• Home
  • about
  • about the photographs
  • Rhos-on-Sea
    • St.Trillo’s Chapel
  • Bryn Euryn Local Nature Reserve
  • Bryn Pydew Nature Reserve
  • Mynydd Marian
  • Coed Pwllycrochan Wood
  • Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve
    • Grey Seals in North Wales
  • Great Orme
  • Llanddwyn Island & Newborough Warren
  • The Wales Coast Path
  • Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes

everyday nature trails

everyday nature trails

Tag Archives: horsetail

Spring has finally arrived in Fairy Glen

18 Saturday May 2013

Posted by theresagreen in Local Nature Reserves, Nature of Wales, nature of woodlands, nature photography

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

cuckoo pint, dog violet, Fairy Glen, horsetail, ivy-leaved toadflax, marsh marigold, min-y-don, osmia rufa, Pied Wagtail, ramsons, red mason bee, river Colwyn, song thrush, spring flowers

Last Friday was a day typical of our Spring so far this year, overcast, showery and cool, but as I began driving home at lunchtime the sun came out, so I stopped by the little bridge at Min-y-Don woods as I often do, just to have a quick look at whatever is about. Today that was small birds flying back and forth across the river that I thought may have been Chiffchaff, but turned out to be House Sparrows taking drinks and chasing flies over the water. Then near the bend in the river I caught another flash of bird movement that made me think ‘grey wagtail’. Of course I had to follow it, being ever hopeful of a good photo opportunity. I finally caught up with the bird and saw it was actually a Pied Wagtail that was by now intent enough on catching insects not to be too disturbed by my presence.

A Pied Wagtail adeptly catching flies

A Pied Wagtail adeptly catching flies

Maybe he has a nest nearby and was out hunting for food to feed young ones, or maybe because he was alone, perhaps has a mate still sitting on eggs and he was feeding her, or, maybe he was simply feeding himself. Whatever his aims, he was very entertaining to watch and seemed to be catching plenty of insects.

Pied Wagtail - Motacilla yarellii

Pied Wagtail – Motecilla yarellii

A couple passing by stopped to see what I was photographing and told me they had seen the grey wagtails further upstream, so I had to carry on walking then, just in case.

On the way up to Fairy Glen my eye was caught by a mass of bright green liverwort at the mouth of a drainpipe, giving the impression it was cascading out like water.

Liverwort at the mouth of a drain pipe

Liverwort at the mouth of a drain pipe

Flowers are generally late this year, but they are making up for lost time now. On the stone walls bounding the river and roadside, the pretty, albeit non-native Ivy-leaved Toadflax flourishes.

Ivy-leaved Toadflax- cymbalaria muralis. A native of Mediterranean Europe, but widely naturalised elsewhere

And here and there the darker purple-blue blooms of the Common Dog Violet peeked out.

Common dog-violet

Common dog-violet – Viola riviana with its pretty  heart-shaped leaves

Garlic mustard is beginning to show its modest white flowers; I love the shape and texture of its leaves too.

Garlic Mustard

Garlic Mustard – Alliaria petiolata

Just inside the woodland of the Glen a few stands of graceful bluebells arch up through the masses of  almost-done lesser celandines, surrounded by encroaching wild garlic.

Bluebell -

Bluebell – Hyacynthoides non-scripta

Further into the woodland the air was filled with the pungent scent of masses of ramsons, or wild-garlic, just reaching the peak of its flowering. Great swathes of it flow down the sloping riverbank and it carpets much of the ground beneath the trees too, to the apparent delight of a host of nectar-seeking insects.

130510TGNJ4-wild garlic-fairy glen

Ramsons, Wild Garlic – Allium ursinum

Ramsons flowers and buds

Ramsons flowers and buds

I watched big beautiful bumblebees, several different species of hoverfly and some little bees that I didn’t recognise visiting the starry white flowers. Looking afterwards at the photographs and checking several identification books and websites, I have ended up with mason bees. If anyone knows better, please let me know.

One of a number of tiny mason bees feasting on the nectar of the wild garlic flowers

One of a number of tiny mason bees feasting on the nectar of the wild garlic flowers

Red Mason Bee – Osmia rufa

One of the little bees (male), pausing briefly to soak up some warmth

One of the little bees (male), pausing briefly to soak up some warmth

 Description: 

The male bees

are smaller than the females at

just 6 -11 mm long. Both

sexes

are covered in dense gingery hairs, the male with white tufts on the head while the female’s head is black.

Habitat: 

Around suitable nesting sites. 

The Red Mason Bee is active from early spring, the male being the first to appear when the weather becomes mild in March, the female emerging later. Like all bees it feeds on pollen.

 Life History: This is a solitary bee, each nest being the work of a single female working alone. They nest in pre-existing cavities such as hollow plant stems, old garden canes, air bricks, and even old nail holes in fence posts, lining the inside of the cavity with mud.

There were birds singing, I heard chiffchaff, blackbird, robin and wren, but most of those I saw, including blue tits, great tits and a coal tit seemed more intent on hunting for insects, so I imagine there are gaping little beaks to fill.

fern frond unfurling

fern frond unfurling amongst the wild garlic

An hour had passed by without me even noticing and I could have stayed even longer, but there began to be quite a few people about keeping the wildlife more discreet in their activities, so I started to make tracks back; I would have missed the sight of a lovely song thrush if I’d kept going.

Song Thrush with what I think is a worm

Walking back towards Min-y-Don I took a detour up and around one of the other paths and found yet more interesting plants to distract me.

Arum -

A strange plant with many names-Lords & Ladies, Jack-in-the-Pulpit,Cuckoo Pint or Wild Arum – Arum maculatum

Horsetail

Horsetail- Equisetum

An almost-orange Welsh Poppy

Sunlight catching the  almost-orange petals of a Welsh Poppy-Mecanopsis cambrica

Kingcups, or marsh maraigolds reflected in a pool of water

Golden kingcups, or Marsh Marigolds-Calthea palustris reflected in a pool of water

And finally an impressive clump of dock that has found purchase in mud on the shallow edge of the river. I know it’s not a desirable plant, but it looked quite well there with its big shapely leaves.

Curled dock

Dock

A crow strutting along the river-wall, feathers gleaming with shades of purple and green

a crow strutting along the river-wall, feathers gleaming with shades of purple and green

Two hours after setting off for one photograph I was on the way back home, but couldn’t resist the sight of rabbits amongst the mass of primroses on the embankment, which is where the current page header came from.

bunnies amongst the primroses

bunnies amongst the primroses

Back at home a large white butterfly was nectaring on a dandelion, the first I’ve seen so far this year. Large white that is, not dandelion, whose population seems to have boomed this year. I have never seen so many.

large white taking nectar from a dandelion

large white taking nectar from a dandelion

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...
Follow everyday nature trails on WordPress.com

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

MOST RECENT POSTS

  • Conwy Marine Walk February 15, 2022
  • Blowing Away the Cobwebs January 26, 2022
  • On the Trail of the Jackdaws of Conwy Town January 17, 2022
  • The Butterfly Effect July 31, 2021
  • Wintergreens January 17, 2021
  • The Wilds behind the Sea Wall August 18, 2020

OLDER POSTS

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR?

MY WILDFLOWER BLOG: where the wildflowers are

Snowdrop

Snowdrop

Winter Heliotrope

Winter Heliotrope

MY SPANISH BLOG: nightingale trails

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca
Follow everyday nature trails on WordPress.com

Social

  • View teresamaygreen’s profile on Twitter
'But it is the common species that keep the living world ticking over and provide most of our experiences of wildlife, and I would argue that maintaining the abundance of these is as important a conservation priority as maintaining the existence of rarities'. Richard Mabey

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

Top Posts & Pages

  • Pretty prickly Thistles
    Pretty prickly Thistles
  • The Foxglove - of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine
    The Foxglove - of Fairytales, Myths & Medicine
  • Seeing red and black
    Seeing red and black
  • Wales Coast Path-Colwyn Bay to Pensarn
    Wales Coast Path-Colwyn Bay to Pensarn
  • Butterflies of the Great Orme
    Butterflies of the Great Orme
  • Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes
    Wildflowers of Coastal Paths, Cliffs and Dunes
  • Cuckoo-spit and the amazing Froghopper
    Cuckoo-spit and the amazing Froghopper
  • Bryn Pydew
    Bryn Pydew
  • Grey Seals in North Wales
    Grey Seals in North Wales
  • St.Trillo's Chapel
    St.Trillo's Chapel

MY WILDFLOWER BLOG

where the wildflowers are

Recent Posts: nightingale trails

The Walk of the Monarch Butterfly-Sendero de la Mariposa Monarca

Wildflowers and Nightingales

Breakfast with Lesser Kestrels

Asphodels

The Mediterranean Steps in Spring

Blogs I Follow

  • Know Your London
  • Wildonline.blog
  • definearth
  • sunshine and celandines
  • restlessjo
  • Art in Nature
  • Travels With My Aunt
  • Ray Cannon's nature notes
  • Lyreades
  • Discovering Belgium
  • westmediterraneanflora.wordpress.com/
  • wadertales
  • letting nature back in
  • Bug Woman - Adventures in London
  • Becky in Portugal
  • the crone
  • Eat Starch
  • ultimatemindsettoday
  • earthstar
  • One World, Two Feet
  • Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog
  • arctic-cycler.com
  • Everything Digital
  • NavasolaNature
  • This and That Continued
  • Back to Spain
  • Nature on the Edge
  • Naturanaute
  • Brandon Hill Nature Blog
  • alder & ash
  • Winging It
  • Gardening Jules
  • GeoTopoi
  • Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)
  • Life in Kawagoe
  • Say It With A Camera
  • a green bough in my heart
  • Science on the Land
  • Dreaming In Stitches
  • 3rdstorey.wordpress.com/

Website Built with WordPress.com.

Know Your London

A good place to find out about the history of Inner London. There’s no fake-history on this Website.

Wildonline.blog

British Wildlife & Photography

definearth

writing about the environmental issues nobody is writing about.

sunshine and celandines

These are a few of my favourite things.

restlessjo

Roaming, at home and abroad

Art in Nature

The ‘Beauty of the Moment’

Travels With My Aunt

Random notes on the travels of a Welshman who has been allowed out to play after finishing his chores. OK so I don't travel with my Aunt, but I am usually under the adult supervision of my long suffering wife.

Ray Cannon's nature notes

Every picture tells a story

Lyreades

Discovering Belgium

Tips to explore this fascinating country!

westmediterraneanflora.wordpress.com/

widlfowers in the western mediterranean

wadertales

letting nature back in

at home and further afield

Bug Woman - Adventures in London

Because a community is more than just people

Becky in Portugal

The Joy of Slow Travel

the crone

opening the door to ideas

Eat Starch

Easy vegan food

ultimatemindsettoday

A great WordPress.com site

earthstar

a celebration of nature

One World, Two Feet

Explorers sharing adventures from around the globe.

Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog

Mindfulness, Philosophy, Spirituality, Meditation, Awareness, Religion, Nature Photography

arctic-cycler.com

arctic-cycler goes global.

Everything Digital

Some of my own digital photography and inspiration for my textile art - 'Hellebore Textiles'

NavasolaNature

Nature needs Nurture

This and That Continued

Jenny Diski - Writing and stuff.

Back to Spain

Spanish recipes, travel + more

Nature on the Edge

Wildlife photography along the urban edge

Naturanaute

Plants and people, from urban jungles to lush rainforests

Brandon Hill Nature Blog

Documenting Bristol's urban wildlife in and around Brandon Hill Nature Park - home of Cabot Tower and Bristol's oldest urban park

alder & ash

A permaculture plot in Suffolk

Winging It

Feathery fumblings from amateur birders

Gardening Jules

Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees - Organic & Wildlife Friendly Gardening

GeoTopoi

Places and photographs

Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK)

Coastalwalker.co.uk - walking around the British coastline, very SLOWLY.

Life in Kawagoe

Japanese daily sight

Say It With A Camera

Mike Hardisty Photography

a green bough in my heart

- rambles from a lover of nature, and the nature of things

Science on the Land

Dreaming In Stitches

a mingled yarn

3rdstorey.wordpress.com/

Graphic designer based in Sydney Australia, that isn't much for words and all about pictures.

  • Follow Following
    • everyday nature trails
    • Join 353 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • everyday nature trails
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: