Ten reasons to stay on Skomer in August, September and October.

A Manx shearwater flying with a group of sooty shearwaterSooty and Manx shearwater, Richard Crossen

Often people wonder what there is to see on Skomer after the Puffins have left, well here are my top ten reasons to visit.

1)     The Manx Shearwaterscan only really be experienced at night. The adults will still be coming on-shore in the hours of darkness to feed chicks which will still be in the burrows.

2)     In late August and September young Shearwaters will be coming out of the burrows (at night hopefully) and exercising their wings. The young Manx Shearwaters will be getting ready to leave and they do this by climbing up to high bits of outcrops of rock in anticipation of some lift to make their first flight into the open ocean. Their inbuilt navigation systems will then hopefully take them all the way to the South Coast of America. 

3)     It’s only £25 per night in August and £20 per night in September and October  – and that includes your landing fee.

4)     Come the end of August migratory birds will start to be passing through. The nightly bird log ( a log of all the birds seen on the island) at this time of year gets more interesting and it is a chance to catch up with staff and researchers on the island. We can record your sightings for future reference and it is a chance to find out what other have seen and to find out the best spots to look the following day.

5)     August is the best time of year to see the largest rafts of Manx Shearwaters of the year. These birds gather just off-shore in the evening waiting for the light to fade – when it is safe enough to come onland.

6)     Adult seal numbers increase then in September pupping begins. The wardens can show you the best spots to view some of the pups.

7)     Archaelogical featuresbecome more prominent as the vegetation dies back revealing old field boundary systems, iron round houses and ceremonial burial mounds.

8)     Regular sightings of groups of Raven and Choughs that form winter flocks on the island.

9)     Sea-watching season. Good porpoise and common dolphin sightings at this time of year. While you are out sea-watching you may also catch a glimse of a basking shark, Balearic Shearwater or if you are very very lucky a sea-turtle hoovering up jellyfish.

10) It’s just an amazing place to be, very relaxing and sometimes exhilarating (when the winds picks up anyway!)

11) It’s only £25 per night in August and only £20 per night in September and October  – and that includes your landing fee.

 

You may notice that I have included 11 top reasons, but that is because it is only £20 in September and October! A real bonus.

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you visiting soon.

Chris Taylor

Skomer Warden

To make a booking please telephone Island Booking Office on 01239 621600

New Bird Hide at Llangloffan Fen and Grant Award

Volunteers assist putting in the new bird hideVolunteers assist putting in the new bird hide
In line with progressing various projects at Llangloffan Fen, the latest addition to the reserve is a new bird hide. This was designed and constructed by Richard Wells who has a timber mill in Marloes. Richard, along with Wildlife Trust volunteers spent a good day erecting the hide, which arrived flat acked and needed to be transported down the new boardwalk to its location in the middle of the site. All it needs now is a lick of paint to help it merge into its surroundings Future works will entail digging a few scrapes and ponds in the open marsh and fen in front of the bird hide, allowing better opportunities for waders and other wetland birds, as well providing areas of open water for the otters that frequent the reserve. Amphibians will of course also benefit which in turn will provide a greater abundance of prey for the Grass snakes that have been recorded on the reserve. At the time of writing this I have just received a letter confirming that we have been awarded a £800 grant from the Million Ponds Project to help assist in this open water creation, what great news and great timing. These w
The finished hideThe finished hide
orks will hopefully occur very soon, making the most of the drier weather and hence drier wetland for the diggers.

By the end of the summer a circular access route on the reserve should be completed and better way marking implemented, allowing visitors a chance to really enjoy the variety of habitats and wildlife this special place provides. At this time of the year, the dragon and damselflies are especially abundant with sightings of the Beautiful demoiselle being very common along the brook that passes through the site. The reserve is open to the public yet access is limited at present.

 

 

 

 

 

Pembrokeshire Dormouse Project

An exciting partnership project to discover the incidence and distribution of the hazel dormouse (Muscadinus avellanarius) within the country has been started with the involvement of CCW, the National Trust, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the Wildlife Trust and local land owners. Siân Williams from Kite Ecology, an ecological consultant based in Pembrokeshire, is the project instigator and is keen to see whether the currently restricted know population of dormice in the north of the county (includes Pengelli Forest) is more widespread in their distribution and range of habitats.

A recent publication of a book called ‘Living with Dormice’ by Sue Eden has brought new evidence that this small mammal may not be restricted to hazel stands and bramble as once thought. Her many years of ensuing research have led her to the conclusion that the dormouse is in reality a widespread, tough, opportunistic omnivore that appears just as at home in low coastal scrub and conifer plantations. We are therefore keen to see if this may be the case within Pembrokeshire and have chosen 11 sites, spread evenly across the county, including a variety of habitats, from wet / dry open heaths to coastal scrub and small wooded areas. On each site, 50 nest tubes have been installed and will be checked in May, August and September for the presence of this species. The tubes provide an ideal location for the dormouse to nest (along with other small mammals such as bank voles and wood mice!) and are easy to check without causing too much disturbance to the animal. They will be removed in late November to be reused at other new sites next year. Four Wildlife Trust reserves, Teifi Marshes, West Williamston, Dowrog Common and Llannerch Alder Carr are being used as sites and so it will be an exciting discovery if a dormouse is found where not previously recorded.

If you would like to get involved in checking the nest tubes at the times stated above, please contact Nathan Walton, the Wildlife Trust Officer for Pembrokeshire.

National Park and County Council lend a helping hand

An exciting partnership project to discover the incidence and distribution of the hazel dormouse (Muscadinus avellanarius) within the country has been started with the involvement of CCW, the National Trust, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the Wildlife Trust and local land owners. Siân Williams from Kite Ecology, an ecological consultant based in Pembrokeshire, is the project instigator and is keen to see whether the currently restricted know population of dormice in the north of the county (includes Pengelli Forest) is more widespread in their distribution and range of habitats.

A recent publication of a book called ‘Living with Dormice’ by Sue Eden has brought new evidence that this small mammal may not be restricted to hazel stands and bramble as once thought. Her many years of ensuing research have led her to the conclusion that the dormouse is in reality a widespread, tough, opportunistic omnivore that appears just as at home in low coastal scrub and conifer plantations. We are therefore keen to see if this may be the case within Pembrokeshire and have chosen 11 sites, spread evenly across the county, including a variety of habitats, from wet / dry open heaths to coastal scrub and small wooded areas. On each site, 50 nest tubes have been installed and will be checked in May, August and September for the presence of this species. The tubes provide an ideal location for the dormouse to nest (along with other small mammals such as bank voles and wood mice!) and are easy to check without causing too much disturbance to the animal. They will be removed in late November to be reused at other new sites next year. Four Wildlife Trust reserves, Teifi Marshes, West Williamston, Dowrog Common and Llannerch Alder Carr are being used as sites and so it will be an exciting discovery if a dormouse is found where not previously recorded.

If you would like to get involved in checking the nest tubes at the times stated above, please contact Nathan Walton, the Wildlife Trust Officer for Pembrokeshire.

National Park and County Council lend a helping hand

Managing sites within Pembrokeshire, and other counties for that matter, is no easy task. With the help of volunteers we are able to keep on top of the main objectives and priorities for these sites yet every now again there are tasks that require a little more than pure volunteer muscle power. It is at times like these when there is the need to call on our mechanised friends, the tractor and flail!

Park volunteersPark and council volunteers helping out
Thankfully, as the Wildlife Trust has a good working relationship with other organisations within the county, the National Park (PCNP) and County Council (PCC) have kindly helped lend a hand. At West Williamston, PCNP have cleared large areas of bracken and bramble from fields where summer grazing occurs and have hence opened up more valuable grassland. Almost a quarter of a hectare has been cleared and now any new bracken growth can be kept on top of by volunteers. PCNP will also be helping control bracken at Cemaes Head through the use of an ATV and bracken roller, although this will occur later on in the year. At Westfield Pill, PCC has also helped with the use of machinery. Bramble and other scrub has been cut back from the cycle track which runs through the reserve, opening up areas of land for wildflowers and more importantly
Bracken BashingBracken Bashing
Bastard Balm, a plant that only occurs on a few sites in Wales, with the population here being the largest. Machinery aside, PCNP are also helping manage the wildflower meadows at Teifi Marshes through the loan of four Welsh Mountain ponies. Some areas of grassland are still too tussocky for a machine to do a good cut and so through grazing these should soon become less and so allow for a good cut soon.

As all of the above has taken place, volunteers have still been attending weekly reserve work parties and this season has seen much habitat management, mainly through coppicing and clearance. Pengelli has seen more management of its dormouse habitat areas

GrazersGrazing ponies give tussocks short shrift
and at Llangloffan Fen much work has been done in clearing gorse and mature blackthorn. At Teifi Marshes volunteers have been busy fixing bird hides, cutting reed, clearing paths and more recently, clearing overhanging and dead trees from the drive leading to the Welsh Wildlife Centre. We have had some wonderful fires keeping us warm but alas, all this must soon end. The birds are beginning to nest again and so any scrub or tree work must be put on hold until the end of the nesting season.

Spring is now definitely in the air and the primroses are out with the daffodils soon catching up. The dry winter has certainly seen lower levels of water in rivers and streams yet masses of frog spawn have been seen on sites such as Dowrog Common. Let’s hope for a little rain to keep levels topped up and also help prevent more grass, heather and gorse fires that seem to be occurring on almost a daily basis. On the Caslemartin peninsula, roughly 30-40% of the dune grassland on the Range has been burnt which is one of the worst burns ever seen. At Goodwick gorse fires crept close to homes and I do worry about the reedbed on the moor. A little rain would be good to dampen things down somewhat…I did say a little!

Volunteers muck in at Llangloffan Fen

An adventurous day was had by Wildlife Trust volunteers and members of the public at Llangloffan Fen on a work event last month. The reserve contains a few ponds which have been neglected for a while and so now are mostly vegetated. Volunteers helped to part restore one of the more heavily vegetated ponds to its original state by jumping straight in and dragging the pondweed and rushes out to the sides of the pool. Only a third of the pond was cleared so as not to create too much disturbance and allow pond creatures to still have a safe haven. The vegetation that was cleared was piled on the sides of the pond to allow any trapped animals to make their way back into the pool over time. Whilst doing the task, many toads and frogs were found including water scorpions and other aquatic minibeasts. Although a few had the luxury of wearing waders, with the heavy rains hitting Pembrokeshire the week before, water levels had risen somewhat more than anticipated so many left the day with slightly damper trousers than they had arrived in! None-the-less, a good day was had by all and the task was completed…until next year. A highlight of the day was seeing a Glossy ibis fly over head and land on the reserve some distance away.

For centuries, ponds were an essential part of people’s lives. Nearly every village and farm in Britain had a pond. The water was used by both humans and animals. As technology advanced and water became available at the turn of a tap, many ponds were neglected. Since most ponds were man-made, when abandoned by man they were taken over by nature; plants at the edges took over where there were no farm animals to trample them down and some ponds ended up as marshy bogs. Fallen leaves choked ponds and the oxygen vital for pond-life, was used up as they decayed. Other ponds have been destroyed by pollution or drained and filled in to make way for buildings and farmlands.

All these problems have meant that most of Britain’s original ponds have disappeared – 50 years ago there were twice as many ponds as there are today. Ponds of our countryside are now an endangered habitat.

Going Wild in St Davids

WTSWW will be attending the annual Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival in St Davids on Saturday & Sunday September 5th/6th for the second time following the success of last year’s event.

The Really Wild Food and Countryside Festival is utterly unique, giving you the chance to get back in touch with the countryside; eat it, cook it, learn about it, even play with it!   TheFestival is a ‘Celebration of Food and Countryside Crafts Originating from the Wild’.  Held in sight of the sea and the ancient cathedral of St Davids, it’s the wildest day of culinary delights, rural traditions, music, storytelling and fun in the countryside you can desire.

The overall ethos of the Festival is to encourage people out into the countryside, make them more aware of what is around them, and to help them realise what nature can provide for use in the kitchen, for crafts, or for medicinal purposes. Walking is healthy as we all know, so foraging around in the fresh air for some ingredients for your supper, for instance, is a great way to spend some quality time.

Chefs from around the country will provide demonstrations with fresh Welsh ingredients and there will be over 70 exhibitors selling and showing their food and rural craft products together with environmental organisations. You will have the chance to go foraging and walking along the lanes or on the seashore and outdoor experts will offer advice on bush crafts or try your hand at archery, wellie wanging or ferret racing!

If you haven’t visited the friendliest festival of them all, where have you been?!

 

Icelandic Invasion

The annual grazing regime has begun in earnest at Dowrog Common Nature Reserve and SSSI near St. Davids. This extensive tract of wet and dry heath with pools and fen, in the upper reaches of the River Alun supports over 350 species of flowering plants, including the Lesser butterfly orchid, Yellow centaury, Pale dog violet and Pilwort, all of which need different habitat requirements to grow.

One method of creating these ideal conditions is through grazing. This also helps maintain the heathland mosaic and prevent succession to scrub. Ideally cattle are the best animal to do this yet graziers are somewhat reluctant to leave them on a site where there are so many boggy areas in the risk of losing individuals. The next best option is to use ponies. Nathan Walton, Wildlife Trust Officer for Pembrokeshire, with the help of the National Trust (from which the site is leased) has been fortunate to get a local grazier to agree to put 14 Icelandic ponies on the reserve. These hardy animals will be on the reserve until the end of October, or, depending how they do and ground conditions, stay over winter.

They are beautiful animals and are welcome sight on this spectacular reserve. There may be the possibility of getting cattle to graze other compartments of the reserve and this is still being discussed with another local grazier. The site also supports a diverse and interesting range of invertebrates including the Marsh Fritillary butterfly, Scarlet Tiger moth, Small red damselfly, and scarce Blue-tailed damselfly. Wintering wildfowl and birds of prey proliferate on the Common with Hen Harriers roosting on site, and Short-eared Owl and Merlin being regular winter visitors. Otters regularly visit the site and Water Shrews have also been recorded.