Category Archives: nature

Some recent moths

16 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by in insects, nature

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Though they seem to have disappeared now, the Burnet companions (Euclidia glyphica) were out in force at Cosmeston for about six weeks, from the last day of May until early July.

180716 1 Burnet companion

The Common purple & gold (Pyrausta purpuralis) is a tiny but very colourful moth – a rich maroon-purple base with pretty gold markings.

180716 2 Pyrausta purpuralis

With a thin red line running horizontally from one wing tip to the other, it’s easy to see how the Blood-vein (Timandra comae) got its name.

180716 3 Blood-vein

Glyphipterix thrasonella (no common name) is another very small moth, as you can tell from its size relative to my fingers, and is another with attractive markings, this time bright light blue on a gold base.

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In Bute Park recently I spotted two different species of moth. The first was this tiny micro on Hogweed, an Orange-spot piercer (Pammene aurana).

180716 5 Orange-spot piercer

I didn’t have to try hard to see the second moth as it fluttered down from a tree on to the earth in front of me. This is a Riband wave (Idaea aversata).

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And, while we’re on the subject of Riband waves, here’s another but this is the banded form – note how the area between the two lines on its wings has been ‘coloured in’.

180716 7 Riband wave banded form

Last but certainly not least is this stunning Scarlet tiger (Callimorpha dominula), which was sitting on the grassy path in front of me during a recent meander around Lavernock Nature Reserve.

180716 8 Scarlet tiger

Ratty’s back

15 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in animals, mammal, nature

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180715 water vole (1)

Well, the truth is Ratty probably never went away. Water voles might disappear from sight during the cold months of winter but they don’t actually hibernate – they simply burrow deeper underground to keep warm, and they spend a lot of time sleeping, which means they don’t need to snack too often from the larder they stock in autumn, full of bulbs, roots and tubers. They also bung up the entrance to their burrows with a mix of vegetation and mud, which helps keep the heat inside.

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Come the Spring, they emerge and spend more time out and about, though it’s only in the past month or so that I’ve seen them again at Cosmeston. That may just be the timing of my visits, though the few I’ve seen have also seemed a bit less confident about being out and about than last year’s Water voles, possibly because some idiot people have let their dogs jump into the dipping pond, an area where they are obviously forbidden.

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It’s probably impossible to tell how many of last year’s release of 100 Water voles have survived the winter but another 40-odd were released a few weeks back to supplement the local population.

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People love to watch them, young and old alike, so let’s hope we can all enjoy them chewing away at the vegetation for the days, weeks, months to come.

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One smart critter

14 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

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The Swollen-thighed beetle (Oedemera nobilis) is very easy going when it comes to what nectar or pollen it eats. Judging by the number of different flowers I’ve seen it on, my conclusion is that it will slurp and snack almost anywhere, and this would seem to be a very good tactic for its future survival because the more specific the dietary requirements of an insect, the greater the chance it will suffer from changes to its environment and food plants. Being a generalist makes the Swollen-thighed beetle one smart critter!

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More crane’s-bills and a stork’s-bill

13 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in flowers, nature, wildflowers

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It’s Floral Friday so I thought we’d take a look at a few more of the beautiful Crane’s-bill family and one of their cousins, a Stork’s-bill. I think you’ll agree that they’re all rather lovely.

180713 Cut-Leaved Cranesbill

Cut-Leaved Cranesbill (Geranium dissectum)

180713 Meadow Crane's-bill

Meadow Crane’s-bill (Geranium pratense)

180713 Pencilled crane's-bill

Pencilled crane’s-bill (Geranium versicolor)

180713 Common stork's bill

Common stork’s bill (Erodium cicutarium)

Birding at Peterston & Pendoylan Moors

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in animals, birds, insects, nature, walks

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Yesterday I enjoyed another wonderful, if rather hot day’s birding with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, this time wandering a trail alongside the River Ely near Peterston-super-Ely and Pendoylan.

180711 2 red kites

On the way there, my friend John and I had incredibly close views of three Red kites and more of these magnificent birds of prey were gliding overhead during our walk.

180711 1 stock dove

We saw Stock doves (one pictured above) sitting obligingly close to Woodpigeons so we could see the differences in the two species.

180711 2 red fox

A Red fox was spotted trotting along in a distant field, its lunch in its mouth.

180711 4 meeting the locals

A large herd of large cows moved reluctantly away from the river so we could pass by. You’d have to be crazy to mess with this lady, who was keeping a steady eye on us in case we ventured too close to her calves.

180711 5 participants

The fifteen participants … well, fourteen really, as I was taking the photo.

180711 6 river ely

The meandering River Ely was running low due to the recent drought conditions here in south Wales.

As well as birds, we also saw lots of butterflies, including these: Cinnabar caterpillars, Comma, Green-veined white, Meadow brown, Peacock, and more Small tortoiseshell than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

180711 7 sandmartins

The highlight of the day for me was watching these Sand martins hawking for food over the fields and then returning to their burrows in the river bank to feed their hungry young. Magic!

Wild word: fasciated

11 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in flowers, nature, wildflowers

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Fasciated: Adjective; (Botany) Showing abnormal fusion of parts or organs, resulting in a flattened ribbon-like structure (Oxford Dictionary).

The thistle in my photo is an example; instead of developing in the circular shape that is usual for this plant, the flower has, for some unknown reason, become distorted into a flattened and elongated, almost oblong shape.

180711 fasciated

I’m following a tree: July 2018

08 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in nature, parks, trees

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I paid a visit to Mono, my tree, yesterday and was slightly surprised but much relieved to see it didn’t appear to be suffering any ill effects from the continued heatwave and drought we’re having here in south Wales and, indeed, throughout much of Britain. I guess the tree has very deep roots and will also benefit from the shelter of the trees around it.

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I was certainly enjoying the shelter its canopy afforded me from the fierce sunshine.

And looking up into its branches, I noticed my tree now has seeds, which means I obviously missed its flowering. Apparently, the greenish-yellow flowers appear in April-May in upright clusters.

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The seeds – actually called samaras – are really winged nuts, of the type that are commonly found on ash and maple trees. Mono’s are between 2 and 3cm long, inclusive of the wing, and are greenish in colour when still hanging on the tree, though those seeds that have already dropped off have dried to a light brown, with their wing-like structure clearly visible. All the better to spread those seeds on the wind when the time is right!

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A sunbathing Blackbird

07 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in birds, nature

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I spotted this Blackbird during a wander along the woodland trail in Cardiff’s Bute Park today, and it was concentrating so hard on its sunbathing that it didn’t notice me at first.

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The sun was fierce, which I think accounts for the bird sitting with its mouth open, trying to cool itself down. As for the sunbathing itself, here’s the explanation from the British Trust for Ornithology website:

‘Sunbathing’ is used by some birds as part of their routine feather maintenance and is most commonly seen … in Blackbirds and Robins. The birds invariably adopt a posture in which the body feathers are fluffed up and one or both wings are held out from the body, with feathers spread. It is thought that using the sun in this way does two things. It both helps the preen oil to spread across the feathers and drives parasites out from within the plumage. Some of these parasites feed on the feathers themselves and all are highly specialised, with many only found on a single species of bird.

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