Harlequins everywhere

11 Tuesday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, ladybird, winter

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British ladybirds, Harlequin, harlequin ladybird, invasive insects, invasive ladybird

I admit to feeling a few pangs of envy when, a couple of days ago, one of the entomologists I follow on social media posted photos of the eleventh species of ladybird they’d sighted this year. I’ve never seen 11 ladybird species in my entire life (my total is 8), let alone in the middle of winter. [Note to self: must try harder!]

Meanwhile, in the local park (and, yes, many are on the railings), apart from a single 7-spot ladybird, the population seems overwhelmingly to be comprised of Harlequin ladybirds, those invasive interlopers that originally lived in Asia but have become one of the most invasive insect species in the world, according to the Buglife website.

Greeting the vernal sun

09 Sunday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in flowers, spring, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, crocus, Crocuses, Spring colour, Spring crocuses, spring flowers

Though a tremor of the winter
Did shivering through them run;
Yet they lifted up their foreheads
To greet the vernal sun.

And the sunbeams gave them welcome,
As did the morning air—
And scattered o’er their simple robes
Rich tints of beauty rare.

Soon a host of lovely flowers
From vales and woodland burst;
But in all that fair procession
The crocuses were first.

First to weave for Earth a chaplet
To crown her dear old head;
And to beauty the pathway
Where winter still did tread.

~ four verses from the poem ‘The Crocuses’ by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)

My latest bogey bird

08 Saturday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British gulls, Cardiff Bay birding, Larus michahellis, Yellow-legged gull

The Water rail used to be my bogey bird but, once my sightings of that beautiful skulker increased, the bogey bird title passed to the Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis). I’ve continued to look for one, several times thought I’ve found one, only to work out for myself or be told by birders more skilled than me that I’ve been wrong.

That same thing happened with this bird: when I posted photos online, no one stepped up to proffer an opinion and the one birder who was prompted by someone else to give his judgment decided it wasn’t a Yellow-legged gull.

So, you can imagine how very delighted I was when I received a message from our county bird recorder that he was happy to accept it as a Yellow-leg. As he wrote, the bird shows: ‘uppers mid grey (darker than Herring [gull], paler than LBBG [Lesser black-backed gull]), large size, and [in this case, quite pale] yellow legs all consistent.’ And those features are precisely why these birds can be tricky to identify – unless you have all three gull species standing side by side, the colour ‘mid-grey’ can be difficult to determine, as can the gull’s size. I was fortunate than my Yellow-legged gull was standing next to a Lesser black-backed gull as that made the comparison a little easier. Now to find another!

A Jay day

05 Wednesday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Garrulus glandarius, Jay

I was going to write about a different bird today but during this morning’s walk in central Cardiff I was approached by a young man who, on seeing me staring at a bush, camera in hand, very politely asked if I might know the name of the bird he’d just seen.

‘It was a bronzey pink with fluorescent blue in its wings. It looked amazing!’ The mention of bronze confused me but, when, together, we retraced his steps and spotted the bird, it was, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, a Jay.

He had never seen one before, which surprised me, but we had a lovely conversation and I know he will be looking for more Jays during his daily walks from the student halls to the university buildings and back. And that makes me very happy!

Jays have proved very frequent, more confiding and visible during our recent cold weather, a treat I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and taken advantage of with my camera, so the photos here were taken over several days.

First hoverflies

04 Tuesday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, winter

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British hoverflies, Episyrphus balteatus, first hoverflies, hoverfly, Marmalade hoverfly, Meliscaeva auricollis, winter hoverflies

When the sun comes out, so do the insects, and, during last Friday’s walk along the coastal path, after failing to find the birds I was hoping for, I was very pleased to spot my first two hoverflies of the year basking on ivy leaves in the weak sunshine.

I wasn’t surprised that the first I saw was this Marmalade hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus), as it’s the most common hoverfly in Britain, and, though adults are known to hibernate, they will emerge on warmer winter days.

This second hoverfly is Meliscaeva auricollis, a species that’s one of the first to emerge in the spring and then has a very long flight period, though its numbers are greatest towards the end of summer.

Leafmining in the dead of winter

03 Monday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants, winter

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British leafminers, British leafmines, Chromatomyia ramosa, Euleia heraclei, leafmines, leafmining flies, leafmining moths, Phyllonorycter leucographella, Phytomyza chaerophylli

I reminded myself during Saturday’s meander around local trails and pathways that leafmining can be a year round pastime. I didn’t find anything new but I did find several miners that I’ve seen and blogged about before. So, if you’ve a mind to get started on your personal journey of discovering leafmines, there’s no need to wait until the warmer months.

Phyllonorycter leucographella on one of the Pyracantha species. The tiny larva, with its black on white markings, is just visible within the mine.

Chromatomyia ramosa just getting started on a new Teasel rosette

Phytomyza chaerophylli on newly sprouted Cow parsley

Euleia heraclei on Alexanders, a plant that grows almost constantly and very prolifically here in coastal south Wales. I held the leaf up to the light so as to show the larva within.

Winter 12

02 Sunday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in flowers, wildflowers, winter

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British wildflowers, winter colour, winter wildflowers, winter-flowering wildflowers

Some sub-zero overnight temperatures have knocked back many wildflowers but I was pleased still to find these 12 species in flower.

The first of this year’s Cow parsley, Creeping buttercup, and ever reliable Daisy

Dandelion, Field speedwell (I had to wait for some sunshine for these to open), and glorious Gorse

Groundsel, Honeysuckle (barely, but I’ll take it), and Lesser celandine

Primrose, Shepherd’s-purse, and the deliciously smelling Winter heliotrope

Fluted bird’s nest fungi

31 Friday Jan 2025

Posted by sconzani in fungi, winter

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Bird's nest fungi, British fungi, Cyathus striatus, Fluted Bird's-nest fungi, woodland fungi

Almost seven and a half years have passed since I first saw these fungi, the perfectly named Fluted bird’s nest fungi (Cyathus striatus) (I blogged about that sighting in More Bird’s-nests with eggs! on 11 September 2017).

Since then, every time I’ve passed this location I’ve cast my eye over the various mossy logs and branches that lie adjacent to the path, hoping to spot them again. I saw nothing until my visit this past Wednesday and, to be honest, I’m amazed I was able to see them then, as the logs were draped in Bramble, through which I had to push my way to get closer. It was worth a couple of scratches though, to see these stunning fungi again.

With their shaggy looking exterior covering and the ribbed interior, they’re very distinctive and so easy to identify, which is always a bonus with fungi. They can be found (if you’re lucky!) growing on wood, usually within woodlands.

Common and green

30 Thursday Jan 2025

Posted by sconzani in insects, winter

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British shieldbugs, Common Green Shieldbug, Green shieldbug, Palomena prasina

I called this blog common and green as that is the name of this lovely creature, the Common green shieldbug (Palomena prasina), but this particular shieldbug’s colour looked to be half way between its summer green colour and the bronze it assumes during the winter months.

It was basking on an ivy leaf, out of the chill wind, in today’s relatively warm winter sunshine, and, in my fanciful imagination, I thought it looked to be smiling contentedly. I was certainly smiling to see this, my first shieldbug of 2025.

Foraging Common sandpiper

29 Wednesday Jan 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds, winter

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff Bay birding, Common sandpiper

In recent years we have been fortunate to have had one or two Common sandpipers overwintering around the edges of Cardiff Bay so I see these stunning little birds on a regular basis, and they never fail to delight me with their scurrying and bobbing as they forage for food amongst the stones and along the water’s edge.

Yesterday, I watched this little one for quite some time and, as it was unaware of my presence, was able to make a short video of its behaviour. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did at the time.