A weekend of wildflowers

23 Saturday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, Spring colour, spring wildflowers

As this week’s #WildflowerHour challenge on social media is to find white flowers (they will feature in tomorrow’s blog), I thought that today I would post about the coloured wildflowers that have begun to bloom in my local area, so here they are:

240323 wildflowers blue and pink

A quite random combination of Forget-me-not and Cuckooflower

240323 wildflowers bluebells

Both the traditional blue and the pinkish-lilac variation of Spanish bluebells

240323 wildflowers yellows

The yellows: Cowslips and Marsh marigolds and, not really new but beginning to flower in greater numbers now, Dandelions

240323 wildflowers ivy-leaved

Flowers with leaves shaped like Ivy: Ivy-leaved speedwell and Ivy-leaved toadflax

240323 wildflowers geraniums

Members of the Geranium family: Common stork’s-bill, Herb Robert and Shining crane’s-bill

Two Wheatears

21 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Oenanthe oenanthe, spring migration, Wheatear

When Spring migration draws nigh, I start watching more closely the social media posts from birders living along England’s south coast, as that gives me a fairly good idea about what might turn up on the south Wales coast a day or two later. So, after seeing reports of the first Wheatears arriving 7-10 days ago, I’ve been focusing my walks in the area of Cardiff Bay, as that’s the most likely place for me to spot one. And, finally, yesterday I spotted the first two on the Barrage, initially on the grassy banks but, as so often happens, loose dogs racing madly about scared the birds into seeking refuge amongst the outer barrier of huge boulders. These were two handsome male Wheatears, returning to breed after having spent their winter in sunny central Africa.

240320 wheatear

First Bee-fly

20 Wednesday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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Bee-fly, Bombylius major, British bee-flies, British flies, Dark-edged bee-fly, signs of spring

As well as the lovely Comma, Monday’s walk also produced my first bee-fly sightings for 2024. We only have Dark-edged bee-flies (Bombylius major) in my area and these were all males, as they usually emerge before the females. It’s so heartening to see these wonderful little signs of Spring.

240320 dark-edged bee-fly

First Comma

19 Tuesday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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British butterflies, butterfly, Comma

During Monday’s walk I finally saw my second butterfly in 2024, my first Comma, and this was my first photo of a butterfly this year – the first butterfly I saw was a Red admiral fluttering most unexpectedly outside my train window on a sunny day in January. My Comma is not the sharpest but I rather love the frothy pink of the ornamental Cherry blossom surrounding it.

240319 comma

Greenbottle

18 Monday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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British flies, Greenbottle, Greenbottle fly, Lucilia sericata, Lucilia species

I was enjoying seeing a few flies and hoverflies out and about in the sunny sheltered spots during yesterday’s local meander but this little one, in particular, caught my eye with its iridescent green shimmer. It’s one of the so-called Greenbottle flies, a species of Lucilia, and is most likely the commonest of those species, Lucilia sericata, as it seems to have the correct identifying features. The Naturespot website entry lists these as a ‘pale basicosta and a single anterodorsal bristle on the mid tibia’, which may make you say ‘What???’ out loud, as I did, but fortunately they include photos to illustrate what this gobbledygook – er, scientific anatomical description refers to.

240318 greenbottle

Name the singer

14 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, spring migration

The occasion in this short video was the first time I heard this beautiful melody in 2024, on 3 March, about 10 days earlier than in previous years. The next day I heard two more, in different separate locations, the following day yet one more. The miracle of migration is just so incredible; every year I am amazed and overjoyed when the birds return and begin to sing. Can you name the singer, and have you heard one yet?

A Little gull in the Bay

12 Tuesday Mar 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Hydrocoloeus minutus, Little gull

With more than 1000 Black-headed gulls currently feeding in Cardiff Bay, it took some help from my birding friends for me to locate this gorgeous 2cy Little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) on Sunday, though yesterday I managed to find it for myself. You just need to get your eye in, as its flight is quite distinctive, and so too is its size and colouring. These events – this accumulation of Black-headed gulls and a fleeting visit from a Little gull – are quite normal for this time of year as the gulls pass through en route to their breeding grounds.

240312 little gull

A bumblebee and its mimic

11 Monday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

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Blackthorn blossom, Bombus terrestris, British bumblebees, British hoverflies, Buff-tailed bumblebee, Criorhina ranunculi, Large bearfly

Though there was a cold nor’easterly wind blowing, occasional sunny periods brought out a few insects during my visit to Cardiff’s Grangemoor Park last Friday, and I was lucky enough to spot a couple of Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) queens feeding on Blackthorn blossom.

240311 buff-tailed bumblebee

Even better, on one tree I found one of Britain’s larger hoverflies, one that mimics bumblebees, a Large bearfly (Criorhina ranunculi), one that can often be seen in early Spring on the blossom of willows, Blackthorn and Wild cherry. This hoverfly’s tail end can be white, orange or red in colour (this one’s was reddish); to see these variations, and his superb images of this hoverfly, check out Steven Falk’s Flikr album.

240311 Criorhina ranunculi

Willow catkins

10 Sunday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in spring, trees

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Goat willow, Grey willow, male willow catkins, Pussy willow, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, willow catkins

It’s that time of year when pussy willow – the gorgeous male catkins of the Goat willow (Salix caprea) and Grey willow (Salix cinerea) – is gracing the trees.

240310 willow catkins (1)

In Flora Britannica, Richard Mabey writes that ‘Because so little else was in leaf or flowers at this early season [early Spring], sprays of sallow have frequently been used as “palm” to decorate churches at Eastertide.’

240310 willow catkins (2)

Name that rosette, 2

03 Sunday Mar 2024

Posted by sconzani in plants, spring, wildflowers

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British wildflowers, identifying early plant growth, plant identification, plant rosettes

I dipped my toe in to the ‘name that rosette’ waters very briefly back in February 2022 (Name that rosette, 1, 13 February 2022), very quickly realised it was much more difficult than I had anticipated, and yanked my toe rapidly back out again. However, this week’s challenge for #WildflowerHour on social media is about identifying plant rosettes, so I thought I’d have another try. I admit I chose plant’s that are relatively easy and cheated a bit by finding flower-less rosettes next to those with more advanced growth and flowers already beginning to bloom, which helped tremendously. So, I’m fairly confident that these rosettes are Bittercress (Cardamine sp) – not sure if it’s possible to tell at this stage which species this will become; Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.); Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna); and Woolly thistle (Cirsium eriophorum).

240303 rosettes