in Old English place names’ and he gives the following examples: ‘Ramsey Island off Pembrokeshire; Ramsbottom, Lancashire; Ramsdell, Hampshire; Ramsholt, Suffolk; Ramshope, Northumberland; and Ramshorn, Staffordshire’.

Here in Penarth, the banks of the stream that flows alongside Alexandra Park are carpeted with Ramsons at this time of year, and their growth is also lush in the wild gardens in Cardiff’s Roath Park and under the trees in Bute Park’s woodland trail. Get sniffing!

190420 ramsons (5)

109/365 Welcome back, Whitethroats!

19 Friday Apr 2019

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

≈ 3 Comments

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common whitethroat, Grangemoor Park, Sylvia communis, Whitethroat

Did you know that the Whitethroat (Sylvia communis, also known as the Common whitethroat to distinguish it from the Lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca) is one of thirteen birds on the British list that has the colour white in its name?*

190419 whitethroat (1)

At least this is one bird that is relatively easy to identify, both because of that prominent white throat and because of its distinctive warbling song. And that’s how I managed to spot my first four Whitethroats of the year today at Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park, singing their hearts out, having just arrived back in the country after spending winter in the Sahel, just south of the Sahara.

190419 whitethroat (2)

* This is according to Stephen Moss’s excellent book Mrs Moreau’s Warbler: How birds got their names, Guardian Faber, London, 2018.

108/365 Smut in Bute Park

18 Thursday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, fungi, nature

≈ 4 Comments

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Bute Park, Microbotryum silenes-dioicae, Red campion, Red campion smut, Silene dioica, smut, smut fungus

One of my Facebook friends recently made the comment that you can never have too much smut so I immediately thought of him when I saw how much smut was to be found in Cardiff’s Bute Park this afternoon.

Before you think this blog is descending rapidly towards the gutter, let me quickly say that the smut to which I am referring is Microbotryum silenes-dioicae, a smut that occurs on the anthers of Red campion (Silene dioica) flowers. It’s a type of fungus that produces brown, powdery spores so it’s very easy to spot, as you can see below – the photo on the left shows a normal Red campion flower, the flowers on the right are smutty.

107/365 Merry as a martin

17 Wednesday Apr 2019

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

≈ 2 Comments

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#365DaysWild, birding, birds nesting in Cardiff Bay, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Sand martin

I braved the school holiday crowds for a walk around part of Cardiff Bay today ’cause I wanted to see how the Sand martins were settling in to their chosen nooks and crannies. It was a delight to see so many of these charming little birds swooping back and forth over the waterways, merrily chattering all the while, and they seem to be actively nesting in almost every one of the old docks.

I watched them for a long time and loved every moment but I couldn’t help but feel sad that so few of the people there today even noticed them. They were missing something very special.

106/365 Snoozing

16 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

≈ 4 Comments

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, female duck, female mallard, Mallard, sleeping duck

190416 female mallard

Some days, when it’s grey and misty and still a bit damp from the morning’s rain, the best thing to do is tuck your head under your wing and snooze the afternoon away – at least that seems to have been the opinion of this female Mallard on the Ely embankment today.

105/365 Number 10

15 Monday Apr 2019

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

≈ 10 Comments

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

I walked almost every path, track and trail at Lavernock Nature Reserve today hoping that, in spite of the strong cold southerly wind blowing in off the sea, I might find some butterflies in the more sheltered spots … and I did – four Speckled woods, a fine male Orange-tip, and the one butterfly I had hoped most to see, my first Holly blue and my tenth butterfly species for 2019. And what a beauty it was!

190415 holly blue

104/365 Peggles, paigles

14 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

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#365DaysWild, British wildflowers, Cowslip, False oxslips, Paigles, Peggles, spring wildflowers

I know these gorgeous wildflowers as Cowslips but they have a wealth of other names, including Hey-flowers, Peggles, Paigles, Culverkeys and Bunch of keys, according to the entry in my Flora Britannica. Perhaps you know other local names for them.

One thing I didn’t know until today is that the name Cowslip is a euphemism for ‘cow-slop’ or cow pat because these lovely blooms often grow best in fields that have been well ‘fertilised’ by cows.

p.s. My Facebook friend George has very kindly corrected my flower identification: ‘The first and last photos are false oxlips rather than true cowslips, these are hybrids between cowslips and primroses and have slightly bigger, paler and more open flowers.’ I must pay more attention next time I’m looking at wildflowers!