Emperor Dragonflies

Emperors still on the wing! Had another Golden-ringed flyby. No chance in getting a photograph of one of those.. Their behaviour is completely different to that of an Emperor. An Emperor will fly a relatively small territory, often in circles or 'race track strips': going round and round defending that patch so that females can lay their eggs on his patch. He will chase off any males that enter into that territory, including other dragonflies with the exception of the smaller damselflies that seem to live along side them very well. Even the Golden-ringed will be chased off as I have seen many times this month. If a female flies higher than 1ft, she will also be targeted! The males are very good hunters and can catch and eat on the wing. 

Rhythm of Birdsong Reboot

While stuck indoors ill this week, I spent a lot of hours catching up behind the computer. In doing so I've re-designed by 'Rhythm of Birdsong' project website and also designed a new logo for the project. (I think I'll be re-designing my own logo after the time I spent on this one). 

Since graduation I have purposely put ROB on a back burner so that I could spend my time developing other aspects of my carreer in order to gain myself a Job in conservation. Well, I'm happy to say at this point that I have got myself a part-time Job in conservation: teaching students how to record wildlife for the Gwent Wildlife Trust. 

While teaching others how to record birds, it has reminded me how much of a passion I have for sound. It is that reason that I've decided to bring ROB back and my commitment is supported by a heavy investement! I'll be investing in a new Telinga Parabolic Microphone setup that is known world wide for its high quality microphones/parabola's.

Telinga Microphone

Llandegfedd.. again..

You wonder why I spend so much time at Llandegfedd? Well, finding a Dark Green Fritillary is worth the extra visits! They have been reported there in the past but I've never seen them for myself so this visit was extra special. Great White Egret is still present, though very flighty! I haven't managed to get within 100feet  of the bird. I guess this is probably down to the amount of photographers that have already tried photographing it. Perhaps some of them getting too close and making the bird more spooked about human activity. I did also get some photographs of a Common Sandpiper but this is being reviewed as the bird seems to have fishing line stuck to its feet. Yet another bird to fall victim to irresponsible fisherman. 

Pontypool Uplands & Llandeg Re-visit

So much activity today, I don't know where to start! As a naturalist, it is very hard to document everything this time of year. It all happens so fast and all at the same time. A single Hobby was spotted and as a result, I missed a great opportunity with the Great White Egret.. Just the way it goes sometimes haha. Dragonfly activity today was fantastic! I got a new species (at least for me) at Llandegfedd in the form of an Emerald Damselfly. Not the best photograph of the Emerald though as it is slightly out of focus but good enough ID shot. Single Banded Demoiselle and plenty of Broad-bodied Chasers. Marbled Whites were abundant and the Great White Egret wasn't playing game at all... It is really shy. Altogether, a fabulous day. If you read yesterdays blog, I didn't manage to find that lure so I just hope that it doesn't end up being picked up again.

Great White Egret @ Llandegfedd

Well,.. Fresh in for Llandegfedd was our first Great White Egret which is still present despite a recent run in with a fishing lure... Thanks to Steve Nelmes's visit to Llandegfedd, he was able to photograph the bird with a fishing lure with treble hooks wrapped around the birds bill! (Steve's photography provided) Naturally I was very worried and visited first light the next morning to see if the bird was ok. THANKFULLY! It was all fine and the bird managed to shake it off.  I'll visit again tomorrow to try and find the lure so this doesn't happen again!

Llandegfedd Terns

4 Terns have been spotted in the last couple days, 2 apparent Common Terns and 2 Arctic. Though, I've personally only seen 3 birds present, I did manage to get some photographs. I'm not the best at IDing Terns.. They are quite difficult to ID from a distance so I'll let the professionals be the judge on which one is which. In my opinion though, in the photograph with all 3 birds, the bird flying is the Artic and the 2 perched on the deck are Common Terns. Either way, It was a great pleasure watching them at Llandegfedd. Glad to see that they are actually using the old dock as a platform.. who knows, we may get them breeding on it one day..(fingers crossed). Spotted yet another Golden-ringed Dragonfly.. seems to be a good year for them so far.

South Sebastopol Canal

Lots of activity on the Canal today! Over 50 swifts gathered at the lock for a drink and feeding above the meadows before moving on south. Lots of Dragonfly activity. Common Whitethroats were a plenty with lots of chicks around. Also spotted a Redkite high in the sky.

Nightjar & Llandegfedd

What a hilarious way to start July! Nightjar Monitoring went really well, we recorded atleast 2 singing males and this time didn't get bit by the mozzies! ;) In other news, Llandegfedd prior to the Nightjar walk was awesome! Managed to just about capture a Sparrowhawk take a Juvi Pied Wagtail off a perch and our first sign of movement in the form of a Little Egret, Common Sandpiper, Artic Terns and Redshank.

South Sebastopol

Failed miserably to repeat my award winning photograph of the swift drinking.. Reminds me just how lucky I was at the time to actually get the shot in focus. With a different lens and camera, I cannot seem to get the flight shots i'm after. That said, there were still plenty of other things to photograph. The insect life in the surrounding meadows is incredible. I'm still discovering new species, like this Pebble Prominent Moth Caterpillar (that was way too hard to ID! I need better books..)

Garnteg Primary School Meets GWT & Breaking Barriers

In my first Job with the Gwent Wildlife Trust we kicked off a new project called 'The hills are alive: with the sound of nature!). The aim of the project is to banish the idea that our uplands are baron and bereft of wildlife. We plan on doing this by teaching people of all ages how to record/interact with wildlife. Families and generations of people actually struggle to connect with nature with their children, unless of course it is as easy as visiting your local pond/lake where they often feed the ducks. 

This is the reason why GWT has invested in quality recording gear for the younger generation to actually use in the field so they can practise and see how rewarding it is when you put in that extra bit of effort. It is surprising the things we miss in our busy daily lives. We tend to move too quickly, both physically and mentally...

We have teamed up with a great company called 'Breaking Barriers' and between the two of us, we intend on creating a memorable experience for the children at Garnteg Primary School who so far have learned how to use the gear and have now started to identify some of the bird songs around them. Garnteg Primary School have great facilities to accommodate this project with their very own recording studio so my knowledge of sound and music is really being used to help make this project productive.