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Category Archives: winter

Late winter wildflowers

27 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers, winter

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Tags

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

≈ 2 Comments

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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Winter caterpillars

15 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects, winter

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Angle shades caterpillar, Angle shades larvae, moth caterpillars, moth larvae, moth larvae in winter, Phlogophora meticulosa

These were a surprise on a chilly and very foggy early morning walk earlier this week.

220115 caterpillar (1)
220115 caterpillar (2)
220115 caterpillar (3)
220115 caterpillar (4)

I suppose I should have realised that some caterpillars overwinter as larvae but I was still amazed to find all but one of these four sitting in plain sight, fully exposed to the weather, covered in dew drops. I’m reliably informed these are the larvae of the Angle shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa).

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Frosty

12 Wednesday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in weather, winter

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frost, frost on plants, frosty leaves, ice on plants

It felt like proper winter this morning, with a hard frost that left everything covered in tiny shards of ice that sparkled with miniature rainbows when the sun caught them.

220112 frosty

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New Year Plant Hunt 2022

02 Sunday Jan 2022

Posted by sconzani in wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, New Year Plant Hunt, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers

It’s on again, the New Year Plant Hunt, running from 1 to 4 January inclusive, so you still have time to join in and help the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland) ‘build up a clearer picture of how our wildflowers are responding to changes in autumn and winter weather patterns’. Click HERE for more information on how to join in and to see past years’ results.

My little video shows the 31 species in bloom I managed to find during an extended meander around my town in coastal south Wales. Some flowers are looking a bit raggedy after a lot of recent rain but the lack of really cold temperatures so far this winter means there are still a lot of wildflowers a’flowering.

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39 blooms

05 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, plants, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

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

It may be the first week of winter but there are still plenty of wildflowers in bloom. I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I enjoyed finding them.

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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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