Butterfly Count at Crymlyn Bog

Date:  22 July 2020

Location:  Crymlyn Bog
Weather:  Sunny and warm :)

Today we decided to do a butterfly count as from 17th July - 9th August it's the Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count

We decided to go to one of our favourite nature reserves Crymlyn Bog as we know it is always quiet and great to get away from people. This is what we saw...

Butterflies

Brimstone Butterfly

Gatekeeper Butterfly

Large Blue Butterfly

Speckled Wood

The butterfly count sheet

The results for our butterfly count was:

5 Speckled Wood

1 Brimstone

4 Common Blue

2 Meadow Brown

4 Gatekeeper

2 Large White

2 Ringlet

Damselflies & Dragonflies

Azure Damselflies

Common Darter Dragonfly

Lizards

Juvenile common lizards

Juvenile Common Lizard

Adult Common Lizard

Adult Common Lizard basking in the sun

This Adult Lizard as lost it's tail :(

Birds

Robin

Chiffchaff (Pic by Dan Turner)

Buzzard (Pic by Dan Turner)

Other critters spotted...

7 spotted ladybird

Common White Wave (Pic by Dan Turner)

We were very happy with our finds today, we have never seen so many lizards (I think we counted well over 30) and we noticed that signs were up to with guidance of social distancing and one way system around the boardwalk. 

My Garden

The butterfly magic didn't stop when we arrived home - in the garden was a Holly Blue, Large White and a red admiral (which I couldn't get a pic).

Holly Blue butterfly in the garden

Large White butterfly in the garden

There is still time to do the Big Butterfly Count, all you need to do is download the butterfly ID chart from the following address, sit in a sunny spot for 15 minutes  then record which species you see. Next add your counts on the website or you can download an app. It's important to give them this info as they can access the health of the environment by counting the amount of butterflies and moths we see. 

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/ 

Day 16 - 30 Days Wild - Ducklings & my feet!

* Today's random act of wildness - Feeding ducks *

Day 16 - Another disappointing day :(  No boats running to Skomer due to the winds and I forgot there was a Reptile Ramble at Parc Slip, Aberkenfig at 10am.

So to drown my sorrows I went to a local lake to see if there was any activity. There were lots of young mallard ducks that were so cheeky they came out of the water to demand to fed by hand lol! After all the mealworm went, my toes seemed a tasty option! My little ‪#‎30DaysWild‬ mascot 'Wilding' got a bit of a pecking too.

There were also 3 beautiful ducks on the lake which I think were 3 female Mandarins.

The lake near Margam Park, Port Talbot

White ducks

Mandarin ducks

Closeup of Mandarin Duck

Young mallards eating out of my hand...

...then they were trying my toes!

My little #30DaysWild mascot 'Wildling' feeling a bit overwhelmed by ducks!

Day 3 - 30 Days Wild - A visit to the lake

*Today's random act of wildness - A visit to the lake*

Day 3 of #30DaysWild and once again I had to work until 5.30pm. So the only chance of getting 'wild' was in the evening.

We decided to go to a local lake called 'Fendrod Lake' in Swansea. It is set in the heart of a busy enterprise zone and is about 13 acres.

Every time we visit there is always birds on the lake, and the surrounding bushes and trees you will find lots of critters and smaller birds.

This is what we found...

Swan among the Canada Geese

Male Mallard Duck

Lots of Canada Geese and a solo white goose (can you spot it?) 

Majestic swans on the lake..

...and this one posing like a dragon

Lots of birds through the reeds

A lovely Large White Caterpillar

A cheerful Robin

Song Thrush among the daisies

A very boisterous Wood Pigeon

Brown Damselfly

Green Orb Spider with prey

14 Spotted Ladybird's mating 

Lots of daisies in the sunshine

Blue Tit

Chaffinch singing a beautiful song

Male House Sparrow

Muscovy hybrids? 

Muscovy Duck

Female Mallard

A lovely view of the lake

Wilding enjoying feeding the birds

A lovely walk, but a little disappointed we never got to see any cygnets and goslings - I am sure this time last years there were many, hopefully they are just a little late this year.