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Spiders

Food Chain

I love birds, but the more I learn about the natural world, the more i’m fascinated by the smaller things in life. Despite popular believe, it all starts from the bottom up, without the bugs, nothing else would exist.
A little example of which I found inadvertently while observing Pied Flycatchers and their chosen food prey items. This male Pied was bringing back all sorts of prices for his female who is currently incubating a clutch of eggs. He’s been pretty good so far, though only bringing in single items, which doesn’t seem to go down very well with the female, but it does allow me to ID the bugs. They were mostly catching beetles but also some species of Sawfly, which I believe to be an Oak Sawfly. A quick look under the oak leaves and I did find some Oak Sawfly larvae to confirm their presence. Ancient broadleaf woodland is such an important habitat and one oak tree alone can support thousands of species.

I’ve included some pictures of Spiders of which I know some of my facebook friends have turned their eyes away from. I get that not everyone will come to love spiders but I hope to show them in a different light through my photography. The Zebra spider is quite commonly found on homes and gardens and my home is no exception. This little guy was only 2-3mm long as it’s this years hatchling. I see them mostly on warm days but after a couple of showers, this zebra was sporting a brilliant water droplet hat.

I skipped past the Pied Flycatchers without giving them the attention they deserve. I have to thank Richard Evans at Project Nestbox for introducing me to these birds some years ago. I haven’t gone a single year since without going out of my way to see and hear these birds. Once you do so, it’s hard to imagine a woodland without them. Sadly, that is becoming a reality for many historic breeding sites across wales but thanks to the help of people like Richard, these nest box schemes do help increase remote populations.

Wasp Spiders & Roadside Verges

A perfect example of how important roadside verges can be for wildlife. A buffer zone has been left, probably not by choice, but there is a convenient reen at the bottom of a slope which the council thankfully! don't want to cut!

Wasp Spiders are a very remote species, often found in the exact same spot as previous years, so long as the eggs manage to last the winter. Any type of grass cutting would destroy the eggs and could wipe the population out entirely. I found 14 spiders altogether in 3 main groups, each group had a dozen or so together, likely to be the place they hatched. They don't travel far, as the habitat they're born in is exactly what they need to survive. Their prefered prey is Grasshoppers and their web is most certainly up for the challenge of catching them. 

Verhes

Verhes

One of three egg sacks found in the same tuft of grass. Easily wiped out with a simple end of year grass cut.   

Because the species is so delicate, a re-introductory plan would be beneficial in areas of suitable habitats, such as the west side of Cefn Ila backing onto Prescoed Prison. The un-managed land at prescoed could hold a decent population. Llandegfedd Reservoir wild flower meadows may also be suitable, if it wasn't for the fact that they cut the grass each year and graze it with sheep in the winter. 

Wasp Spider Egg Sack

Wasp Spider Egg Sack

Local Development

The Canyon Cut

The human 'race', ever seeking to exploit our natural resources and poor old Pontypool is no exception. We've fought for a lot over the years and the battle continues for the last bit of green space we have. A hidden gem of a location called 'The Canyon' has had profit seekers eyes twinkling for years to dig up and sell the remaining secondary aggregate, left over many years ago by former opencast. The industry left a huge scar on the land, thought to never heal again, but after many years, it finally started to heal up, but here they are again, banging at the door to destroy a beautiful nature haven. This site is unique. It's Torfaen's one and only, and to get something remotely similar, you'd have to travel abroad. It's not just some tourist attraction though! It's much much more! It's a place of solitude in a world filled with noise pollution. The Canyon, even on a windy day hits lows of just 28db's which is quiet by anyone's standards. It's the only place in Gwent, just 30 yards from the main road where you could experience near silence!. Many of you reading this wouldn't have experience silence in a very long time but it's a proven fact that these quiet conditions have massive mental health benefits. 

It's also a location where over 12 species of Dragonfly can be found in Summer, including Keeled Skimmer and Black Darter. It's home to many specialist invertebrates like Grayling Butterflies, Green Tiger Beetles and a great place for aquatic invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles alike. The surrounding woodland is also home to an array of bird species. 

All this, however, is threatened by a 20+ year project that aims to literally flatten the site. Bringing up to 90 lorries a day across Hafodyrynys Road, of which leads to the second most polluted road in Britain! All the while, only opening up 12 Jobs... 12!!! Something doesn't add up here. Not only that, but the proposed access route to the Canyon is right thru the middle of an ancient woodland! Torfaen council did a great Job by turning down the application on the basis of the damage done to the ancient woodland as without that, Peakmans LTD would have probably already been working on the site. Peakmans did, however, challenge the objection, so while the council fight that corner, the rest is left in the hands of the public. I spoke with quite a few of the local supporters last week at one of the public meetings, and it was great to see so much enthusiasm shared to save The Canyon. Over 150 people turned up. While my part in this is limited, I hope to do all I can in supporting local enthusiasts that are leading this fight and just want to say, if you're one of them, you're doing a fantastic Job so far. Keep it up! 

Here are a few photographs taken in just a couple hours this week at the canyon. Seeing Keeled Skimmer is an annual highlight of mine here, what a beautiful Dragonfly. This week was my first time finding Common Lizard in the Canyon too, suspected to have been there for a while but I never actually managed to find one myself. This is because they have lots of places to hide and they will most certainly hear you coming in such a quiet spot as they rely on their hearing quite a bit. 

If you're interested in helping fight this planning application, it's getting late in the game now but if you're on Facebook, head over to This facebook group for more details. Hope is NOT lost. 

Busy but Happy!

It's been a while since I blogged. So much has happened in this time of course, but not too much on the photography side of things. I am sporting a new Tripod however for my telephoto setup so looking forward to trying that out in the field soon. 

I've been working in Pembroke and Swansea for the last couple of weeks chasing wildlife for Iolo's new urban wildlife series for BBC Wales, It's been really tough trying to track down urban otters, so far without much luck, but it's not over yet. We still have autumn and winter to film and I'm absolutely loving my time there! The best part is having wildlife on my mind 100% of the time. Literally a dream Job come true, I still can't quite believe it. 

Below you'll notice a picture of a Nightjar from a session I had a couple weeks ago, thanks to a good friend Gary Howells. I'm so sad however to come back from Pembroke this week and to find out that the Nightjar spot has been set on fire. The very roosting perch you see in the photo is burnt to a crips. I've also come back to my neighbours cat killing everything that moves, with several dead animals in my garden, most of which are birds and amphibians from my pond. Refusing to put a bell collar on, this isn't over. I'm not prepared to watch this massacre, and then be on the beckon call every time they have an injured bird in their garden for me to look after. Enough is enough, things need to change, and people need to start taking responsibility for the destructive nature of their pets. Everything you see below will cease to exist if people turn a bind eye to problems like these. 

Anyway, without getting too depressive, enjoy the photo's! I'm trying to bring more colour into my portfolio, I hope you can notice this in my recent macro pictures.