28/365 Red admiral

28 Monday Jan 2019

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

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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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24/365 Yaffling all day long

24 Thursday Jan 2019

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

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Green woodpecker, yaffle, Yaffling woodpecker

It was a woodpecker-kind of day at Cosmeston today. No sooner had I arrived and cast my eye (and bins) up towards the chirping-finch-filled trees above my head than I spotted a Great spotted woodpecker. It wasn’t drumming but was studiously pounding away at the tree trunk it was on – preliminary hole excavation work perhaps.

190124 green woodpecker

Then, as I headed on along the path, I heard this Green woodpecker yaffling in the neighbouring field. A reasonably tall hedge separated us so I was able to get quite close for photos and to watch it prospecting for ants and other insects in the damp ground. I wonder if the winter dampness means its prey is further down in the soil – it was certainly probing quite deeply.

22/365 What’s green and yellow?

22 Tuesday Jan 2019

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

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greenfinch

Today I went looking for the Siskin that were seen at Cosmeston on Sunday (and had been heard by another birder earlier in the month). They’re not birds I’m familiar with as they’re not common locally and I’ve only seen them a couple of times when I’ve been on bird club trips (oh, and once very high in the trees at Forest Farm). My heart skipped a beat when I heard a flock of Goldfinches in the trees ahead of me (the Siskin were associating with Goldfinches on Sunday) and saw a few flashes of yellow and green in the birds with them. Unfortunately, they weren’t Siskin but Greenfinches – I’m not complaining though, as Greenfinches are also birds I don’t see very often.

190122 greenfinch

21/365 A Snipe or three

21 Monday Jan 2019

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

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Snipe, Snipe in reeds

When I headed to Forest Farm Nature Reserve today, I was hoping to add a Dipper to my year list (tick) and, as frosty mornings often lure them out from the reeds, I was also hoping to see some Snipe – these are they. Not as close as I’d have liked but still good to see as they are so well camouflaged they’re often difficult to spot. There were lots of other lovelies too: a Kingfisher, two Buzzards being harassed by Crows, three Great spotted woodpeckers, a ton of Mallards and Moorhens loudly staking out territories in preparation for breeding, four Grey herons like statues in a dead tree, and my first Snowdrops of the year. T’rrific!

190121 snipe

19/365 Hopalong Rock pipit

19 Saturday Jan 2019

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

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Ely embankment, Hoppy the rock pipit, Rock pipit, Rock pipit with damaged claw

It was lovely to catch up with my little friend, Hoppy the Rock pipit, as I walked along the Ely embankment today. It’s a month since I last saw him (and blogged about him – or her) and it’s always good to know s/he’s still doing okay. Today, little Hoppy was dotting around the apartment gardens and on to balcony railings quite fearlessly. I imagine the colder temperatures this week mean there’s not so much fodder at the water’s edge so Hoppy has to expand his/her grazing range.

190119 hopalong rock pipit

18/365 A slimy Friday

18 Friday Jan 2019

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

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#365DaysWild, Cogan Wood, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, slime, slime mould, slime on ivy leaf

It’s been wintery today, with a chill wind and frequent showers, but I rugged up and headed out for a stomp for the air and exercise. Cosmeston was almost empty of people and dogs, something unheard of on warmer days, and any wildlife was also keeping well under cover. So, I enjoyed a bimble in Cogan Wood, picking up logs, looking for insects and fungi, and I found this interesting slime mould growing on an ivy leaf.

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17/365 Goosey Goosanders

17 Thursday Jan 2019

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

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#365DaysWild, birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Goosander, walk around Cardiff Bay

Today dawned bright and cold, the perfect day for a long walk, so I took myself out for a long stroll down to Penarth Marina, across the Cardiff Bay Barrage and around to the wetlands reserve, and then back again. These Goosanders – a male at the front and a snoozing female behind, with a second female just out of the frame – were the first birds I saw when I reached Cardiff Bay. Such handsome creatures.

190117 goosanders

16/365 Juvenile Herring gull

16 Wednesday Jan 2019

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

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1st year Herring gull, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Herring gull, juvenile Herring gull

Another day, another bird club trip, this time to Kenfig pool (where we had the Slavonian grebe and the Great white egret), to Porthcawl (first Cattle egrets of the year), and to Newton Point (first Purple sandpipers, but no Black redstart today). It was a cracking day’s birding but rather rainy much of the time so the camera didn’t come out often and my best shot of the day was of this juvenile (1st year) Herring gull who was pleading with us to share our sandwiches as we sat on the seawall at Porthcawl. It was out of luck!

190116 juvenile herring gull