Loftus Garden Village

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

 

Hedgerows instead of fences  

Hedgerows instead of fences  

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

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

 

Pond View

Pond View

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

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

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

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

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

Nightjar!!! Get your headphones!

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

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

 

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

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

Male Nightjar

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

Gwent Bugs

This time of year is awesome for insects, and the very reason why we get so many birds migrating here for spring/summer. The shear diversity of insects is key to certain species survival. Drinker Moth Caterpillars are a personal favourite of Cuckoos, so much so that Cuckoo's time their arrival perfectly to indulge on them. Each one of these species below deserve a blog in itself but it's that time of year that I just need to get outside! I hate being sat behind the computer editing photographs at this time of year. There is so much to see and so much more to learn. 

A lot of these species below were taken at a new reserve for me at Henllys bog which is a Gwent Wildlife Trust reserve. Good friend and Spider Expert Mike Kilner showed me around the reserve with a superior knowledge of plants and insects which was really helpful at that reserve! Everywhere you step there is something special..

Gold-Firecrest

This year (2016) I've been lucky enough to be a part of a few Firecrest Surveys with Gwent Ornithological Society to establish how many breeding pairs are in Gwent. This location is pretty well protected but despite that, it still remains disclosed. As you can hear in the recording, it starts off with a Goldcrest which was the intended subject for the sound recording. The Goldcrest was then joined by a Firecrest which not only added a new location to the survey map, but actually gave me a great opportunity to directly compare the two-very similar species-side by side.

Firecrests are Schedule 1 birds, and should not be disturbed in any way shape or form, especially during the breeding season. This however was one of those special moments that I couldn't take back even if I wanted to.

Firecrests have a less rhythmic and melodic song, only very slightly change pitch from start to finish (monotone). They have no fancy flick at the end of their song either and can sometimes be hard to pick out simply because they fade in and out seamlessly from silence.

Goldcrests are bold, rhythmic, complex and quite often end with a fancy flick. This flick is not always present but when it is, it's a fast trill, easily missed, but a key feature none-the-less.

 

Savi's Warbler

I've been so busy this last week, buzzing here, there and everywhere! Spring is such a special time of year and this year we're lucky enough to be graced with the sound of the Savi's Warbler which was last heard on the Gwent Levels in 2014. We're lucky to get another or the same bird arrive which can be heard singing early morning.

The sound is pretty incredible, so much so that I didn't even focus on getting a photograph!. It was very windy and the forecast for this week isn't looking much better but I have high hopes for Sunday evening so I'm hoping that the bird stays for long enough. 

The picture below was taken by Matthew Scott and if you click on the picture it will take you directly to his flickr page. I don't often use other peoples photographs but in this case, I thought a recording would be more important to share! 

The sound of the Savi's is iconic and very similar to our Grasshopper Warbler. In comparison, the Savi's has a much faster trill making it sound very electric, where the Grasshopper Warbler is slower, quieter and more delicate (but equally satisfying). A Gropper is described to sound more like running your finger nail down a hair comb, spacious and high pitch. The Savi's is more like an electric churr with much greater speed and has more presence. It's much easier to miss a Grasshopper Warbler singing where Savi's will stand out. 

Reed Warbler

The last three years at Llandegfedd have been rather strange for our Reed Warblers. Last year particularly showed a massive decrease in spring breeding for the Reed Warbler onsite with only 2 pairs present. The year before that however, every single patch of reed, had a pair of RW. 

This year I expected the same result as last year but we have quite the opposite! We have a pair of RW's in every bit of reed bed onsite, including a single pair of Sedge Warblers. It was really nice to see the reeds full of song again and it gives me hope for the future. 

 

Wood Warbler Valley

If there was 1 thing I would have to pick that was special about my old patch, this would certainly be it. When I first discovered Wood Warbler on an old tramway track, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I knew what a Wood Warbler sounded like because it was the theme entry music to BBC Springwatch in 2009. Since then I've fallen in love with that sound! It's infectious and it brings the woodland alive with a burst of energy from high above in the canopy.  

These birds are expert insect finders and you'll often see them with small caterpillars, flies and other tree dwelling invertebrates. I even caught 1 male bird today with a fly on its lower mandible while singing... Eating with its mouth open.. how rude.

Newport Wetlands @ Sunset

After my last post and possible finding a Golden Oriole, there has naturally been some questioning and debates about the sound file I've posted. It's not as straight forward as it appears with all the mimicking species of bird there are in the Uk. It's that reason that the last two nights I've re-visted the same area to study all the Blackbird and Thrushes of the area to see whether they possess any 'oriole' like qualities. Considering most birds are already breeding, if there was a Blackbird with an oriole like phrase, I would have been able to pick this up again. 

I didn't however find any resemblance of the sound I recorded on the 5th of May. The recording is being examined by local expert so hopefully will get some confirmation soon. Either way I'm happy with what I recorded despite it being in the background. I've certainly never heard that song before and will continue to look out for these birds in the future. 

Last two days have been completely different for sound recording however.. with gusts on the coastal path averaging from 10-30mph, which is no good for sound recording. Despite this I did manage a few Cuckoo recordings and a windy Grasshopper Warbler recording, but I won't be posting these as I believe I can do better. Instead, below the pictures I'll conclude with a Blackcap song which literally was my conclusion to the end of today as I got back to my car. 

Sedge Warbler and something extra special!

The 5th of May last week was a busy evening... I had so much planned and went way past my expectations with perfect weather conditions for both photography and sound recording. I have about 3 days maximum like that a year.. it was really that good!. 

Anyway, listening back to this recording below of a Sedge Warbler, I found something I did not expect, and I only wished I had noticed it in the field! 

This recording includes the low rumble of a distant shipping going down the severn estuary about a mile away but what was most interesting about this recording was what happened after. 

In the recording below, if you haven't read the title already is a distant Golden Oriole! You have to listen hard for it though.. its just after the distracting passing Shelduck. 

This isn't a first for Newport Wetlands, in-fact, there was another recorded last year in the same spot! So it is very likely that it could be the same bird or just a hotspot for passing migrants as it is the first and only large woodland for miles along the estuary. 

Lets not take too much away from that beautiful Sedge Warbler song though! Got to love a bit of Sedge Warbler.. Not quite a Golden Oriole though uh? I only wished I had noticed this recording sooner. It's not like me to miss something as important as this. 

Peregrines?.. Not quite

Peregrine Falcons have been nesting at Symonds Yat Rock for many years now and as a result of a fantastic view point, their activities have been studied there for a long time too. We know everything from where the likely nest places are and also where they store their food. The hole in which they store their food is called a larder and it's usually the right hole in the cliff which you can see in the picture... What you may have already seen though is something very strange inside... It is in-fact.. a Canada Goose! I was shocked when someone pointed this out to me, I honestly thought it was just a kill or something but cropping in closer you can see the Canada Goose sat on her eggs! What will happen to the chicks when they hatch you say? Well, they will have to jump! and fall all the way down where hopefully they will have a few obstacles to break their fall. This is actually common for certain species of Geese, especially Barnacle Geese, but this is the first time I've ever seen a Canadian Goose nest this high. Any day now, they'll hatch and will have to endure the drop. Good luck Goose, you're braver than I am. Why nest so high? well, believe it or not, this is actually much safer than nesting on the ground where the eggs will be vulnerable to predators like Foxes, Rats, Badgers and much more on the forest floor or river banks. 

The bird that the Canada Geese may have to deal with at some point is the Peregrine Falcon who is probably pretty annoyed that their larder is occupied by a grumpy goose. This was 1 of the 2 female birds I saw flying around the cliffs but the male also showed for a little while, landing on the cliff for a rest and flying back out to hunt. Their activities should pick up soon when their own chicks hatch. 

Below is a telephoto landscape of one of the iconic views from Yat Rock. I've tried to make it look like a Tilt Shift effect to add a little depth of field. Below that is a picture of a Song Thrush which was happily picking for worms around peoples feet at Goytre Warf to feed his/her young.