30/365 Preening

30 Wednesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, walks, winter

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Moorhen, moorhen preening

190130 moorhen

Today was the calm before the storm – or, at least, it might have been – snow and strong winds are forecast for tomorrow afternoon but we’ll have to wait and see if that forecast is correct. Today, though, was bright blue skies, heavy white frost, a cracking walk around Forest Farm, lots of lovely birds (including my first Siskins of the year), nice catch-ups with birding friends and birding-chat with strangers – just perfect! Oh, and here’s one of the many Moorhens I saw, this one preening vigorously in the warm morning sunshine.

29/365 Old men’s damp beards

29 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, wildflowers, winter

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#365DaysWild, clematis vitalba, feathery seeds, Old Man's Beard, plant seeds, seeds, Traveller's joy

190129 old man's beard

This is Clematis vitalba, commonly known as Traveller’s joy though, at this time of year, when its feathery seeds festoon hedgerows, clamber over fences, and bedeck stone walls, I think its other common name of Old man’s beard is more apt. Today, the Old men’s beards were looking a little damp and they’ll now be completely sodden – I managed a walk early this morning before the heavy rain came in.

28/365 Red admiral

28 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature, winter

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#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly in January, Red Admiral, winter butterfly

190128 red admiral

The sun may have been shining but it was frosty and very chilly when I spotted this Red admiral on the Penarth to Lavernock coastal path this morning. This is actually my second Red admiral for the year – I also saw one at Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff last week, but only managed a photo of a blurry red splotch high in a tree. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this morning’s little butterfly, partly because of the cold – and it’s forecast to get much colder in the coming week – but also because there were no flowers to be seen anywhere today. If it doesn’t freeze to death, this little Red admiral might well die of hunger.

27/365 Floral firsts

27 Sunday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

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#365DaysWild, #WildflowerHour, Blackthorn blossom, Crocuses, first flowers of spring, Lesser Celandine, Primroses, Snowdrops

190127 blackthorn

Though we are currently shivering our way through a day of wintery gales and low temps, our January weather here in south Wales has generally been much milder than usual and, so, the flowers of springtime are already beginning to appear. As well as the Blackthorn I spotted on the boundary hedges at Cosmeston today, I’ve also this week seen my first Crocuses and Snowdrops and, yesterday, my first Primroses and Lesser Celandine in bloom. Although I love winter, even I will admit it’s cheering to see these first signs of spring appearing.

190127 crocuses 190127 snowdrops 190127 primrose 190127 lesser celandine

26/365 Velvet shanks

26 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, fungi, nature, winter

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#365DaysWild, British fungi, British mushrooms, Flammulina velutipes, Velvet shanks

These honey-coloured mushrooms, Velvet shanks (Flammulina velutipes), can most often be found growing in the cold days of winter in groups on hardwood trees, which is where I found these beauties this morning, sprouting out of what remained of a large roadside tree that had been chopped off at a height of about four feet. Fungi expert Pat O’Reilly explains the origin of the scientific name on his First Nature website: ‘… Flammulina is a reference to the orange caps, which shine like “little flames” in the winter sunshine … [and] velutipes means “with velvet legs’’, and that’s exactly what the stems of these winter fungi look and feel like.’

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18/365 A slimy Friday

18 Friday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, fungi, nature, winter

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#365DaysWild, Cogan Wood, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, slime, slime mould, slime on ivy leaf

It’s been wintery today, with a chill wind and frequent showers, but I rugged up and headed out for a stomp for the air and exercise. Cosmeston was almost empty of people and dogs, something unheard of on warmer days, and any wildlife was also keeping well under cover. So, I enjoyed a bimble in Cogan Wood, picking up logs, looking for insects and fungi, and I found this interesting slime mould growing on an ivy leaf.

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17/365 Goosey Goosanders

17 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, walks, winter

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#365DaysWild, birding, British birds, Cardiff Bay, Ely embankment, Goosander, walk around Cardiff Bay

Today dawned bright and cold, the perfect day for a long walk, so I took myself out for a long stroll down to Penarth Marina, across the Cardiff Bay Barrage and around to the wetlands reserve, and then back again. These Goosanders – a male at the front and a snoozing female behind, with a second female just out of the frame – were the first birds I saw when I reached Cardiff Bay. Such handsome creatures.

190117 goosanders

15/365 Shedding a tear

15 Tuesday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, trees, weather, winter

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#365DaysWild, bark, rain, rain on tree bark, tree bark

More un-forecast rain stopped play today or, at least, limited it to a stroll around the town in full wet weather gear. Still, there are always things to see, especially if you work with the weather, and use a little imagination. So, while you might think this is just water running down a tree trunk, I see an eye shedding a tear.

190115 shedding a tear

14/365 A nest of rubbish

14 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

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#365DaysWild, birding, birds' nest, birdwatching, nest, nest made of rubbish

190114 nest of rubbish (1)

When I walked along a local path today, I noticed this old birds’ nest propped up on top of a fence. I’m sure this is not where the nest was made – it had probably fallen from a tree and someone had picked it up. Nests are such wonderful constructions and this was no exception, though I was rather dismayed at how much human detritus had been included in it (I’ve included a second photo today, to show the detail).

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12/365 A daffodilly day

12 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, winter

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#365DaysWild, daffodil, spring in winter, yellow flowers

In truth, there is nothing wild about these gorgeous daffodils – they must’ve been planted several years ago in the wide verges near Cardiff Bay Hospital, but it was such a delight to see their bright and glorious little faces bobbing in the light breeze on a grey day. And they were rather nicer than the thick sticky mud I trudged through as I made a circuit of Grangemoor Park.

190112 daffodils