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Tag Archives: signs of spring

Nests

09 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Buzzard, Carrion crow, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Magpie, Mute swan, nesting, nesting birds, signs of spring

Just like their makers, nests come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re made of all sorts of materials: twigs and branches, feathers, moss, paper and plastic, mud. They can be seen high in trees and on buildings, hidden secretively away in hedges and behind reeds, or plonked in a hole in a concrete platoon, as I saw some Coots do recently in Cardiff. Some are messy and loosely constructed, others are cosy and snug, still others are miniature works of art.

180409 buzzard

This is prime bird-nesting season so it’s quite likely you’ll see nests when you’re out walking. Please stay well away and do not disturb parents, eggs or babies. In Britain (and I’m sure in most countries) it is, in fact, an offence under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to ‘intentionally take, damage, destroy the nest of any wild bird while it is in use or being built’ and to ‘intentionally take or destroy  the egg of any wild bird’. (You can read more details here.) And, rest assured, my photos were all taken with a long lens, well away from the birds, so as not to disturb them.

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180409 coot (2)
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180409 coot (3)
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Signs of spring: Bee-flies

07 Saturday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Bee-fly, Bombylius major, British insects, signs of spring

Last Wednesday was a ‘B’ day – not ‘B’ as in ‘B-rated’ or in any way inferior – in fact, in that sense, it was an A+ day. I named it a ‘B’ day because I saw my first Butterflies of 2018, my first Blackcap, and my first Bee-flies – and not just one Bee-fly, but a total of seven!

180407 bee-flies (7)

The Bee-fly (officially Bombylius major) is a strange-looking mini-beastie, a weird and wonderful combination, all the cuteness of a furry teddy-bear but with the sinister look of a sword fish. Never fear, it is entirely harmless to humans, though it does lay its eggs in the nests of bees and wasps, where the bee-fly larvae feast on the bee and wasp larvae. Its sword-shaped proboscis is no stinging machine – it’s used exclusively for drinking nectar from flowers. These are springtime mini-beasties, out now in sunny spots in your garden or local hedgerow.

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180407 bee-flies (6)

Bundles of fluff

05 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

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Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, bundles of fluff, goslings, Greylag, Greylag goose, Roath Park Lake, signs of spring

180405 Greylag goslings (1)

As this year’s lingering wintery weather has delayed the true advent of spring by about three weeks, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see these four gorgeous Greylag goslings when I went for a wander around Roath Park Lake on Tuesday. But, as Greylag eggs take about 28 days to incubate, Mrs Goose may well have started laying just prior to the ‘Beast from the East’ storm on 1 March. Full praise to her for persevering through two heavy dumpings of snow, freezing temperatures, and some very heavy deluges of rain as well!

180405 Greylag goslings (2)180405 Greylag goslings (5)180405 Greylag goslings (3)180405 Greylag goslings (4)180405 Greylag goslings (7)180405 Greylag goslings (6)180405 Greylag goslings (8)

Signs of spring: minibeasts

03 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

bees, bumblebee, flies, hoverflies, ladybird, minibeasts, signs of spring

‘If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.’
~ E. O. Wilson (1929 – ), American biologist, environmentalist, author

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180401 minibeast (4) Honey bee
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180401 minibeast (6) fly
180401 minibeast (7) fly
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180401 minibeast (9) Eristalis tenax
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Winning ways?

02 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

birding, birdwatching, British birds, British ducks, ducks, male mallards fighting, Mallard, signs of spring, Spring is in the air, springtime

You can tell spring is in the air when the males start fighting over the females. These drake Mallards were really going at it. To the victor the spoils?

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Another day, another bumble

27 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

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Tags

Bombus lapidarius, British bumblebees, bumblebee, pollinators, Red-tailed bumblebee, signs of spring, willow catkin, willow flower

Isn’t she beautiful? While out walking in a local park I spotted this queen Red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) enjoying the pollen of a newly opened willow flower  … and I smiled all the way home.

180327 Red-tailed bumblebee

Frogs, and lots of them

20 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in nature, reptiles, spring

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

British reptiles, Common frog, Cosmeston, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, frog, Rana temporaria, signs of spring

Here’s a sign of spring, if ever there was one – well, hundreds of signs of spring, in fact – as the frogs are out and croaking at Cosmeston’s dipping pond.

180320 Common frog (1)

Though they come in a variety of colours, ranging from light green and yellow through to olive and light brown, these are all Common frogs (Rana temporaria). They’ve long hind legs for hopping and swimming, big eyes for spotting females, and strong front fingers for gripping on to those females once they find them. At dinnertime, they have a preference for small invertebrates like slugs and snails, and they, in turn, are much enjoyed by herons, crows, hedgehogs, otters, and rats.

180320 Common frog (2)180320 Common frog (4)

Frogs have a special place in human culture: they have been used to predict the weather – bright healthy skin foretells fine weather, dull skin rain; they are the subject of numerous superstitions – a frog in the house is a portent of death or something similarly awful, yet frog bones might be worn around the neck as a cure-all; they feature in idioms – if your voice is a bit croaky, you are said to ‘have a frog in your throat’ – and in fairytales – a frog is transformed into a handsome price after being kissed by a beautiful princess. And I haven’t even mentioned one of the most well-known frogs of all, Kermit.

180320 Common frog (3)180320 Common frog (5)

2018’s first Colt’s-foot

09 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Colt's-foot, Coltsfoot, signs of spring, spring flowers, Tussilago farfara

Monday’s walk took me around Grangemoor Park, looking to see what effects last week’s snow storm had had. Luckily, the park and its wildlife appear to have come through fairly well – no trees down, no signs of dead creatures (though they could have been hidden), and plenty of bird sounds all around. And then, the best thing, in a location where I had seen many last year, almost hidden under twigs, my very first Colt’s-foot flower of 2018. Spring really is on its way!

180309 Colt's-foot

Spring messenger

16 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers

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Tags

#FloralFriday, British wildflowers, Ficaria verna, Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus ficaria, signs of spring

180216 Lesser celandine (1)

Not only was it the favourite flower of William Wordsworth (who wrote three poems about it) and considered to be a herbal remedy for haemorrhoids (due to the shape of its roots), but the pretty Lesser celandine (was Ranunculus ficaria, now Ficaria verna) is one of the first floral heralds of spring.

180216 Lesser celandine (2)
180216 Lesser celandine (3)

The flowers are supposed to appear around the same time that the Swallows arrive back in Britain (hence the name Celandine, which comes from the Greek chelidon, meaning Swallow) (flower and bird are out of sync this year, though) so we need to keep our eyes on the skies, as well as on the ground.

180216 Lesser celandine (4)

Signs of spring: Marsh marigolds

02 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, parks, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Caltha palustris, Heath Park, marsh marigold, signs of spring

180202 Marsh marigolds (2)

Though it’s hard to believe today, as I look out the window at yet another grey rainy day and the temperature is set to go down all day not up, here is yet another sign that spring really is just around the corner. I spotted these Marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris) blooming in a muddy pond in Cardiff’s Heath Park last week.

180202 Marsh marigolds (1)180202 Marsh marigolds (3)

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sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; fungi forayer and bird watcher; countryside rambler and city strider; tree lover and cat person; volunteer and traveller. And I am living proof that Kiwis really can fly.

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  • World Curlew Day April 21, 2018
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  • Birding at Craig Cerrig Gleisiad and Garwnant April 19, 2018
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