An unexpected free day yesterday saw me wander round Parc Penallta and Nelson Bog. Bird life was rather quiet, though a Greylag on the fishing ponds was a surprise. No sign of any Willow Tits at Nelson, to be honest, wasn't a surprise. I hope they are still hanging in there.
Last year I found a couple of spikes of Broad-leaved Helleborine near the fishing lakes. This year I counted 19 spikes, unfortuatelly all now in seed.
There were plenty of Painted Ladies on the wing, with quite a few Peacocks. A female Brimstone showed their second generation was on the wing. I picked up what I think is only my second or third Silver Y of the year - is anyone else seeing these in number or are they scarce this year?
A second moth, flying close the ground over an open area of spoil, I initially expected to be another Silver Y, until I noted the red/orange sides to the body. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth, my first of the year. Unfortunately couldn't get a photo.
Walking round another area of sparsely vegetated spoil and a noticed a small bright pink flower, clearly not Common Centaury. A couple of photo's and I'm thinking a Pink, Dianthus. The flowers showed a variable amount of small white spots on the deep pink petals. A check of the guide, brought me to Deptford Pink, D. armeria, a nationally rare species.
A check on Aderyn when I got home showed over a 100 Welsh records, including a record from 2016 from the same area. In a small area I counted 18 plants, but the total number could be much greater as I only worked a small part of the total area.
When I went to count the number of plants, a flash of gold brought a Clouded Yellow to my attention. As with most insects, the wind made photography almost impossible, so again no photograph.
Last year I found a couple of spikes of Broad-leaved Helleborine near the fishing lakes. This year I counted 19 spikes, unfortuatelly all now in seed.
There were plenty of Painted Ladies on the wing, with quite a few Peacocks. A female Brimstone showed their second generation was on the wing. I picked up what I think is only my second or third Silver Y of the year - is anyone else seeing these in number or are they scarce this year?
A second moth, flying close the ground over an open area of spoil, I initially expected to be another Silver Y, until I noted the red/orange sides to the body. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth, my first of the year. Unfortunately couldn't get a photo.
Walking round another area of sparsely vegetated spoil and a noticed a small bright pink flower, clearly not Common Centaury. A couple of photo's and I'm thinking a Pink, Dianthus. The flowers showed a variable amount of small white spots on the deep pink petals. A check of the guide, brought me to Deptford Pink, D. armeria, a nationally rare species.
A check on Aderyn when I got home showed over a 100 Welsh records, including a record from 2016 from the same area. In a small area I counted 18 plants, but the total number could be much greater as I only worked a small part of the total area.
When I went to count the number of plants, a flash of gold brought a Clouded Yellow to my attention. As with most insects, the wind made photography almost impossible, so again no photograph.
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