Wild About The Llŷn

Hedgehog

2011-05-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

In 2009 we had at least 5 differant Hedgehogs coming to feed in out garden in Edern but last year we did not spot a single one. Saturday I spotted this little one feeding from the bowls of food we leave out for our part tamed feral cats. Nice to see them back again as we had wondered if the badgers in the area had eaten them all.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens )

2011-05-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

The walk along the coast path between Nefyn and Morfa Nefyn produced our first Banded Damoiselle (female) of the season sheltering on the path. Not the most likely spot to see a Banded Demoiselle resting be there she was in all her glory.

Coast Path Saturday 14th May 2011

2011-05-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Despite the very strong winds blowing on Saturday morning there were plenty of insects and wild flowers to attract the attention on our walk. We decided to walk along the coast path from Nefyn to Morfa Nefyn as this had some shelter from the stong winds and thus likely to enable us to see some insects. Its always a good choice of walk on this route if we have strong winds blowing in the from a westerly direction as you get some shelter along the path which leaves some areas practically wind free and thus attractive to butteflies and other flying insects.

The large Red Damsel Fly shown and the male Common Blue butterfly were just two of the more visually attractive insects we spotted.

Butterflies in 2011

2011-05-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

15 species so far this year
Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Wall (Lasiommata megera)
Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Red Admiral(Vanessa atalanta)
Small Tortoishell (Aglais urticae)
Peacock (Aglais io)
Comma (Polygonia c-album)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Green Veined White (Pieris napi)
Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
Large White (Pieris brassicae)
Small White (Pieris rapae)
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Broad-Bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa)

2011-05-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Second Odonata sp of the year this morning, a female of Broad Bodied chaser seen on Lon Cae Glas this morning. The three years I have lived on the Llyn I have bagged BB chaser first on Lon Cae Glas each spring. Not seen the spectacular blue male yet but will hopefully find them up the lane next week if the weather holds good

Bloody-Nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

2011-05-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Lots of adults and the rather "tick" like larvae of Bloody Nosed beetle around on the Peninsula. The larva seem to be particularly fond of eating Goose Grass.

The Lackey (Malacosoma neustria)

2011-05-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

We have spotted dozens of the larval webs of the Lackey all around the Penllyn in recent weeks. It almost seems like every Blackthorn and Bramble bush in some hedges is covered in the webs full of caterpillars this year !

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

2011-04-30T09:53:00.000-07:00

We spotted this male Common Blue butterfly on on the golf course at Morfa Nefyn this morning, yet another early record for this year.

Unusual Badger Latrine

2011-04-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

We found this badger latrine with a view right on top of a Clawdd on Lon Cae Glas today. Intitially we thought a badger had been digging out as bees nest but closer inspection showed it was a badger latrine pit. A toilet with a view !

Butterflies in 2011 update

2011-04-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Small Copper

Two new species added to our butterfly list for 2011 today. Both seen on the coastal path from Edern to the golf course.Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) and
Wall (Lasiommata megera.

Thats 12 species so far not bad before the end of April !
Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Wall (Lasiommata megera)
Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Red Admiral(Vanessa atalanta)
Small Tortoishell (Aglais urticae)
Peacock (Aglais io)
Comma (Polygonia c-album)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Green Veined White (Pieris napi)
Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula )

2011-04-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

The first Odonata of 2011 starting to appear on the Llyn this week around Edern.

Butterflies

2011-04-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

Red Admiral on Blackthorn Blossom

Male Orange Tip

Female Holly Blue

Hundreds of Butterflies of 10 species now on the wing on the Llyn in the recent hot spell. Its could be a spectacular year this year if this weather continues. The migrant Painted Ladies around in some numbers earlier in the month seem to have moved on now.

Whitethroat

2011-04-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

First Whitethroats of the year singing along Lon Cae Glas this morning.

Butterflies today on Lon Cae Glas

2011-04-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

HOLLY BLUE

ORANGE TIP (MALE)

COMMA

A very good morning for butterflies along Lon Cae Glas this morning with a total of nine species recorded and Holy Blue being my first ever record for the Llyn. Ten species recorded so far in 2011, not bad for early April.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
Red Admiral(Vanessa atalanta)
Small Tortoishell (Aglais urticae)
Peacock (Aglais io)
Comma (Polygonia c-album)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Green Veined White (Pieris napi)
Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)

Butterflies so far in 2011

2011-04-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

ORANGE TIP male

SPECKLED WOOD

SMALL COPPER

Species seen so far in 2011 are
Red Admiral(Vanessa atalanta)
Small Tortoishell (Aglais urticae)
Peacock (Aglais io)
Comma (Polygonia c-album)
Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)
Green Veined White (Pieris napi)
Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines)
Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria)
Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)

The Small Copper found yesterday on Lon Cae Glas was a very early record for this species which does not usually appear until May most years. This one was probably an early emergence due to the unusally hot spell last week.

Grasshopper Warbler

2011-04-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

We heard rather than saw our first "gropper" of the year this morning just off Lon Cae Glas on way down to the coast path. The distinctive trilling call was the only clue we had as the bird itself remained invisible in the thick gorse. The photo shows the patch of Gorse the bird was in. The link below is to the RSPS website which has the call of this elusive warbler.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/grasshopperwarbler/index.aspx

Red-Tailed Bumblebee ( Bombus lapidarius)

2011-04-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Third Bumblebee species of the year now with this Red Tailed seen on the golf course at Morfa Nefyn this afternoon.

Grass Snake on the hunt.

2011-04-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

I found this large Grass Snake hunting along a Clawdd on Lon Cae Glas this afternoon. She spotted me but tried to keep still hoping I would not spot here. Not much chance of missing her as she was around 30/36 inches in length I estimate. An absolutely stunning creature and a real privilage to see in the wild at close range. Never mind wildlife on TV when we have such magnificent creatures roaming wild on our own doorsteps

Slow Worm, first of 2011

2011-04-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

I spotted this large female Slow Worm basking in the grass on Lon Cae Glas this afternoon. She was very approachable and let me get within inches of her. After takimg the photos I gently moved her to the other side of the Clawdd to make sure she was not disturbed or run over trying to cross the lane.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and Peacock (Inachis io)

2011-04-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

First sightings of Red Admiral and Peacock butterflies today. With Painted Lady and Small Tortoisehell also seen on my walk this afternoon it makes it the best butterfly day of spring so far.

Painted Lady Update

2011-04-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

Three more records of Painted Lady this afternoon from three well spread sites. One in Edern village and two along the coast towards Morfa Nefyn golf course. The rather poor shot is the only one I managed to get on film.

Buzzard Feeding Station

2011-04-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

Plucking a Carrion Crow

Magpies on the menu

Carrion crow and white bread which surprisingly Buzzards are also happy to eat

Some or shots of Buzzards at out "Buzzard Feeding Station" behind the garden here in Edern. We put out poultry carcasses from our meals as well as dead crows and magpies given to us by people who shoot. Most Crows and Magpies seem to be fair game around the Peninsula with all guns turned on them give the chance. At least the corpses are recycled via Buzzard scavenging.

Feeding Station

2011-04-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

Our feeding station here in the garden at Edern is running all year round and at the moment is heavily used by Goldfinches. Its not unusual for us to have 20+ on the feeders and ground below feeding on spillage from the Nyjer feeders. Busiest time of the year is late summer when the various tits and finches bring in the years youngsters. Last year we had 72 Chaffinches at the station all feeding togther at one time.

Buzzard Feeding Station

2011-04-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Bertie our regular Buzzard at the feeding station in the field behind our garden this evening looking at the Pheasant carcass from last nights meal I put out for the buzzards. We regularly put our left over meat carcases out for the buzzards in this spot we often see one at close range at around 20 feet.

Bloody Nosed Beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

2011-04-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

There has obviously been a large emergence of Bloody Nosed beetles in recent days as we found dozens on the coast path above Nefyn this afternoon including several pairs in "cop".

Superb Common Lizard

2011-04-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

We found the this superb green coloured Common Lizard basking on a Clawdd on the coastal path above Nefyn this afternoon.

Snake update

2011-04-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

Sue and I found a male adder again this morning but further up Lon Cae Glas so are not sure if its Ada's suitor from yesterday or not. We also found 3 Grass Snakes this morning all basking within 6 feet of each other. The lane must have a superb Snake population as we now have records of at least two adders and three grass snakes this year so far from around 1/2 mile of the lane.

More Snakes

2011-04-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Suue and I managed to find a new Grass Snake on Lon Cae Glas this morning, give the large size we think its a female. The much smaller grass snake seen earlier in the week was basking a few feet away. We also found this beautiful male Adder basking in Ada the Adders patch, so it seems she has a suitor ! If you compare the photos posted earlier of Ada you will see she has the typical female colouration of brownish red while her suitor has the typical male silver background colour.

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui)

2011-04-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sue and I spotted a very early Painted Lady Butterfly at the bottom of the road down to Porth Dinllaen this afternoon. New migrant birds have arrived in the last couple of days, Willow Warblers, Sand Martins and Wheatear so maybe the migrant butterflies are moving as well.

Spot the Grass Snake

2011-03-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

After the Spot the Adder, see if you can see Grass Snake in this photo.

Find the Snake 2

2011-03-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

Ada was out basking in the sun again this morning in her usual patch. It sometimes takes me a while to spot her even though I know what area she will be in. See if you can spot her in the photo

Spot the Snake

2011-03-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

I found "Ada" the adder basking in her regular patch this morning. See if you can see her in the bottom photo taken from exactly the same place as the close up. You will probably need to click on the photo and then enlarge it but I promise you she is there.

Grass Snake

2011-03-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

First Grass Snake of 2011 spotted basking on Lon Cae Glas near Edern this lunchtime

Andrena mining bee

2011-03-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

Sue spotted a few obvious nest mounds of mining bees on the coast path this morning. We then saw one fo the bees feeding nearby on a dandelion, its possibly the Tawny Mining Bee(Andrena fulva)

Adder

2011-03-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

We spotted Ada the Adder basking in her usual spot on Lon Cae Glas again this afternoon. Despite the lovely sunny weekend its the only reptile we spotted the whole weekend.

Another female Meloe proscarabaeus.

2011-03-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sue spotted another female Meloe proscarabaeus as walked down the coast from Edern to Morfa Nefyn this morning. Thats the four Oil beetle record soc far this year and all from differant locations.

More Spring Plants

2011-03-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Red Campion (Silene dioica)

Garlic Mustard/Hedge garlic (Alliaria petiolata)

Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa)

Three new spring plants added to our year list as we cucled around the Penllyn today.

Two new butterflies for the year

2011-03-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Comma(Polygonia c-album)

Green-veined White (Pieris napi)

We spotted out first Comma butterfly of 2011 on the lane running down to the beach at Llanbedrog today while out cycling. Sue spotted the Green-veined White as we cycled back now to Edern.

Badger Spring Clean

2011-03-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

OLD BEDDING

PATH

EXCAVATIONS

I visted a large badger sett on the coast this morning and was delighted to see signs of activity all around the sett. This sett is huge with at least 12 entrances/exits and badger paths running all along the coast from it. The photos show one of the paths coming out on the top of the cliffs, some fresh excavation at one of the entrances and a large pile of thrown out bedding.

Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita)

2011-03-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

I heard my first Chiffchaf calling on Monday afternoon at the bottom end of the village and by today they are all around Edern. Nice to see the first migrant warblers of the year so early,

Wild Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

2011-03-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

I found my first flowering Wild Primroses this morning on the coast above Edern. This area will be covered with thousands of them soon, but its always nice to spot the first ones of the year.

Early Dog-Violet (Viola reichenbachiana)

2011-03-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

These Early Dog-Violets - Viola reichenbachiana are flowering in some profusion now all around Edern. This group is on a Clawdd on Lon Cae Glas. This morning almost every clump had 7 spot Ladybirds clambering over them.

Hooded Crow

2011-03-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

I spotted this Hoodie on the golf course at Morfa Nefyn yesterday. Not very good photos due the sea fret rolling in at the time and the fact that the bird would not let me get close to it. I suspect this particualr bird had wandered across from Ireland.

The hooded crow is closely related to the carrion crow, which until recently was regarded as the same species. In areas where the two species overlap there may be some interbreeding with hybrids showing a mixed grey and black body plumage. Like carrion crows, hoodies also feed on dead animals. Unlike crows they can be more sociable in the feeding habits and groups of them may be seen together in fields.Found in N and W Scotland, N Ireland and on the Isle of Man, where it replaces the carrion crow. Outside the breeding season it is found across the breeding range and is also found, but scarce in E Scotland and even rarer down the eastern side of England.

Common Lizard

2011-03-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

I spotted this very colourful Common Lizard taking advantage of the hot sunshine on offer today

Solitary Mining Bees

2011-03-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am not sure of the species of these Mining Bees but they belong to the Andrena family I thing. A large colony of these are nesting in a Clawdd on a local lane near Edern. They may be Andrena Haemorrhoa the early mining bee.

Oil Beetle:Meloe proscarabaeus

2011-03-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

These are photos of the other Oil Beetle found on the Llyn so far. A large female of Meloe proscarabaeus. Some idea of her size can be seen in relation to my hand.

Snakes & Lizards

2011-03-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

A few stills of the female Adder seen today on Lon Cae Glass.I think she was about 24inches in length and looked to be in good condition having just come out of hibernation. I have not seen Adders basking stretched out like this before, they are usually coiled. I quite often see Grass Snakes stretched out like this and they rarely seem to coil up to bask

The male Common Lizard shown was a very nicely marked specimen. I spotted around 10 of these in various spots on the lane on my walk

Female Adder

2011-03-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

First snake of the year spotted this lunchtime on a Clawdd on Lon Cae Glas near Edern.

First Hoverlies of 2011

2011-03-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Spotted the first hoverlies of the year on my way home from this lunchtimes walk. Several specimens of the Drone Fly (Eristalis tenax) were feeding on the open flowers of Lesser Celadine

Common Lizards

2011-03-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

I went for a walk up Lon Cae Glas at Edern this lunchtime to see if the warm spring sunshine had tempted any Adders out hibernation. Sadly despite an extensive search in the usual favorite spots none where visible. There were however numerous Common Lizards around in sunny spots soaking up the sunshine, I spotted at least a dozen. The litle fella shown was particularly approachable to have his photo taken.

Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria)

2011-03-02T02:48:00.000-08:00

First one of these moths in the garden last night. I left the outside light on to see if any moths were around despite the chilly night aand this moth appeared on the van side. It was too poor lighting to photograph the moth so I borrowed this image from a mate website to show what it looks like. The best moth identifcation website on the web is UK Moths run by Ian Kimber at http://ukmoths.org.uk/

First Butterfly in the garden in 2011

2011-03-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had our first buttererfly garden visitor this monrning here at Edern. The Peacock (Inachis io) flew around briefly this lunchtime before departing over the fields. The photo is of a garden visitor from last year

First bumblebee of 2011

2011-03-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

Large queen Bombus terrestris seen in out garden here in Edern yesterday on the first real spring day of the year.

First Dog Violet of 2011

2011-02-26T10:42:00.001-08:00

Sue and I spotted the first Dog Violet (Viola riviniana) of the year in flower this afternoon on a lane near Edern.

Early Common Lizard

2011-02-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

Cycling back to Edern this afternoon on some minor lanes I very nearly ran over this female Common Lizard basking in the road. It was very slow moving obviously not having warmed up yet properly in the early spring sunshine. After taking a few photos we carefully placed it out of danger in a sunny spot near a Clawdd for it to retreat into. This is the earliest by far we have seen this species.

Oil Beetles

2011-02-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

Meloe violaceus male found near Edern 21/2/11

Oil beetles are becoming increasingly rare in the UK due to habitat degredation etc. There are several species recorded in the UK of whcih some have not been recorded for many years and are now presumed extinct in the UK. The two commonest species in the UK occur on the Llyn Peninsula and appear during March and April in some numbers. The two species look very similar and need seperating by the use of a "key" which shows the key differances between the two species. The two species we have are Meloe violaceus and Meloe proscarabaeus. Sue and I found a very early example of a male M.violaceus wandering on a lane near Edern on Monday 21st Feburary this year. I would be grateful for any Oil Beetles with details of where they were found and will be happy to collect these. The beetles do not need to be killed to identify them.

This is the life cycle of Oil Beetles
The Oil beetle has one of the most extraordinary life cycles of any British insect. It is parasitic on various species of ground nesting Solitary bee and most usually the large adults will be encountered in early spring wandering around on paths in heathland, grassland and in open woodland near where they emerged.

The adults can live for up to 5 months. Female Oil beetles are considerably bigger than males and become much larger when gravid with eggs. The females will excavate a small burrow in sandy soil near the bee colonies in late spring and lay up to 1000 eggs. The eggs may remain in the burrow before hatching the following year to coincide with the emergence of the bee hosts.

The tiny larvae are known as tringulins and are extremely active, and will rapidly climb onto vegetation in search of flowers. On the flowerheads many larvae will congregate, waiting for a bee to come and pollinate the flower. Once the bee has landed the triungulins will rapidly attach themselves with specially adapted hook-like forelegs and if the bee is female and a solitary ground nesting species, then the larvae will be carried back to the bee's nest burrow. The female Oil beetle must therefore lay lots of eggs to ensure that at least some larvae will find a bee nest.

In the burrow

Once inside the bee's nest, the triungulin changes into an entirely different larval form, which more closely resembles a maggot. This change is necessary as it allows the larvae to feed on the bee's egg and pollen store without becoming entrapped within the pollen. The larvae grows rapidly on such a sugar-rich source of food and after undergoing 3 more moults it pupates and overwinters in the bee burrow before emerging the following year as an adult Oil beetle.

The adults feed on the leaves of various herbs such as buttercup and lesser celandine.

Another leaf mining moth; Stigmella aurella

2011-02-19T23:25:00.000-08:00

If you look over any patch of Bramble/Blackberry at the moment you will almost certainly find the mine of this rather stunning little moth. The top photo shows the mine the larvae make in the leaves and the bottom photo shows the rather nice looking adult. Its probably one of the easiest leaf-mining moths you can find as it occurs at all altitudes from sea level to the highest hills as long as there is bramble growing.

Moth on Hart's Tongue Fern Psychoides verhuella

2011-02-18T00:41:00.000-08:00

This is an interesting little moth to look for over the next few weeks. Its one of the so called "microlepidoptera" which as the name suggests are usually very small but nevertheless they can be very colourful as adults. My own personal favorite way of looking for moths is to try and find the larval stages on their food plants rather the usual practice of running a light or moth trap to attract the adults.

This particular species is one of the so called “leaf miners” which are a vary varied group of moths that develop in their larval stages in a leaf or grass blade before pupating and emerging as an adult moth when they have completed their devlopement. You can often identify these moths most easily from the type of mine they make in their chosen food plant. The adults are often dull little moths that look very much like each other. The mines can be found at all times of the year when the food plant is around either as active mines or vacated ones when the larvae leaves the mine to pupate and emerge.

The species shown can be found now as it’s starting to become active and feed again after resting over winter. Look over patches of Hart’s tongue ferns on the older leaves for small brown blotches on the leaf surface and then check underneath for the small cases made of fern spores in which the larvae live and feed. There is one other Psychoides species that feeds on Harts Tongue ferns and males a similar case, this species is called Psychoides filicivora.

Images of both species can be seen at these two excellant websites
http://www.leafmines.co.uk/
http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/

Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)

2011-02-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

I nipped round the back of the caravan this evening to try out my nightscope on a Tawny Owl I could hear calling. The Owl flew off but I did find a very early Common Quaker moth sitting on the tree the Owl had vacated.

Snouty meets Boss Hog !

2011-02-16T10:02:00.000-08:00

This is the moment last summer when " Snouty" the usual garden hedghog met "Boss Hog" for the first time. Boss Hog is obviously not a sharing hedgehog :-)) They managed to tolerate each other for the rest of the summer and we have several videos of them feeding side by side wih no fighting.

Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica)

2011-02-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Sue and I have been finding this fungus growing on dead gorse all around the area this winter and at long last I managed to identify it as Yellow Brain Fungus (Tremella mesenterica).

Large Red Damselflies tandem

2011-02-16T02:54:00.000-08:00

Even a small half-barrel pond in the garden can be a very attractive feature to both people and wildife. Our barrel pond is home to all sorts of interesting aquatic insects and it also makes a good drinking pond for birds in dry weather.

This video shows a pair of Large Red Damselflies egg laying in the pond in summer

GS Woodpecker young bird being fed by the male

2011-02-16T02:47:00.000-08:00

Recently fledged young Great Spotted Woodpecker at the garden feeding station in Edern. The young bird is show feeding and then an adult male GS Woodpecker flies to the feeder and feeds the young bird. The male has a bright red cap/crown at the rear of his head, the young bird has a red cap at the front.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker Feb 16th 2011

2011-02-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

We have a regular pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers coming to the garden feeding station. This is the female seen feeding today, she can be seperated from the male by the lack of a red crown on the head. The juveniles have a redcap at the front of the head and the males a red cap at the back of the head.

Buzzard Update 15 Feb 2011

2011-02-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

We got some dead Magpies left by a local gamekeeper this morning and put them out on the buzzard "feeding station" and sure enough Bertie appeared and plucked and scoffed them despite being bombed by the local crow population. He eventually had enough of being mobbed and took the carcases to his favorite hidden perch further up the field to eat them.

Top photo shows him pucking one Magpie and bottom photo shows the 3 Magpies I threw out into the field for him.

Buzzards

2011-02-15T01:04:00.000-08:00

As well as a bird feeding station here in our garden at Edern we also have a feeding station some 30 yards from the caravan where we put carcasses for Buzzards. We put our roast chicken carasses out alongside any "roadkill" or donated dead crows etc given us by shooters.We have a regular Buzzard we nicknamed Bertie who appears regularly perched in a tree right by the van waiting for some food putting out.

Spring on its way

2011-02-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Lovely walk down from Edern to the golf course and Ty Coch then back round through the fields home to Edern. The first flowers of Spring are now out with Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) flowering well on many Clawdds with numerous patches of Red campion (Silene dioica) pushing through and as always the ever present Umbilicus rupestris (Navelwort, Penny-pies, Wall Pennywort)is around in huge numbers

First Butterfly of 2011

2011-02-13T23:52:00.000-08:00

Sue and I found our first butterfly of 2011 on our cycle ride on Saturday 12th February. Bit of a cheat really as we found it in Plas Glyn-y-Weddw at Llanbedrog when we stopped for lunch in the café. It was flying at a window trying to get out after obviously hibernating in the gallery over winter. We set it free in the gardens.

Butterflies

2010-08-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

Lots of butterflies around on Lon Cae Glas near Edern Post Office on our walk this morning. A lovely sunny morning with a quite brisk NNW wind blowing, but the Clawdds were sheltered by vegetation from the worst of the wind. If you are out seeking reptiles or insects the lane makes a superb walk on most days with some sunshine. The vegetation is always varied and this in turn attracts a lot of insects to feed and breed. As the invertebrate biomass is high so are the numbers birds and reptiles that feed on them.

This morning we spotted literally dozens of butterflies of many species along with only our second sighting of Dark Green Fritillary on the Peninsula this year. Common Blues both male and female were around in good numbers feeding on various flowers. Gate Keepers were as usual very abundant all along the lane. We also spotted a few Small Tortoiseshells along with Large Whites, Green Veined White, the Wall, Hedge Browns, Small Copper, Speckled Wood and one very skittish Dark Green Fritillary we were unable to photograph as it kept low in the vegetation, only moving if we approached too close. We also had good close views of a Southern Hawker Dragonfly or at least thats what we think it is ?

A superb August morning walk along the lane produced several Common Lizard sightings (see earlier post) numerous butterflies, several Shieldbugs, a lovely example of “Robins Pin Cushion Gall” on wild rose, a few Bloody Nosed beetles and a nice flock or around 30 Curlews, not bad for an hour long stroll in some of the most beautiful scenery in Britain !

Common Lizards

2010-08-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

Despite the poor weather in July and August so far Common Lizards have managed to breed sucessfully. Out on a walk this morning up our favorite lane walk locally along Lon Cae Glas we spotted several adult lizards and this group of at least four juveniles basking in a favorite spot on a sunny Clawdd.

To see the photos in their original size simply move your cursor over the image and double click to see the full size image. To return to the blog use the back button

Choughs

2010-08-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

The Choughs on the Peninsula seem to have had a decent breeding year again this year. Plenty spotted all along the north coast of the Peninsula on recent walks. This pair were seen very close around 20 feet away before they took off.

2010-07-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

We have seen so far;
Common or Viviparous Lizard
Slow-worm
Adder or Viper
Grass Snake

Common Lizard certainly lives up to its name, as it’s seen in just about any suitable habitat on Pen Llyn. Most clawdds have common lizards basking on sunny days, so it’s just a matter of quietly walking up to the clawdds and looking on sunny bare spots near to some vegetation that lizards can quickly scuttle back into. In late summer its possible to see a while size range of lizards from tiny 1 inch long babies to full size adults and all sizes in-between.

Slow-worms are much harder to spot as they tend to hide in thicker vegetation when basking so you need to be very patient to see these. Most of our sightings of this species have been on quiet country lanes as the slow-worm was crossing the lane. Later in the year from August through to late September we often spot young Slow-worms and quite often rescue these from being squashed on lanes. The two adult slow-worms shown in the photo were spotted this week basking on a Clawdd on our local lane. We only spotted one of the lizards and did not realise two were in the photo until we put in on the computer to save !

The two snake species on the peninsula are much easier to see early in the year after they emerge from hibernation and the vegetation is not so thick on the clawdds. We walk up a lane near out home in Edern most mornings and can usually guarantee to spot at least one Adder basking early morning in April and May. We spotted a huge female Grass snake in April that we estimate was well over 1.5 mtrs in length ( see photos)

Reptiles seen this yea

2010-07-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

2010-07-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sue and I had a trip up to the man made pond in the quarries above Trevor previously shown on the blog to what if anything was around on a lovely summer afternoon. We spotted a few adult Dragonflies flying around the pond and closer inspection of the emergent vegetation showed several empty larval skins and a couple of dragonflies emerging and drying their wings. On our return Sue identified the adults and exuviae as belonging to Southern Hawker a new species to both of us .

Dark Green Fritillary (Argynnis aglaja)

2010-07-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sue and I were coming back from a visit to the pond in the quarry above Trefor on Friday afternoon just above Nant Gwrtheyrn when we spotted a largish orange looking butterfly pass on the slopes below us. Knowing that Dark Green Fritillary was supposed to be on the wing at the moment we set off in pursuit. Sure enough as we got nearer and got the bins on the butterfly we realised it was indeed this species, out first ever sighting of this magnificent butterfly.

The butterfly was a female and appeared to be drinking from boggy areas and sunbathing rather than actively feeding of looking for egg laying sites on Violets which as far as we are aware do not occur on these slopes despite being very common in parts of the peninsula. After our views of Southern Hawker dragonflies emerging and flying around the pond for the first time and a new species to both of us it turned out to be a memorable nature watching afternoon in beautiful surroundings.

UPDATE: On closer inspection of the photos shown I noticed that the next to bottom photo shows the female actually egg laying on Marsh Violet. If you look closely you can see the tiny flower of this plant and the females abdomen curving under the plant to lay an egg. We are going back to the place to check for more violets and ova if possible on the next sunny day (assuming we get one of course this July !)

Unusual Pond

2010-07-12T00:12:00.000-07:00

Sue and I found a superb artificial pond whilst exploring the slopes on the quarries above Trefor. The “pond” looks like it was originally built to store water for some part of the quarrying production. The pond is around 18 metres in length by 5 metres in width. Depth does not appear to be more than about 1.5 metres maximum and most of the pond much shallower than this with sparse vegetation mainly at one end of the pond. What immediately drew out attention were the huge number of Smooth Newts in the pond in May, we counted over 50 surfacing to breath in a 5 minute period so estimate the pond must contain hundreds of adult newts. Dragonfly larvae were seen resting head down on the vegetation waiting to grab any unwary Common Frog tadpoles of which there were hundreds seen.

We intend to investigate the pond more fully come the summer holidays when we will have time to net the pond to see what other invertebrates we can find and identify.

Butterflies in 2010

2010-07-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

A much better year for Butterfly sightings this year compared to 2008 and 2009. The dry sunny conditions have given Sue and I the chance to see far more numbers and species this year so far up to July. Small Heath in particular has been around in huge numbers especially on the slopes around the Rivals above Nant Gwrtheyrn

Hesperiidae
Skippers

Large Skipper
Small Skipper

Pieridae
Whites

Large White
Small White
Green Veined White
Orange Tip

Lycaenidae
Hairstreaks,Coppers,Blues

Small Copper
Common Blue

Nymphalidae
Nymphalids,Fritillaries,Browns

Small Tortoisehell
Painted Lady
Comma
Peacock
Grayling
Meadow Brown
Ringlet
Gatekeeper
Wall
Small Heath
Speckled Wood

Painted Lady Caterpillars

2009-07-17T02:29:00.001-07:00

There are hundreds, probably thousands of the caterpillars of Painted Lady in spinnings on thistles all along the coast here on the Llyn this year. Mainly on Cirsium vulgare (Spear Thistle) but also on C.arvense (Creeping or Field Thistle). These are bred from eggs laid by the huge influx of migrant Painted Ladies which arrived earlier in the summer. Sadly the adults cannot survive our winters but at least we should have good numbers of the adults flying until early autumn at least

No insects of any sort moving here today as we are battered in yet another severe westerly gale with torrential rain.....what happened to the dry hot bbq summer the met office forecast earlier this year !

Viviparous or Common Lizard's

2009-07-17T00:36:00.000-07:00

The clawdd's (hedge/banks)of the local lane I walk most days have numerous colonies of Common lizards scattered all along the lane, no doubt providing at least one food source for the local Adder population which also exist in some numbers along the lane. One particular spot is almost certain to have Lizards most sunny days in spring, summer and early autumn basking. There are a couple of spots on the clawdd which have bare patches of soil and I trim the vegetation back regularly here to keep them open for lizards to bask and to give Sue and I a good view of them when we walk the lane. The lizards have obviously bred this year as we regularly see tiny lizards ranging from around 5cm up to 8cm basking in these spots. One thing we have noticed is that the young lizards never bask in company with the adults, perhaps they are viewed as a potential food source by the adults ? One photo shows two small lizard's hiding as I approached with the camera to take a photo and the image showing the close up of a lizard around 8 cm in length was taken on the way back down the lane in the same spot when I managed to creep up without disturbing them

Snouty & the Cats

2009-07-15T01:31:00.000-07:00

Snouty the resident male hedgehog in the garden is seen here feeding alongside a mother feral cat and one of her four kittens. I will be trying to catch the cat and her kittens over the next few weeks to get them neutered and safely re-homed. Judging by the number of these feral cats I have trapped and passed on to local cat rescue so far in the last 12 months its going to be a permanent ongoing operation

Butterwort

2009-06-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

Butterworts, so called because they are alleged to coagulate milk, are investivorous perennials with solitary flowers and a basal rosette of leaves covered in slime. The common butterwort is one of three native butterwort species in the British Isles and has purple flowers and yellow-green leaves resembling a starfish. The common butterwort the leaf margins curl over insects and glands on the leaf secrete enzymes which digest the soft parts of their prey.

We have found hundreds of these plants on wet seepages on the near the seashore above Edern. I am not sure which of the two species we found, Common Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) or the slightly smaller P. lusitanica which is said to occur in the west of the UK. I suspect they are the latter species as we did see these as small leaved "rosettes" all through the winter which is belive is the differance between vulgaris (no leaves showing in winter) and lusitanica.

The photos show the plant in flower, a patch of the plants growing in a wet seepage and a close up of the leaves showing the small insects trapped by the plants sticky leaves.

Elephant Hawkmoth

2009-06-28T07:46:00.001-07:00

We found this Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) caterpillar crossing a road as we drove past last autumn. The caterpillar was obviously looking for a pupation site as it was in its last instar and we rescued it to prevent in being squashed by passing cars. The caterpillar duly pupated and finally last night emerged as the beautiful adult moth shown. This will be released into a thick patch of Honeysuckle behind the garden later this evening to complete its life cycle in more natural surroundings.

Broad-Bodied Chaser

2009-06-25T05:47:00.001-07:00

We have been seeing this species around on a local lane now for the last month of so. The photo shows the female of the species, the male is a stunning pale blue colour. I quite often find that one sees more Dragonflies away from water than actually at a pond. This species in particular I most often seen on local lanes and minor roads but rarely at ponds except when breeding.

Mystery Caterpillars

2009-06-25T05:23:00.001-07:00

Some cats that had me totally baffled for a couple of days until Reg Fry put me out of my misery. Sue and I spotted a large number of these cats feeding on Meadowsweet ( Filipendula ulmaria)on the coast a week or so back. The large ones were around 1cm in length and the slightly different looking earlier instars were about .5cm in length. My first though was footman spp, no go as they all feed on lichens or dried plant material. I looked through every book I had, did searches for cats on Meadowsweet, even went through evey cat in Porter book and zilch. I posted the photos on Regs website and he came back with early instar Emperor Moth !!! I would never in a million years have got this despite rearing many found on Moor Tops through in the last instar and from pupa in my native Yorkshire I have never seen the early instars and to find them on Meadowsweet no more than 20 feet from the sea at low altitude was a complete shock.

Large Red Damselfly

2009-06-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

We put a half barrel mini pond on the patio in the garden here in Edern in the hopes that it would be colonised by Odonata as is a similar pond back in Yorkshire in our garden. I spotted this pair of Large Red Damselflies(Pyrrhsoma nymphula) in tandem today as the female oviposited in the pond. Also spotted locally in the last few days were:

Broad Bodied Chaser
Common Blue Damselfly
Four Spotted Chaser
Golden Ringed Dragonfly
Emperor (male) a first for me
Banded Demoiselle

Sun Loving Blackbird

2009-06-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

One of the young Blackbirds that feed in the garden feeding station here in Edern is definately a sun lover. It spends hours basking on a shed roof just behind the feeders as soon as the sun is out it flies up onto the roof and gets comfy for a sunbath session

Bumblebees & Badgers

2009-06-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

I spotted the ravaged nest site of a bumblebee, which was either a Bombus terrestris or a Bombus lucorum nest, its impossible to tell the worker bees apart without dissection. The nest was in the Clawdd (hedge/bank) of a local lane near the coast that I walk at least once a day all year. I have seen plenty of signs of badger activity on the lane in the past with latrine pits and various diggings where I assume badgers have dug out mouse nests etc. This is the first bee nest I have seen dug out this year by badgers . You can see in this short video clip the remains of the nest site, some surviving worker bees and a few of the cells from the nest.

TO PLAY : Move cursor over the arrow button and click

Snouty & The Cat

2009-06-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

One of the problems on the Llŷn Peninsular and I suppose in most rural locations is the problem of feral cats preying on wildlife. Its obviously not the cats fault its living wild, and if more people with pet cats had them neutered or spayed the problem would gradually die out. The cats are obviously a problem for small mammals and birds but as can be seen from the short video clip they can coexist with Hedgehogs. This particular cat has only been hanging around for the last month or so since I started to feed the hedgehogs. Over the course of last winter I live trapped in a cage trap 3 kittens and two adult cats (one heavily pregnant). These were taken by animal rescue and re-homed after they had been seen by the vet.

Tonight Snouty was back again in his usual spot in the garden and fed happily alongside the cat who has obviously learned that hedgehogs are not on the menu ! Snouty paid no attention whatsoever to the cat and is obviously completely unafraid of being attacked.

TO PLAY : Move cursor over the arrow button and click

Greenfinches

2009-06-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Yet another "family" are regulars at the feeding station in the garden. This time a family of Greenfinces. As can be seen from the video clip, one of the youngsters has not quite got the hang of feeding from the peanut feeder yet.

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Whitethroat

2009-06-15T04:30:00.000-07:00

Several male Whitethroat have staked out territory on the lane I walk regularly. This one was singing away merrily this morning at 8am.

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Hedgehogs

2009-06-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

We have been feeding a small hedgehog near the bird feeding station. It started to appear last autumn and then dissapeared we assumed to hibernate. A few weeks back the same hedgehog appeared again under the feeders picking up scraps. We started to scatter dried cat food under the feeders late in the evening for the hedgehog who we had christened Snouty. Imagine our surprise when watching Snouty feeding tonight when another hedgehog appeared ! As can be seen from the short video clip Snouty (nearest the camera) is not the boss ! We place bowls of water out under the feeders for the birds to drink and bathe but Snouty also always take a drink after eating the dried cat food. Snouty seemingly has a set route to follow most nights as she/he can be seen at regular times at various points in or around the garden each evening before we go to bed. If you listen carefully you can hear birdsong and then the hedgies crunching the dried cat food.

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Nuthatch

2009-06-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

A pair of Nuthatches have been regular visitors to the garden feeding station since the autumn of 2008. The short video clip shows one the pair collecting a peanut from the feeder to take back to the young in a nest hole nearby.

TO PLAY : Move cursor over the arrow button and click

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

2009-06-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have a Great Spotted Woodpecker family at the feeding station in the garden here at Edern most of daylight hours now. Video clip shows one of the recently fledged young feeding on the peanut feeder and the adult male flying in bringing some food and then feeding the youngster on the feeder.

TO PLAY : Move cursor over the arrow button and click

Bloody-nosed beetle (Timarcha tenebricosa)

2009-05-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have found this species of beetle in great abundance here on the Penllŷn and in most months of the year as an adult, we even found one on the coast path above Nefyn beach at Xmas ! In recent weeks I have been finding large numbers of the larva feeding on Cleavers or Goosegrass ( Galium aparine) as its sometimes called. In my native Yorkshire its also know as sticky willie !

The bloody-nosed beetle is one our largest leaf beetles which can most often be found, in spring and early summer, walking slowly over grassy areas. The beetles gets its common name from a defensive behaviour of exuding a foul-tasting bright red fluid from its mouth to deter birds and other predators. The top photo shows the adult and the other two show the larval stage feeding on Cleavers.

2009-05-15T09:54:00.001-07:00

The number of new to me beetles species I have seen in the last few weeks on the Llŷn is truly staggering! For an entomologist like myself to find so many new species of insects in such a short period is akin to a kid let loose in a sweet shop :-))

Rhagium bifasciatum, sometimes called the two-banded longhorn beetle, is one of the most commonly found Longhorn Beetles. It may reach 22mm long and can be distinguished by the two prominent pale yellow bands on each of the elyta, although up to seventeen different patterns have been recognised. Its colouration and patterning enable it to camouflage and blend into its coniferous habitat and this can prevent potential predation. I found my first specimen of this specieson the Llŷn this week at a clear felled commercial woodland I have been working. The photos show the beetle "posed" on a log in my garden. The hole showing in the log is nothing to do with the beetle by the way its one of the holes I drilled into the log to encourage some wasps and bees to use it.

Adder

2009-05-12T11:46:00.001-07:00

Spotted my first live Adder whilst out cycling today. Spotted just about to cross the lane near Tynanelog as I cycled back from a trip up Mynydd Mawr

Bees

2009-05-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Andrena cineraria

Andrena haemorrhoa

Andrena fulva - Tawny Mining Bee

Three rather nice solitary mining bees seen in the last month or so. I have seen many other species as well but am unable to be able to identify them with any certainty unfortunately.

Butterflies

2009-04-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

Small Tortoiseshell-Aglais urticae

Speckled Wood-Pararge aegeria

Peacock-Inachis io

Holly Blue-Celastrina argiolus

Orange-tip-Anthocharis cardamines

Various butterflies around again today in the much improved weather from earlier in the week. My first Speckled Woods (Pararge aegeria) of the year amongst them.

First Cuckoo of Spring

2009-04-24T00:37:00.000-07:00

I heard and saw my first Cockoo of spring on Monday near a small abandoned church near Mynytho. I had speaking with a local resident (thanks Terry) when I was sitting at the church on Sunday admiring the views and tranquility of the place said to be the quietest place on the Penllyn. Terry had brought his daughter up to the area to see if they could hear a Cuckoo and he told me is was the best spot for the first Cuckoo of spring to be heard. Sure enough on Monday as I was cycling along the road to Nanhoron by the church I heard and spotted my first Cuckoo....thanks once again Terry for the friendly chat and tip off, much appreciated by this Saesneg incomer who has fallen in love with the Penllyn

Insects in the Sun

2009-04-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

The recent warm dry sunny weather has started to encourage many insects to venture forth. Lots of solitary bees now around in the hedgrows and verges feeding on spring flowers. The bee shown in the photo is probably on of the Andrena family, most likely A.haemorrhoa which is possible utilised as a host by the Oil beetle larva of the previous post.

The beetle shown with the upturned tail looking almost scorpion like is a member of the Rove beetles (Staphylindae) called the Devils Coach Horse (S olens) which feeds on slugs and other soft bodied invertebrates.