The start od another year and who'd have thought we'd still be living under the shadow of Covid 19 and still in lockdown?
But even though we still aren't allowed to travel or meet up without anyone outside our immediate family we are allowed outside for exercise, and my go-to place is, as always, Cwmsaerbren Woods.
It's always a joy to see the robins there, and the dull drab days of January are always made brighter by their presence, even if they won't stay still long enough for a video!
Although the temperatures were bordering on freezing, the sunshine was very welcome, and you could almost be fooled into thinking spring wasn't far off. At least until you took your gloves off for a few minutes!
The ancient woodland was looking bare but there was still lots of bird song, even if the birds themselves stayed will hidden.
But one bird that's never afraid of showing itself is the robin, and even if they won't stay still long enough for a video at least they're happy to sit for a few photos.
And one bird that is getting more common in the woods is the long tailed tit. There were at least a dozen flying around quite close to were I was standing, but this is the only one that stood still for a few seconds.
One of the highlights of any visit to the woods is spotting what fungus is around, and January is certainly no exception.
This tiny little fungus was absolutely gorgeous.
And there's always plenty of turkey tail around at this time of year.
But one of January's highlights was this fabulous dog lichen. Apparently it was mixed with milk and black pepper in the middle ages and used as a cure for rabies!
There's an excellent article on common dog lichen HERE and if you want to watch my wander in the woods when I found some of these fab fungi here's my video
There wasn't a lot of colour around , so the splash of yellow from the flowering gorse really stood out.
Towards the middle of the month we were hit with stormy weather, torrential rain and high winds, but as soon as there was a break I headed back over to Cwmsaerbren. The stream was definitely more than the usual trickle now.
And the paths were pretty muddy, but great for reflections as the sun went down.
There was more water flowing under the Pixie Bridge than I'd seen for a very long time.
But the Yew tree was looking unscathed and as magnificent as ever.
Some of the jelly ear fungus was a bit battered, but there was lots of new ones appearing too.
It was great to see some blue sky peeping through after days of rain. and even though the paths were muddy they were still perfectly accessible.
The lichen has been amazing, as always. Did you know that for it's size Wales has the highest diversity of lichen in the world, with 1,250 species? Lichens thrive in environments with clean air, so it shows how far we've come since the days when this area was home to so many collieries.
You can read a bit more about Welsh lichens HERE, it's an interesting read.
One thing I wasn't expecting to see in January was so many colourful butterflies, but someone had been setting them up in the camp site area. I hope we get as many of the real ones in the summer!
Finally, towards the end of the month, I got my wish and woke on a Sunday morning to a generous covering of snow.
Excited to be out in it, I headed off early. It was worth the early start to get this amazing light as I crossed the railway line and made my way into the woods.
I hadn't seen this much snow by the Pixie Bridge for a couple of years
The camp site and stream looked quite magical, and the snow seemed to muffle the snound, everything seemed calm and tranquil
The blackbird's song was glorious, he sang his heart out while I was there, he seemed as glad to see the snow as I was.
Very strange to see a butterfly in the snow, even it wasn't a real one.
The bare tree branches really stood out, their gnarled and twisted shapes looking like something out of a Grimm's Fairytale
The yew tree looking very grand in it's snowy cloak.
And the morning sunshine coming through the trees cast some beautiful shadows.
And there were plenty of stunning sunbursts sinning through the branches.
I have no idea who this gentleman was, but the splash of red from his coat made a great contrast to the monochrome background.
And back at the railway line the view along the path was beautiful.
The snow disappeared as quickly as it came. and a few days later I was back over there for a spot of bird watching. Although the snow had gone the temperature hadn't risen much, and it was still only just above freezing. There weren't many birds around, I'd left it a bit too late in the day, But I did see a dunnock, plenty of blackbirds (male and female) And the highlight of my day, a pair of nuthatches. I know these are quite common now, and a regular visitor to birdfeeders in local gardens, but I still get a thrill whenever I see them in the woods, it seems just a bit more special somehow.
And of course no visit to the woods is complete without seeing a robin 😊
My final visit of the month was on another cold, damp and muddy day, but there was just enough sunshine to make the most of the lovely colours in the woods.
And as ever the robin was singing his heart out. And this time he kept still long enough for a short video, even though the wind did it's best to drown out his song.
Following the path up from the yew tree I saw this very thin and spindly little tree, it looked as if it didn't even have the strength to stand upright. But as I passed the light caught what I thought at first was a water droplet, but turned out to be a gorgeous little Amber Jelly.
And on closer inspection the branches were full of the gorgeous little fungus.
It's great to see there are new buds appearing on the trees too.
So hopefully Spring really is on the way.
But sometimes. it's not just about Nature and wildlife, this area is rich in history too, and if we look closely we can find glimpses of it under our feet. Like this brick half covered in dirt and mud.
The inscription reads S J & co Risca. I know there was a brickworks in Risca, which is around 35 miles away, so it would make an interesting project to find out what it's doing in the woods in Treherbert!
I was hoping I'd have found some cobalt crust fungus by now, and some scarlet elf caps, they were around by this time last year, but I'm sure they won't be long making an appearance.
