28 Thursday May 2020
The highlight of yesterday’s walk to Lavernock Nature Reserve was seeing this little beauty, my first Small copper of the year.
They’re tiny butterflies but they punch well above their weight, fearlessly challenging any other butterflies that stray too close to their territory, as this one did today with a male Common blue.
This Small copper was in pristine condition so, presumably, had very recently emerged. The vibrancy and intensity of its copper colour was simply stunning.
07 Thursday May 2020
Not only did I see my first dragonflies of the year yesterday at Lavernock Nature Reserve but I also spotted my first Dingy skippers (Erynnis tages).
At least four of these inconspicuous little butterflies were feeding on their favourite food plant, Common bird’s-foot trefoil, or basking on the compacted earth of the tracks through the reserve, as is their wont.
Their preferences for bird’s-foot trefoil and patches of bare ground are why these butterflies are often found on chalk and limestone grasslands, on brownfield sites and in disused quarries, amongst sand dunes and along open pathways adjacent to woodland.
Sun, shelter and good food – it’s not much to ask for. But, sadly, the Dingy skipper is one of many declining species of butterfly in Britain, probably due to the way land is managed and to the intensification of agriculture. So, I feel very privileged to be able to observe and enjoy these lovely little skippers so close to home.
06 Wednesday May 2020
I was delighted to see my first dragonflies of the year at Lavernock Nature Reserve during this morning’s walk: two female (with the golden abdomen) and two male (blue abdomen) Broad-bodied chasers.
21 Saturday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly, Common blue, Common blue butterfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve
It was looking faded, jaded and more than a little tatty but this Common blue butterfly has certainly got staying power. Most of its species have died off now in my local area so it was a delight to see this little one today at Lavernock.
08 Sunday Sep 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, Bog hoverfly, British hoverflies, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, pink scabious, Sericomyia silentis
It looks a bit like a wasp but this black-and-yellow-striped minibeastie is a hoverfly with the rather tongue-twisting name Sericomyia silentis. Perhaps Bog hoverfly would be easier but, in my opinion, its common name doesn’t do this little beauty justice.
I spent a couple of hours today at Lavernock Nature Reserve, where the Devil’s-bit scabious is looking simply stunning and is attracting myriads of insects. I took lots of butterfly photos but thought to post one of the other little critters today. The Devil’s-bit is usually a lilac colour but some at Lavernock are this subtle shade of pink instead. Its nectar obviously tastes just as good!
12 Monday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, birds, nature
Tags
autumn migration, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Spotted flycatcher
Willow warblers are peeping from every bush, Blackcaps are chacking, Swallows and martins are swooping low over the fields at Cosmeston for last minute snacks before they cross their first stretch of water on their way south and, today, at Lavernock, I saw my first Spotted flycatcher of the year. Autumn migration is well and truly underway!
09 Friday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Finally yesterday I found what I’ve walked many miles, worn out a pair of shoes, sweated buckets to find …my first Jersey tiger moth of the year. And it was worth every ache in my poor old feet!
Though the text books and web sites haven’t yet acknowledged it, we locals are positive we have a colony now established along our piece of the south Wales coast, and the records logged in Aderyn, the Wales biodiversity database, confirm it. These tigers have been recorded every year for over ten years at local sites, including Lavernock Nature Reserve and in gardens in the neighbouring towns of Sully and, latterly, Barry.
Jersey tigers are beautiful moths: triangular shaped, stunningly patterned with black-and-beige stripes, with vibrant orange underwings only usually seen when they’re flying, and a pale apricot body.
They’re currently only seen, as their name suggests, on the Channel Islands, in certain spots along England’s south coast and in London, and in our little area in Wales.
p.s. A Butterfly Conservation staffer from south Wales has since told me that this moth’s establishment in our area is not disputed and that it probably became established around 2012-13 but that it just takes time for websites to update their records.
04 Sunday Aug 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, British dragonflies, dragonfly, dragonfly ovipositing, Emperor dragonfly, female Emperor ovipositing, Lavernock Nature Reserve, oviposit
Oviposit: verb; a zoological term, relating especially to insects, which means to lay an egg or eggs. According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word first came in to use in the early 19th century and is a combination of ‘ovi’ for egg and ‘posit’, from the Latin verb ponere, meaning to place.
Today, at Lavernock Nature Reserve, I was eating my lunch while sitting on the bench near the dragonfly pond, when this female Emperor dragonfly came along and began ovipositing, carefully manoeuvring her body to place several eggs beneath each lily pad before moving on to the next. All the while, her mate was patrolling overhead to ensure no one interfered with this important process.
23 Tuesday Jul 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature
Tags
#365DaysWild, British butterflies, butterfly, Holly blue, Holly blue butterfly, Lavernock Nature Reserve, summer butterflies
The Holly blue is one of several British butterflies that goes through more than one life cycle per year (you can read more about them here), and the second generation of these stunning little butterflies is now on the wing in my local reserves and wild places.
I saw my first of the summer brood on 14 July at Grangemoor Park, and this perfect little female was feeding on bramble flowers when I visited Lavernock Nature Reserve on Saturday, 20 July. Look out for them on ivy bushes, as that’s where the second generation females lay their eggs.
10 Monday Jun 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, British wildflowers, Goat's-beard, Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon, Lavernock Nature Reserve, seed clock, Tragopogon pratensis, wildflower clock
You might well think that this seed clock belongs in an autumn blog post, rather than one from the lengthy days of early summer, but I saw this today at Lavernock Nature Reserve and couldn’t resist it. This is the fruit of Goat’s-beard (Tragopogon pratensis), a wildflower that is also known by the delightful name Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon because its bright yellow flowers always close up by midday.
