02 Sunday Dec 2018
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter
Here are this week’s still-flowering wildflowers for Wildflowerhour’s #Winter10 challenge, found during my perambulations around my local patch. These are (I think): Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill (above), Bush vetch, Common chickweed, Daisy, Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Petty spurge, Red campion, a sowthistle (possibly Smooth sowthistle) (must pay more attention to the leaves next time), and Yellow corydalis.
25 Sunday Nov 2018
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers
If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know I’ve been trying on and off to learn the names of, and a bit more about, the British wildflowers I find on my meanderings. And, to that end, I follow a weekly happening on Twitter called #wildflowerhour. You can read more about that in my previous blog here. During winter they run a challenge to find and name at least 10 wildflowers each week and share them on social media using the hashtag #winter10.
Earlier this week, I decided to see what I could find as I walked firstly through Lavernock Nature Reserve and then homeward through Cosmeston Lakes Country Park. And, er, actually, for this week my hashtag needs to be #winter11. These are they: Blue fleabane, Bramble species, maybe a Hawkbit species, some kind of Buttercup, a Dandelion species, a Daisy and Devil’s-bit scabious, Yellow-wort, a thistley thing and Red clover, and Common ragwort. You can see I’ve still got some learning to do!
22 Thursday Nov 2018
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
British flora, Carlina vulgaris, Carline thistle, everlasting flowers, seedheads, seeds, thistle, thistle seeds
They glisten silver and gold in the late autumn sunshine these Carline thistles, with their thick fringe of papery bracts and heads of soft golden down. I blogged about the flowers last year; now here are the ‘everlasting’ seed heads that can be seen all through the chilly months of winter.
15 Thursday Nov 2018
Posted in autumn, nature, wildflowers
Tags
dandelion, dandelion seedhead, plant seeds, round seedheads, seed dispersal methods, seed dissemination, seeds
With its seeds attached to tiny botanical parachutes that can be distributed far and wide by the wind, the Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.) has evolved an extremely efficient method of disseminating its seed. It’s not surprising, then, that many other species use a very similar method to disperse their seeds.
I don’t think I’m getting my wish this time around!
26 Friday Oct 2018
Posted in insects, nature, wildflowers
From me and the bee …
19 Friday Oct 2018
Posted in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#FloralFriday, autumn colour, British flora, British native flowers, British wildflower, Penarth, Penarth zigzag path, Zigzag path
Back in June, I wrote a blog post about the insects I’d found when out walking along one of my local trails, the zigzag path that runs down to the marina from upper Penarth. I was critical in that blog of the man-made wildflower patch I’d found, a rectangular area adjacent to the path, where perfectly good local wildflowers had been ploughed up and the area sown with some artificial wildflower mix.
I had some contact following that post with the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s Parks and Open Spaces Officer, who was pleased to learn the insects were doing well on the site and said he was ‘surprised if they [the landscape team] didn’t try and use native wildflowers. Hopefully they will spread out and add to the seed-bank all over the site in time.’ I haven’t had the heart to tell him that Council operatives strimmed that wildflower patch a couple of months later, before the plants had even had time to flower, let along spread their seed. What an incredible waste of money that planting scheme was!
Luckily, the Council operatives haven’t yet strimmed or mown the rest of the vegetation growing alongside the path, and the steep banks have been awash with wonderful colour over the summer months. Even as recently as this Wednesday, when I decided to photograph all the different flower species I could find, there was still a lovely variety as you can see.
17 Wednesday Oct 2018
Posted in autumn, insects, nature, wildflowers
What a difference a week makes! Seven days ago I was still seeing quite a few hoverflies, feeding on the remaining wildflowers and basking on leaves in the occasional sunshine.
Since then, we’ve had a couple of much cooler nights and the blast of wild, wet and windy weather that was Storm Callum, and the hoverflies seem mostly to have disappeared.
Is that the last I’ll see of them till 2019? Only time will tell.
11 Thursday Oct 2018
Posted in birds, insects, nature, walks, wildflowers
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, Buttonweed, Cormorant, Curlew, Glamorgan Bird Club, Kestrel, Musk thistle, Ogmore, Pant Norton, Portobello House, Stonechat, The Pant, Wall butterfly, Wigeon
Though a cool wind was blowing in off the sea, yesterday was a gloriously sunny day for our Glamorgan Bird Club outing to Ogmore. The fine weather also meant we had a great turn out of 26 people, more than usual for our field trips.
We started off near Portobello House, scanning the dunes of Merthyr Mawr and checking the River Ogmore, where the ubiquitous Cormorants were adorning this big dead tree in the water.
A Kestrel hovered over the dunes, and we witnessed a spectacular chase by a Sparrowhawk after a Meadow pipit – only very blurry photos of that, unfortunately. (The mipit escaped.)
Two Wigeon flew in to join the Canada geese, Mallards and gulls up river.
After grazing along the muddy banks down river for a time, this Curlew flew upstream to find another place to feed.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, our birding trips are not just about birds. Many birders are also interested in flora and other fauna so, yesterday, Dave was able to point out to us the invasive Buttonweed (Cotula coronopifolia) (he was the first to spot this plant in Wales!) and a Musk thistle (Carduus nutans). And another of our keen-eyed birders spotted this Wall butterfly, only the second time I’ve seen one of these beauties.
After a wander up and down the riverbank we headed across the road and up a track into a series of small valleys, an area known locally as The Pant. As well as many other small birds, there were several Stonechats popping up and down in the shrubs and bracken.
And then, what for me was the highlight of the day, really close views of a Kestrel hunting for its lunch. This handsome young male caught three creatures – probably voles or other small mammals – in the space of 10 minutes or so. It was incredible to watch how this bird’s amazing eyesight enabled it to hone in so accurately on its prey and, though I can’t help but have some sympathy for its victims, to see what an efficient hunter the Kestrel truly is.
My total number of species for the day was 41: Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Mallard, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Eurasian Curlew, Greenshank, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Skylark, Long-tailed Tit, Common Chiffchaff, Wren, Nuthatch, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, European Stonechat, House Sparrow, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Siskin, Linnet, Bullfinch and Willow Warbler.
I must have wandered off when these birds were seen: Greenfinch, Stock Dove, Jay, Jackdaw, Rook, Raven, Goldcrest and Dunnock.
05 Friday Oct 2018
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
blue flowers, British wildflowers, Chicory, Cichorium intybus, Penarth Docks, Penarth Marina Park, Succory
There’s just something about a blue-coloured flower that catches my eye and this Chicory grabbed me by the eyeballs as I walked home from Penarth Marina yesterday.
Although Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is a native British wildflower, these particular plants were not truly wild; they’re growing in a series of large wildflower beds planted around the edges of Penarth Marina Park. (Interestingly, the park itself is also artificial – it was once part of the inner basin of Penarth Docks, then became a rubbish dump, before being repurposed as a park in the 1980s – details and photos here.)
Chicory, also known as Succory, used to be widely cultivated. Its spears (buds) and leaves were eaten, and the dried and ground root has been used as a substitute for coffee. I think I’ll stick with my cup of tea, thanks.
03 Wednesday Oct 2018
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
Blue fleabane, British flora, British wildflowers, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Erigeron acris
In case you think I’ve made a profoundly important botanical discovery, perhaps I should clarify that title: although I have noticed this plant growing in one particular place at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park during my walks in the past couple of weeks, Monday was the first time I had a close look at it, took some photos and worked out what it was, and it is a plant I had not previously seen.
This is Blue fleabane (Erigeron acris), a member of the daisy family, though why it is called Blue fleabane I have no idea as the flower petals I’ve seen are pink, and both my plant ID guidebook and the various online sites I’ve looked at describe them as lilac or purplish.
This is a coastal plant, which usually grows in dry areas of grassland, on sand dunes or on stone walls. That fits with the site at Cosmeston, where it’s growing in a very dry, stony location and it’s probably only a mile to the sea as the crow flies. As you can see from the fluffy seed heads in my photos, it’s actually at the end of its flowering period – usually between July and September – so I have been very remiss in not noticing it before now.
earthstar 
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