35/365 Little egret

04 Monday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, seaside, winter

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#365DaysWild, Barry, Barry Old Harbour, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Little egret

After the rain and low cloud cleared late morning, I headed to the seaside for the afternoon, to Barry, a short train ride west along the south Wales coast. Despite the chilly wind blowing in off the sea, the day was glorious and I walked around the Knap, the Old Harbour, the beach at Barry Island and then along the old docks to catch the train home. The tide was out so it was a good time to check the now-silted-up Old Harbour for birds and I was delighted to spot this Little egret puddling about in one of the channels, trying to stir up something for its lunch. Such an elegant bird.

190204 little egret

33/365 My lunchtime view

02 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, walks, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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south Wales coastal path, south Wales coastline, St Mary's Well Bay, winter weather

What a stunning winter’s day it’s been! Mostly blue skies, patches of yesterday’s snow lingering in places where the sun hadn’t reached, a bitterly cold wind but warmth in the sun in sheltered places, crunchy underfoot in the fields instead of squelchy mud – perfect for a long walk. So, I stomped the 6½ miles of one of my regular routes, to and through Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, on to and through Lavernock Nature Reserve (via St Mary’s Well Bay) and back to Penarth (via the coastal path). This was my view at lunchtime – not bad, eh?

190202 lunchtime view

32/365 Redwings

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, winter

≈ 6 Comments

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Redwing, Victoria Square Penarth

190201 redwing

With its wide diversity of trees young and old, Victoria Square is home to a good number of birds. Today I spotted Blue and Great tits, Nuthatches, a Treecreeper and two Goldcrests, Crows and Jackdaws, Blackbirds and Song thrushes, a Greenfinch calling from a tree top, and several of these beautiful Redwings energetically turning leaves in the never-ending search for food. I sprinkled some seed about in the less snowy places close to trees and left them to it.

Snow day

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in nature, trees, weather, winter

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snow, snow on trees, snow-covered branches, Victoria Square Penarth, winter, winter wonderland

It was wonderful to wake up to a white landscape this morning but, with the wind chill taking the temperature down to -5°C and the pavements and roads very slippery in places, I didn’t linger long outdoors, just did a circuit of local streets and spent some time in the tree-filled Victoria Square that surrounds the Church of All Saints. This square is filled with an excellent variety of trees – very grand old oaks, a selection of tall conifers, smaller birch and cherry plum. The square looked like a magical winter wonderland today so I thought I’d share some snowy tree photos.

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31/365 Frosty and hungry

31 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, flowers, nature, weather, wildflowers, winter

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birding, British birds, Daisy, frost, frosty winter days, Woodpigeon

190131frostydaisy

It was frosty white this morning but, as I write this at 4pm, the forecast snow hasn’t arrived. If I sound disappointed, it’s because I am – as an Antipodean who’s not seen much snow, I love it when it does happen. Still, I enjoyed crunching around the fields at Cosmeston this morning and made sure I took plenty of bird seed for all my hungry feathered friends.

190131woodpigeon

30/365 Preening

30 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, walks, winter

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Moorhen, moorhen preening

190130 moorhen

Today was the calm before the storm – or, at least, it might have been – snow and strong winds are forecast for tomorrow afternoon but we’ll have to wait and see if that forecast is correct. Today, though, was bright blue skies, heavy white frost, a cracking walk around Forest Farm, lots of lovely birds (including my first Siskins of the year), nice catch-ups with birding friends and birding-chat with strangers – just perfect! Oh, and here’s one of the many Moorhens I saw, this one preening vigorously in the warm morning sunshine.

29/365 Old men’s damp beards

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, wildflowers, winter

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#365DaysWild, clematis vitalba, feathery seeds, Old Man's Beard, plant seeds, seeds, Traveller's joy

190129 old man's beard

This is Clematis vitalba, commonly known as Traveller’s joy though, at this time of year, when its feathery seeds festoon hedgerows, clamber over fences, and bedeck stone walls, I think its other common name of Old man’s beard is more apt. Today, the Old men’s beards were looking a little damp and they’ll now be completely sodden – I managed a walk early this morning before the heavy rain came in.

28/365 Red admiral

28 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, winter

≈ 5 Comments

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#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly in January, Red Admiral, winter butterfly

190128 red admiral

The sun may have been shining but it was frosty and very chilly when I spotted this Red admiral on the Penarth to Lavernock coastal path this morning. This is actually my second Red admiral for the year – I also saw one at Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff last week, but only managed a photo of a blurry red splotch high in a tree. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this morning’s little butterfly, partly because of the cold – and it’s forecast to get much colder in the coming week – but also because there were no flowers to be seen anywhere today. If it doesn’t freeze to death, this little Red admiral might well die of hunger.

27/365 Floral firsts

27 Sunday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

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#365DaysWild, #WildflowerHour, Blackthorn blossom, Crocuses, first flowers of spring, Lesser Celandine, Primroses, Snowdrops

190127 blackthorn

Though we are currently shivering our way through a day of wintery gales and low temps, our January weather here in south Wales has generally been much milder than usual and, so, the flowers of springtime are already beginning to appear. As well as the Blackthorn I spotted on the boundary hedges at Cosmeston today, I’ve also this week seen my first Crocuses and Snowdrops and, yesterday, my first Primroses and Lesser Celandine in bloom. Although I love winter, even I will admit it’s cheering to see these first signs of spring appearing.

190127 crocuses 190127 snowdrops 190127 primrose 190127 lesser celandine

26/365 Velvet shanks

26 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, fungi, nature, winter

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#365DaysWild, British fungi, British mushrooms, Flammulina velutipes, Velvet shanks

These honey-coloured mushrooms, Velvet shanks (Flammulina velutipes), can most often be found growing in the cold days of winter in groups on hardwood trees, which is where I found these beauties this morning, sprouting out of what remained of a large roadside tree that had been chopped off at a height of about four feet. Fungi expert Pat O’Reilly explains the origin of the scientific name on his First Nature website: ‘… Flammulina is a reference to the orange caps, which shine like “little flames” in the winter sunshine … [and] velutipes means “with velvet legs’’, and that’s exactly what the stems of these winter fungi look and feel like.’

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