175/365 The eye of faith

24 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature

Tags

#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, Bittern, Black-tailed godwit, British birds, Cuckoo, Great white egret, Grey heron, Hobby, Marsh harrier, RSPB Ham Wall, Shapwick Heath, Whitethroat

You’re just going to have to believe me when I tell you that the photo on the left below is of a Cuckoo in a tree, and the photo on the right is of a Hobby in the same tree four minutes later.

Today’s photos were taken during yesterday’s Glamorgan Bird Club field trip to RSPB Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath on the Somerset Levels, a very watery place, as you can imagine, and one where, depending on the time of year, you’re almost guaranteed to see Marsh harriers, Bitterns, Great white and Little egrets. So, here they are, plus a couple of extras. It was a grand day out, as usual on these birding field trips.

A Grey heron hunts in one of the lush reens …

190624 heron in a reen

The obligatory blurry bittern fly-past shot.

190624 bittern flypast

The equally obligatory distant Marsh harrier shot … but I did manage to get two in one frame.

190624 marsh harriers

Great white egrets aplenty …

190624 great white egret

Black-tailed godwits and a couple of Lapwings doing a turn of the pond. And “Look at me! Look at me!” called the handsome little Whitethroat, so we did.

Cuckoo!

30 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

≈ 8 Comments

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Cuckoo

My #30DaysWild has ended with a cracking day at Cosmeston. Not only did I spot my first Gatekeeper butterfly for 2018, I also spent time watching one of the local Water voles for the first time this year. And then, to top it all off, I happened to be talking to the wife of one of my birding friends when he phoned her from the other end of the park to say he’d just spotted a Cuckoo.

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Very obligingly, the Cuckoo hung around while I hightailed it to where it had last been seen … and, in fact, it was still there several hours later.

I’ve heard Cuckoos several times now and had a brief glimpse of one flying but, as Cuckoos don’t breed in my part of south Wales, this was the first time I was able to have a good look at one. (This bird was probably just making a brief stopover at Cosmeston on its way south to Africa.)

And what a beautiful bird it is, with stunning markings, and much bigger than I had thought.

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What a magical end to my June wildness this was! But, of course, being ‘wild’ doesn’t just happen in June. Spending time exploring the natural world and its wildlife is what keeps me sane and brings joy to my life, and sharing that joy is why I write this blog.

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The Cuckoos of the bee world

15 Monday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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bees, Cuckoo, Cuckoo bees, Nomada bees, Nomada species

You’ve no doubt heard of the Cuckoo bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds to get them to do all the hard work of feeding and raising their chicks but have you heard of the Cuckoo bees? These are the Nomada species, a huge group of bees with over 850 species worldwide, though only about 30 of these can be found in Britain. Even so, it is extremely difficult to tell those 30 species apart so I’m not even going to attempt to identify those in my photos.

170509 Nomada sp Cuckoo bees (3)

As you may have guessed, these bees lay their eggs in the nests of other bee species, primarily the Andrena species. When they hatch, the Cuckoo bee larvae eat the eggs of their host and then consume the food the Andrena had gathered for their own young. It’s very cunning if rather nasty behaviour.