Valley Naturalist

Another tale of birding woe

2012-02-16T20:52:00.000Z

On a day that produced a common yellowthroat, female smew, further news of the Slavonian grebe and the just out of county Dowlais Top Caspian gull the best I could do was a distant ringed Canada goose at Green pool LR. In fairness there were some other interesting reservoir snippets such as a couple of flyover skylark, a rather loud water rail, male and female goldeneye and good numbers of reed bunting. At times like this I like to re-emphasise the value of the commonplace - but that's only because I don't see much of the rare these days.

Whatever happened to Swoop?

2012-02-13T18:07:00.000Z

On a bit of a round trip to various watering holes before finishing off at DSP for the goosander survey I called in to Pen y fan Pond where a makeshift feeding station had been set up in the car park. Smashing views were had of bullies, waggies, reedies and various titties as they fed on seed, fatballs and bread. This also got me reminiscing about bird feeding days long gone. In a time before seed was available on an agricultural scale there was Swoop. Swoop was wildbird food in a small cardboard box similar in size the budgerigar equivalent Trill. I remember Swoop affectionately as I used my pocket money to purchase 25p boxes from the local pet shop, and the RSPB's Birds magazine always set aside its back cover for a full page Swoop advertisement featuring Bill Oddie with long hair and a bobble hat.

On to Cwmtillery Lake and pulling into the car park along side two closely parked Corsas and Ford something or other I was greeted by the heady smell of burning cannabis Pleasingly over 50% of the water surface was unfrozen restricting wildfowl to the open area where three little grebe were the pick of the bunch.

By the time I got to Bryn Bach Park It was mid afternoon but despite far too many people for my liking several hundred gulls were loafing on the ice. Rings were difficult to pick out but at least four were marked as follows:

1 x Black headed gull c/w metal ring on left leg

1 x adult Herring gull c/w metal ring on left leg

1x immature Herring gull c/w metal ring on right leg

1 x immature Herring gull c/w metal ring on right leg and black colour ring on left leg marked MBD in yellow.

The goosander count at DSP produced a nil return but 'stumpy' the amputee coot was still hopping around.

Ice is nice

2012-02-06T19:22:00.003Z

A prolonged period of below zero temperatures is just the ticket for picking out those colour ringed gulls on icy water bodies. Yesterday Bryn Bach Park was completely frozen with a group of around 200 mainly herring and black headed gulls along with a handful of lesser black-backed all standing on the nice glistening surface. Having earlier checked the gulls on ice at Dunlop Semtex Pond and on the roof of a nearby factory without even a sniff of a colour ring I was prepared for a similar outcome at the park. Much to my satisfaction there were a number on show. The herring gull tally was as follows:

2 x adult c/w colour ring on left leg, metal ring on right.

1 x immature c/w metal ring on right leg.

1x adult c/w metal ring on left leg.

Needless to say I was unable to read any of the inscriptions save the above.

Some contrasting head gear

2012-02-03T19:25:00.000Z

It's at this time of year that black headed gull's start to display the tell tale signs of summer plumage. Within the Cwmbran Boating Lake gull flock were examples of both winter and summer plumage with some half way between thrown in for good measure. For any student of gull spotting there's few better places at the moment to get to grips with the myriad of ages and plumages that typify gull identification.

Gwylan y Gweunydd

2012-01-31T18:16:00.000Z

A couple of common gull were in amongst an increasing flock of gulls at Cwmbran Boating Lake. The gathering is now well over 100 black headed gull with the odd lesser black backed and herring gull. Five goosander augmented the usual wildfowl and dipper on the nearby Afon Llwyd made a nice change.

Heath snail ?

2012-01-28T21:04:00.001Z

According to National Biodiversity Network the heath snail (Helicella itala) isn't present in the vice county of Monmouthshire. A specialist of limestone grassland I felt this mollusc was a good bet for the quarries that pock mark the eastern margin of the south Wales coalfield from the Clydath to Pontypool.

The shallow quarry at Cwm Lasgarn near Abersychan with its limestone spoil was the venue for today's naturalist excursion. The snail wasn't difficult find, turn a few stones and there is was numerous and widespread. All specimens collected were dead and somewhat bleached with others coated in brown soil.

Bird wise, siskin and lesser redpoll were plentiful in the larch plantation that encircle the quarry. Three flypast fieldfare was the only other noteworthy record.

Today at the lake

2012-01-23T20:31:00.001Z

After yesterdays stunning Iceland gull pic from the Llandegfedd Reservoir gull roost I decided to have another go at Cwmbran Boating Lake. Now as you know I'm a big advocate of local patching its the glue that holds together targeted conservation action. Just three quarters of an hour around the lake was enough to blow the office cobwebs away and record some interesting common or garden water birds.

Gulls were performing well. First up was a ringed black headed gull from within a group of around 80 birds. Secondly a single lesser black backed gull was the first site record for a number of months and was joined by a herring gull that soon took off after an altercation with the aforementioned. Finally the now long staying Mediterranean gull was still loafing about on the floating island.

Iceland Gull

2012-01-22T18:52:00.001Z

Got to Pettingale Point in good time to watch the gull roost build up. It was only at around 4.30 did I pick out the ghostly figure of a single adult Iceland gull from within the roost. Spot the birdy in the following photo.

Gong for a naturalist

2012-01-22T14:01:00.001Z

Having spoken to Trevor Evans within the last fortnight his modesty didn't allow him to let on he'd recently received an MBE - thanks to Chris Hatch for the information. As County Botanical Recorder for as long as I can remember Trevor's lifelong quest for recording all things flowery in vc35 culminated in the weighty tome that is the Flora of Monmouthshire. Everyone interested in the wildlife of Gwent should have a copy!

I remember my first correspondence with Trevor it was a type written letter with a list of plants recorded locally. I had, of course, made a school boy error in assuming the common English name for plants would be sufficient. Trevor's response was courteous but at the same time ticked me off for not using latin and to this day all conversations with him are punctuated with latin species names that send me scrabbling for a field guide to translate.I also had the pleasure of spending some time with him and Colin Titcombe in the field. One such excursion took us to a large field above Forgeside near Blaenavon. An interesting wet flush was visible towards the middle of the field but with no public access there was no way of reaching it, I thought. This didn't stop Trevor, up and over the fence he went without a care in the world spending a good twenty minutes on his hands and knees recording and compiling a list. Oh, and one other thing, although he lives in Chepstow he's never shyed away from botanising in western Gwent! You couldn't meet a nicer , more knowledgeable or determined field botanist. An award so richly deserved.

Gwent Goosander Survey: Visit 3

2012-01-15T18:38:00.001Z

Visit 3 of the Gwent Goosander Survey at Dunlop Semtex Pond produced little to shout home about. There were no goosander present but four ringed mute swan showed well, at least two of which were ringed by Luke Phillips at Bryn Bach Park a couple of years ago. Full count:

18 Tufted Duck

1 Pochard

42 Mallard

8 Moorhen

1 Wigeon

22 Coot

4 Mute Swan

Earlier at Bryn Bach Park a very pale grey lag goose entertained the hordes of visiting Sunday afternoon strollers.

'Twas in a woodland clearing

2012-01-13T20:38:00.002Z

With over three weeks leave at my disposal I took the opportunity to chalk off a few this week. A hair appointment for the household Team Leader in the bustling mid Gwent town of Usk allowed me to grab a couple of hours in nearby Wentwood.

First stop was Little Oaks where the ravages of post war tree planting was being corrected and stacked in neat orderly piles. The now regular Great Grey Shrike was quickly and easily found, here too was a constant traffic of overhead Redpoll and Crossbill all to the background of calling Coal Tit.

Onto Stalag 17 known locally as Wentwood Reservoir. Walking from picnic area toward reservoir with a hope of finding a vantage point to scan for wildfowl proved fruitless. More warning signage, trip wires and mine fields. The road above the reservoir provided the best opportunity to count birds although for safety reasons I felt the need to slip on my old NCB florescent jacket.

I'm mildly impressed by the number of wildfowl using this reservoir at the moment. Smashing counts of diving duck and Canada goose were augmented by Coot, Wigeon, at least three Gadwall, a Little Grebe, Cormorant and Great Crested Grebe and so on, I just wish I could get bloody closer!

At risk of being tedious

2012-01-11T19:02:00.001Z

I know its a bit tedious to have yet more images of the now infamous Cwmbran Boating Lake Mediterranean gull but I just can't help it. But this is nothing compared to the real tedium of the number of short eared owl images on the South Wales Birding blog, that's overkill!

The bird today was spending most of its time picking at a dead fish on one of the floating islands - note the fish scales on its bill. A passer by was taken a back by my gull attention complaining that they spoilt the lake but soon walked off when I expressed my affection for 'seagulls'.

Also on the lake was a single male goosander, two moorhen, a single coot, a pair of mute swan, 16 Canada goose and many mallard and black headed gull.

Short eared owls

2012-01-08T17:41:00.000Z

At least four short eared owl showed well at Waun afon bog late this afternoon. Also came across an unseasonal fox moth caterpillar -a measure of just how mild the weather is at the moment..

Odd one out

2012-01-03T19:39:00.000Z

The first winter Mediterranean Gull was still present at Cwmbran Boating Lake this lunchtime along with a single Great Black Backed Gull, 4 Canada Goose, 19 Goosander and a Cormorant.

Also came across several dead Bream ( I think) most of which had their heads removed. Is this the predatory work of an Otter?

A delightful find to end the year

2012-01-02T09:39:00.000Z

In the words of John Muir 'going out is going in' so I had high hopes for the end of year break, lots of getting out with some nice birds to be found, none of which really happened. However as you will probably already know there's a tradition amongst naturalists-birders for having at their disposable a variety of books to pore over on a rainy day or after a successful field trip. I'm no different, as a bibliophile I have a collection of books with an axis on field guides. So imagine my glee when during a visit to the Festival Park shopping centre in Ebbw Vale on New Years eve I found a brand new copy of the Collins Field Guide Birds of the Palearctic:Non-Passerines, for the princely sum of 99p. Safely bagged and with a hour or so before last vestige of light faded for the last time in 2011 I drove home elated at my bargain purchase. But a 2011 swansong was still to had. Driving from Brynmawr towards Blaenavon good views of a Short-eared Owl were obtained as it flew adjacent to the road and the SEO hotspot of Waunafon Bog. What a day, a field guide and a nice bird, I'm easily pleased!

New Years Day signalled the start of a new field note book. Every biological recorder needs one and has one, leaving home without one engenders anxiety. A bright crispy new note book awaiting its defacement with illegible handwriting, frequent crossings out and grubby fingerprints. But a new note book deserved to be populated as soon as possible so a tour de force of Gwent valley wetlands was planned and executed. Starting at Peny fan Pond and ending in Garn Lakes Local Nature Reserve I took in eight sites in the hope of a Great Northern Diver or colour ringed Herring Gull. It turned out that a game of noughts and crosses would have been a more fitting entry in the note book as little was on offer to trouble page one. Apart from just small numbers of the usual commoner wildfowl two Wigeon at Beaufort Ponds was the only other bird worthy of a mention. What let down!

Squealing piglets

2011-12-29T08:29:00.001Z

In contrast to my recent access rant getting into Llandegfedd Reservoir yesterday was a breeze. Water levels were high with a stiff wind creating choppy conditions which made for difficult birding. Respite was found in Greenpool bay where teal, mute swan, little grebe and others found shelter. Here too was a single male pintail. Water rail were in fine voice with up to four birds calling loudly from within a metre of the Greenpool hide. Excellent views can be obtained by viewing the alder and willow carr through the two right hand observation flaps and just waiting patiently.

Fishermen welcome others run along and play elsewhere

2011-12-28T07:58:00.006Z

Back to my cause celebre! There were hundreds of wildfowl at Wentwood Reservoir yesterday but to do anything more about getting a closer view other than sticking my scope through the bars of the gates like a Special Branch officer on a surveillance operation was impossible. Once again Welsh Waters practice of embracing certain income generating recreational users more than others means that birders are locked out like naughty children.

So what is Welsh Water's policy on access to their landholdings? Paul Henderson Strategic Regulation Manager in his written evidence to the Welsh Assembly Government's Sustainability Committee Inquiry into Access to Inland Water in 2009 gave us a hint. He said:

'We are committed to providing appropriate access and promoting recreational use at our landholdings for the public in so far as there is no significant risk to health and safety, risk of pollution or damage or harmful impact to wildlife'.

Later on in his evidence he re-emphasised this commitment by saying, 'We are always keen to encourage greater use of our sites...........'

Why is it then that we birders are being drowned out when it comes to having fair access arrangements? In my examination of the 13 recommendations that came out of the WAG inquiry none related to access for the study or enjoyment of biodiversity. Yes there was the reassuring statement that recreation improvements would only be allowed if not detrimental to biodiversity interests, but in doing so shouldn't the benefits of conserving and enhancing biodiversity be accessible to the public to enjoy and cherish?

Another recommendation featured funding to help improve access to inland waters. In response WAG set up SPLASH a Water Recreation Challenge Fund for Wales. Since its inception its funded over 65 projects to the tune of over one million pounds but its seems only one project is 'access to wildlife' related. Why is this? Is it that campaigning conservation bodies just don't see a problem with access to nature at wetland sites?

Fine words are offered by Welsh Water and WAG in relation to nature conservation but allowing access for individuals and organisations who are well placed to support their conservation aspirations is all too often restricted or barred. Birders are simply up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

Gwent Goosander Survey: Visit 2

2011-12-18T18:07:00.000Z

Took in Bryn Bach Park before returning to Dunlop Semtex Pond for the start of visit 2 of the Gwent Goosander Survey. 'Twas bitingly cold but a few black headed gull were happy to come in close for some scraps left by the locals. This adult gull was carrying a ring marked Estonia but wasn't able to make out the number as the bird wouldn't stay still long enough and the ring's on upside down.

At DSP there were five goosander ( 4 female and 1 male ) all of which eventually left taking a north westerly route. Full count:

9 Pochard

9 Tufted duck

8 Moorhen

16 Coot

30 Mallard

5 Goosander

Forgotten logos

2011-12-17T20:39:00.000Z

My wife refers to it, rather dismissively, as 'paper shuffling' but a recent examination of my dusty archive of biological records turned up an item I feel is worthy of mention. Buried amongst the pages of annual ringing totals, nest box records punched out on an old style typewriter and a growing file of more contemporary orthoptera records shared through email, I found a letter head sporting a forgotten, unfamiliar logo.

This logo, to the best of my fading memory was one of the earliest for the then Gwent Trust for Nature Conservation (now Gwent Wildlife Trust). A rather statuesque Barn Owl was the main focal point which, I seem to remember, eventually gave way to an updated symbol in the 1990's of a more action filled, in flight owl just about to alight on its prey. Today with the barn owl logo ditched - in some cattle feeding trough - the local Wildlife Trusts throughout the UK generally use a variation of the black and white badger symbol as a sort of nationwide corporate identity.

An evolution or time series of logo's used by conservation organisations and naturalists' societies over the years can sometimes provide an interesting insight into the make up, direction and membership profile of these organisations working to protect our natural heritage. The Gwent Trust for example in using the barn owl chose a species in decline, who's stronghold, once fortunes had changed, would be the landowning rural communities of Monmouthshire. Who would have guessed that a drift towards using the badger logo could potentially alienate the same rural farming communities were once courted with the owl logo.

For me logos often act as a memory prompt, a focus for the reminiscing of times long gone when as a Young Ornithologists' Club (YOC) member I along with some mates would look forward to the annual local cine film viewing of the new RSPB movie, all of which seemed to involve the ubiquitous Bobby Tulloch and the Shetlands Islands. For a logo the YOC's design of the 1960's and 70's could easily, with some little adaptation, be that of the Hitler youth or Third Reich. A spread eagled kestrel that wouldn't have been out of place adorning the cap of the camp commandant of Colditz.

Other logos have evolved and come and gone. The BTO has buried at sea its Gannet in favour of some other thingamajig and the RSPBs iconic Avocet logo has changed but to their credit retained the same bird despite it now being a conservation success. Pen and ink calligraphist designs have given way to the whizz ding of computer generated artwork easily transferable to cap or polo shirt. But amongst all this modern organisational identity there's still the odd group that remain true to tradition. See the Monmouthshire Moth and Butterfly Group logo as an example!

A touch of the Med

2011-12-05T18:06:00.001Z

Happened on this 1st winter Mediterranean Gull busy preening on top of the refurbished boat house at Cwmbran Boating Lake this lunchtime. No amount of enticement was going to get this bird down to join the dozens of black headed gull milling around my feet and the Canada geese tugging at my trouser legs. Also 27 Canada goose and a single black headed gull with shiny ring but didn't hang around long enough to photograph.

Severnside solidarity

2011-11-30T19:31:00.001Z

Yes it sounds righteous but I have a social conscience and strong sense of fairness and equality that's why I had no hesitation in withdrawing my labour in support of millions of other low paid public sector workers who today stood up for their pension rights. It's not just about defending my pension its about the pension prospects of future generations and every ones right to have a quality of life into retirement and old age.

That said I took the opportunity provided by this industrial action to visit the coast at Black Rock near Chepstow. This part of the Severn Estuary coast line is home to a soft cliff habitat that is one of the rarest in Gwent. The ecological value of this cliff is in its special invertebrate assemblage, but at the end of November its true glory could not be fully appreciated. Nonetheless, some stone turning did produce an assortment of unidentified ground beetles along with harlequin and 16 spot ladybirds.

Bird wise the foreshore was very disappointing. Single redshank and curlew along with around 10 wigeon were complemented by some15 skylark.

One from the archive

2011-11-26T20:23:00.008Z

It was such a dismal day up north today I didn't even bother taking the trusty Canon out of the bag. So I've raided the archive for this whimbrel shot taken on a day and in a location where poor light and rain are rarely an issue.

Today's site visit took in, Dunlop Semtex Pond, Machine Pond, Beaufort Ponds, Bryn Bach Park and Garn Lakes. By far the most species rich was Beaufort Ponds with 2 mute swan, 12 Canada goose, 10 wigeon, 3 little grebe, 3 tufted duck, 10 coot, 1 moorhen and 20 mallard. Otherwise there was smattering of pochard and great crested grebe across most sites and a count of 11 Canada goose at Garn Lakes was the highest on record.

Disability

2011-11-22T19:19:00.000Z

In my efforts to track down ring carrying gulls frequenting certain urban watering holes I've developed a keen eye for leg abnormalities. This lunchtime at Cwmbran Boating Lake were around 100 blacked headed gull, none however were tagged with that nice foreign ring or a chunky easy to read colour ring, but several were obviously walking wounded.

First up was a limping bird restricted by some tightly woven fishing line. Second was an amputee who managed very well with just on leg. With similar birds recorded last year at this site and Bryn Bach Park it does seem that the black headed gull suffers more than most for daring to adapt to man habitat.

Elsewhere at the boating lake were 28 goosander, 16 Canada goose, 2 moorhen and 50+ mallard. Also a harlequin ladybird.

Gwent Goosander Survey: Visit 1

2011-11-21T18:47:00.001Z

Past Garn Lakes Local Nature Reserve in thick fog with visibility down to 20 metres only to emerge into bright sunshine as I dropped into Brynmawr. This however was the only positive aspect of my goosander survey visit to Dunlop Semtex Pond. No goosander but here's the list:

1 Pochard,
4 Tufted duck
10 Moorhen
1 Little grebe
18 Coot
38 Mallard
7 Goldfinch
3 Grey wagtail
2 Coal tit

Waunafon fog

2011-11-19T18:40:00.000Z

Quick visit to Waunafon bog in the hope of an inland short eared owl produced nothing but four raven and a flyover thrush thing - oh and fog masses of the stuff.

Just in time for Sunday

2011-11-14T19:09:00.000Z

Joining the lunchtime dog walkers at Cwmbran Boating Lake were 14 Canada goose, 2 moorhen, 50+ mallard and 6 Goosander including a scruffy first winter male. The latter arriving right on time for Sunday's Gwent Goosander fest!

I'm just not cut out for twitching

2011-11-13T16:57:00.000Z

Racing down to the Newport Wetlands yesterday for the Slavonian grebe was just impossible. No worries however as my experience of this species in Gwent previously was that they stay around for a couple of days at least, so I was reasonably confident of it being present this morning. Despite a couple of hours searching through gadwall, tufted duck, pochard, coot, little grebe etc I drew a blank. There were however some inverts on offer including an active silver y moth, a red admiral and a good number of common dater.

Prompted by this scaup faced Tufted duck at the wetlands I decided to call in to Ynys yr fro Reservoir just in case something of interest was lurking in the shallows. Nothing much to write home about but was able to park in the fishermans car park as the gates were unlocked.

Mistletoe

2011-11-06T20:02:00.000Z

I never seem to find any accessible mistletoe to examine, it all seems to be out reach high in the tops of trees. Inspired by Jonathan Briggs excellent item in the recent edition of British Wildlife magazine entitled Mistletoe- a review of its distribution, conservation and insect associates I was determined to track some down. This I was able to do at Llandegfedd Reservoir this morning where a patch was located low down on a hawthorn.

Its too late in the year now to look for any of the distinctive insect associates, but leaf mines and exit holes should still be detectable. None could be found today but mistletoe is certainly worthy of closer examination.

Bird wise there were about 75 wigeon, 50 teal, 70 Canada goose, 9 tufted duck, 8 pochard, 1 little grebe, 5 mute swan and 2 snipe. There were also good numbers of fieldfare and redwing, and a few skylark and meadow pipit. A late red admiral spent some time alighting on the warmer surfaces provided by wooden fence posts and the fisherman's portacabin.

Good as well to see some new feeders at the bird feeding station all they need now is some contents!

Talking of food I managed a fleeting visit to Beaufort Ponds on my way to get the weekly supplies in this afternoon. The pond was supporting a couple of mute swan, 3 wigeon, 11 coot (including one with a gammy leg) 10 Canada goose and 2 little grebe.

Where's the water gone?

2011-10-30T19:04:00.000Z

The pond at Magor Marsh was rather low on water today nonetheless there were still a few teal present, a fly by kingfisher, a Cetti's warbler and a reed bunting.

I took the liberty of having a look in one or two of the accessible nestboxes on the reserve. In one was this overwintering queen German wasp (Vespula germanica) note the diagnostic three dots on face.

Thanks to GWT staff and members in Ebbw Vale

2011-10-29T09:58:00.002+01:00

A belated thanks to staff of Gwent Wildlife Trust's Environmental Resource Centre in Ebbw Vale for hosting a talk from yours truly recently about my activities as a naturalist. A good, very receptive and enthusiastic crowd turned up to share their love of nature in Gwent's coalfield - interestingly some people from Chepstow as well. By the way the resource centre is well worth a visit!

Return of the ringed CANGO

2011-10-27T19:34:00.000+01:00

In the absence of a pied wheatear, yellow browed warbler or long billed dowitcher I revert to my default bird, the Canada goose. Should anybody out there be vaguely interested the two Llangorse Lake ringed birds reported at Cwmbran Boating Lake during the winter period 2011-12 are back on site. See page 117 of new, fresh off the press, Gwent Bird Report 2010 for recovery details.

What coughed this thing up?

2011-10-23T14:16:00.000+01:00

Came across this pellet on a low wooden fence post in Cwmbran earlier this week. It was safely retrieved and stored in the ever present naturalist's pot. The make up of the pellet is almost entirely of invertebrate remains. I'm pretty certain I know the bird that produced it, but do you?

Bread of heaven

2011-10-15T21:29:00.000+01:00

Left the Rugby to the sound of an overhead redwing, destination the forgotten blue network of Brynmawr/Ebbw Vale/Tredegar. Bryn Bach Park was the most diverse waterboby with the odd cormorant, and great crested grebe, many mallard, 36 tufted duck, 8 pochard and 2 mute swan, one of which was ringed.

At Beaufort Ponds were another pair of ringed mute swan along with 10 Canada goose and other assorted commoner wildfowl. However the most interesting feature was what appeared to be a willow weave bird hide being constructed on the opposite shore. With the new hides at the Newport Wetlands seems there's likely to be more competition for this blogs annual Observational Structure of the Year Award 2011- watch this space!

Ah! the memories

2011-10-10T19:22:00.002+01:00

Back in the 1980's and 90s I was part of a small ringing group of three based at a site just off the dam at Llandegfedd Reservoir. Here we spent many an enjoyable Saturday ringing in the comfort of a hut donated by Welsh Water (in the days when they supported birding) and modified to include a wood burning stove etc. Annual ringing totals often approached 1000 birds sometimes boosted by August and September sessions at the North End. Alas the hut fell in disrepair when my 'A' ringer Percy Playford became ill.

Shortly after Percy died the hut was rescued by Richard Poole and transferred to a site on the Island but unfortunately its use in this new position was short lived and here too it was abandoned. The hut today is a fragment of its former glory now all but derelict, rotting and crest fallen but a few reminders of its glory days can still be found amongst the remains. A stencilled ringing notice from the days before computers, a tin of nails, chairs, a table and a modified window for easy of release of processed birds. A piece of the social history of bird ringing in Gwent disappearing without a whimper.

Beetle mania

2011-10-04T20:50:00.000+01:00

Another copy of The Coleopterist journal (yes that's a journal for beetle nerds!) and therein another item on beetles in Gwent. This time its a three page article on the rediscovery in Wales after 150 years of Amara fusca. Seems it was found in Newport Docks in August 2008.

Elsewhere today at Cwmbran Boating Lake were 64 Canada goose, and a single mute swan. Will check the geese for rings in due course.

Go back, go back, go back.....

2011-10-02T09:40:00.003+01:00

..... were the words that tugged at my paisley pj's as I made my way down that old wooden hill at some unearthly hour. No time to wipe the sleep from my eyes, I was off, this even before the first mongrel had clocked on for that unique canine dawn chorus that is the wake up call for modern day valley life.

A fence post wheatear caught my eye as I turned the road to the Foxhunter Car Park, Blaenavon. The target this morning was 'Sunrisre Over Monmouthshire' photography, followed up with some red grouse spotting thrown in for good measure. It was no surprise to find other earth worshippers in the car park. Kneeling beside tripod mounted camera they whaled in appreciation as the mother of all life emerged on the horizon.

Past the Fred Hando memorial bench and the Foxhunter memorial plaque I left the bearded, kaftan wearing photographers destination Blorenge mountain taking the new BBNP memorial footpath improvements before veering sharp right into more interesting terrain. Here the first grouse were flushed, taking off in a panic to a land of pixies and fairies out of sight but still just audible with their characteristic 'go back, go back' vocal. Taking no notice of the advice of a sub species of the willow grouse I pressed on regardless only to record a pleasing fourteen birds before reaching the Blorenge memorial trig point. Here I posed in conquering Everest style before dropping down the east face and onwards.

The path here was through peat, still holding water enough to threaten an over walking boot reminder of the approaching rainy season. Quickening my pace after slowing to remove an irritating hardened sun baked sheep's dropping from my boot I flushed a snipe that took off vignetted against the brightening sky. Here too skylark and meadow pipit were plentiful. On to the gently rounded and sheep grazed limestone spoil hills I emerged to view, hands on hips, the vista that is the green and pleasant land of rural Monmouthshire spread out before me - a mountain biker sped past wobbling in surprise of my early morning presence. Here too were a good number of swallow, an active fox moth caterpillar and a less than active eggar moth cocoon was retrieved from beneath a dislodged stone. A snowy ink cap was also emerging from a pile of horse dropping.

PS. For a blog that gets only c1200 hits a month, the value of having 'sexy' in the title of two consecutive postings has paid dividends. Just over a day into October this site has already registered close to 400 hits. Just goes to illustrate the preferred subject matter of many website searchers!

Not as sexy as AGP, fact!

2011-09-30T17:01:00.000+01:00

After my previous posting about the LR stitchwort I've now reviewed my bold yet woeful identification attempt in the light of further information. As I write I hang my head in shame due to need to confess another ID banana skin. A late flowering marshland growing stitchwort just had to me one of the rarer species but alas the above plant is in fact at the very opposite end of the stitchwort rarity lineage. Not marsh stitchwort as stated but the common or garden, found everywhere, lesser stitchwort. Oh well nothing ventured nothing gained.

Not as sexy as AGP but.......

2011-09-25T09:04:00.001+01:00

This plant may not generate the same testosterone inspired reaction as the recent plethora of coastal wading beauties, but is arguably more significant. Whilst twitchers chase the latest windblown vagrant, work remains to be done on the recording, distribution and better understanding of the flora and fauna of Gwent.

At Llandegfedd Reservoir yesterday morning this small white plant caught my eye growing on the margins of the Inlet. As you will know most flowering plants are at a premium this time of year so one in full flower demanded my attention. A touch of book and Internet research has led me to the bold and maybe foolish conclusion that this is marsh stitchwort ( Stellaria palustris). Whilst reasonably widespread in the East of the British Isles its never plentiful and reference to the recent Flora of Monmouthshire (Trevor Evans) suggests this is the first county record - this of course needs verifying.

Elsewhere on the reservoir there were three shelduck and yet again a lesser black backed gull with chunky colour ring.

Chance encounter

2011-09-23T20:11:00.001+01:00

Left work and headed straight for West Usk Lighthouse to catch up with the grey phalarope and pectoral sandpiper. A bit of trek along the sea wall from Lighthouse pub car park proved to be well worth it but not for the target species. Having side stepped a large herd of cows to walk along saltmarsh I joined the creme de la creme of Gwent birders in the form of Darryl Spittle, Chris Jones and Nathan Casburn who were enjoying another yank wader in the form of an American golden plover. Unfortunately my Sigma 500mm is not the best but I'm sure the steady flow of birders that I met on my way back to the car will produce some better images in due course.

The value of nature

2011-09-22T20:22:00.001+01:00

On Ricky Tomlinson's recommendation I breezed into Farmfoods for a couple of pints of the white stuff and some wine gums. After wolfing down the sweeties I had cause to examine my change only to discovery the familiar profile of God himself Charles Darwin on a two pound coin.

When presented with something a little different my first port of call is generally Ebay. Is it worth anything and could I flog it? To my surprise some people are forking out up to a fiver for this coin - kerching! This then got me thinking of other coinage cast with images of our great natural heritage. Pulling out my man-draw full of part used batteries, screws and a ticket stub to a brilliant Dream Theater gig, I located that little plastic bag containing a Pontypool and Abersychan Co-operative Society bread token, assorted Edwardian pennies, a tanner (six-pence) complete with hole for attaching to ladies charm bracelet and to my glee a 1945 farthing with image of Troglodytes troglodytes. With all this coinage along with a tradition of nice Royal Mail stamps and the back pages of UK passports all depicting images of British wildlife you'd think we'd feel some sense of pride and obligation to protecting it, but not a bit of it.

The ultimate deterrent

2011-09-19T17:43:00.000+01:00

Around the a**e end of Llandegfedd Reservoir is a field gate with a novel warning sign. Couldn't see any sign of the snorting monster amongst the herd of milkers, but rest assured one step on the wrong side of the gate and the said beast would no doubt appear as if by magic to toss you around the field like a rag doll.

Like Wayne Rooney's thatch my loyalty to Llandegfedd Reservoir is wearing thin at the moment. With some nice stuff appearing up and down the county surely something requiring a description to get it past the County Rarities Committee and onto the pages of the annual Gwent Bird Report will appear at this most celebrated of nature venues soon.

Once again I sat in the car for half an hour waiting for the rain to move on before venturing out - thank Britain for its rich creative culture and prog rockists Porcupine Tree's In Absentia album for filling the void. When I eventually got on the move I was joined by an intermittent flow of flyover meadow pipit. At Greenpool there was a hint that wildfowl are starting to gather along tribal lines with tight flocks of up to twenty coot and teal. Several chiffchaff were singing when I caught sight of the soft underbelly of a up ended waterbird bobbing in tune with the wake of a fisherman's boat. On closer inspection it was a dead great crested grebe entangled in fishing line and hooks. The family party of a late brood of grebes now reduced to single parent status. Not much else to report other than another black headed gull with metal ring.

I must be mad

2011-09-11T20:31:00.004+01:00

Got to Garnlydan Reservoir at about 7.15 this morning in anticipation of an early show wryneck. Having withstood several heavy showers and pre frost bite symptoms I left at 8.30 with only a cormorant, great crested grebe and a wheatear to my name. Bryn Bach Park, Beaufort Ponds and Dunlop Semtex Pond were just too wet and windy to bother getting out of the car, nothing to report at any of the sites.

A second mid afternoon visit was a must after a quick check of the GOS sightings page reported the bird showing at 10am. Arrived to be greeted by a small group of birders and the news that the bird had last been seen in the 'rusty fence wire' an hour previously. Despite a steady flow of birders with birders wives/girlfriends/children/dogs in tow I left at 6pm without a sniff of the wryneck. Nonetheless, does seem to be a good year for grassland fungi with good numbers of yellow club fungus everywhere.

Bouy it was windy

2011-09-10T21:42:00.000+01:00

Choosing Llandegfedd Reservoir over a trip up north meant I missed out on the wryneck, no worries there's always tomorrow. The mornings osprey was no where to be seen as I battled through a gale and heavy rain without a coat. Two ringed plover frequented the Island shoreline and a white colour ringed black headed gull was spooked before I could attempt to read the number.

A hint of something better

2011-09-03T12:15:00.001+01:00

I'm sometimes struck by a sense of boyish excitement when visiting Llandegfedd Reservoir. This maybe due to a long standing association with the reservoir going back to my teenage days through to many enjoyable years bird ringing at the site, or, more likely the onset of the male menopause. Whatever the cause a little bit of that excitability returned when after what seems to be the longest series of site visits without seeing a passage wader was corrected when I clapped eyes on a single ringed plover today.

On the popular subject of ring spotting there are now two Canada geese with rings in amongst what was less than fifty birds. As mentioned in a previous posting, ring spotting without the ability to read the numbers is next to worthless. The only crumb of interest is in knowing that the ringed bird will have once been cradled, caressed, teased apart and lovingly examined by the hands of a highly skilled bird ringer- usually male.

Rings, rings, everywhere

2011-08-29T08:12:00.002+01:00

A black headed gull on a building close to Tesco's Pontypool carrying a metal ring was an interesting addition to the Town Centre shopping experience. At Llandegfedd Reservoir the ring theme continued with another black headed gull and cormorant with shiny rings and a lesser black backed gull with a large dark colour ring. What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing as I was unable to get close enough to the birds to read any inscriptions!

The Urban Birder

2011-08-27T09:28:00.000+01:00

Its refreshing to find an example of public art that actually depicts some of our natural heritage for a change. All too much of the creative effort that adorns the town centres and public parks of Gwent's valleys is based on a variation of cloth capped, ragged trousered miners, a railway carriage named after a local pit or a rugby folk hero. Lest we forget the exploitation of working class communities, the origins of the trade union movement and socialism but how about something a little more contemporary that looks to the future not back with misty eyed nostalgia?

In amongst another extensive homage to the industrial revolution that is the mosaic mural covering the walls of the Riverside underpass (p**spass) in Newport, you can find, if you look hard enough, a couple of great black backed gulls chucked in for good measure. This shock discovery gave me good reason to pull out and flick through the quality glossy pages of Simon Holloway's Poyser book 'The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1875-1900 ' just to see if the GBBG was in fact the gull most likely to be encountered on the dockside in Victorian Newport.

Its always difficult to retro-fit breeding bird populations especially to a time when the only reliable records were determined via the barrel of a gun or through the egg collections of Jardine Society members, but the atlas makes for interesting reading.

It seems GBBG's bred mainly on the coasts and islands around Scotland. Holloways assessment of GBBG's further south is as follows:

'It is likely that human persecution was responsible for the almost total lack of non-coastal breeding records for this species during the last quarter of the 19th century and their withdrawal from many coastal cliffs in S England and Wales'.

I'm sure the designer of the Newport mural will have just used the GBBG for illustrative purposes only without determining if this species was in fact the one most likely to be encountered along the lower reaches of the River Usk during the 19th century. Nonetheless I applaude any public realm artwork that contributes to reversing our 'nature deficit disorder'.

Next time- the Fourteen Locks dragonfly artwork should it really be a lesser emperor?

How to be a naturalist on a budget: the grapnel

2011-08-24T08:36:00.001+01:00

Why buy expensive biological recording equipment from ecology suppliers when with a bit of wartime improvisation you can make your own at a fraction of the price.

Here's how to make a grapnel:

1. Purchase egg whisk from Wilkinson's or any other cheap 'n' cheerful High Street shop (cost 99p)

2. Chisel free the wire loops and bend in to hook shapes

3. Attach a length of redundant electrical cable or rope to handle

Note: When fitted with jack plug grapnel doubles up as an effective field aerial on which to pick up your favourite pirate radio station such as Valley Naturalist FM.

Grapnel was field tested by my son at Garn yr erw yesterday and from the image it can clearly be seen to be effective in sampling aquatic macrophytes.

Elsewhere around the watery Blaenavon landscape there were plenty of common hawker, black darter and golden ringed dragonflies on offer, and a large patch of flowering round leaved sundew was a welcome find.

Ornithologically a grasshopper warbler could just be made out in scrub adjacent to a small pond, a single wheatear and reed bunting, as well as hundreds of meadow pipit and hirundines feeding on a good crop of emerging flying ants. Also good numbers of goldfinch.

A pleasant afternoon outdoors

2011-08-23T09:03:00.000+01:00

Yesterday afternoon's summer holiday stroll through this green and pleasant land was very therapeutic. Not too many fisherman just the background hum of neighbouring farmers bringing in the hay with a fleet of assorted Massey Ferguson. There's now a substantial draw down zone at Llandegfedd Reservoir just in time for some passage waders- here's hoping.

Apart from good numbers of willowchaffs there didn't seem to be too much passing through. The Canada goose with the shiny metal ring was still around and masses of great crested grebe could be picked out all over the reservoir. Five tufted duck in Green Pool got me excited just very briefly. The best on offer however was a little egret. Note: Sigma 500mm lens just doesn't perform well fully extended and hand held. Oh yes a kingfisher as well.

A female migrant hawker (Aeshna mixta) was a nice find and the Roesel's bush cricket continue to be in fine voice. A silver washed fritillary was again evident near to the inlet hide.

Hieroglyphics

2011-08-21T10:51:00.001+01:00

Its always nice to see this little upland specialist. The hieroglyphic ladybird (Coccinella hieroglyphica) is probably widely distributed where heather occurs in vc 35 but is under recorded due to the lack of active recording in the uplands. I've come across this species several times in the Blaenavon area and can be readily found by sweep netting dwarf shrub heath. By the way I note a new UK ladybird distribution atlas has recently been published!

A morning up north

2011-08-17T18:57:00.003+01:00

Arrived at Beaufort Ponds car park just in time to view yet more Canada geese along with a single greylag leaving the waterbody for a nearby reservoir.

On to Garnlydan Reservoir hoping for a significant shoreline and some passage waders. For a large reservoir by Gwent terms Garnlydan, for me, has flattered to deceive. Sure enough it can produce some nice birds whooper swan, ruff etc. but often the effort to get to the site hardly seems all the huff 'n puff. Water levels were unseasonably high (always seemed lower in days of British Steel ownership) and apart from a couple of snipe flushed from adjacent mire habitat the only other wetland bird of note was a single great crested grebe loafing about with all the reservoir to its own.

Away from the reservoir was a tad more interesting. Dozens of grayling butterflies and hundreds of black darter were punctuated by the odd golden ringed and migrant hawker dragonfly. Around four wheatear were moving between fence posts and a single sulking sedge warbler was flushed from juncus on the edge of a small pond.

Roesel's at last!

2011-08-15T08:43:00.001+01:00

Within the giddy heights of Gwent orthoptera recording Roesel's bush cricket (Metrioptera roeselii ) was the most eagerly awaited new kid on the block. Known as a rapid coloniser it was expected to have spread quickly after the first county record from Dingestow Court about four years ago. But following false alerts from Solutia in Newport last year it wasn't until this year that the second record from a road verge in Cwmbran was confirmed by Roo Perkins.

Despite having 'prog rock' induced damaged hearing the very distinctive 'crackling' stridulation of this cricket was picked up from tall herbage close to the inlet at Llandegfedd Reservoir yesterday. After a protracted search one was found and obliged for some photography- there were at least three present.

When birds are a bit conspicuous by their absence inverts can full the gap and for me Llandegfedd Reservoir is now as important for bugs as it is for birds. A silver washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia ) flying strongly near to the North end park was a also new site record for me. Also plentiful was the distinctive kidney-spot ladybird (Chilocorus reinpustulatus) from sallows around Green Pool. The fast running ground beetle Bembidion dentellum was also easy to locate under stones in the draw down zone.

On the bird front - well not a lot. There was some indication of passerine movement with both chiffchaff and willow warbler in abridged autumn sub song. In my days of active bird ringing I remember LR being reasonably productive at this time of year for both species. A party of well over 100 Canada goose including the single Barnacle were close in the north end and amongst them was at least one with a shiny metal ring, maybe the product of the recent Llangorse Lake round up. Otherwise, there were 100's of great crested grebe and a single great black backed gull.

How the mighty have fallen

2011-08-06T13:04:00.001+01:00

Yes it could be a reference to Jan Molby's pending appearance in the Oily Rag, Pontypool - hope it gets a lick of paint and a new damp course beforehand! But no its the ornithologically challenged Llandegfedd Reservoir once again, and all I could muster was a male tufted duck and two teal. There was some saving grace in more Essex skippers an emperor dragonfly and the fleabane tortoise beetle (Cassida murraea). Desperate I turned to kicking about the shoreline and was taken by the frequency of dis- articulated crinoid fragments on show - now thats stumped you!

Stemmed fossilised crinoids and often abundant in rocks from the Silurian periods, hence their presence at Llandegfedd. Although they still occur today in the depths of our oceans they are not as plentiful as they were all those millions of year ago. In some parts of the world these fragmented stems are collected and made into necklaces and wrist bands- now there's idea maybe I could make a few flog 'um on Ebay to offset Welsh Water's wicked £8 birders access ransom.

Food for free

2011-08-03T07:14:00.000+01:00

'No tea for me tonight luv I'm going foraging, I'll return full and satisfied without being a burden on the family budget'. 'Yeah right' was the reply. Historically hoards of locals harvested natures billberry bounty on the hillsides around Blaenavon. A local budding capitalist even patented a 'billberry picking tool' to make the sustainable pillaging of the uplands that little bit easier. Today billberry foragers are few and far between.

The billberries on Mynydd y garn fawr were plump, juicy and tasty and true to my legendary greediness I took advantage. Two handfuls later and after a close shave with a rouge crowberry I moved on.

A small quarry with a combination of wet and dry heath provided a suitable distraction. A black streak of an unidentified bryophyte remains just that - although I'm sure SB will know what it is. Otherwise the hillside was quite, a pair of stonechat were still noisy however, a female wheatear moved from stone to stone while a distant reed bunting was still in song. Grayling butterflies are now on the wing and a few small heath were still evident.

Blast furnace slag a substrate of some interest

2011-07-29T19:27:00.000+01:00

There's a south facing bank around the back of the Gilchrist Thomas Industrial Estate in Blaeanvon that's entirely made up of blast furnace slag. Although this bank is sparsely vegetation the plants that occur are worthy of mention. Field madder, carline thistle, wall pepper, and various cranesbill etc. etc. all jostle to for the nutrients required for growth in this hostile environment.

Trying to keep my footing amongst the unstable slag I kicked up no end of micro moths many of which weren't worth pursuing due to there size and my unwillingness to fiddle with their genitalia in order to get an identification down to species level. All was not lost however as a couple were vaguely familiar enough to photograph and identify, namely Pyraustra despicata and Pyraustra purpuralis both widespread in the vice county.

Away from the blast furnace slag and on to a nearby road verge I came across this attractive moth called Marasmarcha lunaedactyla, flying around its food plant is restharrow. A fly past black darter dragonfly and several marbled white rounded off the evening.

Essex skipper

2011-07-18T18:43:00.000+01:00

Second visit to Llandegfedd Reservoir within a week - I'm really making my access tax work! The meadows around the north end are probably more interesting than the watery environment at the moment, and a stroll around this grassland habitat revealed a good number of marbled white, ringlet and gatekeeper, supplemented by both large and small skipper butterflies.

The best find in amongst the myriad of lepidoptera was this little beauty, the Essex skipper. Widespread in southern and eastern England its been expanding its range into Wales with the first record from Gwent 2000.

Not an easy species to separate from its close relative the small skipper apart from the very distinctive black tips to its antennae.

Day flying moths were also evident including the silver y and the butterfly like shaded broad bar. Also photographed was the mint moth Pyrausta aurata.

The draw down zone is always good value for ground beetles, although a high water level restricts available search areas. Plentiful at the moment is the four spotted ground beetle (Bembidion quadrimaculata).

Bird wise, forget it, just one common sandpiper and a few sand martin. It's a measure of how birdwatchers have abandoned Llandegfedd when an elderly man who has paid his annual access tax of £8 only to walk around a nice environment, mentioned that I was the first birder he had come across this year!

A:D's back!

2011-07-16T09:23:00.000+01:00

This is A:D the colour ringed lesser black backed gull who frequents the Mendalglef Retail Park in Newport, relocated mid week on a family outing to Next. This bird along with many others is happy to spend its time loafing about on the tops of buildings and lamp posts but will swoop mercilessly in pursuit of a discarded Wotsit. Ringed as a nestling on the rooftops of Bristol on 20 June 2003.

Vintage JCB unearthed from wartime opencasting

2011-07-13T17:42:00.000+01:00

The effort some people go to to fly tip is mind boggling. This kids plastic JCB was dumped along with assorted other stuff well off the beaten track at Canada Tips, Blaenavon and could only have been accessed by someone with a four wheel drive.

Late Sunday afternoon was a touch overcast which suppressed bird and invert activity. The odd mottled grasshopper and scarce blue tailed damselfly were noted and another patch of fir clubmoss. A patch of about 20 adders tongue fern found a couple of weeks ago proved difficult to relocate. The only significant bird was a very vocal peregrine that alighted several times on one of the many spoil tips.

Tax paid

2011-07-10T09:53:00.002+01:00

I reluctantly paid my 'take advantage of birders tax' for access to some Welsh Water sites. This years payment represents a modest 33% increase on last years cost thereby trumping (Donald) percentage rises in the Retail Price Index, petrol, council tax and even energy bills - I look forward to next years hike! As a case study in excluding/restricting/managing access to a fair chuck of prime habitat look no further than this as an example -so much for the well-being agenda! Its not hard to see how things would have panned out had the Government allowed the sell-off of Forestry Commission land in England - barred access and charges!

Rant over for the time being - although I will no-doubt revisit in due course- a female mute swan close into the dam wall was something of an unusual sight en-route to the north end. The meadows on the Island and towards the Bert Hamar hide are rich in invertebrates at the moment. Upwards of 30 marbled white with the odd red admiral, small copper and small skipper mingle with meadow brown.

Bird wise all the usual jokers were showing well, 150+ Canada goose, with the odd barnacle thrown in to keep us naturalists on our toes, good numbers of great crested grebe and cormorant. Reed warbler were vocal and a party of five bulky finches calling loudly as they took flight from the mature oak on the island are accredited as being hawfinch. Otherwise a single common sandpiper and a couple of 'hush hush don't mention' birds was the ornithological tally.

Cauliflower capers

2011-07-09T19:39:00.000+01:00

My wife's usual forensic examination of all fresh vegetables for creepy crawlies turned up this little sap beetle that goes by the name of Gilschrochilus hortensis. Widespread in eastern England I assume it was transported with the cauliflower.

Worn to ward off harm

2011-07-03T21:20:00.000+01:00

According to my Observers Book of British Folklore there's a superstition that a dried frog worn in a bag round the neck of a child as a charm, will ward off harm. I'll be asking my son to wear this to school tomorrow - don't think he's going to co-operate some how!

Goatsucker

2011-07-02T08:41:00.002+01:00

A whole year or more has past since picking up the first unmistakable tones of a forestry clearing nightjar close to Blaenavon. With the breeding season starting to tail off I couldn't wait any longer to sample that dead giveaway 'purring' (see recent GOS web entry) or the opportunity would be lost for another year.

A 9.30 pm arrival was still just light enough to photograph a male whinchat and watch a bat disappear over the horizon. Sitting in car in a lay-by on a mountain road is a lonely existence and does illicit some looks from passing motorists - I was offered drugs and a sprig of lucky heather - but by 10.15 pm with no sight or sound of nightjar and the pull of a post mortem of Andy Murray's exit from Wimbledon on Radio Five Live I decided to wrap it up head home. But not before one final attempt at picking out the calling of this bird from the background hum of my tinnitus. Then at 10.18 pm there it was one bird, but not from the confines of the FC clearing but from the moorland edge. I left happy.

White letter day

2011-06-29T18:37:00.000+01:00

A lunchtime visit to Pets at Home in Cwmbran offered more than just a bag Iams and some Bob Martins. On return to my car this white letter hairstreak alighted on the windscreen and was very obliging for some mugshots.

Bryn bach tern around

2011-06-28T07:07:00.004+01:00

Luke's posting of a couple of common tern as late as 3pm at Bryn Bach Park yesterday got me and my good wife travelling up the Heads of the Valleys road for an evening of mid summer relaxation in this popular Country Park ( what is a Country Park?).

If you don't mind having to constantly side step power walkers, joggers, fishermen, dog walkers and mobile phone users this park is a reasonable spot for accessible birding. Couldn't find any of the tern's though, so had to make do with photographing, once again, some of the commoner wildfowl.

It was the usual predictable mix of mute swan, Canada goose, tufted duck, great crested grebe blah, blah, blah! By the time we'd made it round the home straight of the lake circuit the skies has darkened and our pace had quickened discernibly having got caught up in the slip stream of a couple of JJB Sports account holding power walkers complete with iPods. Just past a notice board proudly displaying a collection of photographs of chubby fish caught by even chubbier middle aged fishermen there were a pair of great crested grebe feeding close in which had the effect of interrupting the rhythm of my accelerated pace. This was a mistake as the rain came and I got wet. - although made for some nice 'plip plop' raindrop photos.

Note: must get myself a pedometer, a head band and some lycra shorts at the weekend to ensure I don't get labelled a geek - too late I hear you say!

Some birds of the lady type

2011-06-25T17:48:00.001+01:00

22 Spot ladybird ( Psyllobora 22-punctata ) Abergavenny 19 June 2011

Harlequin ladybird ( Harmonia axyndis succinea ) Abergavenny 19 June 2011

Adonis ladybird (Adonia variegata) Varteg 31 May 2011

Water ladybird (Anisosticta 19-punctata) Garn Lakes Local Nature Reserve 25 May 2011

Such a popular feature of British summertime ladybirds are, compared to other coleoptera, well recorded that is until you examine distribution maps for vice county 35. I don't know what the problem is with biological recording in the county but not many recorders seem to bothered about submitting records. Collecting biological data is so fundamentally important to informing and prioritising conservation action I urge everyone to submit records to the local records centre and/or the national recording schemes.

Have flask will travel

2011-06-19T19:09:00.001+01:00

I tried out my new Father's Day pressie of a retro style flask along the banks of the River Usk at Llanwenarth today. Its design took me back to the days when as a pre-adolescent I remember summer Sundays were all about John Arlott and John Player (cough!) Sunday League Cricket and not just another opportunity to go shopping. On the issue of smoking sponsorship etc. I vividly recall my sense of shock when as a young Yorkshire fan I witnessed aghast as Phil Sharpe ace batsman and slip fielder was interviewed on TV during a Roses match smoking heavily!

Its always a pleasure walk along the River Usk. A colony of between 40 and 50 sand martin were busily feeding young within an eroded bank. A couple of common sandpiper were vocal along with whitethroat, garden warbler and a distant cuckoo. Two curlew were active in adjacent field and on one occasion birds were seen to mob a corvid, suggesting they have young.

I first became aware of the river shingle spider (Arctosa cinera) through the pages of Colin Titcombe's books on the Wildlife of Gwent. It is a large furry spider thats seem reasonably common on shingle banks - certainly not one for the phobic

Amongst the plethora of ground beetles on offer was this little gem. Bracteon litorale is an Nationally Scarce (B) species only found on sand banks on the margins of running water.

Speckled Longhorn Beetle

2011-06-16T22:21:00.000+01:00

Pick of the bunch yesterday evening from Lasgarn Wood was this speckled longhorn beetle (Pachytodes cerambyciformis). Methinks I've recorded this one before but certainly not for a while. NBN tells me that Wales is very much a stronghold for this species and for Gwent most records come from the Wye Valley.

A sleepy Summers day

2011-06-14T15:17:00.002+01:00

Made the effort to get down to the big metropolis this morning in the hope the spoonbill would still be around - and it wasn't! Thats it!

Tyre bay

2011-06-14T07:07:00.001+01:00

Complete with a fresh bi-annual haircut and some leave and I was off to sample the natural heritage of the Varteg. First stop was a well known flytippers mountain track. Here I found various black bags spilling baby clothes, a number of asbestos sheets, several piles of conifer cuttings and a good number of tyres.

From this dismal setting I climbed the hillside to the flanks Mynydd varteg fawr. Although Sundays deluge had departed it was still a tad blustery thereby depressing bird activity to a disappointing level. It wasn't until I reached a spot that offered some shelter was I able to pick up wheatear, stonechat and a number of reed bunting.

Like most of the coalfield the landscape here is pock marked with little features that hint at a former use. Tracks, stonewalling, small quarries with piles of excavated stone and channels now full of water complete with margins of cotton grass and the odd broad bodied chaser.

For a mid June day its was nothing to shout home about. A round trip of about three hours only small numbers of birds the most notable was six pair of reed bunting and four pair of stonechat.

Pay and display

2011-06-13T09:26:00.000+01:00

Pay and Display car parks have a debilitating affect on me. I'm sometimes struck by a temporary paralysis that attacks my hands when tightly clenched around the coinage necessary to by a ticket. Releasing the money is painful, a finger by finger process exposing the money from within my sweaty palms.

Paying for a car parking ticket is much more acceptable however if there's a pleasant view complete with some living things. From the Pay and Display car park in Chepstow is a good view of the Castle and with it about five pair of breeding herring gull with young.

Fence posts: an appreciation

2011-06-12T09:22:00.001+01:00

Ask any students studying an NVQ in Countryside Management and they'll confirm that sticking up a fence is a skill as fundamental to land managers as tractor driving, game bird husbandry, the setting of snares and raptor persecution. So this cyber notebook entry takes a look at the contribution this most basic of boundary feature offers to an upland landscape where natural vantage points are generally thin on the ground.

The disused Waunafon bog railway cutting is flanked by an assortment of wooden and concrete posts linking a dogs breakfast of wire fencing and cheap and cheerful subsistence farming repairs. Chicken and barbed wire, rusty and new is patched with the odd pallet and corrugated sheet, joining posts very few of which remain in their original upright position. The now decaying timber posts are attractively well adorned with various lichens and bryopyhtes with some supporting the remains of the odd raptor pellet but many with a crusty top of passerine guano. And once, given the extent to which this landscape was managed for red grouse, will have no doubt been ideal for an odd gin trap or two.

As you would expect at this time of year this mornings 'post posers' were busily flitting between post and wire feeding fledglings and ticking off a naturalist who dared venture into their patch. But no surprises amongst the assemblage which included many meadow pipit, the odd male blackbird, two separate family parties of stonechat, a reed bunting and a couple of swallow. However the most numerous bird to take advantage of the posts was a post (no pun intended) breeding flock of about 200 starling.

I like these features as there's something quaint and 'arty' about a gnarled and decaying timber post. It adds character and distinctiveness to a landscape that was obviously much more managed in previous generations than today. These undervalued landscape features often jostle for attention with remnant drystone walls and lost farmsteads.

In this landscape the meadows created by the erection of said post and wire are almost without exclusion semi-improved, rich in herbage and invertebrates. Several species of orchid, adders tongue fern, moonwort and other measures of quality grassland attract damselflies, moths, bees, butterflies etc. etc.

The most surprising find however was a patch of ten or more bee orchid north of Garn Lakes Local Nature Reserve. It wasn't too long ago that this botanical attractant was championed as a species restricted to middle class Conservative Monmouthshire, only occurring in Wye Valley areas. Thankfully, it's now crossed the floor to embrace the promised land of diluted socialism and is frequently encountered in the 'yucky' western coalfield of Gwent.

Searching for grasshopper

2011-06-05T08:39:00.000+01:00

Being in the right place at the right time is nine tenths of the battle when it comes to birding and although the upland landscape around Blaenavon is known to support between 15-20 pairs of breeding grasshopper warbler, I've still yet to visit a suitable site to hear one this year. In 'ye olden times' the Garn yr erw area would be a banker for the bird but a couple of hours treading the boards didn't produced anything remotely close to a reel.

There were of course many other breeding birds showing well. Reed bunting was remarkably widespread with at least four singing birds. The six lapwing set a nice picture against the early morning cloudless sky of this corner of north west Gwent. A couple of pair of wheatear were also busy feeding recently fledged young.

From the cotton grass beds I weaved my way past Hills pit through the large spoil tips on to the dry acid pasture. Here I discovered even more of the little pteridophyte moonwort and several burnet companion and common blue were stirring as the early morning breeze gave way to warm sunshine. Also here I recorded the first stridulating meadow grasshopper - summer really is here.

Finally I stumbled across this little gem on the return journey. I am fairly confident this the billberry bee (Bombus monticola) note its distinctive red abdomen. Although I'd been shown this species before by others who know more about bees than myself, I'm please to have been able to have discovered it independently. Considered to be in decline, this bee has a UK distribution that is mainly north western.

Utterly forgettable

2011-06-02T19:15:00.000+01:00

Yesterday evenings Dunlop Semtex visit was so utterly forgettable I'm struggling to recall anything worth blogging. Noteworthy though was another piece of modern art, just to re-emphasise that in troubled times the economically challenged valley communities are not afraid of pushing the boundaries of contemporary artistic thinking. Full marks to a local supermarket as the corporate sponsors of this Turner prize contender.

Lesser black backed gull with wire attachment.

Frankfurter feeding frenzy

2011-05-29T09:20:00.002+01:00

Alright technically speaking its not a Frankfurter its the south east Wales version generally purchased with large chips and sometimes a pot of curry sauce -have you tried the new Irish curry its tasty? An ill fitting skip packed with black bags was attracting the attention of about 30 starling yesterday in Caldicot and it appeared to contain assorted takeaway fayre. Chips were going down well and this jumbo sausage was liberated from the its dark depths to the delight of a jackdaw and numerous starling. Also pinched was a chicken and mushroom pie, a fish cake, several cod bites and a burger. Disappointingly, the battery had run down on my trustly Canon before one bird few in with tomato sauce and a plastic fork.

Cracking views

2011-05-27T18:29:00.000+01:00

Had some smashing views of hoopoe on the lawn of our hotel in Fuerteventura a few years ago. Wish I could say the same for the Llandegfedd bird this evening, as it was no where to be seen.

Goldfinch on dam wall was some consolation.

Wasp beetle

2011-05-25T20:45:00.001+01:00

You need to get you eye in to find one of these attractive longhorn beetles. The wasp beetle is reasonably widespread but not often recorded (see NBN distribution map). I've personally found this beetle in several locations and this one was photographed south of Cwmbran.

'Twas enough to dislodge my hairpiece

2011-05-24T20:30:00.000+01:00

Went in search of the grizzled skipper at Blaenserchan but hadn't appreciated the strength of the wind. The only respite was found in the valley bottom and even here things that rely on taking to the air were conspicuous by their absence. The only butterflies noted were a couple of small pearl boarded fritillary taken in a sweep net and a worn day flying moth by the name of Pyrausta aurata.

Mileage

2011-05-22T08:36:00.001+01:00

On the map as Coity Pond but known to Blaenavonites as the Mile Pond was Saturdays pre shopping nature ramble. Taking the moderately steep path from Coity Tip towards the pond was no great hardship with whitethroat, skylark, reed bunting and several redpoll in good voice.

With reports of dingy skipper on the wing at other post industrial sites it was no great surprise to encounter several on the parched coal spoil that characterises the landscape in this area. Got to the pond just in time to see a grey heron leave to try its luck at one of the other ponds in the area. This linear waterbody isn't known for its birdlife but sightings of cormorant, goosander, green sandpiper etc. are recently documented and today added a new species to the list in the form of two male and one female tufted duck. Also heard calling but not seen was a little grebe.

The many acidic flushes that drain in to the pond are a botanist and entomologists delight. I was pleased to be able to stumble across a couple of individual spikes of fir clubmoss. Also noted green hairstreak here.

Back to base but not before coming across a patch of several hundred moonwort- looks like another good year for this local distinctive fern.

Any ol' patch will do

2011-05-21T08:13:00.000+01:00

Myathropa florea

Out for less than three quarters of an hour and look what I bagged. At this time of year there's an overwhelming amount of wildlife to watch, record and photograph. On this occasion I found patch of ox eye daisy waited and photographed. Less than 10 metres from my car, so no strenuous walking or the need for army fatigues and jack boots to yomp miles across rugged terrain to access wildlife its there all around us and accessible.

There are well over 250 species of hoverfly in Britain and as usual the vice county hardly features on the distribution maps. There must have been 10 species or more visiting this patch of wildflowers. Its so easy to record so bloody well get out there and put this forgotten corner of Wales on the recording map!

Eristalis horticola

Eristalis intricarius

Eristalis tenex

Volucella pellucens

More gulls different place

2011-05-18T21:35:00.000+01:00

Going about my business in Newport this evening noted another colony of breeding gulls on the roof tops of an industrial estate opposite the Transporter Bridge. Pulled in outside the Ship and Pilot pub complete with a crew of drunken seamen singing sea shanties and a number of youths with aggressive looking dogs to take some pics. This colony, just like others I know of in north Gwent, appear to like asbestos corrugated roofed buildings with protruding bolts on which to anchor their nests.

Fallible - help needed!

2011-05-15T10:39:00.002+01:00

Further to today's lengthy post about variable damselfly I now need to confess that I think the posting to be erroneous. Having consulted various field guides its appears the only reliable way of separating variable from azure damselfly is the deeply lobed nature of the prothorax on the variable. You will note that the prothorax in the photo is not deeply lobed therefore making it azure. However I believe the abdominal markings are akin to variable.

Can anyone put this to bed please??

Variable damselfly - on the wing now!

2011-05-15T09:05:00.004+01:00

I had a hunch I'd seen variable damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) in a meadow close to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal between Newport and Cwmbran. After a search of about 20 minutes I was rewarded, and thanks to some timely cloud cover the target female damselfly remained still for a good number of record shots.

I knew this species was present in the vice county but I'd never really made the effort to track it down and given that blue damselflies as a group can be tricky to identify it remained a personal enigma. The above distribution map is taken from the National Biodiversity Network Gateway website (thanks to NBN) giving a flavour of its lowland distribution. Its always worth checking with SEWBReC for possibility of more records though.

Field mark tip: Distinctive mercury mark to upper abdomen.

Field mark tip : Increasing amounts of blue on each segment from posterior upwards. Also note visible notch to each blue patch.

Adaptability

2011-05-13T21:05:00.000+01:00

This grey heron was again present at Llantarnam Ponds, spending a lot of time in a swan like posture taking fish at frequent intervals.

Rug pulled from under one's feet

2011-05-11T18:02:00.000+01:00

I reached for the storage box marked 'entomological stuff' and there under the pith helmet, khaki shorts and pipe complete with half ounce of rough shag was my trusty sweep net. With a grin of reassuring satisfaction I assembled the net to handle and shook out the dried vegetational remains of last year's successful campaign. Placing the net comfortably on the back seat I made my way to Magor Marsh for some serious, sustained sweep netting. And I wasn't disappointed, as if awakened from a deep sleep refreshed for action the net swung into action to the left to the right cutting through the vegetation in the single minded pursuit of bagging an assortment of biological data.

The day therefore was all about inverts and within a mixed bag of thingamajigs was the first broad bodied chaser dragonfly of the year some short winged conehead and this lil' beauty. This is a ground beetle named Demetrias imperialis a Nb species swept from the hay meadow part of the reserve. When confronted with something different I tend to log on to the National Biodiversity Network website to get a feel for its national distribution, and surprise surprise not a single dot to besmirch our principality. Next stop then was the local records centre (SEWBReC) just in case they had records before I started to blow the 'new record for Wales trumpet'. Disappointingly they had records from Magor Marsh (2005) and Calidcot (2007). Drat Julian Branscombe's vision in contracting Dr Peter Kirby to survey the invertebrates of Gwent Wildlife Trust's key reserves in 2005- drat! drat! drat!

More under-recorded coleoptera

2011-05-07T21:42:00.000+01:00

Now is the time to dig out the macro lens, extension tubes etc, and get out and start recording and photographing the invertebrates of Gwent. Any patch of rank vegetation, pond or river margin will harbour hidden treasures. Gwent is so under recorded its embarrassing.

A recent visit to Llantarnam Ponds produced the beetle Oedemera nobilis and the reed beetle Donacia vulgaris. Also a male and female beautiful demoiselle damselfly, and also large red and azure damselfies. Keep looking!

Damselflies are starting to show

2011-05-04T20:39:00.001+01:00

Its been a few months since I last paid Cwmbran Boating Lake a visit. Showing well around the impressive and maturing stands of yellow flag iris and pendulous sedge were the first odonata of the year in the shape of blue tailed and common blue damselfies. A pair of mute swan were relatively new additions to the lake to join dozens of mallard, many with young, and twelve Canada geese. On leaving I struck up a conversation with a gentleman running a model boat across the lake he said that last Summer, for about a couple of weeks, there were two Egyptian geese on the lake and from his description I have no reason to doubt his identification.. Oh, and three swift over Cwmbran earlier.

Suppressed!

2011-05-02T17:57:00.000+01:00

There's been some cyber blog space devoted to suppressing recently so I thought it high time I came clean about my own suppressing activities. Last week I was surprised to find this roosting on my outside light. Now I debated the merits of going live with the news and the possible little earner derived from charging a fiver to view from the kitchen window, but having a queue of birders stretching down the road just wouldn't cut the mustard with the neighbours. So I'm rather ashamed to say I kept the news to myself and immediate family only, but for a visit from a Springwatch camera team. Now with the mega tick moved on ( to Chepstow or Neath ) I can safely announce to all and sundry, and apologies to all Gwent/Glamorgan twitchers for keeping mum -watch forthcoming Springwatch for report. Full description will be submitted to rarities panel in due course with follow up article in next years Gwent Bird Report.

Now I know what you're thinking he's been working too hard of late and needs a holiday or even professional help. My neighbour asked how I was keeping after he saw me positioning the cooking ingredient and taking a photograph of it, he quickly retreated into his house locking the door behind him.!

Sadly no dotterel once again

2011-05-02T12:14:00.000+01:00

Another attempt for dotterel on the Blorenge ended in abject failure. Had to be content with some impressive stands of hares tail cotton grass (Eriphorum vaginatum) and a calling red grouse. A rather shabby violet ground beetle (Carabus violaceus) was noted and the usual assemblage of upland birds were evident on return including stonechat and increased numbers of singing whinchat. I live to fight another day!

Nice record but not the first

2011-05-01T08:55:00.000+01:00

This micro moth is Grapholita lunulana photographed at Dunlop Semtex Pond on 24 April this year. Micro moths can be a touch ticky on times some requiring genitalia examination to separate but this one is distinctive enough and with the help of the UK Moths site it was narrowed down. Nonetheless I dropped Sam Bosenquet an email in his capacity as the mirco moth recorder for the Watsonian vice county of Monmouthshire and he has confined it is in fact Grapholita lunulana. This is the second county record the first was from Dixton Embankment, Monmouth in the 1980s.

Today's guest publication

2011-04-30T21:50:00.000+01:00

Grabbed hold of a copy of Britain's fastest growing waterways publication Towpath Talk today on the way to a few watery places - no surprise its the fastest growing publication as its free! First stop was Ynys y fro Reservoir which was more of a slow moving turnaround rather than a stop because it seemed that every bloke in Gwent with a fishing rod had descended on this birding no go zone. Down then to the Mon and Brecon Canal at Malpas. A nice little walk down to the M4 was full of common wildfowl including several recently fledged moorhen and a sitting mute swan. There was also some exciting 'look but you can't touch' views of Gwastad Mawr. Does anyone monitor this site?

By contrast Pant yr eos Reservoir had only one fisherman who left shortly after I arrived probably because my mutterings containing frequent swear words and must have carried readily across the reservoir. On the bird front there wasn't much to shout home about apart from a single male tufted duck, a singing redstart and some juvenile grey wagtail so I turned my attention to creepy crawlies of which there was plenty to see. Here's a list of notables:

common ground hopper ( Tetrix undulata )

slender ground hopper ( Tetrix subulata )

dark bush cricket - first instar ( Pholidoptera griseoaptera )

scorpion fly (Panorpa communis)

micro moth ( Adela reaumurella )

micro moth ( Incurvaria masculella )

common blue butterfly ( Polyommatus icarus )

peacock butterfly ( Inachis io )

green tiger beetle (Cicindela camprestris )

ground beetle ( Agonum marginatum )

hoverfly ( Leucozona lucorum )

bee fly (Bombylius major)

Finally, is it a swan or is it a heron? On the way home I took in Llantarnam Ponds and caught sight of this heron looking as if its swimming on the pond or maybe due to low water levels its just standing. Nonetheless can't say I've ever seen this behaviour before. Just managed this out of focus shot before it took off.

Early instar in April!

2011-04-28T17:53:00.000+01:00

I don't ever remember recording early instar phase meadow grasshopper ( Chorthippus parallelus ) in April before, shows how warm its been of late. Also on offer at Tirpentwys was this common groundhopper ( Tetrix undulata ).

How long will the authorities put up with these?

2011-04-25T08:53:00.000+01:00

It was just another holiday weekend in the valleys as I breezed past a taped off crime scene with a Communty Support Officer in attendance on my way to see if any of the gulls on the roofs around Asda Brynmawr were carrying colour rings. There were at least 100 noisy lesser black backed and herring gulls in place on the adjacent industrial estate, some already sitting on nests. The sides of the buildings are now liberally splashed with gull droppings and judging by last years pebble dashing this is only likely to increase. With the Lakeside Retail Park car park so close I've noticed some of the gulls had left their calling cards on one or two of the vehicles. I just wonder how much longer the authorities will put up with these birds before they do something about it?

As I tend to squeeze in my birding around work and domestic commitments, visits to Machine Pond are often restricted to counting wildfowl from the nearby road. Today however I forced myself to put one put in front of the other and go in search of a plant I'd never seen in the vice county but one which had been recorded close to the pond.

Access was surprisingly easy with nicely contstructed disabled friendly walkways a bridge and other assorted Country Park furniture. No need therefore to change out of my suede shoes and beige linen suit! At the head of Machine Pond was another smaller pond dominated by water horsetail ( Equisetum fluviatile ) and a single pair of coot around which was an extensive area of marshy grassland. It was here I found the target species.

According to the Flora of Monmouthshire bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) occurs in 19 tetrads in the county but todays find was the first for me - my only previous exprience of this wetland plant was from The Burren. There were a scattering of other interesting records from the margins of the pond, including numerous slender groundhopper (Tetrix subulata) and the hitherto unrecorded small but distinctively marked ground beetle (Bembidion articulatum).

As I was off the designated pathways with binoculars and camera in hand often stooping or kneeling to sample an interesting fragment of our natural heritage, I seemed to attract some popular attention. Almost without exception people paused on the bridge to watch a middle aged naturalist go about his passion. You could almost read their minds - what is that bloke doing he's strayed off the path!. On return I was shouted at by a small group of children, 'mister are you a bird hunter' ? At least it was a try!

Looking out for a trip

2011-04-24T07:56:00.000+01:00

Birdguides is reporting a trickle of dotterel into the country so decided to pay the Blorenge a visit. This was the scene of the last major trip of these upland birds a handful of years ago. With new access improvements to the trig point I was there in no time surveying the Brecon Beacon mountains through the haze. From there down to the edge of the Blorenge with its calcareous grassland mounds overlooking Abergavenny. Here I disturbed three ring ouzel and a bloke photographing the landscape.

Making my way back the sheep cropped grassland gave way to billberry and molina with bracken and the odd hawthorn and mountain ash thrown in for good measure. The birdlife here was more variable a yellowhammer sang in the distance along with an intermittent cuckoo. Parachuting tree pipit were alighting on drystone walls and the tops of nearby trees. Towards the road back to the Foxhunter car park I had flashbacks to last years Mamora's warbler twitch, but today I had to be content with a couple of whinchat and a male stonechat.

Previously I'd only encountered this longhorn moth ( Adela reaumurella ) in woodland glades, however today this striking little moth with its lengthy antennae was plentiful 'dancing' in the bright sunlight around deep billberry.

Needle in a haystack - yes its the annual Silurian caterpillar pilgrimage

2011-04-22T08:30:00.019+01:00

Yesterday I joined Rhiannon Bevan and Clare Williams (Butterfly Conservation) on a hillside above Abertillery for what now seems to be an annual Silurian (Eriopygodes imbecilla) moth caterpillar search. What is probably the most wackiest event in the naturalist calendar goes like this:

At approximately 2000hrs join like minded lepidopterists at a remote pull in high above Abertillery.
Ascend hillside to a point between 450 - 500 metres above sea level, somewhere close to the Blaenau Gwent - Torfaen County Borough boundary.
Locate a suitable habitat patch dominated by billberry.
At 2100 hrs (just as the last red grouse completes its dusk calling) activate torch, drop down on to knees, and begin a hand search for a small caterpillar feeding within the vegetation.
2230 hrs descend hillside in pitch dark satisfied that the target species has been located.

However implausible this seems the survey methodology does actually produce results and on this occasion we were successful in locating two caterpillars complete with diagnostic diamond livery.

The Silurian is considered to be one of the rarest moths in the UK. This red data book species was first found by the late G.A. Neil Horton on the same hillside in 1972 and subsequently named after the Silures. Since then it's been searched for by both local and visiting lepidopterists on a regular basis. The most notable survey was conducted by Dr Paul Waring back in 2005/6, with the intrepid Dr.Waring sleeping overnight in his car whilst running light traps and searching for larvae.

Last night however wasn't all about the Silurian, we did find a couple of other interesting items. If you can help put a name to these it would be much appreciated.

Stash was a cache but not cash

2011-04-19T16:51:00.000+01:00

Strumbled across what I first thought was a package of ill gotten gains. What I'd hoped was a stash of used twenties turned out to be nothing more than a Geocache. Geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt using a GPS to locate hidden bundles. This sandwich box was found alongside the Afon Lwyd at Ponthir.

Along the scrub and treelined riverbank was a typical assemblage of birds blackcap, willow warbler blah blah blah. Most notable however was a calling curlew from farmland adjacent and where there's running water there's always a dipper.

Some seasonal invert firsts included common groundhopper (Tetrix undulata) and the bee fly (Bombylius major). Under a shingle bank pebble was the ground beetle (Bembidion tetracolum).

Around the back of beyond and back

2011-04-16T18:28:00.001+01:00

It's little wonder I have to frequently re-tune my TV if those bloody ravens drop their sticks in amongst the transmitter paraphernalia. Contact Cameron and ask for raven to be added to the Big Society cull along with badgers, moles, wasps, polecats, goosanders and cormorants. And while I've got the ear of the coalition leader how about relaxing the Wildlife and Countryside Act to allow residents to beat the living daylights out of those messy house martin nests or redeploy redundant public sector workers to fell trees blocking the reception of Sky subscribers. Yes, lets get the economy moving with some real green initiatives.

Mynydd Garn Clochdy supports one of the best upland habitat mosaics in Gwent with an ornithological history of some note. This morning I accessed this hillside via the trademans entrance taking in some lovely early morning views of the bollocksed agricultural landscape of the Usk Valley and beyond. Birds on offer included a flyover swallow, singing tree pipit, redstart and linnet with a distant cuckoo.

There's still not a great deal to see on the botanical front in the uplands at the moment although bilberry is starting to flower, but root around and you will find something to get on your knees for such as this field wood rush ( Luzula campestris ).

Also popped into Garn Lakes LNR to have a look at the newly planted reedbed and in the process flushed three snipe. On the top lake was a sitting Canada goose, four pair of coot, a pair of moorhen, two pair of tufted duck and a single little grebe.

'The Oakwood Three'

2011-04-13T07:04:00.001+01:00

It was the agony of choice, local, but where? Could it be The British for a ring ouzel, Blaenserchan with the potential for anything to turn up or the Lasgarn Wood for 'The Oakwood Three'? With pied flycatcher, wood warbler and redstart back in the county I plumped for the latter in the hope of picking up at least one of the three.

Just like Saturdays Lottery numbers I was wide of the mark. No sign of 'The Oakwood Three' and a GOS posting for Blaenserchan showing the presence of wood warbler and even cuckoo took the edge off an otherwise very enjoyable spring weekend. Wasn't all bad as I did stumble across my first blackbird nest though.

A naturalists playground

2011-04-10T11:01:00.000+01:00

Those blog followers will know that Canada tips on the outskirts of Blaenavon is a favourite haunt of mine. A landscape bedeviled by the utilitarian activities of past generations is now a naturalists delight. A mosaic of early successional lichen-heath communities sitting on the edge of heather moorland and rhos pasture. But for me one of the main attractions is the variety of unplanned ponds, runnels and other moist habitats formed through the pillaging and abandoning of this land for its carbon riches.

A 7am start was early enough for nature to provide me with a chilly reminder that it is still just April. Predictably skylark and meadow pipit were in in good voice but the first notable bird was a flyover sand martin heading north-south over the blackened tips. Shortly after the sand martin came a peregrine once again low over the tips. I thought about a photo but trying to change a 50mm to a 500mm lens in time to catch a peregrine in flight just isn't realistic.

At this altitude and at this time of year flowering plants are at a premium, nonetheless did come across a thriving patch of early dog violets (Viola reichenbachiana) on a spoil mound of a more neutral chemical composition.

Climbing to the top of the tips and viewing back towards Cefn garn yr erw and Waunafon bog I could just make out a lapwing. This is the area where the former mining activity gives way to more traditional upland habitats. To my surprise this exceptional wildlife resource has recently been burned, nonetheless I flushed a pair of red grouse from just about the only patch of unburned habitat for 200 square metres.

Construction underway

2011-04-08T17:40:00.000+01:00

The Afon Lwyd in Cwmbran was a total joy today, no shopping trolleys, or trees festooned with bog roll just the trickle of water, bird song and the crackle of Japanesse knotweed bursting forth from its winter riverside slumber. On the invert front brimstone, orange tip and red admiral fluttered by, but the most interesting buzzy thing doing the rounds was a strong colony of the plasterer bee (Colletes daviesanus). This is a solitary bee that digs a nest chamber in friable soil and about 50+ of these bees were doing just that alongside the river. According to the National Biodiversity Network website and akin to most things entomological in Watsonian vice county 35, there is only one other county record.

It wasn't just bees that were building the new riverside sand martin banks appear to be attracting the attention of the target hirundine.

Run to the hills its the brown-tail moth

2011-04-03T20:18:00.001+01:00

I've yet to have this confirmed but I'm reasonably confident this is a larval web of the brown -tail moth (Euproctis chysorrhoea). This moth is rare in Wales but widespread in southern and eastern England with only the first county record from the Newport Wetlands last autumn. Theres a lot of hysteria surrounding this caterpillar as it can cause irratation if touched, so it keeps the white overall and mask wearing pest control industry busy with their cans of chemical exterminator.

Midday at Magor Pill and the tide was nowhere to be seen so it was little surprise that waders were thin on the ground. Nonetheless there were some nice wheatear (4 male and 1 female) on the saltmarsh rocks between Magor Pill and Cold Harbour Pill.

At Magor Marsh a Cetti's warbler was kicking off, also numerous chiffchaff and the odd willow warbler blackcap and reed bunting. On the pond was 2 pair of little grebe. coot, moorhen and just when I thought the Magor would miss out on the attention of Canada goose two turn up.

Marvellous March

2011-04-03T09:44:00.000+01:00

Its seems an age since I can remember a month of March so littered with summer migrants. The weather has certainly been kind for the return of our trans-African friends and with good climatic conditions theres always more incentive to get out and record. By contrast last year was late, I only just managed a singing chiffchaff a few days before the month closed. This year's March tally is, chiffchaff, willow warbler blackcap, wheatear, swallow and tree pipit.

In amongst all the good news on the bird front is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to lepidoptera. Personally I've yet to record a brimstone although a record of a large white from Cwmbran mid month was early.