Cwm Nant Gwyn woods

Cloudy day but surprisingly warmer than yesterday but still a fairly cold breeze. Insects were hard to come by and only saw Tree Bumblebee and Buff-tailed Bumblebee. No hoverflies. Birds included my first Blackcap of the year in a singing male and lingering winter birds in 2 Fieldfare otherwise quiet.

The sheltered areas of the woods had a number of new blooms for the year in Blackthorn, Yellow Archangel [probably escape - see below], Barren Strawberry, Field Mouse-ear, Turnip [farm crop], Marsh Marigold and Harebell [another garden escape].

Yellow Archangel (Lamistrum galeobdolon) - British ssp. montanum is native and frequent in Wales, but ssp. argentatum has large white blotches on leaves, it is a common garden plant and is spreading rapidly through woodland edges and roadsides. This is probably the latter as it was found on an former council tip on woodland edge near a roadside. The way to tell them apart is that montanum has a pubescent stem while argentatum does not.