• ABOUT
  • BIRDING 2018
  • Birding 2019
  • BLOG POSTS
  • Butterflies 2018
  • Resources

earthstar

~ a celebration of nature

earthstar

Tag Archives: signs of spring

First frog spawn

07 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in amphibian

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Common frog, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, first frog spawn, frog spawn, signs of spring

Yesterday it was my first caterpillar; today saw another, rather different first sighting for 2021. Though it’s a bit earlier than the last couple of years, I spotted my first frog spawn, at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, not in any of the official ponds but rather in an area of the west paddock that is so water-logged from all the rain we’ve had this year that there are several large temporary pools.

210207 frog spawn (1)

I wonder if frog spawn can survive freezing and thawing? We’ve not had any snow but there’s a bitterly cold wind blowing straight from the Arctic and our temperatures are forecast to be mostly below zero for a few days. It will be interesting to see if the spawn can survive this chilly blast and continue to develop into tadpoles. I’ll keep you posted.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Pussy willow

21 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in trees

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Pussy willow, signs of spring, willow, willow flowers, Willow tree

They call them pussy willows,
But there’s not a cat to see,
Except the little furry toes
That stick out on the tree.

210121 pussy willow (2)

I think that very long ago
When I was just born new,
There must have been whole pussy cats,
Where just the toes stick through.

210121 pussy willow (3)
210121 pussy willow (1)

And every spring it worries me,
I cannot ever find
Those willow cats that ran away
And left their toes behind.

~ ‘The Willow Cats’, Margaret Widdemer (1884-1978), American poet, novelist, and Pulitzer Prize winner

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

22/366 First Snowdrops

22 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Eirlys, signs of spring, snowdrop

I saw my first Snowdrops of 2020 today in Cardiff’s Bute Park.

200122 snowdrops (1)

Candlemas bells, Mary’s taper, Snow piercer, February fairmaids, Dingle-dangle – all vernacular names for Snowdrops, according to my Flora Britannica. In Welsh, Snowdrop is Eirlys (pronounced Ire-liss), a lovely word that’s sometimes used as a girl’s name. How pretty!

200122 snowdrops (2)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

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.

180409 crow
180409 unknown
180409 magpie
180409 swan
180409 coot (2)
180409 coot
180409 coot (3)
180409 great crested grebe

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

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.

180407 bee-flies (1)
180407 bee-flies (2)
180407 bee-flies (3)
180407 bee-flies (4)
180407 bee-flies (5)
180407 bee-flies (6)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Bundles of fluff

05 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ Leave a comment

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)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

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

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
180401 minibeast (4) Honey bee
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
180401 minibeast (6) fly
180401 minibeast (7) fly
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
180401 minibeast (9) Eristalis tenax
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

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?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Another day, another bumble

27 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ Leave a comment

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

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

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)

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

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.

View Full Profile →

Follow earthstar on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent blog posts

  • Nest-builders at work March 4, 2021
  • Common pocket-moss March 3, 2021
  • 500!!! March 2, 2021
  • Leaf mines: Chromatomyia scolopendri March 1, 2021
  • Wild blooms February 28, 2021

From the archives

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

COPYRIGHT

Unless otherwise acknowledged, the text and photographs on this blog are my own and are subject to international copyright. Nothing may be downloaded or copied without my permission.

Click on the category

'Dedicated Naturalist' Project 365DaysWildin2019 amphibian animals autumn birds coastal fauna flowers fungi geology insects ladybird leaves lichen mammal molluscs nature nature photography parks plants reptiles seaside seasons spiders spring trees walks weather wildflowers winter

Fellow Earth Stars!

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    %d bloggers like this: