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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Barry

46/365 Barry Fox

15 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, animals, nature, spring

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Tags

Barry, Barry Island, British mammals, fox, fox lying in the sun, Red fox

Under blue skies and glorious sunshine, I returned to Barry for another long exploratory meander today so I expected this blog post to contain one of the many photos I took of water lapping on sand, aerobatic gulls soaring overhead, seaweed floating in and out on the waves, birds feeding amongst the reeds and rivulets in the Old Harbour …. But then I happened to glance over a railing into someone’s allotment and saw this gorgeous creature basking in the warm afternoon sun. And all thoughts of a marine theme vanished in a blink of a sleepy fox’s eye.

190215 fox

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35/365 Little egret

04 Monday Feb 2019

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Barry, Barry Old Harbour, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Little egret

After the rain and low cloud cleared late morning, I headed to the seaside for the afternoon, to Barry, a short train ride west along the south Wales coast. Despite the chilly wind blowing in off the sea, the day was glorious and I walked around the Knap, the Old Harbour, the beach at Barry Island and then along the old docks to catch the train home. The tide was out so it was a good time to check the now-silted-up Old Harbour for birds and I was delighted to spot this Little egret puddling about in one of the channels, trying to stir up something for its lunch. Such an elegant bird.

190204 little egret

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Birding in Barry

12 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barry, Barry Docks, Barry Old Harbour, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Curlew, Great Crested Grebe, Med gull, Mediterranean gull, Oystercatcher, Redhsank, Shelduck

The south Wales town of Barry is not exactly what you’d call a prime birding destination but, due to its coastal location, it does turn up regular wader sightings and the occasional rarity. On this visit, I dipped on my target species, the Great northern diver that’s been overwintering in Barry Docks – I saw the bird last year but want to add it to this year’s list – but I still had an enjoyable day’s birding, with a few nice surprises.

180312 Med & black-headed gulls

First up at Barry Docks was the local Mediterranean gull. For those unfamiliar with this bird, you can see some of the differences between it and Black-headed gulls in this photo – in breeding season, the hood on the head of the Med gull covers its entire head and is a true black (not a chocolate brown hood on just the front half of the head), its beak and legs are different, and it has white wing tips.

180312 Great crested grebes

Four Great crested grebes were braving the choppy waves being whipped up by the strong sou’westerly wind.

180312 Shelducks

In Barry Old Harbour, two Shelducks were hoovering the mud for small shellfish and aquatic snails.

180312 Redshanks

At least eight Redshanks were prospecting amongst the salt marsh and along the silty rivulets.

180312 Oystercatchers

Sitting down, five Oystercatchers were so well camouflaged as to be almost invisible, until they got up and one set them all off singing out their characteristic call.

180312 Curlew (1)

The day’s pièce de résistance was the sight of two Curlews prospecting for a late lunch amongst reeds and under rocks. At first, I thought I had the two Black-tailed godwits reported earlier in the week but no, those bills were definitely curved. A nice sighting just the same!

180312 Curlew (2)

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Random creatures of Barry

24 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Barry, Crab spider, Dock bug, Garden snails, Glamorgan Botany Group, Grene shieldbug, hoverflies, insects, ladybirds, Orange-tip butterfly, slow-worm

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I spent a wonderful day on Saturday exploring and examining some of the town of Barry’s wilder green spaces with members of the Glamorgan Botany Group. But, of course, you can’t spend a whole day looking at plants without also seeing an awful lot of the critters that live on those plants and I admit to being a trifle distracted at times … by a sunshine-yellow Crab spider, by fluttering butterflies and buzzing hoverflies, by plentiful dock and shield bugs, by the sad sight of a dead Slow-worm. Some of the lovely old stone houses and churches we passed were pretty cool too!

170424 1 Creatures of Barry
170424 2 Creatures of Barry
170424 3 Creatures of Barry
170424 4 Creatures of Barry
170424 5 Creatures of Barry
170424 6 Old buildings of Barry
170424 7 Creatures of Barry
170424 8 Creatures of Barry
170424 9 Creatures of Barry
170424 10 Old buildings of Barry
170424 11 Creatures of Barry
170424 12 Creatures of Barry

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I’m a mentee!

23 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in nature, plants, walks, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

amatuer botanist, Barry, British plants, Glamorgan Botany Group, Mary Gillham Archive Project, Mary Gillham Botany Mentorship Scheme, SEWBReC

Actually, I became a mentee a few weeks ago but yesterday was my first outing with my mentor and other members of the Glamorgan Botany Group. My plant knowledge is abysmal and I felt I needed to remedy that so when SEWBReC (the South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre) announced that, as part of the Heritage Lottery-funded Mary Gillham Archive Project, they would be running a Botany Mentorship Scheme ‘to encourage the sharing of knowledge from experienced botanists to enthusiastic beginners’, I put my hand up.

170423 Botany walk in Barry (1)

As SEWBReC’s announcement said, ‘Mary spent her lifetime sharing her ecological knowledge including many years as an Extra Mural Lecturer at Cardiff University, so the inclusion of a Botany Mentorship Scheme in the project will carry on her passion for teaching others about the wildlife of south east Wales’. Lady Luck was smiling on me the day the mentees were selected and I am now one of a handful of keen amateurs with a steep (or so it seems to me) learning curve in front of me.

170423 wildflowers in Barry (1)
170423 wildflowers in Barry (4)
170423 wildflowers in Barry (3)
170423 wildflowers in Barry (2)

Yesterday, with my mentor and eight other enthusiastic plant people, I stomped around some of the less-well-explored and under-recorded green spaces of Barry, a town on the south Wales coast, examining and recording plant species. My mentor and walk-mates were welcoming, friendly, and generous in sharing their extensive knowledge, and it was a splendid, if somewhat overwhelming day. I have a great deal to learn but I’m looking forward to the challenge immensely.

170423 Botany walk in Barry (4)

A view over Barry

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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