86/365 In west paddock

27 Wednesday Mar 2019

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

Tags

Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, primrose, Scutellinia fungi, Small tortoiseshell, violets

190327 west paddock (1)

Today I went to Cosmeston for the first time in a few weeks and I was delighted to find its west paddock tinged a delicate shade of purple from all the violets currently in flower. I don’t remember it being so obvious in previous years. Along the edges of the paddock, primroses were in bloom, adding their soft buttery yellow to the colour mix.

While looking more closely at the flowers, I noticed tiny circles of red dotting the soil – a species of Scutellinia fungi I’m guessing, but working out which species requires some serious microscope work.

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And then along flew my first Small tortoiseshell butterfly of the year to add its vibrant hues to the kaleidoscope of colour in the paddock. Just perfect!

190327 west paddock (6)

85/365 A day of firsts

26 Tuesday Mar 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, 7-spot ladybirds, bee-flies, Comma butterfly, Common Green Shieldbug, Dark-edged bee-fly, Peacock butterfly, Penarth Rail Trail, Sawfly, south Wales coastal path, Speckled wood

190326 (1) rail trail

I walked further than I intended today but I just couldn’t resist the sunshine, the calls of the birds, the bees and hoverflies buzzing all around, the white blossom and the vibrant green leaf growth … it was magical! Yesterday, I saw my first Peacock butterflies of the year and today I saw four more, plus my first two Speckled woods and my first Comma, my first Common green shieldbug and my first Dark-edged bee-flies, lots of them, and my first 7-spot ladybirds. It gladdens my heart to see so much new life emerging.

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190326 (12) coastal path

84/365 Sand martins, yay!

25 Monday Mar 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birds in Cardiff Bay, birdwatching, British birds, hirundines, Sand martin, spring migration

I’ve been following the reports of hirundines – that’s the Sand martins, House martins and Swallows – arriving for the last week or so, itching to get out and find some for myself. Finally today I plodded, slowly and still having trouble walking in a straight line, over to the other side of Cardiff Bay, and my stumbling was rewarded by the sight of at least half a dozen Sand martins checking out the holes in the walls of one of the old harbour docks as potential nesting sites. A couple of pairs looked like they were getting quite cosy.

83/365 Saluting the admiral

24 Sunday Mar 2019

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Red Admiral

190324 Red admiral

I wondered if today’s sunshine might bring out the butterflies and it did, though this little Red admiral made me wait until I was almost home from my local amble before it appeared. And then it led me a merry dance, settling on a lamp post for just a second, fluttering off along the road as if it was departing, disappearing behind some trees, reappearing from the other direction, sidling up to the lamp post again, almost instantly flying off. Pretty flitty little thing!

82/365 First Bluebells

23 Saturday Mar 2019

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

blue flowers, Bluebell, spring flowers, spring wildflowers, springtime

Almost …

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Nearly there …

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Yes! My first Bluebells of the year today in St Augustine’s churchyard in Penarth.

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81/365 The greening

22 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, leaves, nature, spring, trees

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Cherry blossom, Cherry tree, greening of the trees, leaf growth, spring leaves

190322 cherry tree (1) 0403

I didn’t venture far today but I didn’t even have to leave home for this blog post. I figured the recent high winds would’ve blown away all the blossom on my Cherry tree while I was away and I was right, but I hadn’t really considered how much the growth of the new leaves would have progressed. The first photo was taken on 4 March and the second today. What a difference 18 days makes!

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64/365 Coot in trash

05 Tuesday Mar 2019

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

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coot, Coot nesting, Coot on nest, rubbish around bird's nest, rubbish in waterways

What can I say? Sometimes I get very angry at the human race!

190305 Coot in trash

58/365 Tiny bird, huge voice

27 Wednesday Feb 2019

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

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, wren, wren displaying

190227 wren displaying

I’m not sure whether this male Wren’s posturing was a threat display – ‘This is my territory. Enter at your own risk!’ – or whether he was trying to impress the other Wren that was dotting about in the tree nearby – ‘Look at me! I’m a big healthy tough male and I’d make a good mate.’ He sure was giving it his all though – it always amazes me how much sound can be produced by such a small bird.

57/365 Buzzing

26 Tuesday Feb 2019

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

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

bees, British insects, climate breakdown, climate change, hoverflies, insects emerging early, spring in winter

For the second day in a row, places in north Wales have posted record high winter temperatures and, though a chilly breeze has kept things a bit cooler here in the south, it’s still much warmer than it should be. And these unseasonable highs have been responsible for the early awakening of much insect life. On today’s wander I spotted several hoverflies and bumblebees, a Brimstone butterfly flew past my house earlier, and the cherry tree outside my window has been buzzing with bees all day. It’s wonderful to see all these critters out and about again but it’s also a worry as winter’s probably not finished with us yet.

56/365 Frog spawn

25 Monday Feb 2019

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

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Common frog, frog, frog spawn, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Rana temporaria

190225 frog spawn (1)

Plenty of sunshine in recent days means lots of light and warmth, which means the Common frogs (Rana temporaria) have been doing their thing in the pond at Lavernock Nature Reserve, and there are now huge clumps of spawn. Some of the little black dots already look to be developing, though, apparently, only 1 in 50 of these eggs will grow to frog-hood. I’ll be keeping an eye on them whenever I pass through this way.

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