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~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Category Archives: winter

Penarth: Fog, 1

25 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, weather, winter

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Bristol Channel, fog, fog horns, freezing fog, Penarth, Severn Estuary, winter weather

For those who don’t know Wales, the town I’ve just moved to, Penarth, sits on the northern shores of the Severn Estuary, which eventually becomes the Bristol Channel, which eventually becomes the Celtic Sea, which eventually becomes the North Atlantic Ocean, which is all to explain that Penarth is, essentially, a seaside town and therefore gets seaside-type weather.

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Yesterday the whole area was shrouded in heavy, freezing fog and, as my flat is only about one kilometre from the water, as the seagull flies, I could hear the fog horns blasting all day. It may have been cold but it was actually quite wonderful and brought back happy memories of my years living near the harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, when I would also hear the horns on foggy wintery days. I was stuck indoors waiting on a delivery most of the day but, when that finally came late afternoon, I headed out for a quick wander. As I stood in the centre of this field, on the clifftops, the fog swirled eerily back and forth, sometimes blotting out this lone tree and the houses beyond, sometimes almost clearing. The fog was like a living entity dancing around me – it was just magical! I’m already looking forward to the next fog to come rolling in from the ocean.

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Morning has broken

21 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, parks, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

cold morning, golden hour, Roath Park, Roath Park Recreation Grounds, sunrise

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I think I should get up and out early more often. The mercury didn’t rise over 3°C today and it was -1°C when I took this photo at 8.30am, as I set off for a full day’s wildlife recorders’ forum. There was a light ground mist hovering over the Roath Park Recreation Grounds and the scene was lit by that beautiful light that comes soon after sunrise, the time of day photographers call the golden hour. Sublime!

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The bounteous cotoneaster

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

berries, birding, birdwatching, blackbird, British birds, Cotoneaster berries, Redwing, Roath Park, winter berries for birds, Woodpigeon

They may look luscious and juicy but Cotoneaster berries contain toxins, which means that many people consider them poisonous. (There’s a good article about whether or not they really are poisonous on the Poison Garden website.) Yet the blackbirds, thrushes and woodpigeons seem to enjoy them and, when the more desirable berries like rowan have been consumed, these nutritious berries help to sustain the birds through the lean winter months.

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Roath Park has several cotoneaster trees that are covered in bright red and dull yellow berries at the moment so, as I walked home from the train station this afternoon I kept an eye out for feeding birds. And I got lucky.

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The hefty woodpigeons were easy to spot as their clambering made the branches shake a lot. The blackbirds were more delicate but also more entertaining, as they performed their aerial trapeze, clinging to branches and stretching as far sideways or upside down as they could to reach the furthest fruit. The bonus of the day was a group of about five redwings also feeding spasmodically in these trees. They were more skittish, flitting quickly on to the very top branches for some rapid pecking but, always watchful, flitting away again to higher nearby trees as people walked past along the pathway.

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Pick-up sticks

17 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature, winter

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Bleeding broadleaf crust, crust fungus, fungus, picking up sticks, Stereum rugosum, weeping crust fungus

Did you play pick-up sticks as a child? Do you still play it, perhaps with your own children or your grandies? Well, I play pick-up sticks quite often too, but not quite the way you might imagine. You see I pick up sticks sometimes to find out what’s scurrying around underneath them or, especially at this rather moist time of year, to see what might be growing on them.

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You might’ve looked at this first stick lying on the ground in my local woodland and thought, ‘Nah! Nothing on that’ but you would’ve been wrong …

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… because if you had looked closer …

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… a little bit closer, you would’ve seen this! Isn’t it gorgeous? This oozing mass of loveliness is a fungus, the Bleeding broadleaf crust fungus (Stereum rugosum) to be precise.

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I admit that I can sometimes spend an hour or more, bending down and examining stick after stick and finding nothing but, when I discover little gems like this, they make the effort totally worthwhile. So, next time you go to the woods, try playing a little game of pick-up sticks. You might get a pleasant surprise! (Oh, and take tissues or wet wipes, as you’ll almost certainly get a bit dirty, as well.)

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Skeleton tree: 1

14 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, seasons, trees, winter

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

leafless tree, Skeleton tree, winter tree

Of winter’s lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer’s secret
Deep down within its heart.
~ Charles G. Stater

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Conversations with jays: 1

07 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, winter

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, conversations with jays, Eurasian jay, hungry bird, Jay

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‘Hey, lady. I saw you talking to that robin just now. Why don’t you ever talk to me?

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‘I get hungry in the wintertime too, y’know, and I’m just as handsome as that robin!’

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‘I have sharp eyesight so I can see that you’ve still got some seed in that little tub you’re holding.’

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‘So, how about throwing a cold wet hungry but gorgeous jay a handful of seeds …. please.’

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I’m sure you’ll be pleased to know the cold wet but gorgeous jay is no longer hungry!

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Fog

20 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, seasons, winter

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

fog, mist, Roath Lake, Roath Park, Roath Park Lake, winter weather

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I can see it coming. Rolling silently over the house roofs and tree tops from the south, where the sea lies, where the ocean roars. Slowly, gradually, the light grows dim, eerie, the sun’s rays weaker, unable to penetrate the gloom. Trees vanish, leaving mere ghostly outlines.

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Sounds become muffled but, at the same time, strangely amplified. Voices echo, seem nearby yet, in reality, are hundreds of metres distant. Footsteps tap, tap, tap. Spectral figures appear, pass quickly by, disappear once more. Birds fall silent as if afraid to pierce the silence with their squawks, tweets, chirps.

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Fog is everywhere, blanketing the lake, flowing along the brook, shrouding buildings, hovering over bushes, making branches droop, making hair frizz. Creeping tendrils wind their way through tree branches, wrap themselves around park benches, slither between railings. Fog makes throats choke and chests heave, and seeps into old bones.

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On Roath Lake, the light-less lighthouse needs a light today and a horn to warn.

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When Jack Frost comes a calling

15 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by sconzani in leaves, nature, seasons, winter

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

frost, frost on leaves, Jack Frost, Thomas Hood quote

‘Frost is the greatest artist in our clime –
he paints in nature and describes in rime.’
~ Thomas Hood (1799-1845, English editor, poet, publisher, and engraver)

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Down by the riverside

04 Sunday Dec 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, parks, trees, winter

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Blackweir, Cardiff, Llandaff Weir, River Taff, Taff Trail, Taffside trail

Today was a glorious early winter day: bright blue skies; chilly enough to wrap up in winter woollies, hat, scarf and gloves; crisp underfoot. So, duly rugged up, I headed down to the riverside. I walked part of the Taff Trail north from Blackweir, crossed the river at the next bridge and continued on along the riverside trail to Llandaff, then completed the circuit back to Blackweir on the western side of the river. I hope you can see from my photos why I think it has been the most perfect day!

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The Taff Trail heading north alongside the River Taff

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Still on the Taff Trail

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Gulls enjoying a bath at Llandaff Weir

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Trees along the edge of Pontcanna Fields

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River Taff, almost directly opposite where I took the first photo

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The footbridge across the Taff at Blackweir

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From the bridge looking south down the Taff

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Almost back to where I started, with the riverside looking glorious in the late afternoon sun

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It’s ivy berry time

05 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, nature photography, winter

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

berries, birds, ivy, winter

Though its roots can creep between gaps in stonework causing severe damage to ancient ruins, stone walls, grave monuments and the like, ivy (Hedera helix, also known as English ivy, common ivy or just plain ivy) is of great importance to wildlife. Not only does it provide shelter and nesting places for insects, birds, bats and other beasties, it is also an important food source.

english ivy 1

Ivy’s flowering period begins in August and continues right through to November, sometimes later, and the flowers produce plentiful quantities of nectar and pollen. Over 70 species of nectar-loving insects feast on the flowers, including wasps and bumblebees, Red admiral, Small tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies.

English ivy

Once the berries begin to ripen, they turn a deep purple-black colour, and provide an important winter source of food when most other berries are finished. At this time, the ivy becomes a favourite snacking place for lots of berry-eating birds, blackbirds and thrushes in particular, but also starlings and jays, finches and wood pigeons.

english ivy 2

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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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