More rings than a body piercers stock cupboard



Another trip to Newport Riverfront last Sunday with the objective of scattering some bread and attracting some gulls with those lovely colour rings. Despite drawing 50+ black headed gull and small numbers of herring and lesser black backed gulls none were dressed for the occasion. However somewhat crest fallen I returned back to my car but not before one final check of the gulls loafing about on the edge of the receding tide. Amongst which was a single redshank and to my joy its legs were liberally covered in more rings than an Olympic flag - six to be precise.

The ring sequence goes something like this:

Left leg: Tarsi- white and yellow.

Tibia - metal and blue.

Right leg: Tibia - blue and yellow

A quick world wide web check suggests this bird was ringed in Sweden, Germany or even Spain as I don't think British ringers attach metal rings above the knee- although I'm sure some clever Dick will put me right if I'm wide of the mark.







Alder buckaroo thorn

It's a bit like word association or even mind mapping but for me some of the common names of British wildlife have a habit of conjuring up other images, chough is a case in point. Another such obscure childish association is alder buckthorn for some reason the name of this scarce tree reminds me of the 1970s kids game Buckaroo. This as you will probably know is a brightly coloured plastic model based on a gold prospectors pack mule whereby various pieces of mining paraphernalia are gradually attached to the animal until it can take no more and bucks violently to release its burden.

I remember this game from my youth in the days when Christmas day always started with a light covering of snow followed by the excited release of the small items contained within the stocking at the end of my bed. This leg covering was of course one of my fathers old football socks stuffed full of goodies, including a pack of playing cards, a rubber (not the contraceptive type), a diecast matchbox model of a Ford Cortina complete with elevated lead content and assorted fruit and nuts for padding. The main prize however was always downstairs as this was where the fireplace was and therefore the only room accessible to Father Christmas. Amongst the goodies here would be the latest Blue Peter annual with plenty of photographs of the yummy Valarie Singleton, a new Subbuteo team usually the Arsenal away strip, a blue and white bobble hat and scarf, the latest Top of the Pops LP complete with cover photograph of a young scantily clad lady in a yellow crocheted bikini and of course a family game such as Buckaroo, Mousetrap or Monopoly.



Now I've been thinking, those south valleys industrial heritage concept marketers are surely missing a trick. Just like the plethora of limited edition Monopoly that is available nowadays, how about a local version of Buckaroo? This could take the shape of a forlorn blinkered pit pony in monochrome tones complete with hundredweight (cwt) bags of high carbon content anthracite as its load and instead of bucking with gay abandon the poor animal collapses in a heap when it can take no more. This sounds funny but with the current generation growing up without having the prospect of going down the pit to find work this twisted form of marketing could serve as a handy reminder of the working class exploitation and hardship that was endouered to harvest this black gold and with it the pillage of the landscape - there's a book in this somewhere!

Going back to the real purpose of this entry, as trees go alder buckthorn could be classed as a rarity or infrequent at least as its not a species I encounter often. But last weekend several inviduals were located adjacent to the Garndiffaith viaduct and checking the Flora of Monmouthshire confirmed its patchy existence. Its pleasing at least that the food plant of the brimstone butterfly still has a toe hold in the valleys.

Brow beaten

There's something about ticking twitching and me that just doesn't connect. Take last years Garnlydan Reservoir wryneck for example two visits without a sniff, last evenings Pant yr eos Reservoir common scoter, birds had vanished and today the Llandegfedd Reservoir yellow browed warbler was conspicuous by its absence. It  must be something to do with the fact I don't subscribe to rare birds texts, birding world magazine, the UK 400 club or have a note book full of ticks for lifers and megas.

Nonetheless my hour and a half's  tramp around the bramble infested scrub near the Fishermans car park produced some nice activity of the common bird front, including, several redwing, a goldcrest, reed bunting and chiffchaff, fly over redpoll and seed head hopping party of goldfinch. A kingfisher also graced the margins of the reservoir. 

True migrants and pseudo migrants

Magor Pill on a falling tide was moderately interesting for common passage birds with four wheatear, the odd chiffchaff, a single male stonechat, 20 + swallow, some meadow pipit, linnet, goldfinch but no yellow browed warbler. Most of the passerines on the foreshore were scattered by a flat cap, green wellie wearing gentleman walking his two golden retrievers. This, in my experience is not unusual as during most of my visits to the coastline around Magor Pill I've encountered individuals walking their dogs through the mud, those who stick to the sea wall and newly labelled Wales Coastal Path rarely have the same disruptive affect.

In my last post I speculated as to whether we had seen the last dragonfly day of the year. Obviously from the above pic of an ovipositioning, less migrant more resident migrant hawker, we hadn't. In fact common darter and southern hawker were still widespread. A common groundhopper and Cetti's warbler at Magor Marsh rounded the afternoon off.

Up the promenade



Hour to spare yesterday afternoon so decided to try out the newly discovered unofficial gull feeding station along the promenade in Newport, for a spot of ring reading. Tide was low so there were plenty of birds loafing or picking their way through the assortment of muddy tyres, TV sets and hefty tree trunks that are a feature of the River Usk when waters out.

First up was a single great black backed gull doing what comes naturally. At the chosen spot I broke out open some stale bread and soon attracted a scrum of feral pigeon and 30 + black headed gull none of which carried any rings. Larger gulls seemed  more difficult to pull in but eventually several immature lesser black-blacked and a single adult herring gull alighted on the sturdy promenade fencing. One immature lesser black backed gull arrived carrying a black colour ring was yellow lettering. Thankfully I managed a couple of images before the bird was disturbed by a person asking me if I had some spare change - the bird failed to return.

Last dragonfly day of the year?

Could this be the last warm invertebrate friendly day of the year? Not about to take any changes I dropped in to Severn Tunnel Junction for a leisurely stroll around the interesting and newish Country Park.

A rash of flowering buddleja at this time of year is a banker for late butterflies so red admiral and small tortoiseshell showed well but never plentiful. Dragonflies were more numerous with common darter and southern hawker well represented. Hoverflies were common and widespread taking advantage of those ruderal flowering plants still in flower. Amongst the notable plants was vipers bugloss and common cranesbill all of which swayed gently in the wake of a passing Intercity Express. A few chiffchaff, a fly over meadow pipit and several hirundines covers the birds.

On to Magor Marsh where 100's of common darter where taking advantage of the thermal properties of recycled plastic boardwalks and wooden fencing. Several ruddy darter were also present and to my surprise a late common blue damselfly. A past its best emerald damselfly tricked me in thinking it was Wales first willow emerald damselfly much the same as the confusion between Wilson's phalarope with spotted redshank! It was still warm enough for the odd field grasshopper and calling dark bush cricket. Bird life on the pond was less than inspiring with five little grebe and a single nearby singing chiffchaff the only noteworthy avians. The afternoon finished with a petrified grass snake skin and a single German wasp on an exit gate post.

Upon reflection

The valleys are awash with heritage features some good some more questionable but with it comes a whole cottage industry of community writers quick to remind us of the likes of Mrs Evans at No 93 who had seventeen children all of whom lived in a two up two down miners cottage. So having heard about The Guardian at Abertillery, I had, partly dismissed it a just another piece of valleys 'also ran' commemorative industrial artwork.

The setting for this creative project is an 'off the peg' progressive 1970's style land restoration scheme with regulation  fenced tree planting, tarmac path and bench, but thrown in as a concession to modern day values is a very attractive and biologically diverse pond. What I hadn't been prepared for however was the impact this work would have on me. Towering over the valley its shear scale and open armed steeliness was biblical in its impression - I was taken aback and moved. So, just like a media studies student on visiting mini bus trip from the Ross on Wye Art College I set my camera to creative mode and shot a few abstract frames.

At Dunlop Semtex Pond I found a healthy colony of the alien mollusc, girdled snail (Hygromia cinctella). Originating from the Mediterranean region and first found in Great Britain in 1950 this snail is expanding it's range through the trade in potted plants.

Riverfront urban gulls

Some much needed time off from the old bump and grind and had cause to visit Gwent's premier city. Whilst going about my business I happened on a noisy group of gulls taking advantage of some food provided by a generous local gentleman near to the Riverfront Theatre. Within the attractants was this ringed immature herring gull with BTO metal ring number GR34094.

I was pleased to have struck up a conversation with the gentleman as after explaining that my bag was gulls and not the hundreds of feral pigeon that were also milling around our feet, he mentioned that Riverfront bird feeding was a daily past time for him and that often he would see gulls with rings. Seems Newport's Riverfront walk will be worth a trip or two during this coming winter!

Rumble in the jungle

Visiting birders are muttering about the deterioration of comfort facilities at Llandegfedd Reservoir these days. The Island hide is a case in point, open viewing hatch with opportunistic bramble egress. Not that this hide provides any views of open water as the density of willow scrub that skirts the island margins prevents all views. Its this lack of scrub management that has contributed to the decline in wigeon numbers over recent years as access to suitable grazing areas is now almost impossible. 

Several hundred hirundines were taking advantage of a hatch of midges over the trees including a number of sand martin. Otherwise three singing chiffchaff was the long and short of it.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Information now received confirms the above lesser black-backed gull  photographed at Tredegar House Lake earlier this month was indeed ringed locally. To be precise on Flat Holm Island Cardiff on 08/07/12.

Elsewhere remember the long staying Dutch ringed black headed gull from Cwmbran Boating Lake in 2010? News on this, is, there's still no news! The Dutch ringing scheme needs to pull its finger out (of the dyke) or I'm going to black list it! 

The out of townies

With the remnants of its dark satanic mills now swept to the undevelopable valley margins, Ebbw Vale has given way to the fresh clean cut image of ergonomically designed glass fronted business premises, high density 'off the peg' housing and more functional community health care buildings - Nye Bevan would have approved. Brown 'this way to the nature reserve' signage and interpretation boards informing the ill informed that this road verge is being managed for wildflowers, jostle with makeshift handwritten car boot sale today signs and more formal statutory planning application notices tied to lamposts that herald the latest proposal in Ebbw Vale's regeneration masterplan. So, with my wife in new shoes and handbag mode, we had cause to visit that universally acclaimed designer outlet otherwise known as the Ebbw Vale Garden Festival site.

Now its impossible for me to switch off from wildlife recording, I'm always on the look out for a flyover lapwing or mammal roadkill so the journey to this biologically dismissed area of Gwent was no different. In transit a crop of road side fennel just outside Cwm was ticked as probably a refugee from a valley side allotment that's diversified from spuds and beans to a more contemporary herb garden festooned in union flags. For fun I kept a tally of grey squirrel road kill but lost count somewhere in the mid twenties so reverted to counting squirrel near misses instead and a flock of 'its cold so I'm off' house martin was noteworthy.



The Festival Site was bustling with mainly white haired middle aged ladies looking for a new winter cardigan or a multipack of big knickers all to the accompaniment of piped Daniel O'Donnell ballards. Spring visits to this mall often start with efforts to pick out singing redstart or pied flycatcher from the beech scattered upland slopes that characterise the landscape in this area, no such pleasure today. Browsing complete a somewhat past its best yet robust botanical feature caught my beady eye. From kerbside of the overflow car park was growing vipers bugloss (Echium vulgare). Widespread in England its distribution in Wales is mainly lowland/coastal with the Flora of Monmouthshire showing a small but scattered occurrence.

Same species different bird?

Another quick visit to Tredegar House Lake produced another adult winter Mediterranean gull. I had considered this bird to be the same individual as the one recorded on Sunday 2nd September, but on closer inspection I have my doubts.

2nd September adult winter Mediterranean gull



8th September adult winter Mediterranean gull


The most notable difference between the two birds is the absence of a discernable primary projection in the 8th September bird. Further differences, albeit vague, can be seen in the extent black around the eyes and ear coverts. The bill markings are also appear more defined.  

Swine

Another ringed lesser black backed gull was attracted to my 5p loaf of Hovis at Tredegar House Lake this evening, but rather irritatingly the ring didn't sit kindly to read. Black headed gull, white 29A1 was still about and compensation for the unreadable LBBG was provided in the form of an adult Mediterranean gull.

Not a water vole in sight

The real purpose for a trip to Magor Marsh was for a red veined darter rather than a sight of the reintroducted water vole. As it happened neither were found which was something of a disappointment given the Severnside Birds site is reporting hundreds of the red veined darter from Severn Beach at the moment. However there were a good number of ruddy darter on show and a late longhorn beetle Leptura quadrifasciata.

Its raining rings......

In the rain at Tredegar House Lake Newport yesterday, were a moderate number of gulls mainly black headed. To my surprise I picked up one with a colour ring feeding on the manicured lawns, but before I could organise my camera it was disturbed by a rampaging dog. A quick about turn to Asda for a loaf of budget bread had me back on site in 15 minutes and whilst most visitors fed the family of mute swan, I chose the gulls, much to the bewilderment of those present. But from the above you can see it paid dividends with a colour ringed first year lesser black backed probably from Bristol or Cardiff, a coloured ringed black headed gull and another with just a metal ring, gawd dam it!!! I'll bring you news of their origin in due course.

Water meadow magic

Garn Lakes Local Nature Reserve near Blaenavon has seen some changes over its short gestation period. From open cast development to bland bog standard 1990's style landscape restoration and on to a more enlightened approach to habitat creation and management. The most recent enhancement has transformed an area of marshy grassland to water meadow with ditches and ponds aplenty. This is now a naturalists delight and a credit to those who have worked hard to achieve it.

With the recording year curtailed by indifferent weather conditions and a sense that the evenings are closing in, a mild panic has set in which has motivated me to get out of an evening before the summer disappears over the horizon. Armed with a feeling that the landscape of Garn Lakes LNR is concealing some interesting wetland species I ventured through verdant vegetation in search of a late summer thrill.

First up was odonata. Squelching through the meadow with it's developing phagmites beds hundreds of black and common darter dragonflies took to the air. The open water areas with its floating vegetation and algae mats were busy with emerald and blue tailed damselflies and an odd golden ringed dragonfly oviposited oblivious to my presence.

Botanically things are looking interesting as well. The discovery of arrowhead was something of a surprise and various floating pondweeds supported the aforementioned odonata. The most interesting find however was common stonewort (Chara vulgaris). Although not a vascular plant this family of algae is very much under recorded due to its totally submerged existence. To retrieve a sample to photograph resulted in a wet boot and trouser leg up to the knee!

Finally the recently formed ditch system in an area of muddy margin a green sandpiper was flushed.

Function room available

The Bert Hamar Memorial Hide at Llandegfedd Reservoir has been the venue for some wining and dining. I've yet to know any birder who is decadent enough to take a bottle of red wine with them on a foray, but I stand to be corrected. More likely to be a fly fisherman, a secret romantic couple or a new Welsh Water initiative to raise a couple of bob by hiring out the hide for functions.

On the wildlife front there was an odd male pochard, some hint that warblers are beginning to pass through as several were noted feeding in the maturing willow carr that now fringes the island. Up to half a dozen male banded demoiselle performed well along with the ubiquitous common darter.

Finally, I was pleased to receive a visit from my old friend Michael Kilner yesterday afternoon. After a period out of circulation Mike is now back recording and to my delight brought along with him some live specimens of both Roesels bush cricket and long winged conehead from a Woodland Trust site near Usk.