43/366 Hail and snow

12 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, weather, winter

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Before you think you’re reading the wrong blog, this is not a weather report!

200212 hail (1)

It’s just that I was surprised during today’s woodland walk (in sunshine, though with a very chilly breeze blowing) to see that smatterings of yesterday’s hail were still lying amongst the vegetation in more sheltered areas.

200212 hail (2)

And, not only that, but there were also two small drifts, a couple of feet across, of the snow that must have fallen on Monday night while I was sleeping. I noticed traces of it on some shady rooftops yesterday but thought it would all have melted away by now.

200212 snow

The fact that both hail and snow have survived is certainly proof, which today’s numb fingertips can confirm, that the temperatures have been much cooler this week.

42/366 Redwings

11 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff parks, Redwing, Turdus iliacus, winter thrushes

Today’s walk around some of central Cardiff’s lovely parks was peppered with light hail showers but that worked in my favour because it meant there weren’t many other people out walking and so the birds weren’t as disturbed as they might have been. And that meant I was able to get quite close to some of the large flocks of Redwings that were grazing on the grassy meadows and playing fields. What handsome birds these winter visitors are, with their distinctive pale face stripes, their rusty flanks and their ‘tseep tseep’ calls.

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41/366 Gulls at the beach

10 Monday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, Black-headed gull, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay birds, gulls on beach, gulls on mudflats

Storm Ciara has been blasting us with gale-force winds, heavy showers and stinging hail again today but I managed a brisk walk down to Cardiff Bay without getting drenched (though I did have to shelter from the wild weather for 30 minutes as a squall roared through – it was loud and dramatic).

200210 black-headed gulls (1)

The sheltering gave me the chance to watch the Black-headed gulls tackling the weather – their aerial control was incredible, though even they were struggling at times, and the majority of the gulls were hunkered down on the beach and mudflats, prospecting for mid-morning snacks.

200210 black-headed gulls (2)

28/366 Blossoming Blackthorn

28 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, winter

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blackthorn, Blackthorn blossom, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Spring blossom

Despite being caught twice in freezing hail showers, I had a lovely walk today, and part of the reason is because I saw my first Blackthorn blossoms for 2020. As Blackthorn flowers appear before the leaves (in contrast to Hawthorn, where the leaves appear first), this hedge along the roadside at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park still looks lifeless and barren.

200128 blackthorn (1)

In fact, the brown branches and twigs were dotted here and there with white buds and occasional fully open blossoms. Spring is coming!

26/366 Three-cornered leek

26 Sunday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

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Allium triquetrum, British wildflowers, Onion weed, Three-cornered leek

200125 three cornered leek (3)

In New Zealand we call this plant Onion weed but, here in Britain, its common name is Three-cornered leek. As its scientific name, Allium triquetrum, indicates, this bulbous plant is part of the garlic and onion family, the Alliums, and triquetrum refers to the triangular shape of its flower stem.

200125 three cornered leek (2)

In Flora Britannica, Richard Mabey writes that this smelly plant was ‘introduced to Britain in 1752’ and ‘began to escape into shady hedge-banks and churchyards in Cornwall in the 1860s. By the 1930s it was in Devon’ and, in 1995, Mabey found it in the Chilterns, near London. Obviously, it’s spread even further since then, as it’s jumped the border and is thriving here in Wales. These were my first Three-cornered leek flowers for 2020.

200125 three cornered leek (1)

25/366 Grey, but a grebe

25 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Great Crested Grebe

Today’s seven-mile walk was through thick grey drizzle-like mist and, except for the raucous gulls at the edge of Cosmeston’s east lake (where everyone feeds the birds), the land was hushed and still. Not wanting to get my gear wet, I only got my camera out of my backpack once, for a few shots of this handsome Great crested grebe.

200125 great crested grebe (1) 200125 great crested grebe (2) 200125 great crested grebe (3)

22/366 First Snowdrops

22 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, Eirlys, signs of spring, snowdrop

I saw my first Snowdrops of 2020 today in Cardiff’s Bute Park.

200122 snowdrops (1)

Candlemas bells, Mary’s taper, Snow piercer, February fairmaids, Dingle-dangle – all vernacular names for Snowdrops, according to my Flora Britannica. In Welsh, Snowdrop is Eirlys (pronounced Ire-liss), a lovely word that’s sometimes used as a girl’s name. How pretty!

200122 snowdrops (2)

21/366 Siskin

21 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, trees, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Coed y Werin, Larch cones, Larch trees, Siskin

On yet another very frosty morning, I met a friend to explore a woodland near Caerphilly called Coed y Werin, which I hadn’t been to before. And it was a delightful place, full of grand old trees, small streams and an iced-over pond.

200121 siskin (1)

And we saw Siskin, birds that seldom venture into my coastal patch, though these were very high up, nibbling at the cones in the tall larch trees, so my photos are heavily cropped. But hopefully you can see the birds today – not like yesterday’s Snipe challenge.

200121 siskin (2)

20/366 Crispest

20 Monday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, frost, Jay, nuthatch, Snipe

It was frosty white again this morning so, in the hope that the chilly temperatures might have lured the resident Snipe out of their hiding places in the reed beds, I headed to Forest Farm Nature Reserve for a meander. And I was lucky – though they were very distant, I managed to spot three Snipe. Full marks if you can actually see them in this photo.

200120 1 snipe

Of course, the cold temps also meant the birds were hungry and frantic to be fed. I took plenty of seed with me but many of the good folk who walk this reserve regularly had already covered fence post tops and feeding tables with food of various types. This Nuthatch was stocking up, taking away several seeds and nuts at a time to stash in nooks and crannies in nearby trees.

200120 3 nuthatch

Jays were also busy stashing. Birders were spraying the grass in front of the bird hide with peanuts, which at least two Jays were gathering and carting away to their local hiding places. Best to be prepared in case this chilly spell continues.

200120 2 jay