Llandegfedd, Bursting at the seams!

June 25, 2016

Was shocked to find that the fishermans hide was actually under water today. Think the people at WW need to stop filling it up so damn full! It's either one extreme or the other..

Either way, I worked hard today clearing the phragmites reeds at Green Pool. Hopefully people will be able to see the Grebes a little better now. I couldn't clear too much due to breeding birds but I cleared enough to see the water. I had to wade in (my first time wading) and it was quite fun despite having a crotch leak haha (can imagine what I looked like walking back to the car with a wet crotch)... Was shocked how warm the water was! must have been 20c. It took me a couple hours with my little clippers to finish the Job, clippers which I lost in the water.. probably will find them in the winter when the water level drops again..

On the way back to the car, the sun appeared and with it, lots of Burnet Moths. Below is a 6-spot Burnet Moth on a Marsh Orchid.

GWT Plant ID Course

June 23, 2016

A full day at Central Valley Nature Reserve today with GWT to learn more about Plants! An area that I really need work on! I have to admit though, despite coming home having learned quite a bit about plants, I was slightly distracted by the many insects and birds we encountered on our venture into the green. Especially the Dragonflies that were in abundance today in what ended up being a beautiful day! Perhaps a bit too beautiful because I totally underestimated how hot it would be and I must admit, I think I have a bit of sun stroke as I'm red as red can be and ended up sleeping off a terrible migraine for 2 hours when I got home.

I'm feeling ok now though and have edited a few of my favourite pictures of today. My favourite was in-fact a Bumble Bee Mimic which is actually a Hoverfly! (Volucella bombylans). By far the best Hoverfly mimic I've ever seen. Male Broad-bodied Chaser Dragonfly and Mullein Moth Caterpillar showed very well for the camera too.

Volucella bombylans Female Bumble Bee Hoverfly

Below is a picture of the happy bunch, great company and all enthusiastic to learn which really helped with my focus.

Forest Farm

June 22, 2016

Inspired by a little Forest Farm Kingfisher action to setup something a little more local. With many of our Kingfishers finishing up their first brood, a lot of chicks are venturing out up and down our waterways. It's a good time of year to 'happen' by one if you're in the right spot.

Little bunny Rabbit making the most of the greenery on the banks of the first hide at Forest Farm. Plenty of Rabbits around too!

Llandegfedd

June 21, 2016

North meadows have had a slight change in management this year. For some reason, during the winter the meadow was cut in a mosaic fashion (probably to encourage walkers to explore or for the sheep to get into the meadow for better grazing). Either way, you can clearly see that the cut (or lack of) has made a huge difference in what was has grown. The cut areas are looking so much better, with less towering grasses and more biodiversity. More Orchids are showing as a result on these areas despite them still being widespread. I'm not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing just yet but it's interesting to see the physical effects of two very difference techniques. I'm not referring to the picture above by the way, that was cut for the running event in May this year. A topic for another blog I think...

Things aren't looking so great at Llandegfedd, I have to admit. There's only so much I can do as a volunteer with health and safety regulations but I do wonder sometimes if my efforts are wasted. Below is a picture of the old wildlife learning hut that has had a leaking roof for quite some time. This was just a matter of time. What will happen to the future of this hut is pretty clear the way things are going.

Also the view from most of the hides have got to that point in the year where the only thing that they are good for is Reed Warblers. Not that I don't like Reed Warblers but that isn't what they were built for and this area does need attention.

The way I see it is, if we don't make it easier for people to watch nature, how can we expect people to appreciate it?

Pictured Path

June 21, 2016

Another from yesterday's walk to add to my Pictured Path blogs.

Due to some ground changes, the stream now follows the main path all the way down the mountain. It's likely that either the new developers have changed the path of the stream or even the many Bikers that use this path have open up the flood gates as it enters the Moorland. Either way, we have a new stream! Luckily I rarely go anywhere without the wellies these days.

New Idea - Pictured Path

June 20, 2016

Sometimes we can walk and walk and walk and you end up seeing some incredible sights and scenery.. Personally I don't really get to share these sightings very well because I usually have a 100-400mm telephoto lens on the camera and I don't like changing lenses in the field. So here is a 100mm scenic shot of the path I walked today on my local moorland/woodland. It's something I'll be doing a lot more of, especially during my new Job in September exploring the Brecon Beacons, much for the first time. I love exploring new land, especially in Wales.

You can join in yourself if you like on social media. Simply share a photograph that includes the path you're walking along.

Wheatear Success

June 20, 2016

It was lovely to see chicks all over my local moorland today. Spring is officially over with the first day of Summer today, and what better way to cross into Summer than with a fledge of Wheatears! Happy to say that 4 of them fledged today, I hope they all survive because they are an welcomed visitor and a pleasure to watch out our moorlands.

New Chapter & Large Pine Weevil

June 19, 2016

New Chapter? whats that? well, as of September this year I'll be leaving my current Job at Evergreen Supplies (Care-home Supplier) to start my new position at the Brecon Beacons National Park as a Trainee Warden! Very happy about this despite being very nervous about the career change. I have to start somewhere and where better to start than the Black Mountains in some of the best wildlife country in South Wales!. I've always wanted to get to know the Brecon Beacons better and I'm sure during the next year I'll get to travel quite a lot of it.

During this apprenticeship I'll be working towards my level 2 in conservation management and will also obtain a few other qualifications that will greatly improve my chances of getting a career in conservation.

I do apologise for not blogging much this month, I have ran out of space on my hard drives yet again so need to purchase another before I can get back to photo editing.

I'll leave you with this fantastic creature called a Large Pine Weevil that was taken during my Nightjarring sessions last week.

Loftus Garden Village

June 17, 2016

This week so far it's been meeting after meeting but it's been far from boring! Today's Biodiversity Partnership annual outdoor meeting was really good and something I really look forward to every year. This was my second year of being invited to these meetings and I feel very grateful to be a part of them. I won't speak about everything but something I was particularly impressed with was the new housing development we visited in Newport called Loftus Garden Village on corporation road. The aim of the visit was to see how this new development implemented techniques to cater for our wildlife.

As you can see in the image above, instead of typical garden fences that usually keep wildlife out, hedging has been planted.

Hedges are vitally important for nature and especially for nesting birds.

The best part for me about this development was the pond. Despite not being there for so long, it was already showing plenty signs of life, with froglets bouncing around the wild flower meadow and diving beetles in the water.

I can imagine the local Foxes loving this little village with no fences to jump and lots of wild pockets to explore. Hedgehogs will certainly make the most of the hedgerows and the wild flower meadow. It doesn't take a lot to attract them to your Gardens.

Something that was overlooked however was the drainage systems, especially those situated around the pond as amphibians will likely fall down them with no way back out so will perish. That may be something they will change / add later on having pointed that detail out.

It was also nice to hear that Bat Holes and nest boxes were built into the roofing of these houses and despite missing them out on the first phase, I was ensured phase 2,3 and 4 will have those boxes built right into the houses.

One thing I wished these houses had was solar power on the roofs. It's clearly not something that major developers are considering, not even green developments like this. Clean energy really needs to become more affordable so that it's no longer seen as an add-on luxury accessory.

Nightjar!!! Get your headphones!

June 7, 2016

If you've been watching Springwatch, you would have seen the short clip about the Nightjars found on the Heathland at Minsmere Nature Reserve. Nightjars are by far my favourite birds, and for so many different reasons. Everything about them, sound, sight and behaviour, fascinates me!

I've been working really hard, spending many late nights being eaten alive. All those hours spent outdoors in the pitch black being eaten paid off tonight and I can't even wait till the morning to show you! Please put your headphones on, this isn't one you want to miss!

It doesn't really get much better than this.. and I'm not blowing my own trumpet here, I simply mean that this bird performed so well for me! I had the classic wind clapping, the Male call topped off by a full song and ending in a thunderous applause while winding down.

If there was anything I could do to protect these birds and ensure we hold onto them for as long as we can, I would do anything!. To have them on our own doorstep is so amazing and I'll be spending many more nights watching them display, feeding and listening to that incredible sound that comes over you like a wave and washes all your troubles away. #bliss

I did also manage to witness some mating behaviour and I'll talk about this in another blog. I also managed to capture the sound of the female! Which isn't something many people talk about because its not as 'fancy' as the males bold song. I've personally never heard a female until tonight but i'm sure I'll learn more and more about these birds as time goes on.

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