More from the untamed wilderness

A camera to laptop malfunction has caused much 'pulling of the forelock' in downtown valley bottom. But thanks to a suitable download from the Canon website normal service is resumed.

Blaenavon was once again yesterday evenings venue. Small parties of linnet were prominent and the pair of mallard on Coity Pond are on at least brood number two with ducklings scattering to the four winds when spooked by a middle aged man with a butterfly net - yes me! Carline thistle is now showing well on spoil that is less acidic but the number of moonwort is probably the best I've every known it, with a group of 30 plants behind Coity Tip and another three very large individuals near Big Pit car park.

Adder nice evening

Had a nice relaxing hour around the rugged landscape of Blaen Pig over looking Pwll du yesterday. Not too much to report other an a couple of adders tongue fern at the base of a re-vegetating coal tip. A good find given the recent Flora of Monmouthshire regards this fern as a lowland species.

The conker tree moth

Driving past a large mature blotchy looking conker tree this weekend in Cwmbran reminded me of a national survey for the non native horse chestnut moth (Cameraria ohridella). It seems these trees are under attack from a micro moth, first recorded in the UK in 2002, where its mines sometimes causes extensive discolouring of the leaf and early defoliation. This got me thinking of all the conker trees I knew as a kid, and as a grown up kid, so give Abersychan Park a quick visit just to check if the tree that produced the mega 'hundred and oner' in 1971 was, a) still there, and b) was it supporting the dreaded moth.

Sure enough I was able to confirm both positively. However it appears the moth has only recently found this tree as mines were infrequent and present in low numbers. If you know of any horse chestnuts where you live why check them out for the very distinctive leaf mines. For some excellent photos see the British Leaf Miners website.

Snap, crackle and pop

I love a summer drought, warm sunny days, a hose pipe ban to irritate those boring get a life middle aged men who spend Sunday mornings lovingly stroking and washing their cars but above all the big draw down zone at Llandegfedd Reservoir (LR). At this time of year that extensive muddy margin is ideal for passage waders, stone tuning and the occurrence of rice krispies. Yes, the liverwort and rice krispie lookalike Riccia cavernosa is now starting to show well on bare mud at LR. When mature this species forms an attractive rosette up to 3 cm in diameter. For more information on this and other mosses and liverworts  I recommend getting your hands on the recently published Mosses and Liverworts of Britain and Ireland a Field Guide co-edited by local lad Sam Bosanquet. The guide gets a five star rating from me!

Tufties at last

I've been watching and counting wildfowl at Dunlop Semtex Pond - these days known as Lakeside - for about 20 years and given the steady increase in summering tufted duck it was only a matter of time before a pair would settle to raise a family. This evenings visit confirmed that at long last they have bred successfully. At this point I feel I need to eat humble pie as when the regeneration of land adjacent to the pond got the go ahead a few years back I felt increased levels of disturbance from housing, a supermarket and car parking would affect numbers of birds using the site. In fact the pond has ever looked better, with increased marginal vegetation and the addition of a floating island waterbirds (and gulls) are doing well thank you. Today along with 25 tutfed duck there were two nesting great crested grebe and dozens of mallard and coot.

The nearby Beaufort Pond also supported a similar assemblage of birds but with the addition of a single little grebe.

A:D the gull

Further to my recent blog entry about A:D the colour ringed lesser black backed gull, I now know the origin of the bird. Peter Rock, who has been studying breeding gulls on Bristol rooftops for many years has been in contact with deatils. The bird was ringed by him as a young bird in Bristol on 20th June 2003. With both lesser black backed and herring gulls increasing as breeding birds in Gwent its worth keeping a an eye out for more colour ringed birds.

A gentlemans guide to attracting birds: 1. Pishing

Field craft is very important, and one of the handy tools in the kit bag of every experienced birder is 'pishing'. Pishing is the art of making silly mimicking bird like noises to encourage little brown jobs to reveal themselves on the edge of thickets etc. I was first introduced to this technique when mist netting with the late Percy Playford at Llandegfedd Reservoir ages ago. At about the same time I remember an influential article on the very same subject by J.T.R Sharrock of British Birds fame. More recently a book entitled 'The Art of Pishing' has been published (see Amazon) by an American pisher with an accompanying audio CD - such a body of academic work, I'm on cloud nine! So today, and first checking I was out of ear shot of the massed ranks of fishermen, I had another crack at this most genteel of country pastimes and guess what it worked. The photograph below was taken after encouraging a female reed bunting out into the open, but note quizzical look of said bird. However, in the wake of a resurgence in this absorbing hobby, killjoys are driving it underground. 'No Pishing' signage is now widespread, strickly regulated by permit only from the ruling authority. Pishers everywhere organise and fight this injustice!

All joking aside it was nice to see a couple more birders at Llandegfedd Reservoir this morning. The recent dry spell has provided just the right amount of margin for passage waders with birds now starting to move through. Today, redshank, little ringed plover and common sandpiper provided the long legged entertainment, along with 120 Canada goose and upwards of 80 great crested grebe. On the butterfly front were, small tortoiseshell, peacock, large white, marbled white, small copper, small skipper, meadow brown, common blue and a second generation comma.

Burnet bounty

Thousands of six-spot burnet were emerging from the grassland around Coity Tip this afternoon. Thistle heads were frequently home for a dozen or more moths. Coity Pond was quiet but for a distant reed bunting, grey heron and a single cormorant. Don't forget to look out for the related forester moth. My last personal record was from Blaenserchan about 10 years ago - they must still be around!

Source of the Afon Lwyd

Where Blaenau Gwent bleeds into Torfaen is the source of the Afon Lwyd. Amongst concrete, spoil, twisted metal and rich wildlife habitat is the trickle that runs southward to touch base with the River Usk. Today's early morning foray was more botanical than birding. Blue fleabane, several moonwort, and the usual plethora of orchids were notable, but the creeping willow (Salix repens) from railway clinker was the star attraction.

There were some butterflies as well, how about a dark green fritillary for starters? Then the first grayling of the summer struggling with the variable cloud cover. Also small skipper and small heath.

For sale, birthplace of one of the worlds most celebrated naturalists - but does anyone care?

Kensington House near Llanbadoc Church, Usk the birthplace of Alfred Russel Wallace a world renowned Victorian naturalist accredited with independently developing the theory of natural selection at the same time as Charles Darwin, is on the market and crying out to be snapped up for the nation. Given the global significance of Welshman Wallace and his extensive body of work from travels around the world you would expect those entrusted with the conservation of our built heritage to be fighting to save it for future generations, but not a bit of it! CADW has refused to list the building citing modifications as a reason for sitting on its hands- although there are examples of other modified buildings listed by the same body. So what about the National Trust? Well no luck here either as apparently it doesn't meet its acquisition policy. Seems to me that if Kensington House were a castle, a building with links to royalty or a relic from the industrial revolution then you're quids in but the birthplace of a man motivated by the study of the natural world then there's no chance. For more see http://www.wallacefund.info/

Finally an apt quote from Wallace:

'If this is not done, future ages will certainly look back upon us as a people so immersed in the pursuit of wealth as to be blind to higher considerations'.

Ring a ding ding

Picked up on this lesser black backed gull in midweek feeding on burger scraps in the car park of TK Maxx in Newport. At the time it wasn't close enough to make out the colour ring so made a return visit this evening armed with some stale Braces. It didn't disappoint and was soon bated within camera range, although I got some odd looks from Halfords staff on a fag break! Colour ring clearly depicting A:D so will endeavour to determine origin and report back in due course.

Sounds like two pebbles being knocked together

Stonechat, so cute, photogenic and an iconic species of upland heath I just couldn't resist uploading another image, this time of a female - look elsewhere on this blog for the male and an immature bird. Mynydd y garn fawr with its drained reservoir supporting cotton grass and spoil tips in the background illustrates the stonechats typical habitat. Note not a dirt bike in sight!

Room without a view

Just as well birds were scarce at Llandegfedd Reservoir yesterday as this was the view from Green Pool hide - a curtain of phragmites. Now before I open up old wounds with birders complaining about lack of facility management etc.I don't have a problem with this. Lets be honest how many birders actually regularly visit the reservoir these days anyway? Two, three, four, five? Why should reservoir staff invest time into maintenance when so few birders bother to visit. Its the Newport Wetlands effect again folks!

With that off my chest the weather was glorious yesterday evening,  a substantial draw down zone was perfect for ground beetle hunting, but watch those Canada goose droppings! The meadows around the Island were at their summery best with thousands of common spotted and southern marsh orchids, also large skipper, common blue and meadow brown butterflies showing well. Best of all the butterflies on offer was the first marbled white of the year.

Other flying things included black tailed skimmer, emperor and broad bodied chaser dragonflies with common blue, azure and blue tailed damselflies. Oh! nearly forgot the only birds of note were two singing sedge warbler.

Summer solstice singing skylark

Theres a place on the hillside overlooking Llanhelleth called Gwastad. A nearby fire damaged woodland was ideal for a spot of nightjar 'checking out'. Didn't manage any nightjar, but two cuckoo were nice, a flyover bat and as it was the longest day singing skylark could still be detected at 22.20.

Every little helps

This resourceful coot at Bryn Bach Park yesterday wasn't about to waste a carrier bag as next year with a 7p tax around the corner there may not be too many around. However, I'm absolutely sure all the revenue raised by the Welsh Assembly Government will be ploughed into nature conservation making sure this coot won't need to depend on pond detritus as nest material and we'll hit our next biodiversity target as well. I'm an old romantic aren't I?

Father's Day excursion

Visited Penhow Quarry late last year and promised myself another trip as soon as possible. Todays excursion was therefore long overdue. Although a fly over peregrine was the only noteworthy bird, dragonflies were the order of the day. Emperor, broad bodied chaser and black tailed skimmers were all well represented.

Didn't expect too much from Ponthir Reservoir, but a couple of mute swan were a new species to the water for me. Otherwise two pair of coot, a pair of great crested grebe with a rather swamped and waterlogged two egg nest, and what appears to be the start of a post breeding tufted duck gathering with seven birds present. Also black tailed skimmer.

Who are the wild ones?

Further to the criticism by some of the behaviour of a birding minority at the Marmora's warbler twitch, evidenced by tape luring nesting willow warbler and trampling upland habitat at a time when breeding birds abound, there's more. The red bricked shelters that fringe Blaenavon's Canada Tips, untouched by human hands since Hilter got his marching orders, have been tagged by The Wild Ones. But who are The Wild Ones? Could they be errant birders, with scope, tape lure and spray can at the ready? No! more likely  Sunday afternoon off road clowns unable to walk too far without getting out of breath but behind the wheel of a Suzuki 4x4 soft top, peat bog, spoil tip, pond  and rocky outcrop pose no problem at all.

At 6.30 this morning a t-shirt alone was not enough to absorb the birdlife wonders of Garn yr erw in comfort, so coat was donned and off I went. Although the dawn chorus has diminshed in the barmy lowlands those avian treats in the uplands are still giving it some. Reed bunting, snipe, skylark, meadow pipit and two grasshopper warbler continued to offer a tune or two, while wheatear and lapwing called less tunefully in defence of their young. A bloody nosed beetle ouzed its red deterrent and a forest of shoreweed could be seen just beneath the surface of Balance Pond, all observed by a fence post heron. 

Sosban fach

A snatched visit to Garn Lakes Local Nature Reserve didn't thrill, several skyark and a snipe was about the long and short of it. A couple of southern marsh orchid that had forced their way through an old enamel cooking pot was worth the odd snap or two. 

Marmora's warbler RIP! Local birders rise up and reclaim the hills.

Japanese knotweed with some woodland plants thrown in for good measure

Not far from downtown valley bottom and within the throwing arm of a decent third man fielder is a very nice limestone quarry. 'Just popping out for half an hour love, be back for the game' was the cry as the front door slammed behind me. Hour and a half later I was back having recorded the continued presence of round leaved wintergreen from within the darker depths of scrub encroachment.  I sometimes think what would be the reaction of a walker coming across me lying flat taking a photograph of some small jobbie on the woodland floor? However, no need to worry no one walks in the countryside anymore too risk averse, think of all those decaying trees just waiting to fall on a passer by and then there's brambles! Oh yes back to round leaved wintergreen, one time rarity now augmented by records from another limestone quarry a couple of miles down valley and one from Newport, so a success story. Also noted some over zealous weed killing that not only targeted the Japanese knotweed on the track leading to the quarry but a further 50 metres of the 'tidying up' of those nasty ancient woodland plants such as dogs mercury, bluebell and wood anemone. 

Nightjar

I have to pinch myself as its a whole week since the long eared owl/nightjar fest with CH et al and bingo I managed to photograph another 'nightjar' (see above) but this time of the subspecies cideri. This confiding individual was sitting motionless in grassland at The British.

I wanted to take some photos this evening of whinchat so the extensive stands of bracken around the slopes of The British seemed the most natural place to visit, but there were no birds to be seen suggesting numbers are depressed. However, a male stonechat was reasonably obliging. Yellowhammer was in song along with linnet and cuckoo. A beautiful demoiselle was an interesting addition given I've always considered this to be a lowland species. Stridulating meadow grasshopper are now widespread.

Rush

Not a kick ass Canadian prog rock band or a veteran Liverpool and Wales striker but an unusual wetland plant. According to Wade's Flora of Monmouthshire (1970) the blunt flowered rush is a rarity, however the more recent book of the same name produced by Trevor Evans suggest it's present in a few more tetrads, six in total. It therefore was a welcome find when it was located alongside the main road from Pontypool to Crumlin yesterday. Once again just goes to show that the old prejudices displayed by some county naturalists in the 70s 80s and 90s that ' there's nothing of value in Gwent west of the River Usk' is just poppycock - would use a stronger word but I have standards to keep!

Lost property

I'm a bit late with this entry but a sun shiney Saturday morning stroll around Blaenserchan was a wildlife photographers delight. Nesting birds, numerous butterflies and other assorted plants and inverts - what a place! On the way back to my car I came across some lost property in the form of an expelled slow worm tail. Don't recollect having ever recorded this reptile in the valley before, so another tick for me.

Secret squirrel

Yesterday a group of about a dozen mainly ageing birders met for an evening of evocative crepuscular activity at a secret location in western Gwent.- I agree it sounds a bit dodgy but I can assure you it wasn't! And what an evening it was, Whinchat, stonechat, cuckoo, long eared owl, tree pipit, grasshopper warbler and drumming snipe, but for me the stars of the evening were a couple of churring and in flight nightjar from an area hitherto unknown for this species. Suddenly my Marmora's warbler syndrome seems to be receding and looking in the mirror this morning the associated itchy rash that had taken hold in the darker recesses of my body now seems a whole lot better, such are the healing properties of nature. Thanks to international wildlife tour leader, ecological entrepreneur and camera misplacer CH for an excellent evening - we must do it again! I'm now off to update the pristine nightjar distribution map in the recently published, highly expensive Birds of Gwent tome with a disproportionate smudgy red dot.

Marmora's warbler syndrome

My GP suggested taking things slowly, having an early night and placebo calm down pills as the best way of coming off a Marmora's warbler high. So lunchtime today I took my packed lunch, tartan rug and flask to Llantarnam Ponds. But it wasn't long before I got ants in my pants and reached for my camera for some odonata photography. On offer were single emperor and broad bodied chaser dragonflies along with some obliging beautiful demoiselle.

A twitching we will go, a twitching we will go, blah, blah, blah, blah, a twitching we will go.

When news came through this afternoon that a Marmora's warbler had been found off the slopes of the Blorenge near Blaenavon (yes! Blaenavon) I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So before the factory hooter had finished I was off. On arrival there were already a gathering of about 50 birders from all over the UK and by the time I left at 7.45pm numbers had swelled to well over 100.  But what about the bird? Well, it showed reasonably well in a hawthorn close to the road but moved around within bracken and was a bit illusive. This apparently is the sixth UK record and to the best of my knowledge the first for Wales.

During protracted periods of warbler 'no show' other birds provided a welcome in the hillsides. Whinchat, stonechat, tree pipit, reed bunting, yellowhammer and a fly over hobby kept the cameras and long lenses ticking over.

Photo thanks to Google images.

Tip top tips

Canada Tips near the Keepers Pond above Blaenavon is an extensive area of post industrial habitat a product of opencast mining by the Canadian Army during the war. Now this area is a mosaic of ponds, bare ground and regenerating heathland. One of the specialities of these tips is the little fern moonwort. Once considered to be plant to look for in the sward of a meadow its now more common on the post industrial sites of western Gwent. Elsewhere the only noteworthy bird was a red kite that lumbered overhead and had me frantically searching for my Sigma 500mm lens, but too late!

Finally, there was an interesting article by Libby Purves in yesterdays Times (31-05-10) bemoaning the state of society that discourages children making camps out in woodland and hedgerows. She blames parents and conservation organisations that frown on leaving children to make unrestricted play in a natural environment, picking flowers and making bows and arrows with a penknife in true Famous Five tradition. She, correctly in my opinion, signposts the lack of young naturalists coming through the system to our hand holding society and has a dig at outdoor spaces that are ordered in terms of surfaced walkways and interpretation boards with limited opportunities for first hand experience of nature. If we are to reconnect with nature and respect biodiversity we need to take this issue by the scruff of the neck and give it a good shaking. For starters schools should reintroduce, summer term nature walks and bring back the school nature table.

Meadow magic

You can't visit Llandegfedd Reservoir at this time of year just to look at birds because there's so much more to see. The MG5 grassland that makes up most of the habitat on The Island is currently awash with hay rattle, serveral species of orchid and gems such as adders tongue fern, and where there's flowering plants there's insects. A little sweeping netting and no end of creepy crawlies present themselves, most notably early instar phases of meadow grasshopper and short winged conehead.

Say hello to the cuckoo

May is still with us but I'm already starting to crystallize opinion about what species are doing well this year. From my visit to the Blaenserchan valley recently its clear that this year will go down as one for the common blue, but a bird that seems more widespread than recent times is the cuckoo. Despite successive claims putting it on the edge of extinction in Britain with TV programmes and even book predicting its demise its characteristic call seems more ubiquitous than ever his Spring. For the first time I even recorded singing cuckoo from the comfort of my back garden in downtown valley bottom!

This evenings walk on the lower slopes of Mynydd Varteg Fawr produced at least two cuckoo, the odd reed bunting and a pair of vocal stonechat - dispelling my previous assertion that numbers were significantly lower this season. Look out for stands of hares tail and common cotton grass that are at their best at the moment as well.

Knock me down with a feather.....

A quick visit to the sand martin colony on the Afon Lwyd near Cwmbran Boating Lake saw some birds in nesting mode, hence this one with a feather up its backside.

Cast of many thousands

 If you want to see butterflies you could do a lot worse than visiting the Blaenserchan Valley at the moment. This evenings stroll witnessed many thousands of common blue, probably the biggest hatch in living memory! Also on offer were a few tatty dingy skipper, a green veined white, small heath, common heath moth and a sliver y. On the coleoptera front several bloody nosed beetles were noted with purpose in their stride, making hast along the disused pit road.

Birdwise, a successful first brood of stonechat showed well, cuckoo, redstart, tree pipit, garden warbler, redpoll and linnet were also in fine voice.