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Tag Archives: Meadow Brown

Birding at Peterston & Pendoylan Moors

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in animals, birds, insects, nature, walks

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, British butterflies, butterflies, Cinnabar caterpillars, Comma, Cows, Glamorgan Bird Club, Green-veined white, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red fox, Red kite, River Ely, Sand martin, Small tortoiseshell, Stock dove

Yesterday I enjoyed another wonderful, if rather hot day’s birding with my friends from the Glamorgan Bird Club, this time wandering a trail alongside the River Ely near Peterston-super-Ely and Pendoylan.

180711 2 red kites

On the way there, my friend John and I had incredibly close views of three Red kites and more of these magnificent birds of prey were gliding overhead during our walk.

180711 1 stock dove

We saw Stock doves (one pictured above) sitting obligingly close to Woodpigeons so we could see the differences in the two species.

180711 2 red fox

A Red fox was spotted trotting along in a distant field, its lunch in its mouth.

180711 4 meeting the locals

A large herd of large cows moved reluctantly away from the river so we could pass by. You’d have to be crazy to mess with this lady, who was keeping a steady eye on us in case we ventured too close to her calves.

180711 5 participants

The fifteen participants … well, fourteen really, as I was taking the photo.

180711 6 river ely

The meandering River Ely was running low due to the recent drought conditions here in south Wales.

180711 b cinnabar caterpillars
180711 b comma
180711 b green-veined white
180711 b meadow brown
180711 b peacock
180711 b small tortoiseshell

As well as birds, we also saw lots of butterflies, including these: Cinnabar caterpillars, Comma, Green-veined white, Meadow brown, Peacock, and more Small tortoiseshell than I’ve ever seen in one day before.

180711 7 sandmartins

The highlight of the day for me was watching these Sand martins hawking for food over the fields and then returning to their burrows in the river bank to feed their hungry young. Magic!

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Leptastic!

25 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, British butterflies, British moths, butterflies, Common blue, Large skipper, Meadow Brown, moths, Pyrausta purpuralis, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Small skipper, Small white, Speckled wood

Day 25 of #30DaysWild was hot – the hottest day of the year so far in Wales! I’m not a huge fan of the heat or the burning sun – one of the reasons I moved to Britain was to escape them, but the climate is a’changing. The only good thing about sunshine is that it brings out the Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths, though even they looked a bit frantic, as if the heat was making them crazy. Still, on my Penarth – Lavernock – Cosmeston – Penarth circuit, I did manage to see my first Small skipper for the year and a host of other fantastic Leps as well.

180625 6-spot burnet

Six-spot burnet moth

180625 common blue

Common blue

180625 large skipper

Large skipper

180625 meadow brown

Meadow brown

180625 Pyrausta purpuralis

Pyrausta purpuralis moth

180625 ringlet

Ringlet

180625 small skipper

Small skipper

180625 small white

Small white

180625 speckled wood

Speckled wood

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From garbage to glorious

09 Saturday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, parks

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Bee orchid, Blackcap, Brimstone butterfly, Common blue butterfly, Common spotted orchid, Emperor dragonfly, Grangemoor Park, Holly blue butterfly, Large skipper, long-tailed tit, Meadow Brown, Pyramidal orchid, Southern marsh orchid

Day 9 of #30DaysWild saw me at Grangemoor Park, a place that used to be Cardiff’s rubbish dump: when it closed in 1994, it contained an estimated four million cubic metres of garbage, both commercial and household. Now, it’s not only a public park but also a SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), and is home to a wonderfully diverse range of flora and fauna. My photos show just some of what I discovered there today …

180609 1 Large skipper

Large skipper butterfly

180609 2 Meadow brown

One of seven Meadow brown butterflies seen today

180609 3 Common blue

Male Common blue butterfly

180609 4 Holly blue

Holly blue butterfly (and tiny friend)

180609 5 Brimstone

Brimstone butterfly (one of my favourites)

180609 6 Emperor dragonfly

Emperor dragonfly. There were many other dragonflies and damselflies at the pond but they were a bit distant for photos.

180609 7 Long-tailed tit fledgling

One of four newly fledged Long-tailed tits, foraging with their parents

180609 8 Blackcap female

Female Blackcap busy foraging for her family

180609 9 Pyramidal orchid

Pyramidal orchids

180609 10 Bee orchid

Bee orchid – love their ‘faces’!

180609 11 Southern marsh orchid

Southern marsh orchid (I think)

180609 12 Common spotted orchid

Common spotted orchids

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A riot of butterflies

06 Sunday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, nature photography

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Common blue, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Vanessa cardui

The Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) is supposed to be quite a common butterfly but I’d only seen two this year until this morning’s butterfly fest at Cardiff Bay, in a tucked-away spot full of Buddleja, Ragwort, Hemp agrimony and other assorted wildflowers.

170806 Painted lady (3)
170806 Painted lady (2)
170806 Painted lady (1)
170806 Painted lady (4)

The nectar bonanza was being licked up by four Painted ladies, two Red admirals, one Small white, two Meadow browns, and two Common blues. What a riot of colour they made!

170806 Common blue (2)
170806 Common blue (1)
170806 Red admiral
170806 Meadow brown

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A 10 lepidoptera day!

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Common blue, Gatekeeper, Large skipper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Small skipper, Small white, Speckled wood

It’s Monday. I’ve had a meeting about a forthcoming fungi presentation, followed by a busy morning on the computer and feel I need a blast of fresh air so decide to do one of my local walk circuits, taking in one side of Cardiff Bay and Penarth Marina. And I’m so glad I do ’cause the air is alive with butterflies and moths. They are common enough species but I am amazed and delighted to see such a variety and so many in just a 2-hour walk.

There are Comma (Polygonia c-album), Common blue (Polyommatus icarus), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus), Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus), Six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Small white (Pieris rapae), and Speckled wood (Pararge aegeri). This is my idea of heaven!

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The butterflies are back!

22 Thursday Jun 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Aphantopus hyperantus, British butterflies, butterflies, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Maniola jurtina, Meadow Brown, Ringlet

I saw my first Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) and Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) butterflies of the year at Cosmeston last week. And now there seem to be hundreds of Meadow Browns everywhere, though not so many Ringlets. Such pretty little things.

170622 Meadow brown170622 Ringlet

 

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Brown is the new black

16 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Aphantopus hyperantus, butterflies, butterfly, Cathays Cemetery, Maniola jurtina, Meadow Brown, Ringlet

160716 Meadow Brown (1)

The two butterflies I see most often at the moment are fifty shades of brown and, when flying, very difficult to tell apart. Both enjoy the sheltered areas of tall grass and wildflowers in the conservation areas of Cathays Cemetery and, on a sunny day, I might see a combined total of perhaps thirty. Both are difficult to photograph as they rarely keep still long enough for me to reach them, let alone get focused shots, and they often settle down low in areas of long grass so, even at my most stealthy, I can seldom step through the greenery without disturbing them.

160716 ringlet (1)
160716 ringlet (2)

The Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) is not a Shirley Temple lookalike – its common name comes from the series of little ring markings on its hind wings. One of the advantages of being brown is that it is more easily able to warm itself up so can still be seen flying on overcast days. Common throughout Britain (except for the northernmost parts of Scotland), it tends to live in colonies, sometimes numbering up to several thousand individuals – what a sight that would be!

160716 Meadow Brown (2)
160716 Meadow Brown (3)

As its name suggests, the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) is brown and lives in meadows, and it’s one of the most common, widespread and least endangered of British butterflies. There are, in fact, four separate sub-species, differentiated by location and extremely subtle variations in markings but I’m not going to venture in to that level of specialisation (there’s a wealth of information on the UK Butterflies website if you’re tempted).

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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. And I am living proof that Kiwis really can fly.

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