Category: Nature

Peregrine Falcon Order

 

 

The Destruction of Peregrine Falcon Order

 

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falcon02In 1940 the Government issued a Destruction of Peregrine Falcon Order because this most successful of predators was taking out the pigeons that were being used by bomber command if the crews had to bail out in order to get a message back with their location. Around 200,000 pigeons were supplied by private breeders as message carriers.but maybe 600 peregrines were killed as a result of the order. In areas like Cornwall and Devon peregrines were almost completely wiped out. By the 1960s pigeon-fanciers in South Wales were complaining that the peregrines were causing major losses but in the investigation that followed it was found that there had been a massive decline in the numbers of this falcon and this was primarily down to the use of DDT. In 1962 they reached a low point with only 350 pairs left in Britain. Our ancestors revered the falcon – the male was known as a Tiercel from the French for 'la tierce' as it is a third smaller than the female. They would have been horrified to hear how we have been persecuting a bird that has been descibed as the Ferrari of the bird world, 'our most splendid bird of prey' and 'of all wild creatures the peregrine is the most truly symbolic of freedom'. Fortunately egg collecting became illegal from the 1960s and persecuting the birds is illegal. That however does not stop it being shot and poisoned as regular reports of killed birds appear in the newspapers. Last year a Peregrine nesting on the roof of the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's headquarters building was shot and killed. But they are resilient birds and it is wonderful to be able to publish this photo of a peregrine taken in the parish of Wenvoe in late November.

 

 

 

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Keep Wales Tidy Awards

 

 

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WWGWe were runners up in the Biodiversity category of the all-Wales Keep Wales Tidy awards. This is the second year we have been shortlisted and we shall enter a different project again next year in the hope that we make it to the top spot. Thank you to everyone who voted for us at Tescos. Again we did not make it to first place but the substantial grant involved will enable us to make significant progress on our wildlife initiatives down at Goldsland Farm. We have had two school visits during December. The first involved Year 11s from Michaelston College who really got stuck in to the Community Orchard, spreading compost, planting a cherry tree and taking cuttings of Guelder Rose. A number of them expressed a wish to return and we shall be delighted to have them. Younger children from Wenvoe Primary School also had a short walk, gathering holly, ivy and other bits for decorations and hopefully learning something along the way.

 

 

 

 

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Preparing For Winter

 

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What an autumn it’s been, so mild with some days warmer and sunnier than many summer days. As I write this piece in mid November, the trees have yet to shed half their leaves and throughout the land the autumn colours have been spectacular, notably the maples of which there are several in the village.

I have only just emptied our containers and dug over the garden beds and really the geraniums and bedding begonias were in such good condition, they could have gone on until the end of the month. However the time is right for bringing my wallflowers down from my allotment for planting out in the garden and the winter bedding is ready and waiting in the greenhouse, to fill pots and containers. If you plan to fill your containers with bulbs, shrubs and other permanent plants, make sure water can pass through easily as good drainage is doubly important in winter. Clear any blockages in the pots and water should drain through readily. Ants and worms nesting under container bases can block holes but pots can be raised on broken pieces of tile or even half bricks.

I’ve been spending some time on my allotment in this fine weather, pacing myself with my digging – just a half hour at a time and not going mad as I used to do. I like to dig. I get the same satisfaction from the job as my dad used to do. I’ve got a rotavator but I still like to dig.

I was asked how long leeks, carrots and parsnips could be left in the ground. Leeks are winter-proof and can be left in the ground and lifted as required as can carrots and parsnips but these will begin to deteriorate after January if the tops begin to grow again.

Do you really want a poinsettia in mid- October which is when they’ve appeared in supermarkets this year? It wouldn’t do for us. We’re lucky if this plant lasts through December and rarely into the New Year, so we’ve admitted defeat and we now enjoy them in other folks’ homes.

So to all readers of What’s On I hope you have 

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The Harlequin Ladybird,

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dec-harlequin-nnNovember in the parish saw an invasion although you might not have noticed it. The Harlequin Ladybird, which only arrived in Britain in 2004, is now well-established over most of Britain, even having been spotted as far north as the Shetlands. Less common in Scotland and North and Mid Wales it is very common in South Wales and during November would have found its way into many buildings if a window was left open. Whilst they are generally harmless to humans they are a major threat to our native species. With huge appetites, once they have run out of aphids to eat they move on to the eggs and larvae of other ladybirds as well as moths and butterflies. In the 1980s it was introduced to North America to help to control aphids on crops but quickly became the dominant species. Its introduction here was probably accidental. It took the Grey Squirrel 100 years to colonise Britain, the Harlequin just 10. Whilst they are bigger than our native ladybirds they come in a huge range of colours and patterns, the one featured in the photo being a common form spotted in both the Village Hall and Community Centre last month. You can help by reporting sightings to the Ladybird Survey – http://www.harlequin-survey.org/ – where you will find a lot more information on what they look like and where they have been seen.

 

 

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Green Flag Awards

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With Christmas and New Year imminent, this is an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved this year. We managed 3 Green Flag awards, the only village in Wales to get three and one of these was the first Green Flag to be achieved on a working farm. We now have 7 sites – one for every day of the week consisting of one meadow, 4 orchards, one woodland and one farm. We managed to obtain funding from BiffaAward, Waitrose, Nationwide and Tescos although we are still awaiting payment from one company who agreed the funding in June.

We have again been short-listed for a Biodiversity award, one of only 3 in Wales. On the negative side the Vale of Glamorgan Council still has no money to cut the Upper Orchid Field so we continue to rely on help from local farmers or landowners to prevent the meadow reverting to scrub. The loss of trees in and around the village is disappointing and we have failed to get mistletoe to grow (but will keep trying!). On the plus side we are starting to see a modest fruit crop with some unusual ones such as Quince fruiting for the first time. Our wildflower planting has been well-received and is why we have been short-listed for a biodiversity award.

 

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pete_plantingWe continue to give talks, lead walks and involve local schools. 2017 is going to be just as busy so if you have any spare time and would like to get involved, please get in touch. Absolutely no experience necessary.

 

 

 

 

A big thank you and

Happy Christmas to all our supporters.

 

 

 

 

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Plan for Autumn

autumn01Autumn is well and truly here with trees and shrubs showing full autumn colour. What a good year it’s been for garden bedding plants of all varieties, but especially geraniums, and the various kinds of begonias. I grow both bedding varieties and the big showy ones and the latter have been huge this year, so much so that the weight of the flowers have often caused the patio pats to keel over in a bit of wind.

If you have a greenhouse now is the time to pot up plants you want to overwinter. They will survive quite low temperatures providing the compost is kept fairly dry.

Clear out greenhouses of tomatoes etc and wash down glass and glazing bars with ordinary household disinfectant.

Pot up spring bulbs to provide early flowers for next year.

On the allotment, take down bean sticks to store away for next year. Rough dig over bare ground and bury weeds, but remove perennial weeds such as docks, thistles and bindweed.

Sow autumn varieties of broad beans at least 3-4ins deep and protect rows to keep pigeons away. Thin out branches on blackcurrant bushes, taking out the dead wood. Remove blackberry canes that have fruited and tie in the long new shoots which will bear next year’s crop. Gooseberry bushes need very little pruning. Just remove some of the old wood.

Finally autumn is here and the leaves are falling. Don’t waste them! Leaf mould made from decomposed leaves is a great potting compost, soil improver and mulch Collect and store them in bin bags and leave to rot down. Chop them down and water first to speed things up.

 

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Tree Planting

 

Tree Planting in Wales

treescolo02We have been going on about trees in recent issues, firstly how good they are for our physical and mental well-being, but equally, how many are being cut down and how few planted. A few years ago a UK Government think tank set a reasonable target of planting 21,600 hectares across the UK each year. So, how well are they (or we?) doing. In 2013/14 they achieved 59% of their target – not too bad a start. But in 2014/15 only 48% of the target was managed and last year (2015/16) the figure had dropped to 25%. UK tree planting is now at its loweswellingtonia01-1-of-1-2t level for 45 years.

And how are we faring in Wales? With over 8% of the UK's land mass Wales managed 900 hectares in the first year, around 7% of what was planted. By the second year Wales had dropped to 100 hectares, less than 1% of the total and last year it remained at 100 hectares which was actually 1.8% of the total because everywhere else was well down. Put another way Wales's total of 100 hectares last year compares with Scotland's 4,600 hectares of tree planting. Scotland is just under 4 times bigger than Wales but managed 50 times more tree planting. Northern Ireland is two thirds the size of Wales but managed the same level of planting. It can come as little consolation that England proportionately was even worse than Wales and was described as 'appalling' by the conservation director of the Woodland Trust.

Of course virtually anyone can do something about it. You can lobby your elected people-planting-trees-clipart-1representatives, join the Woodland Trust or even go and plant a tree. If you have children or grand-children get them involved in the planting. You do not need acres of garden (which you would for the Wellingtonia in the photo) – there are plenty of small trees that will help both mankind and wildlife.

 

 

Winter Bedding Plants etc

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In mid September I did my usual browse through the winter catalogues to decide on winter bedding plants. Not that there was much of a decision to make because I always send for the same plants anyway-pansies, viola, primula, polyanthus However I remembered that last spring I realised that I have been negligent in re-stocking with spring bulbs. When you plant your bulbs you think they go on for ever. Not so and crocus, snowdrop and even daffodils have all but vanished. I grow the latter in patio pots but there’s nothing as pleasing as the sight of a full bed of golden yellow flowers cheering up the dark winter days. So now that the summer bedding is almost cleared away, my priority will be to get in a selection of spring bulbs.

Now a question for readers of this column. Are your favourite flowers fashionable or uncool?dahlia01

Recently I read an article on the increasing popularity of flowers which for some time have been considered to be unfashionable and the following is a breakdown of twelve flowers that are “in” or “out”.

These are the IN flowers – Gladioli, Dahlias, Roses, Gypsophila, Chrysanthemums, Peonies and Wild spring flowers.

OUT are Lilies, Orchids, Begonias, Carnations and Sunflowers.

sunflower01So what do you make of that?

Most flowers have their charms but some are preferred above others. After all, like most things in life it’s down to personal choice. There are only four varieties on the combined list of twelve that would be top of my list, two of which are OUT, so I’ve concluded I must be UNCOOL!!

 

 

 

Goldsland Farm Charity Scheme

squirrelIf you find yourself in Tescos up till around 9th October you will have an opportunity to vote for us under the Bags of Help scheme. We were delighted to have been one of the three charities to be supported in the latest round and our project involves the development of wildlife habitats and education at Goldsland Farm near the Golf Course. So you are looking for the charity that is likely to include ‘Goldsland’ in the title. The scheme works by offering you a token at the check-out and you can then vote for the charity of your choice. There should be containers normally near the exit.

If you have not been to Goldsland Farm (the annual open day has attracted thousands of visitors), it is a working dairy and arable farm with a lot of history. One of the barns is a Grade 2 listed building datOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAing back to mid- Victorian times and the ponds which extend to just under an acre are referred to as watercress beds on old maps. There is a viewing area where visitors such as school parties can watch the cows being milked. Our project will involve putting up a notice board and bee hotel like the one on the Community Orchard, installing benches, creating a nature trail and planting wildflower areas and an orchard. We hope to put in a nest-cam and install equipment to monitor the local bats. Much of our conservation work will focus on clearing the undergrowth that is covering the watercress beds.

If we come last in the voting we will still receive £8,000 making it the biggest grant we have received. Second is worth £10,000 and first is £12,000. If we are lucky enough to be first or second the additional money will be used for visiting school parties and special needs groups of both children and adults who we are already working with.

In a separate project, Abi Reader, who farms Goldsland is working with the Welsh Government on a project which hopes to install reed-beds to process the slurry from the farm-yard – an initiative with potential major ecological significance. This provides an opportunity to tell a fascinating story starting with the pollinators who ensure our crops grow and wildlife prosper, through the dairy herd which provides the milk and ending with how the waste products are safely disposed of and the processed waste put to good use. As with all the Wildlife Group’s activities if you would like to get involved in any way (no knowledge or experience is necessary) do get in touch. You can follow us on Facebook (Wenvoe Wildlife Group), check our notice boards of which we have 5 or look at our website wenvoewildlifegroup.co.uk

 

 

Ancient Trees

 

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Possibly the oldest in Wales? Recently we wrote about Citizen Science – how anyone can contribute to what we know about our world by recording what they see. One example is the Ancient Tree Register managed by the Woodland Trust. The Wildlife Group is registered as a recording group so if we come across a tree that is likely to be particularly old we take measurements and send the details off. So far we have recorded 18 trees, many of them in our parish. These would be regarded as 'veterans' – to be 'ancient' a tree has to be at least 400 years old – the likeliest candidate being the yew in St Mary's churchyard facing Old Port Road.oct-tree-near-tretower

However, whilst walking near Tretower recently members of the group came across a massive oak. It measured over 10 metres around the trunk and details were sent off along with photo, grid reference and lists of the mosses and lichens growing on it. The response we received from the Ancient Tree Register was encouraging. "This is a most remarkable ancient oak you have recorded in the Brecon Beacons… What a great find and thanks for adding it to the Woodland Trust's Ancient Tree inventory. Although the girth could be exaggerated by the tree's condition, falling open, it still suggests that this is one of the biggest and possibly oldest oaks in Wales"

oakleaves01It was as recent as 2014 that was is considered to be Britain's oldest tree was discovered in a churchyard in Wales, a yew in St Cynogs churchyard at Defynnog near Sennybridge which is thought to be 5,000 years old. The Pontfadog Oak was believed to be Wales's oldest oak at 1,200 years but it fell over in 2013. It will be interesting to see how our oak comes out when investigations and surveys have been completed

 

 

 

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