Aberbargoed Grasslands

08 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, parks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Aberbargoed Grasslands, British butterflies, British moths, Common blue butterfly, Large white butterfly, Long-horn moth, Nemophora degeerella, Small copper

On day 8 of #30DaysWild I paid my first visit to the Aberbargoed Grasslands, with my friend Sharon. We were hoping to spot some of the Marsh fritillaries this National Nature Reserve is known for but, sadly, we didn’t even see one. Perhaps the overcast weather had sent them into hiding. The good news is that I saw my first Small copper butterfly for the year, we saw a small number of Common blue butterflies and a few whites. We also spotted several moths, the most spectacular of which was a group of five male long-horn moths, Nemophora degeerella. They were dazzling, even on a grey day, and just look at the length of those horns!

Small copper butterfly

A Common blue butterfly feeding on meadow thistles

Large white butterfly

A long-horn moth, Nemophora degeerella

Look at the length of those horns!

Practising stealth

07 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, nature photography

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, British insects, insects, practising macro photography

For day 7 of #30DaysWild I decided to spend a couple of hours practising my stealth tactics during a walk along the coastal path from Penarth to Lavernock. Sometimes I photograph wildlife with my DSLR camera but I also have a point-and-shoot camera with a macro feature that is good for capturing close-up detail. The only trouble is that you need to get the camera as close as possible to your subject – and I am talking close – no more than a couple of inches away. As you might imagine, this tends to freak out and frighten off a lot of creatures, but I find that if I approach slowly, watch the light and shadow, make no noise, then I can often get very close. Here are the ones I didn’t freak out or frighten off today. I think I did quite well.

Environmental enlightenment at St Augustine’s

06 Wednesday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, biodiversity in churchyard, British butterflies, Large skipper, Large skipper butterfly, St Augustine's Church

I seem to be constantly angry these days at the environmental vandalism of local authorities so it was an absolute delight on day 6 of #30DaysWild to spend time in the churchyard of St Augustine’s here in Penarth.

180606 Large skipper (3)

The church authorities have taken the enlightened step of helping to ‘safeguard the environment of the plants and animals that live in the churchyard while at the same time promoting enjoyment of the space by the local community. The area is an ideal resource for encouraging greater understanding of wildlife and biodiversity. Bird, bat and swift boxes have been put up….’

180606 Large skipper (1)

The grass is long, wildflowers are blooming, a family of Blue tits were feeding in the trees, and these Large skippers were basking in the sunshine. Congratulations to the Friends of St Augustine’s for leading the way!

180606 Large skipper (2)

The teeny-weenies

05 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, parks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Alexandra Park, Elder aphids, leaf turning, Sycamore gall mites, wild places

My wildness was a little restricted today, on day 5 of #30DaysWild: I was dosed up on antihistamines due to a nasty reaction to Horsefly bites and, as even the non-drowsy pills make me feel a bit wonky, I just went for a mini meander around my local park, Penarth’s Alexandra Park. It’s a relic of the Victorian era – think topiary and bird cages, manicured lawns and artificial-looking flower beds – but there are also some wonderful wild areas.

180605 wild places

I wasn’t sure what I might find, as it was cooler and quite windy here today, but that also meant there weren’t too many people around to stare at me as I indulged in a spot of leaf turning … because you never know what teeny-weeny creatures you might find when you look at the underside of a leaf (or even the top side, for that matter). The bright reddish-pink constructions caused by one of the Sycamore gall mites were easy to spot on the tops, and various immature bugs crawled around underneath most of the leaves I looked at.

Sycamore gall nites

Immature plant bug

Aphid

My favourites, though, were these aphid communities. I think these are Elder aphids (Aphis sambuci) but please do correct me if I’m wrong.

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Cardiff’s old canals

04 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding birdwatching, British birds, Cardiff's canals, Common blue damselfly, Coot, Coot chicks, Coots nesting, feral pigeon, Fringed water-lily, Little Venice, Mallard, vegetation in canals

I had to go in to Cardiff city today to do a few chores so, for day four of #30DaysWild, I thought I’d take a wander along the old canals, an area known locally as Little Venice. The area closest to the main road is quite unkempt, but, except for the human rubbish, I like how overgrown it is – and I’m sure the wildlife does too – and the submerged plants are particularly lovely at the moment, with long streaming fronds covered in pretty white flowers.

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The canals flow in a couple of different directions, both ultimately emptying into East Bute Dock, where once a million tons of coal a year was loaded on to waiting ships. The canals are bordered by various types of accommodation and office blocks, have footpaths along both sides, and in places are adorned with beautiful, currently flowering native Fringed Water Lily (Nymphoides peltata).

180604 3 canal 180604 4 water lily in canal 180604 5 water lily in canal

The canals also support a range of wildlife. Drake mallards snoozed on the warm stone edges, Common blue damselflies flitted back and forth, and a feral pigeon strutted towards me, hopeful of a spot of lunch.

180604 8 feral pigeon

The big drawcard of these waterways for me, though, is that Coots can usually be found nesting here, often very successfully. In their large sturdy nest structures, built of sticks and plant material and human detritus, I’ve seen broods of up to 6 chicks.

Today there were two pairs with quite well-grown young, and three more birds sitting, possibly with little ones tucked under their wings. And very cute they all were too!

Orchidelicious

03 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, parks, wildflowers

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, British orchids, Common spotted orchid, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Greater butterfly-orchid, orchid, Southern marsh orchid

180603 orchids at Cosmeston

For day three of #30DaysWild I went searching for orchids at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, and I got lucky. The Common spotted-orchids are blooming in good numbers now, two of the small number of well hidden Greater butterfly-orchids are flowering, I found my first Bee orchid of the season, and I think I found my first Southern marsh-orchid as well. It couldn’t get much better than that!

Common spotted-orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

180603 Common spotted orchid (1)

Greater butterfly-orchid (Platanthera chlorantha)

Bee orchid (Ophrys apifera)

Southern marsh-orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) (and Common blue butterfly)

180603 Southern marsh orchid

Mystery solved!

02 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Lesser whitethroat

On day two of #30DaysWild I decided to try to solve a mystery. Last Monday, 28 May, I was having a wander around Lavernock Nature Reserve when I heard a bird making an unusual ‘tech tech’ sound in a group of nearby shrubs and trees (you can hear it at the beginning of this short video clip I recorded). I edged closer and got glimpses of a dark head and back with a much lighter front and belly, but I couldn’t get a clear view or any photos.

180602 Lesser whitethroat (4)

Silly me thought it might have been a Pied flycatcher but I knew that was probably wrong, and I was soon put straight about how extremely unlikely that possibility was for the Lavernock site by a much more experienced birding friend. But what was it?

180602 Lesser whitethroat (2)

I wasn’t sure if the bird would still be around but today was a lovely day for a walk and Lavernock is a wonderful nature reserve – I knew I would find things of interest even if I couldn’t find the bird again.

180602 Lesser whitethroat (1)

Well, as you’ve guessed from the title of this post and from the photos here, I found my bird and solved the mystery. It’s a Lesser whitethroat – in fact, I’m 99% sure there were two of them and that they’re nesting, as I watched the bird repeatedly foraging for food in the greenery, then flying back and forth to the same location in a clump of bushes.

180602 Lesser whitethroat (3)

These are usually very skulky birds, more often staying within trees and bushes and not easily seen, so I was very lucky to get some decent views of one bird sitting high in the tree tops. A perfect result for the second day of my 30 Days Wild!

Welsh biodiversity: Howardian NR

06 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers

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30 Days Wild, biodiversity, Howardian Nature Reserve, Wales Biodiversity Week

Another day, more biodiversity! On day three of Wales Biodiversity Week I explored another of my local nature reserves, Howardian, a 30-odd-acre triangle of woods and meadows, at the intersection of two major Cardiff roads, which was once a domestic rubbish tip. Oh how times have changed for the better!

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After more than 40 years of tireless labour, firstly by the pupils of the Howardian High School Natural History Society and now by the Friends of Howardian LNR (where would the environment be without these Friends groups!), the reserve is a treasure trove of biodiversity. You only need to look at the website galleries and the impressive species’ lists to get an idea of the richness of life in this reserve: field voles and dormice (!); slow worms and palmate newts; bees, butterflies and damselflies; chiffchaffs and whitethroats; moths and hoverflies; fungi, lichen and mosses; and, during the months of June and July (now!), a breathtaking display of native orchids.

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Howardian is a superb testament to how a former urban wasteland can, with time and a ton of hard work, be revitalised into a shining example of a biodiverse environment.

Welsh biodiversity: Nant Fawr Woodlands

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature

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30 Days Wild, biodiversity, Nant Fawr Woodlands, Wales Biodiversity Week, wildflowers, woodland

For day two of Wales Biodiversity Week (and day 5 of 30 Days Wild, which I am also following – more information on that Wildlife Trust initiative here) – I went for a wander around one of my local nature reserves, Nant Fawr Woodlands. Established as a green corridor by Cardiff City Council in 1993 and following the Nant Fawr stream from Roath Park Lake to Llanishen Reservoir, the woodlands are managed by a group of local conservation-minded residents, ‘The Friends of Nant Fawr’.

160605 nant fawr (1)

As well as two parcels of woodland harbouring some magnificent old trees, the area also includes three ancient meadows, once part of Rhyd-y-blewn farm, which are valuable habitats for wildflowers and the insects that thrive on them. The Friends are part of the Cardiff Biodiversity Partnership, have a well-developed biodiversity action plan, and manage the woodlands and meadows in accordance with agreed guidelines to conserve and enhance this wonderful environment.

160605 nant fawr (2)