9/365 Siberian chiffchaff

10 Thursday Jan 2019

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

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#365DaysWild, birding, birdwatching, chiffchaff subspecies, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, Siberian chiffchaff, winter walks

My friend Sharon joined me on a wild walk around Parc Slip Nature Reserve today and, though the reserve itself was very quiet, it was all action near the Centre building, because of this little beauty. This Siberian chiffchaff, a rarity that should be over-wintering somewhere in the lower Himalayas (not dissimilar to south Wales at all!), was first spotted about a week ago and, with its constant activity and absolute fearlessness of humans, it has been entertaining bird-lovers from far and wide.

190109 siberian chiffchaff

The secretive Reed warbler

21 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, parks, walks

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, Reed warbler

For day 21 of #30DaysWild and as a solstice treat, I went for a visit to the Wildlife Trust’s Parc Slip Nature Reserve. It was a lovely sunny day and I walked far and wide, seeing lots of wildlife and wildflowers, but the highlight came as I was sitting on a park bench in a distant part of the reserve eating my lunch.

180621 Reed warblers (1)

I could hear what I thought were Reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), dotting about in the reeds and bushes growing along a nearby stream, and could see the undergrowth moving as they gradually came nearer.

180621 Reed warblers (2)

These are often very shy birds and I’ve never managed very clear photos of them so I waited to see if they would pop up.

180621 Reed warblers (3)

And my patience was eventually rewarded with these fleeting views of two of a family of four Reed warblers – still not great shots but I’m happy with them.

180621 Reed warblers (4)

Moths at Parc Slip

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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British moths, Common carpet moth, Crambus pascuella, Large Yellow Underwing, moths, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, Phtheochroa inopiana, Silver Y, White Ermine, White ermine caterpillar

As well as the reptiles we saw on our ramble around Parc Slip Nature Reserve and in spite of the constant light rain, we also saw quite a few moths, the odd butterfly, a few damselflies, and an abundance of pretty wildflowers. Here are the moths I managed to photograph (some poorly!): Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata), Inlaid grass-veneer (Crambus pascuella), Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba), Phtheochroa inopiana, Silver Y (Autographa gamma), and the larva of the White ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda).

170704 Inlaid grass-veneer Crambus pascuella

170704 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba

170704 White ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda

Rambling with reptiles

03 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in 'Dedicated Naturalist' Project, nature, parks, reptiles, walks

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adder, British reptiles, grass snake, Mary Gillham Archive Project, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, reptile ramble, reptile refugia, slow-worm, volunteering

If you’ve been following my ‘wild’ life for a while, you’ll remember that, in August last year, I went on a reptile ramble at the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales’s Parc Slip Nature Reserve. Well, last Wednesday our team of trusty Mary Gillham Archives Project staff and volunteers went for another ramble, partly because we enjoyed the last one so much and partly as a way of farewelling the lovely Natalie, a university student who’s been working with us since last September. Though tinged with sadness at saying goodbye to Nat, we had an exciting ramble.

I thought perhaps the persistent drizzle might mean we wouldn’t see many reptiles but I was wrong. In fact, the reverse might actually have been true – the rain may well have encouraged the beasties to stay put under their refugia – except, that is, for one large adder, which I almost stepped on, as it was lying in the grass close to one of the shelters. So, though we didn’t see any lizards this time, we saw more adders, grass snakes and slow-worms than last year. Oh, and the bird’s-nest-shaped dried-grass vole nests under some of the refugia were really cute too.

UK Fungus Day 2016

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by sconzani in fungi, nature

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#UKFD16, #UKFungusDay, fungus, Glamorgan Fungus Group, Parasol mushroom, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, UK Fungus Day

The sun shone and the people came, full of interest and enthusiasm … but where were the fungi? It had been a dry week and, as Parc Slip Nature Reserve sits on top of an old coal spoil tip, the ground doesn’t retain moisture well, so the fungi were nowhere to be found.

161009-uk-fungus-day-3

Luckily, Glamorgan Fungus Group president Mike Bright is a man of forethought and ingenuity. When he checked the site of the walk yesterday and found it virtually barren, he spent the rest of the day – six whole hours! – scouring other locations for fungi specimens and, thanks to his super-human efforts, today’s walk was a huge success. Mike led us on a wander in the woods and combined that with a ‘show and tell’ of what he’d found the previous day, and everyone was mightily impressed. I reckon he must take the prize for the best organiser for UK Fungus Day 2016, and for finding the biggest parasol mushroom!

Parc Slip Reptile ramble

18 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by sconzani in 'Dedicated Naturalist' Project, nature, reptiles

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adder, British reptiles, Common lizard, grass snake, Mary Gillham Archive Project, Parc Slip, Parc Slip Nature Reserve, slow-worm, volunteering, Wildlife Trust, Wildlife Trust for South & West Wales, WTSWW

Partly as a training exercise in wildlife identification, partly as a reward for all our hard work to date, and partly as a fun way for our team to get together, our Mary Gillham Archive Project volunteers were treated to a reptile ramble at Parc Slip Nature Reserve yesterday. And it was fantastic!

160818 reptile ramble (4)

Led by friendly and knowledgeable Wildlife Trust officer Lorna, we explored the research and conservation areas where members of the public don’t normally get to wander. With the excitement palpable and a huge sense of anticipation from us onlookers, Lorna used her trusty snake stick to lift up the reptile refugia (sheets of corrugated iron or heavy plastic under which the reptiles frequently shelter) to see what we could find. Though her initial efforts proved unsuccessful, we did eventually get lucky and were very excited to see one very small, young Common lizard (which scuttled away far too quickly for a photo so my lizard photo here is from another day), a Grass snake (which also slithered away far too quickly to photograph), an Adder and 4 Slow-worms. Success! And a great day out, thanks to the conservation efforts of the wonderful folks who work and volunteer at the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales.