Viewing entries tagged
Gwent Levels

Pre-spring

I’ve always thought that spring was my favourite season, and it probably is. But I’ve got to admit, Spring wouldn’t be quite the same if it weren’t for those little signs in the winter period that mark the start of new beginnings. The more I learn, the earlier these signs are, which is really making be appreciate the colder months more. Between that, and climate change, Winters don’t feel nearly as long for me as they used to.. Daffodils have been sprouting in my Garden since early January and on the warmer days I’ve seen plenty of nest building, frog spawning and flowers emerging. One flower I always seem to miss though is actually from a Hazel Tree, as they are very small and being colourblind (with Red) I find them hard to spot unless I’m quite close up.

You’ll notice a lot more landscape shots than usual and that’s because I’m lending a lens from a friend (16-35mm) which is the widest lens I’ve ever used so I’m quite enjoying it. I’ve never really been bothered about landscapes, mostly because I’ve always used crop-sensor bodies which don’t exploit the full width of the lens.

In Our Nature CIC

Be sure to check out our event page as we start to dish out this years outdoor walks: Starting with a Bird Song ID walk and a Noticing Nature Walk, which was one of our most popular walk types last year.

Back to 'normal'

So our firebreak is over in Wales, what does this mean, well I hope that it means people were sensible, people stuck to the rules and prevent further spread of this hideous virus so that we have a chance of at-least spending Christmas with our families, but I must say, my trust in people these days has certainly been tested.

During the lockdown I’ve still been as busy as ever with my surveying Jobs, mostly on the Gwent Levels. Whilst it has been great to still get outdoors, the weather has been questionable, and I don’t take advantage of my Job. As soon as the survey is finished I’ve been coming straight home. I did however get to find a rare bird on one of my surveys, in the form of a Richard’s Pipit.

I didn’t have a camera with my on my survey, or my sound recording gear, so I quickly took advantage of the only device I had, which was my mobile phone. I was amazed how much the video actually did capture, and thanks to the bird doing another circle, I was able to get 5 calls on video of the bird flying over. The spectrograph confirms it perfectly, with two horizontal higher modulations either side of the triangle shaped call, which is diagnostic for the species, which also separates it from the similar call from a Tawny Pipit, which only has a single upper modulation on the latter slope of the call, but that also has a double syllable.

I only wished I was quick enough for the Red-throated Pipit I had on a similar survey last month, but that bird was way too quick for me and I made the mistake in searching for my audio app on my mobile phone, instead of going for the camera. So top tip, if you ever think you have an interesting bird that is calling, go straight for the camera app and take a video. The audio quality is actually pretty decent for a mobile and the spectrograph never lies.

Below are a few photos from random surveys over the last month. I haven’t taken many pics, simply for lack of time. In other news though, during lockdown there was a Snow Bunting up the British mountain, found by Mike Jones and refound by a few local people on their daily walks up the mountain. The bird was feeding alongside the main road in typical Snow Bunting fashion but I don’t believe it hung around for long enough but if you’re looking for something todo withy our new found freedom, it’s well worth a visit up The British top road. The bird was sighted near the cattle grid at the old entrance of Blaencuffin Canyon.

Nocmig

Well I honestly don’t know where to start with Nocmig. November has been insane!!! With huge numbers of winter thrushes, some days noticeably better than others though and with added wader activity. I’ve had good numbers of Grey and Golden Plover, a few Lapwing but the last two nights a strong movement of Dunlin too. The last two nights I’ve had Barn Owl, which makes me wonder if there’s just a local bird but there isn’t much left of my local area in turns of hunting grounds so I really don’t know on that one.

One thing is for sure, I’ve added a lot more to my ‘mystery files’, something I one day hope to dedicate a blog post (or three) too, as I’m sure some of them might be interesting, and at the very least a good story.
So far this month alone, only 9 days in I’ve had over 2,122 Redwing Calls, 146 Blackbird, 81 Song Thrush, 8 robin, 6 Fieldfare, and I won’t bother counting the amount of random waders but here’s a few of my favourites below.

I’ve had that many birds, I was saving them all to start with but when you’ve got over 700 Redwing in one night, I’ve come to be a little more selective lol. That said, even the Redwing vary greatly, so it’s always worth saving the ‘odd’ looking calls just incase it catches you out again one day. I’ll do another blog on odd sounding Redwing as it’s quite amazing how much they vary in shape, size and frequency. Below is a picture of my favourite shape by far, but by no means a common shape to find.

Redwing Zigzags

Naturally, with migration doing well at night, Visible migration can also be just as good too. This month saw thousands, if not hundreds of thousands passing over pontypool alone, and with it, quite the number of Chaffinch’s and Thrushes. Getting my first Brambling of the year was nice, but nicer that it came so close to the microphone to reveal that subtle chaffinch type call that they also make. Sometimes, as we learned one morning, they don’t make their iconic raspy call at all, so it’s important to learn the subtle calls too as we had a whole flock of Brambling and not one of them made the rasp call.

I’ll end with another Robin, the song of winter, with a collection of both urban and natural sounds in the background.

End of a Season

The picture you see below, will likely be the last of the season, as my last nest has sadly been predated. Over-all the season was a success, with all my other pairs successfully fledging two chicks each. That is a great year for these birds that don’t have a very high success rate. I suspect the failure of this particular pair was down to a Tawny Owl, that was very persistent throughout the night, doing low flights right over the nest site. I was surprised after a nocturnal session how many males were still churring last week, but I suspect it was more of a ‘goodbye’ churr, cuing to the females that the time has come, because the following days, all of my roost sites were un-occupied and I found this female miles from her nest, roosting in a tree. It’s probably a welcomed changed after sitting in mud and poo for most of the season.

Here’s a short clip of the pair seeing off a hunting Tawny Owl:

Midnight used this log roost almost every single day as it was close enough to the nest that he could keep an eye. Not all males will do this, but it made sense for him todo this the second time around, as the first clutch failed. Two sets of eyes are better than one. I only located one of the fledglings, so it’s likely that they’ve left the clear-fell now and headed to more suitable feeding grounds ready to migrate for the first time to Africa. It always amazes me how chicks know where to go..

I’ve done so much travelling between work and random birding trips since my last blog, so I won’t bore you with all the details. Here’s a selection below that highlights my favourite moments, most of which were on the Gwent Levels but some, like the Southern Dune Tiger Beetle were from the Gower. Small Red-eyed Damselflies were numerous at the reen entrance to Goldcliff Lagoons which was nice, as I’ve never seen one officially before. Lesser Marsh Grasshoppers seem to be turning up everywhere on the Levels now I know what I’m looking for. Their sound is actually quite similar to Field Grasshopper but the notes are spaced differently. You can hear it better when slowed down so I’ve including a recording below.

Sound


Below are some targeted flock recordings from Goldcliff Lagoons on a nocturnal visit. It’s quite difficult to get one of the platforms to yourself at high tide with so many visitors, especially this time of year where it becomes more popular due to arriving migrants, so I visited after dark, on a late high tide. There were still quite a few birds feeding in the dimming light, but even after dark, simply moving the dish around you can target specific species. It’s great hearing such a variety of waders in one place, with the added sounds of Shelduck, Little Egret and Greylag Geese in the background. It’s also been beneficial to me, to see different variations of calls on the spectrograph, from wader species, as it helps me ID some of the more unusual calls you get on Nocmig recordings.

Nocmig

What a turn out so far! In my last blog I spoke of how autumn migration has well and truly began, and whilst everyone knows this, I didn’t expect to get all these species over the house already! Wood Sandpiper was on my wish-list and it didn’t take long to get one! I had a Wood Sand long before I had a Green Sandpiper, which goes to show it’s not all about how common the species is, you really could end up with anything on these recordings, regardless of where you live.

Below I put together a selection of different calls, all of which I had within one night, just so you can see the visual differences side by side.

Here’s a few more species, all dated accordingly, but I’ve also had quite a few Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Crossbill, Swifts, House Martin, Swallow, Oystercatcher, Moorhen, Grey Heron, Coot, Spotted Flycatcher and many unknown smaller birds that are going to take a while to ID.

I’ll leave the blog with a Robin recording, which seems to be taking over at the moment.

Birthday Blog

Today I plan on doing absolutely nothing for my Birthday. It’s the weekend, the weather isn’t the best and last night I took a Piriteze tablet, which has knocked me out for the day lol. I got bit by three mosquitoes whilst recording nocturnal waders at Goldcliff Lagoons the other day which has left me itchy all over. Even though piritize usually helps with this sort of itchiness, I have a bad history with piritize, so I don’t take them often. They do make me extremely drowsy and I learned this the hard way as I ended up in A&E a few years ago after taking too many!. They completely knocked me out, like a very strong sleeping tablet. Jodie literally had to peel me off the floor, it was quite worrying at the time. I laugh now, but truth is, it was very stupid of me to not take the correct dosage, so please always read the box before taking any new form tablet. They might be small but they pack a punch!

Anyway, quick update on Nightjar’s. I have three pairs that have successfully fledged two chicks so far and the 4th has just started their second clutch having failed their first. I think they’ve only laid one egg like last year but I refuse to flush her off the nest to find out, like so many nest finders and photographers do.
I’m going to take this opportunity to educate people about Nightjar photos they might be seeing online. IF you see a female Nightjar on a stick with her eyes wide open, or wings in an awkward position, it’s because she has been flushed off the nest. I’m seeing plenty of photos online from irresponsible photographers who don’t know what they’re doing and are looking for that ‘perfect photo’ with the birds eyes open. If you do your job property as a wildlife photographer, which is to NOT to disturb them, their eyes should remain shut or slightly open, called ‘slit eye’. This shows that the bird is trusting in their own camouflage and stil believe they have not been spotted. If their eyes are wide open, you have got too close and the bird fears for it’s life. These birds should only have their eyes fully wide open at night and it makes me sick that there are people out there who are willing to disturb females off the nest just to get that one shot. Absolute idiots! I could easily name names, but I hope that they’ll read this blog and know that they aren’t fooling everyone. There will always be people out there that know the truth behind the photo.

In other news, we had a few days of sunny spells which has brought me back into bug hunting mode, which has finally lead me to find my first pink morph grasshopper! I think it’s a Field Grasshopper but without its usual colour features it’s actually quite hard to tell without it singing. In the same patch was a few Mottled Grasshoppers too and I seem to be finding Roesel’s Bush-crickets wherever I go now! With hundreds singing on the Gwent Levels, Llandegfedd, Pontypool Park, The Race Meadows, Green Meadow, Cefn Ila, and most unusually at an upland site near my Nightjars too. I’ve seen more long-winged Roesel’s this year than any year previous, so I believe this year is one of those exceptional years where conditions were so perfect, almost perfect enough for plague levels of dispersal. This does happen from time to time with locust species across the planet, but I don’t believe it’s anything to worry about here.

Here’s a slomo version of this very loud iconic, electric sound. In slowing the recording down you also bring the pitch down, which means everyone can enjoy the sound of this cricket as some may not be able to hear them as they’re so high pitched and we all lose the top range eventually. I’m losing it slightly in my right ear and I’m sure it’l catch up with me eventually but till then, I’m making the most of it.

Another loud but high-pitched grasshopper is that of a Long-winged Conehead, which is a personal favourite as slowing it down reveals this incredible pattern, otherwise inaudible at full speed.

I’ve done a lot more sound recording this month than photography, making the most of what’s left of summer weather. During surveys I’ve put out unmanned drop rigs, just to maximise productivity whilst at these beautiful locations on the Gwent Levels. I’ve really come to love the place even more after these surveys. Every tide sounds different, as the weather totally changes how the water hits the shoreline. Sometimes it bubbles up thru the mudflats, and others it crashes in like waves on a sandy beach. Here’s two examples below, both high tide in the exact same spot, sounding totally different both times.

I also took a trip to the Canyon, where I found plenty of butterflies, including a Humming-bird Hawkmoth feeding on bramble flowers on the cliff-face. I went there to record the sound of the small waterfalls, but I think I was a little too close now, listening back it can sound a little ‘tinny’ and that’s because the waterfall hits many rocks on the way down, so it’s just a collection of very small sounds, so I would have been better off further away, to capture the sound of the entire waterfall as a whole, instead of just one section of it. Lesson learned. It’s the equivalent of photographing a beautiful landscape with a macro lens.

Goldcliff Lagoons

Goldcliff Lagoons is a classic example of brilliant conservation. The management plan here, to keep the site in pristine condition for breeding waders, is almost perfect, keeping the grass short with cattle, and the water levels just right so that it’s not too deep, and not too dry, leaving just enough shoreline to keep many wading species content but also enough deep water to keep a constant ecology of aquatic invertebrates that provide a constant food source throughout all four seasons. That in conjunction with a high electric fence around the perimeter to keep ground predators out. As a result it’s become a safe haven for many declining bird species such as Avocet, Little Ringed Plover and Lapwing. Post-breeding we start to see the arrival of winter migrants and amongst the hundreds of Black-headed Gulls, were plenty of Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Knot, Redshank, Whimbrel, Curlew, Lapwing, and some fresh arrivals in the form of a single Bar-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Sanderling, Green Sandpiper, Whinchat, Yellow Wagtail, and the infamous Glossy Ibis that’s been present for a few years now: So long that’s it’s been named ‘flossy’.

I timed my visit straight after a survey, as it was high tide and still fairly early with my survey finishing at 6:50am. It’s nice when you have high tide line up with the early morning sun, as theres usually more birds present and they’re all lit up by the morning sun, with all the platform and hides on the east side of the lagoons. I didn’t get much time to myself as it’s a popular location for birders, but here’s a few short recordings from the Snipe Platform, of Black-tailed Godwits feeding and a single Oystercatcher performing like it was spring again.

Beings I didn’t get much time alone, I planned a late trip at the next available high tide, which was at 10:30pm. Being dark by then, you couldn’t really see that much but I did see / hear large numbers of Curlew and Whimbrel arriving just after sunset and plenty of arriving waders making sound, but unfortunately the wind levels were too high for sound recording with a parabolic dish, so I’ll have to try again.

This late visit was the reason why I got bit by Mosquitoes 3 times, as there was a HUGE swarm over the lake. So large that you could hear the swarm over the top of the wind and thousands of waders!

Whilst I’m on the Nocturnal, here’s a recent heterodyne recording of a Pipistrelle Bat from a Bat Survey. Heterodyne is a process that transposes the ultrasonic frequencies produced by the Bat, down to an audible pitch that we can relate to. It’s still not the best way to appreciate the complexity and tonality of these Bat sounds but it’s the quickest way to ID Bats in the field, with use of a Bat Detector.

Nocmig

Autumn migration is finally here and I’m really starting to get some decent numbers of waders coming over my house in Sebastopol. I’m lucky here as I’m not too far away from the canal, which the birds are clearly using to navigate during the night on their migration.

There was one night that was particularly good, as we had short rain showers and low cloud, which wasn’t enough to stop waders from migrating, but was enough to bring them lower to the ground and therefor easier to pic up by the microphone. This resulted in a movement of 9 Dunlin, 7 Oystercatcher, 1 (possible 2) Redshank, 2 Moorhen and 1 Common Sandpiper. Here’s a few recordings showing mixed flocks also, which proves that these birds are often moving together. Since this day I’ve had some days with nothing at all, and the odd Oystercatcher, with a few Common Sandpiper. Autumn hasn’t even started yet so it should be an interesting season to come! Who knows what will end up over the house .

Where do I start!

I hope you’re all still hanging on in there. I do feel we’re slowly starting to come out the other end of this pandemic (for now). It certainly feels that way with way more cars on the road with people finding ways of getting back to work. I know it’s tough staying indoors, especially in this beautiful weather. I’m very lucky to have local access to so much wildlife and to be able to still do my surveying jobs around the Gwent Levels and a few semi-upland sites. As you know I’m self-employed and this as my full-time Job. It was tough to get where I am now and it’s times like this that make it all the worth-while. If like me; you require time outdoors with nature, for the sake of your mental health, maybe this experience will make you consider pursuing the Job you’ve always wanted? I’m a firm believer that there’s always some good that comes from bad experiences but we do need to exploit every opportunity we get. Maybe this is it?
Either way, If you can’t get out, I hope in sharing my outdoor experiences with you, it can somewhat transport you as if you were right there with me when it all happened. Pictures help, but I believe sound alone is the best way to do this, which is why I’ve done plenty of sound recording this year.

Here are some pre-dawn surveys this week on the Gwent Levels. The winds have changed to southerly in the last couple days so we’ve been seeing either mist or rain throughout the night as weather systems change.

The sound of the waves this morning was therapeutic and I can see why so many people are drawn to the ocean when the weather is nice. It’s not just about the beach, there’s a reason why people come from the beach feeling enriched. The sound of water does magical things to us, as does birdsong.

Sound

For those who haven’t heard a cuckoo, now’s your time. If you’re within walking distance to upland sites or the gwent levels, you might just catch a few at dawn or dusk. If you don’t have access, here’s my best recording yet of this male who specialises in lowland species, so probably looking for Dunnocks or Reed Warbler nests for the female to lay her egg in.

Another iconic sound of the lowland and a sound that can be heard over two miles away, is this incredible bellowing Bittern. I actually picked this bird up during a survey which I’m sure was more than two miles away but with the right wind conditions and the aid of my parabolic dish, I was able to hear it on the wind. The problem is the closer you get with a parabola, the less you seem to hear of a bittern as the dish itself only amplifies soundwaves than are smaller than it’s circumference, so low frequencies won’t be amplified. For this recording, I had to use a shotgun mic and some clever trickery in post edit to amplify the sound.

I’ve added some more birds to my sound-video list, two you’ll encounter quite a lot in and around your home. Wren and Dunnock have mastered all types of habitat, lowland or upland. A less common species though and an under-recorded species is this Lesser Whitethroat. Under-recorded as they are rarely seen due to their hedgerow antics, but also perhaps because people aren’t familiar with their song? If so, take a listen. That iconic sound at the end of each phrase is called ‘rattling’ and there isn’t really any other species I can think of that rattlings quite like this.

Another two lowland reed and hedge specialist in the form of a Cetti’s Warbler and Reed Bunting.

I appreciate there’s a lot of media here! I don’t expect you to listen to all of these files. It’s like 6 blogs all packed into one and I wish I could spend more time talking about each one as there’s some truly magical moments here. I recorded my first Roding Woodcock, a real close encounter with a Tawny Owl on a night that was so quiet, you could hear burrowing insects in the trees and the sound of bat wings. (Future blog about those insects).

Garden List

I’ve added a few more species to my Garden list but I’ve also included some I’ve found on the gwent levels during surveys. I’ve added yet another species of Bee to my garden list in the form of a Megachile Sp which is a type of Leaf-cutter Bee. I’ve now also got plenty of Speckled Bush-crickets roaming around so that female I found last year clearly laid eggs in my fence panel. (they like dead wood). I can’t ever recall seeing a 24-spot ladybird before so this was a nice addition for me.

Nocmig

Wow, what a headache Nocmig has been at times! So much to learn, it’s actually fueled my passion for sound even more but also brings out my love for bio-acoustics, as half of these calls can’t be identified by ear alone, they need to be analysed for the length of the call, pitch, and modulations etc. I don’t even have the software to do this properly but luckily there are specialists out who do know these sounds and between me and Craig Constance, we’re bouncing off each other quite well so far… Even still we’ve both still got things wrong on occasion but that’s all part of Nocmig, you have to accept that there will be things you get wrong, or sounds you cannot identify. It’s all part of the mystery of the game which is why it’s so fascinating.

I’ve even got a few probables that I’m not quite sure with. Turnstone is distant but spectrograph looks pretty good for Turnstone. I’ve had multiple Spot-Fly type calls but I’m not confident at separating them for Pied Flycatcher yet but I should be able todo so with these alls as they were pretty clear. I just want somebody with more experience than I to confirm for me. The Sound Approach does have a good write-up on these species but I don’t have to software yet to measure length of calls.

Hidden Gems & Mystery Call

I’ve got a soft spot for wildlife that utilises camouflage. I’ve found numerous Jack Snipe this season but only attempted to photograph this one as you can do so without stepping into their habitat. This is something you can’t avoid when photographing Nightjar though, which is why I recommend you stay out of breeding areas during spring and summer where you’re more likely to cause disturbance, or even step on the nest, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Somethings finding birds doesn’t require such subtly though, and sound usually gives their location away, even in the winter, which is why I love bringing my recording gear with me. This is a good example of why I encourage people to record sound in the field, as it can often reveal a much bigger picture of what species are in the environment. I heard this call numerous times, and it’s not unlike the call of a Whitethroat, or even a Dartford Warbler, but if you listen carefully, the sound isn’t made up of a group of notes like a typical bird call is. It took me a while to find out what it actually was, as I couldn’t see the critter in the hedge and it was right next to a reen, which was my first clue.
It was in-fact a Water Shrew! I’ve never seen one before, and I’ve certainly not heard one till today, but this is a sound I will not forget. It wouldn’t be the first time that I recorded something that I couldn’t see, and this is why I love sound recording, as you start to pay more attention to the whole environment and not what’s directly in-front of you.

Before the Rain

Spring might have been a wet one, but it’s been great so far this summer for bugs. I usually turn my attention to bugs this time of year as some species have a small window of opportunity before they all disappear again till next year. If you like Grasshoppers and Crickets, it’s worth visiting the north side of Llandegfedd as the meadows are alive with Roesel’s, Dark, Oak & Speckled Bush-crickets, Green, Meadow, Field and Mottled Grasshoppers, Long & Short-winged Coneheads and even Ground Hoppers with more to discover I’m sure.
As you know I like to record the sounds of nature, but as many people cannot hear some species of Grasshopper as they’re too high pitched, I’ve started a project that aims to record as many different species of Grasshopper / Cricket as possible and to slow those recordings down so that you can listen to the finer detail of each and every stroke of the wing cases. It’s not for everyone, but i find stuff like this fascinating as it reveals frequencies that you wouldn’t otherwise hear. Listen back to these insects in slow-motion helps you enter their world for a moment and also highlights how important it is for us to start consider the environmental impact our noise pollution has on species that are dependant on sound in order to reproduce.

I tend not to go anywhere simply for the walk these days, partly because I can’t walk far at the moment as I have gall-stones that are playing havoc, but also because I only walk 2 minutes before spotting something interesting to photograph, record or just appreciate. It doesn’t do anything for my fitness levels this way but I’ve made so much luck this way, slowly walking through the landscape, trying to appreciate everything that I see. If you do this, you’ll be rewarded more and more, and this was evident when I was accompanied by a Stoat that was quite shy, but I would have easily missed it if I was walking with the intent to walk. If you want to see things, you need to slow right down.

Mimicking Continues

Last week I introduced a Firecrest mimicking a Goldcrest song and this week I wanted to show you another example of a classic mimicking species, the Sedge Warbler! Now the recording isn’t very good with high winds and noisy planes that have been filtered out, that and the fact that the bird was only singing at quarter volume which is often called ‘sub-song’ but you can still make out the pitch perfect attempt at a Blue Tit song, eventually weaving back into it’s typical chattery mixture of notes. It also attempted to fit in a few phrases of Blackcap and Wren but the Blue Tit was by far the best I’ve heard for a while.

This Sedge Warbler was spotted at a new location along the Gwent Levels.

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

I also spotted a Water Vole in a rhyne. Testament to the hard work of the Wildlife Trust at Magor Marsh and NRW. It’s great that they’ve spread this far across the levels. Unfortunately this spot is directly threatened by the proposed M4 ‘Black Route’ so all this hard work could be lost. If you haven’t already, check out ‘CALM’ https://savethelevels.org.uk/ to learn more about what you can do to help protect the Gwent Levels from development.

Water Vole

Water Vole

#No New M4!

As distracting (and devastating) as the imminent disaster of Brexit is, there are some other really important things happening right now that need our attention. To save the Gwent Levels and the Wildlife within, we need to fight for it, otherwise the bulldozers WILL move in. Please contact your local AM’s and let them know that tearing up the Gwent Levels for this ridiculous plan to choose the most environmentally damaging route they could have possibly picked, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!


Enter your details using one of the links below and if you’re on Twitter, use the hashtag #NONEWM4 to share your thoughts.

https://action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/30798/action/1?fbclid=IwAR09CdJf0JizzKlDCQKVkEhgsX7F0QohNeVPG3CP59Sw9MYKH_Qf2jENd5A

https://act.friendsoftheearth.uk/act/no-new-m4-dim-m4-newydd?fbclid=IwAR2TEovtY4HbQmNssdFI9x29swazTc7Fwl9-wdbP-yMP5cI4oaUsQFDwbXQ

Water Vole have only been re-introduced in the last couple of years and upon making their comeback to the levels, already their habitat is set to be destroyed. These and many more species that benefit from the Levels, like our first breeding pair of Cranes for our 400 years! Read all about it HERE. It’s not acceptable. Please use one of the links, learn more about it and see how you can help, time is running out.

Water Vole

GWT Magor Marsh

The gwent levels never fails to impress me. The sheer diversity there that thrive on both manmade and natural habitats is outstanding. Todays selection of photos only scratch the surface of the things I saw on my short trip after work to magor. Finding a Glow Worm larvae at the end of the wooden pathway was a nice reminder of what happens after dark. A late night trip in the next couple weeks might be on the cards to spot any lights in the darkness. The wind was up which meant the butterflies were down and I managed to get close enough to shoot a few orange tip butterflies with the Macro lens. The Emperor Moth was taken in St Brides thanks to Mel Oxford who was lucky enough to have one sat on his lawn! What a beautiful Moth! We have a great selection of beautiful moths in the Uk and it’s on my list this year to make a trap to record the species in my area. It will be a great way to expand my knowledge, learn more species and add to the never ending list of records that I have to send off.