11 Friday Mar 2022
I first saw this, my first frog spawn of the year a couple of days ago but it got bumped from yesterday’s post by the excitement of seeing the Bonaparte’s gull. This spawn is a bit later than last year’s first sighting and I’ve only spotted the one lot, despite peering into many pools and puddles. I hope that doesn’t bode ill for the local frog population.
10 Thursday Mar 2022
Posted in birds
A Bonaparte’s gull has been frequenting Cardiff Bay since 12 February but had eluded my attempts to find it until yesterday, when I was down at the Bay and word came through that the gull had been sighted on the west lake at Cosmeston. The timing was between buses so I had a long and rapid (for me) walk to get there, and I was utterly convinced the bird would have flown before I arrived. But, my luck was in – the Boney’s was still on the west lake, and I was very glad I’d made the effort. That’s patch bird number 90 for 2022.
09 Wednesday Mar 2022
Posted in insects
I’ve always been envious of people who manage to entice insects to sit on their hand / head / shoulder etc. You know what I mean – those photos on social media of a butterfly / dragonfly / moth etc seemingly content to perch for several minutes on a finger or palm or even face. So, I was exceedingly chuffed a couple of days ago when this Eristalis species of hoverfly graced my hand with its presence, even staying long enough for me to reach into a pocket for my camera and take a few photos. A special moment!
08 Tuesday Mar 2022
Posted in birds
There’s something about the grassy playing fields of Cardiff’s Hamadryad Park that Magpies love, as I often see large numbers there, prospecting for worms and other insects. Today I counted 44 birds, and more could be heard and seen in the neighbouring trees.
I’ve just been reading that there are several collective nouns for a flock of Magpies – amongst them, congregation, tribe, charm – but the one I like best is mischief. The four birds shown below certainly looked like they were plotting some kind of devilment.
07 Monday Mar 2022
During Saturday’s walk I was delighted to spot my first Red-tailed (Bombus lapidarius) and Tree bumblebees (Bombus hypnorum) of the year. The only food source in a 20-square-metre area (except for a few daisies on a patch of grass) was a flowering Mahonia bush, which had attracted not only those two bumblebees but also a Buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris), as well as several species of fly, bee and hoverfly. It just showed how important flowers are for these early emerging insects.
06 Sunday Mar 2022
Tags
Goat willow, goslings, Grey willow, male willow catkins, Pussy willow, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, willow catkins
One of the sure signs of Spring for me is the appearance of the ‘goslings’, and by that I don’t mean birds, but rather the gorgeous male catkins of the Goat willow (Salix caprea) and Grey willow (Salix cinerea). You probably know them as pussy willow but, according to my Flora Britannica, ‘they used to be called “goslings” … because their texture and colour were like newly hatched geese’.
05 Saturday Mar 2022
Posted in birds
The current conservation status of the Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) in the UK is RED (meaning the species has been accorded the highest conservation priority and requires urgent action) because of its ‘recent severe breeding population decline’. So, I was very gratified during yesterday’s walk to see at least six birds, including 3 males sitting in treetops, wheezing their strange call, and females nearby taking notice. Let’s hope this attraction translates to fledgling success this breeding season.
04 Friday Mar 2022
Posted in fungi
One positive from all the recent rain has been the rehydration of resident fungi. The last time I visited this dead tree its brackets were looking dry and shrivelled. Now, it’s like a flood of fungi, six feet of rippling rapids, a veritable cascade of colourful brackets.
03 Thursday Mar 2022
Posted in seaside
There’s an old saying: ‘Small things amuse small minds’. Well, this small mind was wonderfully amused for at least 30 minutes yesterday wandering along my local beach checking out small piles of poo.
These are the casts of Lugworms (or Sandworms) (Arenicola marina). They live in burrows in the sand, sucking in sand at one end, filtering out tiny edibles (of animal or dead matter) in the middle, and excreting the unwanted sand at the other end. I liked their poo patterns!
02 Wednesday Mar 2022
After a mild winter, the local birds are already feeling the need to breed, and yesterday’s walk took me past a Mute swan and a Coot both sitting on nests, as well as this pair of Great crested grebes.
During the time it took me to walk first along one side of the waterway, then back along the other side, the grebes mated twice, so I’m sure they’ll soon be sitting on nests as well.
earthstar 
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