Maesteg cemetery and lower Mynydd Bach

The weather has been unusually warm for February (16c peak today) as a southerly air flow has brought in weather from the Mediterranean. The valley is still a barren wasteland as far as insects are concerned at this time of year. So the trick is to find islands of habitation that are even warmer than its surroundings. I found three such islands on my walk today that attracted early emerging insects each is described below.

1. Coltsfoot stream.

This small stream coming off the mountain, was covered in moss which in turn gave a good bedding for early flowering Coltsfoot. I recorded my first and earliest for the year hoverfly here a female Eristalis tenax. The flowers also attracted a few honey bees and pollenia fly species.

2. Flowering Gorse plant

Lots of the Gorse had a few flowers on them, but this one in a wind-shaded sun trap was in full bloom and covered in flowers, which in turn attracted about a dozen Honey Bee, incidentally Eristalis tenax is a honey-bee mimic and its good to compare photos of each species.

3. Maesteg cemetery graveyard.

The graveyard can be a good source of insects due to the constant replenishment of fresh flowers amongst the graves at this time of year. Today there was a few Dung Fly, Honey Bee and a smart queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

This Honey Bee however must have been a little confused, trying to feed on an artificial flower at a graveside.

Also in the undergrowth at the cemetery were plenty of feeding Blackbird and Song Thrush. This Blackbird looking considerably better than me after polishing off a bottle of Smirrnoff vodka, although our eye-rings are probably the same colour.

Lletty Brongu

The temperature peaked at a balmy 12c in the afternoon, thought I'd take a look at the lower end of the valley in case a few insects were out early in the suntraps in the wood. As it turned out the only insect besides spring midges was a Honey Bee feeding on Sallow catkins. A few plants were starting to flower in Opposite-leaved Golden Saxifrage, Daisy and Lesser Celandine, I also recorded the Polybody Fern growing in a rot hole of a Sallow Tree.

Birds were about in good numbers with a pair of Dipper displaying on the river as well as 2 pair of Grey Wagtail holding territory and 4 Mallard (3 male). The trees held good numbers of Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon. The sewage works had very little as there is a lot of building and ground work going on inside. The mole population has obviously been disturbed by this as there were a lot of fresh mole hills present outside the fence of the sewage works.

First Lesser Celandine of the year.