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Category Archives: winter

Winter six

22 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by sconzani in wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, Daisy, dandelion, Field speedwell, wildflowers in bloom, Winter heliotrope, winter wildflowers

After a week of hard frosts and bitterly cold winds, it’s not surprising that I’ve found very few wildflowers in bloom. Indeed, I’m rather surprised to have found any. But those I have found seem to be particularly hardy plants and are wildflowers I’ve previously found during the winter months. They are Daisy and Dandelion, Field speedwell, Gorse, Sun spurge, and Winter heliotrope.

230122 winter six

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Beautiful Beeches

11 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in leaves, trees, winter

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autumn colour, autumn trees, beech woodland, Cwm George, winter woodland

I’ve shown you this beautiful location several times before – this is Cwm George, in the small south Wales town of Dinas Powys – but I simply can’t resist sharing this year’s late autumn splendour. I couldn’t decide which view I liked best, so I’ve included three images, each one zooming in to the scene a little further. I hope you have somewhere magical like this to enjoy, to wander through, to escape into.

221211 cwm george

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Fluffball

10 Saturday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, robin

A hard frost coated everything with a thick layer of ice this morning, the ground crunched under my boots, and my handknits were keeping my extremities warm and cosy. Without the luxury of thermals or boots or knitwear, my little Robin friend was keeping itself warm by puffing up its feathers, making it look like a cute little fluffball.

221210 robin

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Winter 50

04 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter colour, winter wildflowers

First, a confession. I actually made the first two of these grids of wildflowers for last Sunday’s Wildflower Hour on social media. But, when I checked again over the last couple of days, all of last week’s flowers bar one were still in bloom, so I’ve simply modified them as necessary to accommodate this week’s finds.

221204 pinks x12

So, in this first grid of flowers in the pink-purple range, I removed a Field scabious flower that’s now turned to mush and replaced it with the first Sweet violet flower I’ve spotted. The flowers are: Creeping thistle, Sweet violet, Hemp agrimony, Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Knapweed, Meadow crane’s-bill, Purple toadflax, Red clover, Red valerian, Tufted vetch, and Winter heliotrope.

221204 white x16

This second grid, of (mostly) white flowers, has a whole new row at the bottom with this week’s extra finds. These are: Bitter-cress, Bramble, Bladder campion, White campion, Daisy, Large bindweed, Mayweed, Oxeye daisy, Shepherd’s-purse, Traveller’s-joy, Wild carrot, Yarrow, Barren strawberry, Black nightshade, Common fumitory, and Hogweed.

221204 yellows x20

The third grid, of yellow and green flowers, is totally new. These flowers are: Bristly oxtongue, Common toadflax, Creeping buttercup, Dandelion, Evening primrose, Gorse, Groundsel, Hoary mustard, Meadow vetchling, Prickly sow-thistle, Ragwort, Sea radish, Creeping cinquefoil, Meadow buttercup, Nipplewort, Yellow-wort, Sun spurge, Smooth sow-thistle, Yellow corydalis, and Petty spurge.

221204 extras x2

And, today, I’ve discovered two extra flowers, which it’s easiest to just add here at the end on their own. They are Narrow-leaved ragwort, a new plant for me, and Blue fleabane. It’s both wonderful, and a little alarming, to see so many (50!) wildflowers still in bloom at the beginning of winter but, with very cold weather forecast for later this week, I think numbers will soon quickly diminish. I’m enjoying this feast of colour while I can, and I hope you do too.

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Late winter wildflowers

27 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, early spring wildflowers, late winter wildflowers

The title of today’s post may be later winter wildflowers but, in fact, my video includes some glorious hints of the spring colour we can all expect to see very soon. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed finding them.

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A huddle of snails

12 Saturday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in molluscs, winter

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Garden snails, molluscs, over-wintering snails, snail

The secrets of life for over-wintering snails:
1) find a friend, or twenty, to huddle with
2) create a mucus seal around your shell opening to conserve moisture
3) slow down your metabolism and snooze.

220212 snail huddle

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Lighting up the wetlands

26 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve, male Stonechat, Stonechat

A male Stonechat is overwintering at Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve. With his orange breast, dark head and streaky brown wings, all crisply edged in white, he’s a dapper-looking little chap, and he’s rarely still. Eyes peeled for the next tasty titbit, he prefers a lofty perch from which to survey his surroundings, and flits quickly down for the catch, then back up to the nearest best vantage point. He’s like a bright spark on a cold winter’s day.

220127 stonechat (1)
220127 stonechat (2)
220127 stonechat (3)

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Winter yellow

23 Sunday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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Tags

British wildflowers, wildflowers in winter, winter wildflowers, winter yellow, winter-blooming wildflowers, yellow wildflowers

Limiting my palette to yellow, for the challenge and the sunshine cheeriness of the colour, I went searching for wildflowers in bloom in my local area this week. These are the dozen I managed to find …

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Elf cup? Try cauldron

21 Friday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in fungi, winter

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British fungi, elfcup, red elfcups

You’ve heard of elf cups? Well, this was more of an elf cauldron! So, if you go down to Cwm George wood tonight, be prepared to see a horde of partying, drunken elves.

220121 elfcup

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Beaded with dew

18 Tuesday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, winter

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British bugs, Common Green Shieldbug, Green shieldbug, Palomena prasina, winter shieldbug

Here’s another recent surprise find, a Common green shieldbug (Palomena prasina) covered in early morning dewdrops. Obviously, it’s not green: these bugs overwinter as adults, changing their colouring from green to dark brown before the winter weather really sets in, usually around November. The British bugs website says these shieldbugs usually hibernate – perhaps this little beastie was caught out by the previously milder-than-usual temperatures.

220118 green shieldbug

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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Recent blog posts

  • Fern Friday: Hart’s-tongue January 27, 2023
  • Feasting Chiffchaff January 26, 2023
  • A Water vole does lunch January 25, 2023
  • A cool cloud January 24, 2023
  • Snoozing January 23, 2023

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