Dark Clouds Hang over Gwent Nests

Gwent Wildlife Trust, Seddon House, Dingestow, Monmouth NP25 4DY Tel: 01600 740600 Fax: 01600 740299 Email: info@gwentwildlife.org Web: www.gwentwildlife.org

Reg Charity No: 242619 Limited Liability Company No: 812535

Gwent Wildlife TrustYmddiriedolaeth Natur Gwent

WilD About GWeNt AuGuSt 2012

Besides flooding homes, gardens, and weekend getaways, the wettest June on record and this season’s lousy weather has taken its toll on wildlife. Butterflies have suffered. Bees have suffered. But particularly hard hit have been birds. The early news from GWT’s Nestbox Monitoring Scheme, whose volunteers are busy checking nearly 700 nestboxes on GWT reserves and other sites, is alarming.

“The weather has caused absolute havoc”, says Volunteer Officer Val Jackson. “Reports from the monitors are heartbreaking, with descriptions of opening boxes and finding piles of little dead bodies, some almost ready to fledge”.

Val says the most likely reason for the deaths is a shortage of food. “The nestlings need to be fed soft bodied insects”, she says, “and the weather has meant a major shortage of that food. These chicks are mainly Blue Tits and Great Tits, with a few Pied Flycatchers and Redstarts. Although they are in relatively dry nestboxes, the cold and wet weather can still weaken them”.

It’s not just the newly hatched birds having a hard time. Some early numbers are coming through from across the UK and what they reveal is not good. According to the British Trust for Ornithology that analyses the GWT data, both Blue Tit and Great Tit nest failures at the egg stage is the highest in four years, and failure for Great Tits is nearly double that of 2011. The eggs simply aren’t hatching.

Val adds that birds with open nests, that are directly subjected to the poor weather, like Blackbirds and Robins, could be worse off. Even ducks and waders may be affected as their ground nests could be submerged or washed away. Val suggests that seabirds, who feed their chicks from food from the sea and have less vulnerable nests, might fare better. Only when the nesting season is complete can teams fully assess the damage.

But Val says she’s hopeful that bird populations will see brighter skies in time. “I guess we can just keep our fingers crossed that Mother Nature is able to make up for it next year”, Val says. “She often does!”

Andy Green, Editor

Blue Tit chicks trying their best at Strawberry Cottage Wood (Andy Spittle)

Nestbox monitoring is an absolutely vital volunteering role in the pursuit of serious scientific information, as well as being exciting and rewarding. Each monitor visits the boxes on a weekly basis during spring to record the progress of nest building, egg laying, hatching, and fledging.

The information collected by the monitors is then given to the British Trust for Ornithology who analyse over 30,000 nest records each year. The data is used to analyse trends, such as breeding performance. It helps scientists to identify species that may be declining because of climate change pressures or changes in habitat. The GWT Nestbox Scheme monitors over 700 nestboxes and we need your help. If you are interested in joining our team, just get in touch with Val at vjackson@gwentwildlife.org.

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Silent Valley in spring (Jane Corey)

the trees are Calling!

Tom Eyles, Silent Valley Reserve Officer

Woodfest is right around the corner at Silent Valley Nature Reserve on Thursday 9th August.

It’s a day filled with woodland related activities. There will be wood carving, willow weaving, traditional pole lathes, bird ringing, wildflower walks, tree identification, children’s activities including a forest school circle, and even a sheep dog demonstration by a local shepherd. For more information, please call the ERC on 01495 307525.

Rob Waller, Volunteer

It’s not all doom and gloom for some bird species this year. That bright white aircraft with the big wingspan touching down regularly at the Magor Marsh International Airport used to be something you’d only see flying about the Mediterranean. Not anymore.

A dozen or so Little Egrets – small, brilliantly white, herons who feed on fish and crustaceans – have been roosting in the trees at the far side of the Magor Marsh pond. They make a spectacular sight as they leave at dawn for their feeding grounds (probably at the coast) or as they return at sunset.

Long ago, these birds were quite common in the UK. According to a 19th century ornithologist, a thousand egrets were served in a banquet for the Archbishop of York in 1465. Besides whetting appetites, the birds also became fashionable to wear. Their plumes, used in hats, were once more valuable than gold! Their decline helped stimulate the establishment of the RSPB in 1889.

But times have changed. The Little Egret re-appeared in the UK only around thirty years ago and bred at the nearby Brownsea Island in 1996. It first bred in Wales in 2002 and now there are over thirty breeding pairs here on the Gwent Levels.

In fact, Little Egrets seem to be making the most of a bad situation. As climates warm, habitats are lost and many bird species become threatened, the Little Egret is bucking the trend. According to surveys by the RSPB, over the past decade, the UK’s Little Egret numbers are rising. Milder winters allow more of them to make new homes across the channel here in Britain.

Fortunately, they seem to get on reasonably well with the Grey Herons at Magor Marsh (and they will often share nesting sites with them too – both species being colonial nesters) but squabbles can sometimes be observed from the bird hide.

It looks like the UK is becoming increasingly popular with egrets. The Little Egret’s larger cousin, the Cattle Egret, first bred in the UK in 2008. This is a bird which is at home feeding amongst the elephants of the African plains

but is now found in many countries around the Mediterranean and has even colonised South America. This bird may be distinguished from the Little Egret by its shorter, yellow bill and yellow or reddish legs. The legs and bill on the Little Egret are both black. What has been a real surprise in 2012 is the first British breeding record for the Great White Egret.

Unfortunately, to see Cattle and Great White’s, you’ll need to leave Wales and head down to the Somerset levels. I wonder how long it will be before we witness these species breeding in Wales? So, the moral of the story is to check out those large white ‘herons’ you might see when out and about. Don’t assume they are all necessarily our now common ‘Little’ species.

egrets – We Have a Few

Egret at Brownsea Island (Rob Waller)

Silent Valley (Jane Corey)

Roosting Egrets in the Magor frost (Rob Waller)

Grey Heron at Magor Marsh (Jeff Hall)

Egrets at Magor Marsh (Rob Waller)

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Grass snake at Magor Marsh (Jeff Hall)

Volunteers at Work Again

A big thank you is owed to Chris Reading, Roger James and Rodney Morris for attending an event held by CADW at Castle Rock. Thanks to their botanical walk (Roger) and bird box production team (Chris and Rodney), £50 was raised and donated to the Barecroft Common Appeal, as well as providing another great opportunity to raise the profile of GWT with the public.

barecroft Common - Mission Accomplished(Now the work begins!)Tom Clarke, CEO GWT

In late March, Reserves Officer Richard Bakere emailed me to say that he had noticed the sale of 49 acres of Barecroft Common adjacent to Magor Marsh. The auction of this land was to take place just a month later. Richard described it as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.

Meadow thistle, common meadow rue, and tubular water dropwort are some of the uncommon plants reported in surveys conducted by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) at Barecroft Common. Richard said it was likely to have some of the best marshy grassland left on the Gwent Levels. Some of these fields had already been highlighted as significant wildlife sites by previous GWT surveys due to the variety of plants they support but this did not give them any legal protection.

The estimated value of the 49 acres was over £300,000. Phew! If GWT wanted to purchase the land, a lot of money was needed in a very short time.

We held a meeting in early April and the overwhelming feeling was to ‘go for it’, especially with strong endorsement from Steph Tyler (Chair of Monmouthshire Meadows Group), Julian Branscombe (previous CEO), CCW, and plenty of others. The tight schedule meant there was no time to seek grants from other organisations and so I decided on a membership/supporter style campaign to raise the money needed.

Membership Development Manager, Rachael Daniels, put together a letter-writing campaign to previous major donors and GWT members. These letters were followed up with phone calls from Trustee, Julia James, and myself, stressing how vital this appeal was.

Conservation Officer, Sorrel Jones, People & Wildlife Manager, Denis Jackson, and Rachael put together a press release. Kay Rymer and Leigh Danziger took on the campaign administration during the busiest time of year for the GWT Admin Team. GWT’s President and Chair, Roger James and Dave Richards, were, as usual, very supportive. I have probably not recognised everyone involved (my apologies), but suffice to say, it was a real team effort.

The press release generated much interest from the media. We received coverage from the South Wales Argus and other local press. I was interviewed live on Radio Wales and Roger James, Rebecca Price (Acting

Conservation Manager), and I appeared on BBC Wales (with Roger interviewed live). Derek Brockway even gave a live weather forecast from Magor Marsh wearing a GWT fleece!

In three weeks, together with significant generosity from GWT members, we raised £65,000. CCW offered to match whatever we spent at auction. In less than a month, we had £130,000 for Barecroft Common.

Although we were short of the £300,000 needed to purchase all the lots auctioned, encouraged by our land agent, David Powell, and by GWT Treasurer, Norman Williams, I was able to bid for and secure the most valuable parts of Barecroft Common from a conservation point of view and safeguard 28.7 acres of prime wetland for future generations. The remaining cash from the appeal can now be put towards the management of that land – a very satisfying conclusion, especially for wildlife in Gwent!

In less than a month, GWT identified an amazing ‘once in a lifetime’ conservation opportunity and took it. GWT raised this extraordinary sum in just three weeks and did not dip into core funding or debt as a result. There has been great media interest regarding our success in achieving the purchase of the land and our securing its future for posterity.

GWT must take great encouragement from the fact that members and supporters are very willing to actively help secure a Living Landscape, even in a ‘double dip’ recession. Thank you everyone in GWT – our members, our staff, our volunteers and those working with us who have contributed so much money, time, and effort towards supporting this appeal.

It remains a privilege to work with you all in serving GWT to create an environment rich in wildlife for everyone in Gwent. Enjoy the wildlife of Gwent this summer and I hope that by the time you read this, the sun will be shining a little more often!

Meadow thistle (Rebecca Price)

The ERC’s new plaque has arrived for their 2011 Merit for Architecture award given by the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The innovative building, sited in Ebbw Vale, was also shortlisted for an award by the Royal Institute of British Architects as well as a Community Benefits Award for Construction Excellence Wales.

ERC’s Architect Award (Tom Eyles)

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Juvenile palmate newt (Tom Eyles) Project Highlights the importance of Private Woodlands and Grasslands Rebecca Price, Acting Conservation Manager

GWT is partnering with Monmouthshire landowners and Monmouthshire County Council to encourage the long-term protection and preservation of some of Gwent’s wildflower grasslands and woodlands, through the Monmouthshire Natural Assets Project.

The project supports landowners in safeguarding areas of species-rich habitat – known as Local Wildlife Sites. The project has been joined for six months by Steve Heaton, our Seasonal Surveyor. Steve’s been braving the wet weather, meeting owners of meadows and small woodlands across the county, undertaking botanical surveys to see if they meet the Local

Wildlife Sites criteria, and providing advice on sensitive management. We can also help landowners with the associated grant scheme that offers up to £2000 for capital works projects supporting the restoration and enhancement of these sites.

If you have a woodland under two hectares or a grassland or wetland in Monmouthshire that you’d like surveyed to see if it is of Local Wildlife Site quality, or would like advice on how to manage it for wildlife, then contact Steve at sheaton@gwentwildlife.org or call 01600 740600. You can also visit the GWT website for more information.

The Natural Assets Project is funded by the Welsh Government through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

Water Snake Makes Most of the Damp Weather

Rob Waller, GWT Volunteer & Gwent Leveller

The very wet summer until the end of July has certainly caused some wildlife casualties. As you’ve read earlier in this issue, many birds are having a very hard time trying to rear their young. So it’s great to see that some species seem to have been doing well. One of these at the Magor Marsh Nature Reserve has been the Grass Snake. Given that one of its old names is the Water Snake, maybe this is not surprising!

Visitors to Magor Marsh have regularly seen this wonderful creature, the UK’s largest reptile. One snake has taken up residence close to a section of plastic boardwalk where it can often be seen sunning itself (on the rare occasions the sun has been out!). Maybe it has laid its eggs here in the cut vegetation, or maybe it just likes a spot where it can spy on visitors whilst also having a quick escape route into the near-by overflowing reen.

Autumn trees (Chris Maguire)

Environment Agency Wales needs your help to improve the quality of our rivers.

Healthy rivers not only help fish and other aquatic life to thrive, but are vital to our survival as well. All of our drinking water comes directly or indirectly from rivers or below-ground aquifers and springs. But many rivers and streams in Wales are failing strict European water quality targets.

There are more than 4,500km of rivers, streams, and other waterways across Wales, and they need your help to keep watch over them. The Environment Agency Wales is asking you to be its additional eyes and ears while you are out and about.

Water quality can be damaged by:

• excessive mud running from fields or roads

• invasive species, such as Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam

• rubbish dumped in the river, or on the riverbank

If you see a major incident, such as raw sewage or other pollutant entering a river, please call the Agency’s 24-hour Incident Hotline number on 0800 80 70 60.

our Rivers Need Your eyes and ears

Japanese Knotweed (Richard Bakere)

Looking for a warm spot on the Magor Marsh boardwalk (Rob Waller)

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Little Grebe at Magor Marsh (Jeff Hall)

Annette Murray, Wyeswood Common Project Officer

GWT’s Pentwyn Farm reserve is one of the largest remaining areas of unimproved grassland in Gwent. It provides an opportunity to see hay meadows as they would have looked long ago before the advent of intensive farming.

The Pentwyn Meadows Project will improve both the extent and quality of the four exceptional species-rich hay meadows at Pentwyn, as well as aiming to enhance a further five fields currently under restoration. The project is funded by Biffa Award, a multi-million pound fund which awards grants to community and environmental projects across the UK.

The Project involves a two-year programme of hedge-laying and hedge-coppicing. This will be coupled with an intensive programme of field margin management aimed at managing the encroachment of scrub and bracken. Wildflower seed harvesting and sowing will encourage habitat improvements across the reserve.

Some species directly benefiting from this project include:

• Dormouse – A monitoring programme has been running at Pentwyn Farm and the adjacent site for two years now. Although some of the species-rich hedgerows provide good habitat for dormice, the extensive shelter belts (thick areas of trees and brush) at Pentwyn Farm are a target for the project because they are so densely planted and overgrown that they offer poor habitat and connectivity for dormouse populations.

• Harvest Mouse – As national populations are in decline, its protection is classified as a UK Priority. So GWT is leading volunteers on harvest mouse hunts on a number of reserves confirming its presence

on several sites including the nearby New Grove Meadows. It is assumed the mouse has or will find a home at Pentwyn.

• Shrill Carder Bee and Brown Banded Carder Bee – These two rare species will be targeted through the introduction of specific grassland management techniques. The Wye Valley has been identified by the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust as a key area to focus on habitat management for the Shrill Carder Bee in order to provide habitat linkage from the Gwent Levels

(where there are a number of established populations) up the Wye Valley.

• Dingy Skipper – This increasingly hard-to-find butterfly has been recorded at the nearby New Grove Meadows where there is similar good quality habitat. Monitoring for this species at

Pentwyn Farm is of particular importance as the adjacent reserve of Wyeswood Common, currently under restoration to wood pasture, provides a large area of potential habitat in the future.

• Greater Butterfly Orchid – Pentwyn Farm is the location for the largest of only two remaining populations of this species in the county – included in Monmouthshire County Council’s Biodiversity Action Plan. The orchids are concentrated in one small area and appear, year on year, to be moving downhill towards a hedgerow. GWT would like to reduce the vulnerability of this population by encouraging its spread to adjacent similar grassland.

The project is well underway with volunteers already carrying out butterfly and bee monitoring. We will be looking for volunteers to help with practical work on the reserve throughout the winter. If you would like to get involved in the project, please contact Annette Murray at GWT on amurray@gwentwildlife.org

biffa Award boosts Pentwyn Project Wild Birthday Parties

Ria Banscherus, Community Wildlife Education Officer (Ebbw Vale)

Do something wild for your child’s birthday with a fun-filled party at the Environmental Resource Centre in Ebbw Vale.

All parties include 1½ hours of themed games and activities and can be rounded off with a ½ hour birthday tea. Most of this time is spent outdoors.

We offer a range of themes aimed at different age groups. For example, what about a Teddy Bear Picnic for the under sixes – bring your own bear? Or for the older children, we can offer a Den Discovery party for the seven and overs to test their bushcraft skills and den building. There’s also Minibeast Hunts, Woodland Fairies, Treasure Hunts, Orienteering, and Party at the Pond.

The parties cost £6 per child (£75 minimum charge) which includes invitations. Extras, should you want them, include party bags at £2 a head or we can cater as well with party food at £3.50 per head. For more information or to book, please contact the ERC on 01495 307525 or email Veronika on vbrannovic@gwentwildlife.org.

Harvest mouse (Amy Lewis)

Dingy Skipper (Andrew Kerr)

Snail investigations (Emma Bradshaw)

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LOCAL GROUP CONTACTSAbergavenny Local Group Keith White 01873 852036 keith.white@tesco.net

Blaenau Gwent Local Group Rodney Morris 01495 308056 remorris66@mailshack.com

Chepstow Local Group Hilary Lee 01291 689326 hilary-lee@tiscali.co.uk

GWT Office 01600 740600 info@gwentwildlife.org

Monmouth Local Group Alison Willott 01600 740286 alisonwillott@hotmail.com

Torfaen Local Group Vicky Hannaford 01495 759139 v.hannaford@hotmail.co.uk

Usk Local Group David Gale 01291 673141 david@gale4241.fsworld.co.uk

Wildlife in Newport Group Roger James 01633 263374 smallranunculus@btinternet.com

For more information on our work tasks and any volunteering, see the GWT Events Guide 2012 or go to www.gwentwildlife.org.

To book on any GWT event, contact GWT on 01600 740600, the ERC on 01495 307525, or email us at info@gwentwildlife.org. Full and up to date details of all these courses can be found on www.gwentwildlife.org.

AuGuStBird Ringing DemonstrationTutor: Ian VaughanWednesday 8th August, 8am – 12pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £6 members, £9 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

WoodfestThursday 9th August, 1pm – 4pmSilent Valley Nature Reserve, near Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: FREE entry but may be small charges for some activities

Green DaysTuesday to Friday 14th to 17th August, 10.30am – 3.30pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: FREE entry but there may a small charge for some activities

Family Fun Day with EVADHosts: Ebbw Vale and District TrustMonday 20th August, 11am – 2pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: FREE

Permaculture GardeningTutor: Veronika BrannovicTuesday 21st August, 10.30am – 3pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: £3 members, £6 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Nature Detectives for the FamilyTutor: Chris HatchWednesday 22nd August, 10am – 12pmPentwyn Farm, near MonmouthContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £6 members, £9 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

SePteMbeRReturn of the NaturalistSpeaker: Steve WilliamsThursday 6th September, 6pm – 7.30pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: £3 members, £6 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

An Introduction to SpidersTutor: Mike KilnerSaturday 8th September, 11am – 3pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £6 members, £9 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Our Wetland Wildlife at Magor MarshLeader: Paul CawleySunday 9th September, dawn (exact time TBC)Magor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £6 members, £9 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Wildlife Photography Intermediate Course Part 3Tutor: Chris HatchSaturday 15th September, 10am – 2pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £12 members, £16 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

The Living Landscapes of GwentSpeaker: Tom Clarke, GWT CEOMonday 17th September, 7.30pmBridges Community Centre, MonmouthContact: GWT Monmouth Local Group, 01600 740286

Gwent Wildlife Trust Annual General MeetingWednesday 19th September, 7pm – 9pmGlen-yr-Afon House Hotel, UskContact: GWT, 01600 740600All welcome, tea and coffee provided

Grow, Make and ShowSaturday 22nd September, 1pm – 4.30pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: FREE

oCtobeRGWT Blaenau Gwent Local Group Annual QuizHost: GWT Blaenau Gwent Local GroupWednesday 3rd October, 7.30pmThe Royal British Legion Club, CwmContact: GWT Blaenau Gwent Local Group, 01495 308056Cost: £3 per person

Introduction to Photographing WildlifeTutor: Jeff SmithSaturday 6th October, 10.30am – 3pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: £3 members, £6 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Gwent Levels – Connecting with NatureSpeaker: Tom Clarke, GWT CEO & Cellan Michael, RSPBTuesday 9th October, 7.30pm

Male Broad-Bodied Chaser (Denis Jackson)

August to December 2012

Charlie and Charlotte (Annette Murray)

August 2012

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The Ballroom, Glen-yr-Afon House Hotel, UskContact: GWT Usk Local Group, 01291 673141Cost: £2, under 16s FREE (accompanied by an adult only)

Gwent Butterflies & MothsSpeaker: Dr Martin Anthoney, Gwent County Recorder of LepidopteraMonday 15th October, 7.30pmBridges Community Centre, MonmouthContact: GWT Monmouth Local Group, 01600 740286

Walk on the Wildside – a Trip to KenyaSpeaker: Wendy ConwayWednesday 17th October, 7.30pmChepstow Leisure Centre, ChepstowContact: GWT Chepstow Local Group, 01291 689326Cost: Members £1.50, non-members £2Tea and coffee available

Beyond the Basics – Intermediate Wildlife PhotographyTutor: Chris HatchSaturday 20th October, 10.30am – 3pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: £3 members, £6 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

HedgelayingTutor: Kevin WilliamsMonday 22nd October, 10am – 4.30pmPentwyn Farm, near MonmouthContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £27 members, £37 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Autumn Fun Day at Magor MarshHosts: Kathy Barclay & Helen JohnSaturday 27th October, 1pm – 4pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £1 children, adults FREE

Autumn Fun Day at the ERCTuesday 30th October, 1pm – 4pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: FREE

NoVeMbeRGWT Blaenau Gwent Local Group AGMWednesday 7th November, 7pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: GWT Blaenau Gwent Local Group, 01495 308056All welcome

Wildlife in the Highlands of ScotlandSpeaker: Chris Hatch, GWT TrusteeTuesday 13th November, 7.30pmThe Ballroom, Glen-yr-Afon House Hotel, UskContact: GWT Usk Local Group, 01291 673141Cost: £2, under 16s FREE (accompanied by an adult only)

The Changing Scenery of Magor Marsh – Autumn/WinterTutor: Paul CawleySunday 18th November, 2pm – 4.30pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £6 members, £9 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

BatsSpeaker: Dave Priddis, Chair of Gloucestershire Bat GroupMonday 19th November, 7.30pmBridges Community Centre, MonmouthContact: GWT Monmouth Local Group, 01600 740286

Gwent Wildlife Trust – the Present and the FutureSpeaker: Tom Clarke, Chief Executive of GWTWednesday 21st November, 7.30pm Chepstow Leisure Centre, ChepstowContact: GWT Chepstow Local Group, 01291 689326Cost: Members £1.50, non-members £2Tea and coffee available

DeCeMbeRInvestigating Winter WildlifeTutor: Chris HatchWednesday 5th December, 10am – 12pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £6 members, £9 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Winter WondersSaturday 8th December, 1pm – 4pmERC, Ebbw ValeContact: ERC, 01495 307525Cost: FREE

Carols and Crafts at Magor MarshHosts: Kathy Barclay & Helen JohnSaturday 8th December, 2pm – 5pmMagor Marsh, near NewportContact: GWT, 01600 740600Cost: £1 members, £1.50 non membersBOOKING ESSENTIAL

Mammals of GwentSpeaker: Colin TitcombeWednesday 19th December, 7.30pm Chepstow Leisure Centre, ChepstowContact: GWT Chepstow Local Group, 01291 689326Cost: Members £1.50, non-members £2Seasonal refreshments with be served

Our 2013 Events Guide will be arriving on your doorsteps in early January and will be available to view online at the same time. To ensure your place on our most popular courses, don’t forget to get in touch with us as soon as you can.

butterfly Survey at Pentwyn Strikes Gold (or Maybe brown)

Annette Murray, Wyeswood Common Project Officer

The Meadow Brown butterfly is living up to its reputation as being one of Britain’s most abundant and widespread of butterfly species. A recent butterfly survey taking in five of the nine fields at Pentwyn Farm recorded 155 of this common species. This compares to one Marbled White and two Ringlets found on the same survey.

Butterflies generally need relatively warm, dry and calm conditions to be active – not something we have been experiencing much of lately – so it was a surprise to find so many of this species in a single count. As GWT staff and volunteers repeat the survey over the course of the season, and from one year to the next, we will discover whether these numbers are typical for the Meadow Brown, and other butterfly species on the reserve.

Once our new found survey skills have been perfected, the butterfly records will feed into the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Over time, we will gauge the status of butterflies at Pentwyn Farm, but also help conservation efforts at national level. In the meantime, butterflies and their surveyors alike will have to make the most of what little sunshine we can find!

Yellow rattle (Rebecca Price)

Meadow brown butterfly (Scott Petrek)

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Rodney’s kestrel box at Silent Valley

Nicola Stone became GWT’s Trainee Conservation Officer in April. Nicola has been helping deal with planning casework and biodiversity action plan activities in Caerphilly, Torfaen, and Blaenau Gwent.

She’s also delivering the Shrill Carder Bee Project, raising awareness of this rare species and working with landowners to manage their land in a bee friendly way. Nicola first joined the trust in July 2011 as voluntary Assistant Conservation Officer following completion of her MSc in Managing the Environment, and a stint as Seasonal Surveyor with an ecological consultancy. We’re sure she’ll continue to be an asset to GWT in her new role.

Steven Heaton joined us in April as Seasonal Surveyor for the Monmouthshire Natural Assets Project. Steven has an MSc in Plant Diversity, has volunteered for a number of Wildlife Trusts, and has been working for the last year as Woodland Ecologist for the Native Woodland Survey of Scotland. Steven will be with us until October, identifying lots of new Local Wildlife Sites and meeting their respective owners.

Ria Banscherus joined the People and Wildlife Project team, based in Ebbw Vale, as the Community Education Officer in early May. She has quickly integrated into the team, attending community events for GWT and working with local schools to deliver educational workshops and develop ideas for teacher training. Later in the year, Ria will be launching a Wildlife Warriors Club for young people, based on the successful model developed at Magor Marsh.

Alaw Hughes, our new Conservation Grazing Trainee, grew up on her family’s hill farm in North Wales and studied

Countryside Conservation at Aberystwyth University. After graduating, she worked in an Edinburgh Woollen Mill (an appropriate place to begin a career managing sheep) and then as a Footpath Surveyor for a local council. In April 2012, Alaw started her traineeship with GWT. It’s one of only ten traineeships set up nationwide by the Grazing Animals Project, as part of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Funded by Heritage Lottery, the aim is to offer trainees a mix of ‘on the job’ work experience and instruction in the practical skills associated with livestock handling and conservation grazing. After only a few months, Alaw has been involved with lambing and shearing, developed practical countryside management skills such as fencing, mowing, and chain harrowing, and also been involved in botanical surveys, butterfly and riverfly monitoring.

Welcome to our Green PasturesNicola with a prickly friend (Ceri Coffey)

Kathy Barclay, Magor Community Officer

GWT’s annual Wildlife Wizards competition, challenging 9-11 year olds and testing their wildlife and nature knowledge, has been won by Llandogo Primary School, beating off strong opposition from Duffryn Junior School in the final.

The event, held in May and hosted by Solutia, was fought in front of a

spellbound audience at Solutia’s Newport base. Both finalists previously fought off other teams to become regional winners for Newport and Monmouthshire.

All the schools involved in this year’s quiz are looking forward to next year’s rematch. If your child’s school would like to join in with Wildlife Wizards, please contact Helen John or Kathy Barclay at GWT on 01633 889048 or contact us at magormarsh@gwentwildlife.org.

llandogo Primary School Crowned Wildlife Wizard Champions

Gethin Jones, ex-presenter of BBC’s Blue Peter, visits Magor Marsh this year while filming a new series for ITV1 on the lost treasures of Britain.

other News

Gethin Jones meets staff at Magor

In April this year, the Independent on Sunday produced its fifth annual antidote to those rich lists – the Happy List – the top 100 people who make Britain a much, much better place to live. Thanks to Tom Clarke forwarding some choice names, our very own Rodney Morris made it onto the list for his stalwart volunteering, including teaching school children about conservation and making countless bird boxes over the years.

Grass vetchling at Percoed Reen (Rebecca Price)

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August 2012

Common Spotted Orchid at the DS Smith Tri-Wall site (Caroline Tobin)

Welsh beaver ProjectAfter over five years of investigation, a report published recently by the Welsh Beaver Project, led by the six Welsh Wildlife Trusts, puts forward a strong case for the managed reintroduction of beavers to Wales.

Lynn Hughes, a Vice President and former Conservation Secretary of the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association, welcomed the news, “The beaver is a native species and deserves to once again be part of Wales’ magnificent wildlife, after an absence of some 600 years. A managed beaver reintroduction to Wales has the potential to greatly improve our river and wetland systems for wildlife, including for fish such as Sea Trout and Atlantic Salmon”.

For more information on this exciting initiative, visit www.welshbeaverproject.org.

The orchids are out at Monmouth’s DS Smith Tri-Wall corrugated fibreboard headquarters. The pond at the rear of the factory is doing so well at attracting birds that the company has achieved a Silver Standard certificate in the Big Wildlife Garden initiative being run by the Royal Horticultural Society and the Wildlife Trusts.

Charlie and Charlotte (Annette Murray)

Alaw Hughes, Conservation Grazing Trainee

GWT is steadily adding to its complement of livestock at Pentwyn Farm and Wyeswood Common. Our popular Hebridean sheep were joined just before Christmas by thirty Welsh Mountain ewes, bought in to graze selected areas of Wyeswood Common that have been turned over to pasture.

It was soon March and lambing time again for the Hebrideans who were this year joined by yet another new breed, the Hill Radnor.

Hill Radnor sheep are one of the oldest types of Welsh hill sheep, native to the area Radnor. Their numbers are still confined to these areas with very few flocks in the rest of the UK. They are a rare breed, classed as ‘vulnerable’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, with under nine hundred registered breeding ewes in the UK. Because the breed often crossed with others, there was a realisation that the ‘true’ Hill Radnor was becoming scarcer every year. So in 1949, the Hill Radnor Flock Book Society was established to help save the breed from disappearing.

Hill Radnors are larger and bulkier than the more commonly seen Welsh Mountain sheep and are also known to be quieter and easier to manage – here’s hoping! But the distinctive difference is their tanned faces thought to be a remnant of other old Welsh breeds. They are particularly suited for conservation grazing because they are especially hardy, robust, good foragers, with tough feet and legs, and can do well on difficult pasture or limited forage, producing high quality fat lambs.

Of our four Hill Radnor ewes, unfortunately only one produced lambs. Named Charlie and Charlotte, they are growing quickly and playing well with their new Hebridean friends. The lamb count for this year was 21 in total – 19 Hebrideans plus Charlie and Charlotte. We are hopeful we can grow the Hill Radnor flock in future years and they can help keep on top of all that grass at Wyeswood.

New Year, New lambs!

Charlie (with Charlotte and Mum) at Pentwyn Farm (Annette Murray)

Ex GWT CEO, Julian Branscombe, with a furry friend

Helen John, Magor Community Officer

Visitors to Magor Marsh may have witnessed some very strange sights in recent months – strange squeals and calls, muddy bodies pacing earnestly through the long grass, curious upside down faces, pack hunting, and lots of ducking and diving.

This is maths class. School children (and teachers too) are using the reserve to solve mathematic puzzles, desperately trying to beat rival teams with their adding, subtracting, and multiplying know-how. They’ve been eagerly estimating difficult distances, sorting and counting with gusto, doubling themselves over to work out the height of trees, almost tying themselves in knots with tape measures and attempting to calculate the age of trees, figuring out angles, and much more.

Who knew drizzly muddy days and mathematics could add up to so much fun?

What has maths got to do with promoting an understanding of wildlife, its conservation and protection? Well, research has shown that a large proportion of children today spend very little time outdoors. The less time children spend in the outdoor environment, the less likely they are to value and respect it. An entire generation may be environmentally illiterate simply because they aren’t in the fresh air. And, if that happens, who will look after and protect the environment in years to come?

By giving schools a variety of educational tools that meet their needs (including maths), our reserves can demonstrate that outdoor environments are safe, fun, and educational, while helping teachers to enhance curriculum delivery where they need it most.

If you’re an educator, contact us on magormarsh@gwentwildlife.org if you want to know more about how teaching outdoors – whether science or maths (and perhaps even geography, history and English!) – can make a muddy day into a learning day.

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Southern Marsh Orchid at Great Traston Meadows (Rob Waller) Muddy Maths Madness

on the Marsh!

Richard Bakere, Reserves Officer

GWT’s Great Traston Meadows Reserve (formally Solutia Reserve) near Newport has gained another five hectares (13 acres) after adding two new fields thanks to a long term lease from the Environment Agency Wales. To mark the handing over of the fields into GWT’s care, sixteen volunteers from the Environment Agency rolled up their sleeves to help construct an otter holt and improve the signage on site for visitors.

Expanding this nature reserve is a great step forward for wildlife in the area. The site already supports a great deal of rare and interesting wildlife in the lush hay meadows and varied field ditches (some of which are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest). Its extension will make the site more robust and help secure the future of the wildlife it supports.

Heilyn Williams, Environment Agency Wales said, “As part of our work on the Riverside Newport Flood Scheme, we were delighted to work with GWT in extending the Great Traston Meadows Nature Reserve. The reserve gives access to environmental, educational and recreational benefits to both residents and visitors to Newport”.

Great traston Meadows Spreads its Wing

Muddy Maths at work

(Helen John)

Great Traston Meadows (Rob Waller)

Gwent EcologyComprehensive, professional and pragmatic ecological services for planning, development and conservation

Gwent Ecology • Seddon House • Monmouth • NP25 4DYT 01600 740600 • F 01600 740299 • info@gwentecology.co.uk

www.gwentecology.co.uk

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August 2012

Shrill Carder bee (Gabi Horup)

Coppicing at Magor Marsh

the legacy Continues: 100 years of Wildlife trusts

Corporate NewsAdvanced Elastomer Systems’ Staff take Time Out to CareRichard Bakere, Reserves Officer

AES volunteers, accompanied by some local Caerleon school children, took time out from their busy days to attend a Day of Caring at Great Traston Meadows. Much of their day was spent with scrub clearance and coppicing. While this sounds tedious, the results can be spectacular. With time, sunshine, and (plenty of) rain, the meadows are reaping the rewards of the hard labour.

Throughout the summer, the fields are alive with flowering plants, from the deep pink flowering spikes of the southern marsh orchid, to the bright yellow hay rattle, and, with some searching, even the fine crimson streak of the illusive grass vetchling. These plants in turn provide food for a host of butterflies, moths, and bees. One such species, found on site, is the Shrill Carder Bee – one of Britain’s rarest bumble bees, which has found a home on this expanding nature reserve.

Ongoing management works on the reserve, undertaken through the joint efforts of GWT staff, volunteers, contractors, and graziers are essential to keeping the traditional hay meadows and ditches full of a rich mixture of wildlife. These wildlife-rich habitats would soon be lost if essential works on site did not take place. The new Wales Coastal Footpath runs through the reserve and so we expect many more visitors to pass through the reserve and enjoy the wildlife spectacle over the coming years.

It all started with a commitment.

In 1910, banker and naturalist Charles Rothschild bought a small fragment of ancient wild fens which had once stretched for miles across East Anglia. Centuries of draining and development had taken its toll on this delicate landscape and destroyed nearly all the fens. Rothschild built a small bungalow on the land, watched the fen’s wildlife and thought of a new approach to conservation.

Two years later, he founded the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, which in time became the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts whose members were devoted to the protection and preservation of Britain’s natural habitats.

Over the years, as the organisation encompassed more reserves, its commitment became more empowered and determined. During the 1940s and 50s, it guided the British government to legislate for nature – establishing National Parks,

National Nature Reserves, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

In the 1970s, the Wildlife Trusts proposed the first marine reserves, to secure our sea habitats – among the most productive on Earth. Urban nature conservation flourished in the 1980s as people realised that living in a city is no bar to enjoying nature. Trusts set about transforming derelict inner-city sites into oases for wildlife.

Today there are 47 Wildlife Trusts, managing 2,300 reserves, with thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of members, all committed to furthering Rothschild’s vision – protecting, preserving, and bringing people closer to nature. All the Wildlife Trusts are celebrating 100 years of Rothschild’s legacy but our celebrations will continue well into next year, when GWT turns 50.

Sorrel Jones, Conservation Officer

Earlier this year, we learnt that the Welsh Government is once again proposing to build a major road across the Gwent Levels – one of our Living Landscape areas.

A dual carriageway from Magor to Castleton was one of four options proposed by the M4 Corridor Enhancement Measures programme to improve safety and reduce congestion on the existing M4.

If it were built, this would cost approximately £830 million and be devastating to wildlife. The proposed route crosses the Gwent Levels, through four Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and over the River Usk, a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). It also passes very close to the newly purchased GWT reserve, Barecroft Common, and the reserve at Great Traston Meadows. The Gwent Levels are also designated for their landscape interest as a Special Landscape Area and a Landscape of Outstanding Historical Interest.

Building a major road has many impacts on wildlife, most notably habitat loss and fragmentation. For the Gwent Levels, pollution is also a serious concern. Should run-off enter into the system of drainage ditches (reens), it could kill off many of the rare aquatic invertebrates –

the main reason that the levels are designated as SSSIs. As all the reens are connected, pollution could travel a considerable distance from the road, and potentially enter the Severn Estuary – a wetland of international importance.

In response, GWT, together with RSPB Cymru and Friends of the Earth Cymru, reformed CALM – the Campaign Against the Levels Motorway – a group of organisations and individuals who successfully opposed the motorway in 2009. The CALM website was updated and newsletters written to let people know about the Welsh Government’s plans.

CALM produced a joint response to the consultation, in addition to each organisation producing their own responses. We also provided template consultation responses and letters to Assembly Members for individuals to use.

So what next? The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, Carl Sargeant, will make a decision, informed by the consultation towards the end of the year. In the meantime, CALM will continue to campaign, focusing on Assembly Members. Although the consultation has closed, you can still write to your AM voicing your opposition to the dual carriageway. For a copy of a template letter, or to subscribe to the CALM newsletter, please contact Sorrel Jones, Conservation Officer, at sjones@gwentwildlife.org.

M4 Relief Road – the threat Returns

Platinum

Caldicot & Wentlooge Levels IDB

Meritor Ltd

Orb Electrical Steels

Tata Steel

Gold

Advanced Elastomer Systems

International Rectifier

Solutia

Bronze

Ancre Hill Vineyard

DS Smith TriWall

Frank Sutton

Mandarin Stone

Marshalls

GWENT WILDLIFE TRUST x WILD ABOUT GWENT

Corporate Members

The Wonastow Road Industrial Site in Monmouth might seem to be a difficult habitat for local wildlife. But Mandarin Stone, GWT corporate member and one of the largest importers and stockists of natural stone tiles in the UK with warehouses on site, is all too happy to be accommodating when visitors start making homes in its buildings.

Every year, the warehouses prove to be popular for returning swallows who build their mud nests precariously high on the metal beams. “This means we need to cover some of our stone slabs”, says Mandarin Stone’s founder Alma Small, “but it’s a small price to pay to hear their twittering song when they perch on our overhead telephone wires”.

The warehouses also provide the ideal environment for wasps to build their delicate paper nests.

In 2011, staff at Mandarin Stone rescued four baby hedgehogs as they as they walked across their yard. They were all very underweight and were having trouble surviving hibernation.

They were nursed by a company director until they could be taken to the local hedgehog rescue centre near Ross-on-Wye. Mandarin Stone made a donation of £100 to the rescue centre as contribution towards the heating and food costs to enable the hedgehogs to be raised to full weight and released into a safe environment. All the hedgehogs survived and were released into the countryside.

Mandarin Stone takes a dynamic approach towards the environment. The company is committed to recycling or reusing packaging from its imported goods. It is committed to minimising any environmental impacts with regard to their use of raw materials and energy and makes sure its overseas suppliers meet strict environmental standards.

WAGtales

Butterflies taste food by standing on it because their taste sensors are found in their feet.

The wings of butterflies are actually transparent. The vivid colours are due to overlapping bright scales. Butterfly wings are very delicate and can get damaged if handled. The scales too can get rubbed off if touched.

Slow worms are some of nature’s longest-lived lizards, living about thirty years in the wild. One lived in captivity in a Danish zoo for 54 years.

Although they can fly at nearly 50mph, when a pheasant senses danger, it prefers to use its legs to run away from the danger.

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Silver-washed fritillary (Don Sutherland)

Swallowtail (David Martin)

Pheasant (Neil Aldridge)

Slow worm (Bruce Shortland)

Hedgehog (Amy Lewis)Swallows (Margaret Holland)

Mandarin Stone Makes the Most of Warehouse Homes