11 Saturday Oct 2025
Some days I go out hoping for new and exciting birds, especially during autumn migration … and see nothing, and feel a little disappointed. Then Nature sends me a little reminder that the ‘ordinary’ can be just as exciting, and often more beautiful, than the passers-by. On this particular day, my reminder came in the form of a Grey wagtail that seemed perfectly in tune with its surroundings.
10 Friday Oct 2025
Posted in birds
Tags
birding, birdwatching, British birds, British corvids, Chough, corvid with red beak and legs, Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
I heard them before I saw them and, the first time, I only saw them circle overhead before they flew west along the beach and adjacent cliffs, quickly out of sight.
But then I walked around the old harbour and out to the tip of the neighbouring headland, where, amazingly, I heard them calling again. And, incredibly, moments later they flew in and landed on the rough grass not far in front of me.
I managed to get a little closer and quickly snapped off as many photos as I was able, as I could see a couple with two dogs approaching along the headland and knew the birds would fly once they got closer. And that’s exactly what happened, with the birds following the same flight line as when I first saw them.
These are Choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), Britain’s rarest corvid and the only member of the crow family to have a red beak and legs. Choughs are only found in the western parts of Britain and they’re not a bird I usually see – in fact, it must be several years since I last saw one, so this was a real treat, and most unexpected.
Though I was having a wander around the seaside town of Barry, half an hour’s train ride west of where I live, that is still outside the area where Choughs are normally seen. Maybe their population has expanded, meaning this pair are now venturing outside their usual territory. Whatever the reason, I was absolutely chuffed/Choughed to see them.
09 Thursday Oct 2025
Tags
British animals, British mammals, grey squirrel, juvenile Grey squirrel, juvenile squirrel, young squirrel
I’d never knowingly seen a juvenile Grey squirrel, until yesterday.
First one adult, then a second came hurtling down a tree trunk to forage on the grass beneath the tree, followed more slowly, more hesitatingly by a much smaller squirrel. It looked like a littler version of the adults so I’m fairly sure this was a young one.
08 Wednesday Oct 2025
Tags
bird migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British falcons, Falco subbuteo, falcon, Hobby, juvenile Hobby
In recent days, birders and passers-by, who have noticed the birders and asked what they’re looking at, have been treated to the incredible aerial displays of two juvenile Hobbies, expertly catching dragonflies along the River Ely in Cardiff.
I’ve seen Hobbies before but never as close as these birds so watching them has been truly amazing. With their scythe-like wings, they resemble Swifts in flight, though they’re a little larger, more the size of a Kestrel. And they are super speedy; I found it difficult to capture photographs of them in flight. In the end, I put the camera down and just watched, spellbound, as they wove their aerial magic.
The Hobby (Falco subbuteo) used to be quite scarce in the UK but their population has increased in recent years. The fact that these two are juvenile birds means we can probably assume they have bred nearby, possibly in the woodland adjacent to where they have been flying. Fortunately, it is privately owned land, with no footpaths, so wildlife is left in peace amongst the trees, a rare situation these days.
Hobbies are long-distance migrants that arrive here around April and depart again around September-October, heading to Africa to over-winter in warmer climes. Fortunately for them (though not for the dragonflies), these two young birds were finding plenty of prey to fuel the long flight to come.
07 Tuesday Oct 2025
Tags
Early last Saturday morning, after Storm Amy had raged through the night – and she continued to blow through much of Saturday as well, our resident Fox family came out for a race around the garden.
In the photo above, I think that’s the adult male and female, left to right at the back, with one of this year’s cubs in front. And just look at how magnificently bushy the cub’s tail is!
As I watched the cub watching his parents sharing some tender moments, I couldn’t help but think of how teenagers react to the idea of their parents being intimate: ‘Oooooo. Get a room!’ Or, in this case, get a den.
The cub disappeared into the adjacent woodland but his Mum and Dad continued to sit on the grass for some time, indulging in some mutual grooming and nuzzling.
It was wonderful to be able to observe their behaviour from the comfort of my living room, while enjoying my morning cuppa. (My photos are not sharp as I was photographing them from behind double glazing – opening a window would have disturbed them.)
06 Monday Oct 2025
Tags
British leafminers, British moths, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafmines, leafmines on Goosefoot, leafmines on Orache
Last Wednesday evening I got a message from local moth expert George that another local moth-er had found the leafmines of the moth Chrysoesthia drurella, a new find for the county of Glamorgan, in a suburb on the opposite side of Cardiff to where I live. As he knows I’m a keen seeker of leafmines, George just wanted to let me know to keep an eye out for them when I’m out walking.
The moth larvae mine the leaves of Orache (Atriplex sp.) and Goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.), neither of which plants I’m familiar with so that was my first hurdle, being able to recognise the plants and knowing where to find them. Out came my plant books! Sometime later I was fairly confident I’d recognise the plants, though not be able to distinguish one from the other; fortunately, in this case that didn’t matter.
Thursday dawned and, after dealing with some necessary chores, I headed out for a walk, deciding to detour to a local beach in the hope of finding the correct plants. I was in luck, and the plants had mines on their leaves, though they didn’t look like how they should for the moth larvae I was seeking. So, finding a mine that still had a larva in it, I plucked it off the plant and brought it home to take a closer look at it, as the larva’s markings would tell me one way or the other whether I’d found C. drurella. I hadn’t!
However, I had found a closely related species, Chrysoesthia sexgutella, which mines the leaves of the same plants and was a new find for me. This moth breeds twice each year, with the first brood adults flying in May/June and the second on the wing in August. You can see what the adult moth looks like on the UK Moths website. And my search for the rarer Chrysoesthia drurella continues.
05 Sunday Oct 2025
Posted in autumn, flowers, wildflowers
It’s been a while since I informally surveyed which wildflowers were in bloom at any specific point in time, so I did that during two of this week’s walks, the first a full circuit of Cardiff Bay, the other a walk along the local section of the Welsh coastal path. I was surprised to find 60 species flowering and suspect this total has something to do with this year’s weather. After our hot, dry summer, the wildflowers are making up for lost time now that we’re getting more rain. These are what I found …
Agrimony, Black medick, Black nightshade, Bristly oxtongue, Broad-leaved willowherb, Canadian fleabane, Common calamint, Common fleabane, Creeping buttercup, Creeping Jenny, Daisy, and Dandelion.
Devil’s-bit scabious, Evening primrose, Eyebright, Fennel, Field speedwell, Goat’s-rue, Great willowherb, Groundsel, Gypsywort, Hairy tare, Hedge woundwort, and Hemp agrimony.
Herb Bennett, Herb Robert, Hoary mustard, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Knapweed, Knotgrass, Lady’s bedstraw, Large bindweed, Lucerne, Marsh woundwort, Meadow crane’s-bill, and Mignonette.
Mouse-ear-hawkweed, Old man’s beard, Oxeye daisy, Pineappleweed, Prickly sow-thistle, Purple toadflax, Common Ragwort, Red clover, Red valerian, Redshank, Rosebay willowherb, and Round-leaved crane’s-bill.
Scarlet pimpernel, Sea radish, Shepherd’s-purse, Shining crane’s-bill, Tansy, Tutsan, Viper’s-bugloss, White campion, White clover, Wild carrot, Common stork’s-bill, and Yarrow.
04 Saturday Oct 2025
Tags
autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British chats, Cardiff Bay birding, Wheatear, Wheatear migration, Wheatears on passage
Judging by the numbers I’ve been seeing in Cardiff Bay during this autumn’s migration, Wheatears have benefitted from a good breeding season.
These birds don’t breed locally, preferring the wide open spaces and heathland in upland areas like the Brecon Beacons National Park (Bannau Brycheiniog) and the Snowdonia National Park (Eryri).
As well as northern England and parts of Scotland, Wales is a stronghold for the British population of Wheatear, together with other members of the chat family, the Whinchat and Stonechat. This was confirmed by a specialised survey conducted by volunteers across Wales in 2012-2013; the BTO website has an abridged scientific paper available on its website for anyone interested in reading further.
We are lucky to see them on passage, as they pause briefly on the south Wales coast before heading across the Bristol Channel en route to their over-wintering locations in Africa.
Did you know their name refers to their white rear end, which flashes when they fly and is one of the best ways to identify a Wheatear seen at distance? Wheat comes from the Old English for ‘white’ and ear comes from the word for ‘arse’.
03 Friday Oct 2025
Tags
#FungiFriday, boletes, boletes under pine trees, British boletes, British fungi, Slippery jack, Suillus luteus
We’re currently in the grip of Storm Amy, our first named storm of the season; thus far, she’s just bringing constant heavy rain to us in south Wales but is forecast to bring strong winds later tonight and tomorrow. Still, after this summer’s drought, rain is welcome and, though I got drenched during my quick morning walk, I did find some of the positive effects of the rain: fungi.
I’m a bit out of practice identifying fungi – my enthusiasm diminished when I was confronted with the need to examine many finds with a microscope to identify them, and died completely when potential foragers wanted to know where my finds were located. For me, fungi should be left for small creatures to consume; humans can buy theirs at the supermarket or grow their own!
Anyhoo, I may be wrong but I think these boletes are the species Suillus luteus, also known as Slippery Jacks, a name that is probably derived from the viscous feel of their caps when wet. These were very slimy, and they fit the criteria listed in my guide book: growing under a pine tree, with yellow pores, and a yellowish stem with small brownish dots. They are edible … but don’t ask me where I found them.
02 Thursday Oct 2025
Tags
7-spot ladybird, autumn colour, Black Bryony berries, blackberries, Common Darter, Field rose hips, Guelder rose berries, Hawthorn berries, red berries, red colour in nature, Robin's pincushion
When I’m out walking at the moment, it seems that everywhere I look, I see red …
I see red
I see red
I see red
I see re-e-ed
earthstar 
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