February Sunshine

As many of you will already know, we've had an incredibly warm and wet winter this year. This has led to many of our plant species beginning to grow a bit earlier than usual and to our wildlife being a bit more active than usual.

It seemed a shame to waste the good weather so I went to my local cemetery and country park to see what I could find.

My local cemetery supports a wide range of bird species and some bat species.

Primrose Primula vulgaris

Spring Crocus Crocus vernus

The daffodils are springing up everywhere

Garden Grape Hyacinth Muscari botryoides

Ivy-Leaved Toadflax Cymbalaria muralis

Spotted a Jay (Garrulus glandarius), characteristically quite elusive, so not a great photo!

Magpies (Pica pica) seem to be everywhere I go at the moment!

Came across a robin (Erithacus rubecula) perched on a branch.

Lovely sunshine across the fields.

Hart's Tongue Fern Asplenium scolopendrium

Muddy view across the lake.

Male blackbird Turdus merula

A crowd of Tufted Ducks Aythya fuligula

A particularly friendly one!

Blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus

A Dunnock Prunella modularis

Another lovely view across the lake.

Great Crested Grebe (unfortunately with crest down) Podiceps cristatus

Stinking Iris Iris foetidissima

Nice view from the hide with cormorants and gulls.

Ivy covered winter trees

Bad quality picture unfortunately, but there is a Chaffinch in there somewhere!

Robin in full song mode

Marsh Marigold Caltha palustris

Most of these pictures were taken at Cosmeston Lakes country park near Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan. It is a lovely place and well worth a visit if you enjoy nature and walking! It also hosts a medieval village.

Cosmeston Lakes Website

February is a great time to go out bird watching as the trees have still not regained their leaves so it's much easier to see the birds moving about. The warmer weather also means they are likely to be more active.

It's also a great time to see our earliest flowering plants coming through like Daffodils and Marsh Marigold.