Category: Wenvoe Wildlife Group

Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival

 

A number of residents joined the Wildlife Group walk last year as part of the Vale of Glamorgan Walking Festival. This year it takes place on Thursday 17th May starting at 10.30am from St Marys Church and proceeding via the Elizabethan Orchard at Burdons Hill, then on to Goldsland Farm to look at the Watercress Beds and other initiatives, returning via St Lythans and the Welsh Orchard. No booking necessary but the walk is 5 to 6 miles so be prepared for that distance and bring lunch. 40 walkers from all over South Wales joined us last year and we hope to repeat that success again this year.

Work has concentrated on getting the wildflower beds ready for their annual sowing of seed. The patch in Grange Park has been given a thorough going over with a rotavator and many substantial tree roots removed. Seed has been donated to the Vale of Glamorgan Council for the Alps roundabout and to the group that looks after Old Hall Gardens in Cowbridge. A limited number of small seed packets will be given away at the Craft Fair on Sunday 20th May. If you get a packet note that these are annuals and should be sown onto bare soil, not into grass.

Despite some pretty poor weather over Easter a number of youngsters successfully completed the Easter Egg Trail on the Upper Orchid Field which now looks a lot tidier having been cut and baled by John Crockford. A second cut will take place in the Autumn – we are grateful to the Community Council for their support which has helped to ensure that the field has a future as one of the last wildflower meadows in the area.

Judging for the Green Flag awards takes place on 2nd May and we have five sites entered, the newest being the Wild Orchard at St Lythans.

 

 

Spring Activity Report

 

By the time you read this the Upper Orchid Field should have been cut. We are delighted to be working in conjunction with a local contractor and by ensuring that the field is not only cut but the vegetation removed this will help the wildflowers to flourish. It will be cut again in late September and thereafter annually in the Autumn. We have heard that we have been successful in obtaining a grant from Grow Wild. This money will be used up at Goldsland farm where we shall be planting wildflower plugs and creating an orchard meadow – a relatively rare habitat in Britain. Our main focus will be on the creation of fungi beds which will enable visitors to understand and get close to fungi. We have started planting a new orchard at Goldsland which will include some rare and interesting fruit trees such as Gabalva and Kenneth. Cadwallader is an example of a cider apple and we have three varieties of specially grafted Perry Pears, namely Gwehelog, Gwehelog Red and Blakeney Red. Work continues around the Watercress beds where we have pushed back the brambles and cut down some willows – see photo. The latter will regrow from the base and produce material that can be used for basketry and other woven goods.

 

 

 

Birds Don’t See Windows

A recent BBC item highlighted the problem of birds crashing into windows mistaking them for openings or seeing a tree reflection with tragic consequences. The city of Toronto in Canada sits on a major migratory bird route and every year is witness to huge numbers of bird deaths due to this phenomenon. They have now changed their building rules so that new constructions must incorporate bird friendly initiatives such as recessed windows to prevent reflection and smaller glass panes rather than buildings shrouded in vast glass panels. The article demonstrates a significant reduction in bird strikes and deaths indeed in one building alone down by a massive 90%.
Here in Wenvoe many residents love to feed garden birds with large numbers of feeders and bird tables across the village. As we now approach spring the birds are becoming more active in courtship and nesting so using more energy than normal. These feeders create a dichotomy as birds become dependent on them and less territorial in nature. That means birds often congregate in smaller areas given the ready supply of food. Territorial competition is part of nature and as birdsong is wonderful to us humans it's actually a robust warning message to other birds to stay away and go elsewhere.
This congregation of many different breeds of birds at garden feeders creates excitement and competition amongst our feathered friends often resulting in fights and disputes which creates confusion and disorientation. All too often birds in their haste mistake dark windows as open gaps or see reflection of sky or trees resulting in impact. Smaller birds weighing only a few grams can survive these collisions but bigger birds like wood pigeons and crows or fast flying birds like green woodpecker are often killed by breaking their necks or at the very least badly stunned.
This is easily preventable. The RSPB recommends breaking up the dark window (not literally!!) by closing curtains to prevent reflection; putting plants on the windowsills as a visual deterrent or by adhering stickers to windows to show there's an obstruction. There are varied and lovely stickers available on the RSPB website and other outlets which are not too expensive and a great way to support these beautiful little gifts from nature. See  http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/bird-window-stickers.html

 

 

 

Vale Wildflower project

 

We were delighted to be offered £356 by Waitrose in Cowbridge and this will be used to buy wildflower seed for planting on our existing sites. We also hope to give away small packs of seed at the Craft Fair and Open Farm Sunday. If you voted for us with your green tokens, many thanks. And if you missed out on that, don't worry as you will have another chance, this time at Waitrose Barry during March. Look out for the Vale Wildflower project. Not only do we plant our own seed but we distribute to many other groups including the Vale Council and those who look after Old Hall Gardens in Cowbridge. We continue to clear the undergrowth around the watercress beds at Goldsland Farm (see photo) and have started planting the new orchard. The pace hots up with Spring coming so there is always plenty do if you would like to come and join us.

 

 

Orchard Update

 

We have been out and about when the weather permitted. Some more willows have been planted in the Community Orchard along with the King James 1st Mulberry donated by a resident. 4 Bullace have been planted in the Wild Orchard, St Lythans, two each of the varieties Shepherds Bullace and Langley Bullace. These are like small plums or large sloes. Our remote camera traps are showing some nice shots of foxes and pheasants but no rarities as yet.

 

 

Many New Members

 

It is great that so many new members of the group are coming from people who have recently moved into the village. Whether you are a specialist or generalist, whether you prefer digging and planting or spotting and recording, there is plenty of opportunity for everyone who cares about wildlife to do something positive. In the last month, when weather permits and it has not been wonderful, we have been strimming the vegetation, thinning out trees, planting bulbs in the wildflower planters, digging out self-sown trees, weeding vegetable patches, planting trees, trimming our hedgerows, treating our timber structures, putting up notices and leaflet dispensers. In the coming weeks we hope to plant up our fifth orchard, dig in some new Bullace trees, cut back a small wildflower meadow and generally get on top of things before Spring arrives and it all starts over again. For more detail follow us on Facebook – Wenvoe Wildlife Group.

 

 

Future Projects

 

To those of you, particularly those moving into Wenvoe, if you have an interest in wildlife and would like to help our furry and feathered friends, not to mention flowers, trees, lichens and insects, do get in touch with the Wildlife Group. We now have 7 sites and there is always plenty to be done. Over the coming months we shall be planting an orchard (yes, another one – our fifth!), putting in 3 ponds, opening up a sunken lane, pruning our 100+ apple and pear trees, creating a lichen trail, strimming, clearing and mulching. We shall be planting Bullace and Mulberry and preparing the wildflower beds for next year. We are already beginning to see more wildlife moving in – especially small mammals such as voles and shrews and the butterflies were also enjoying the windfalls. The caterpillar in the photo is a Yellow Tail moth.

During October we hosted a visit from members of Cadoxton Conservation Group and it is great to see the progress they have been making in Barry – follow them on Facebook. And talking Facebook, don't forget to check our Facebook pages – it is often the most up-to-date and visual means of keeping in touch.

 

 

 

A New Arbour

We have erected an arbour in the Elizabethan Orchard – see photo – and will be planting Honeysuckle to grow up the sides. Shakespeare often refers to Woodbine which some believe is Honeysuckle but he also refers to Woodbine entwined with Honeysuckle which suggests it may be something else. It is disappointing to have to report that one of the newly planted heritage Gooseberry varieties we planted has been stolen. Increased use of CCTV and distribution of our wildlife cameras may provide evidence that the police can make use of. We shall also be planting 20 bulbs of Spiked Star of Bethlehem which is the flower featured on our logo as the parish has the only confirmed and established site for this in Wales, where it has been growing for at least 20 years and probably longer. We have had printed our own T Shirts, thanks to Linda Evans, which you will see being worn by members when working in the orchards and nature reserves. This features the logo front and back. Our next major project will be the planting of the orchard at Goldsland Farm which will consist mainly of apples, including some cider varieties and perry pears

 

 

Volunteer of The Year

 

 

We were delighted to hear that Mervyn Greenwood was runner-up in the Wales Volunteer of the Year awards judged by Keep Wales Tidy. It is a great achievement, particularly bearing in mind how many hundreds, possibly thousands, of volunteers there are in Wales. The judges commented: 'The application clearly shows the amazing work Mervyn does at Wenvoe Wildlife Group and his passion for the environment and the area'. Mervyn was presented with a certificate from Keep Wales Tidy and vouchers by the Wildlife Group.

Continuing our interest in Lichens we arranged for a survey to be carried out of the Lichens down at Goldsland Farm which we intend to be the basis of a Lichen Trail around the area. This is a very specialised subject and we were very pleased that Tracey Lovering from Plantlife could fit us into her busy schedule. We have now completed the programme of activities and purchases with the generous grant from Tescos. This has provided us with noticeboards, benches, arbours, tools, an orchard, wildflowers, bee hotels, hedgehog homes, nest boxes, raised beds, grass-cutting machines and strimmers, plants, remote cameras – to mention just a few.

This has been our best year for fruit from the orchards including a good selection of apples (possible around 50 kgs), quite a few plums and damsons, a handful of pears and the usual crop of medlars. If you try out any of the fruit let us know what you think – personal preferences can vary but any feedback we get is useful. Our fifth orchard will be planted down at Goldsland soon and we have heard that Dyffryn Gardens is going ahead with their new orchard in the coming months.

 

 

 

Orchard News for July

 

 

We have managed to get all four of our sites accepted as having achieved the Green Flag standard so The Upper Orchid Field, Community Orchard, Elizabethan Orchard and now the Welsh Orchard will be proudly flying their Green Flag pennants. To put this achievement in context we are the only village in the county to have a Community Green Flag the others being 3 in Barry and 2 in Cowbridge. We have more than towns like Merthyr and Bridgend and Newport has none. This is down to the support of the Vale of Glamorgan Council who own two of the sites, the Reader family who own and help us to look after the other two; the members of the Wildlife Group who maintain the sites and those of you who visit and respect them. We are aiming for 5 next year.

Year 3 children from Wenvoe Primary School came to the Community Orchard on a nature ramble. They hunted for insects and wildlife in the grasses and the pond and spotted a number of different species. They also looked at the bee hotel and learnt about how important these kind of wildlife habitats are for insects, birds and small mammals. The children took a few apples and some herbs back to the classroom to try, to see how the apples are different from the ones they get in the supermarket. They also looked at the pumpkins which are growing well, ready for them to pick for Halloween.

We mentioned the Rooster challenge a few months back where you follow a set of 5 clues which can be found on the noticeboards on the Upper Orchid Field, Community Orchard, Elizabethan Orchard, Goldsland Farm and Wild Orchard. The challenge has been completed so the first prize has been awarded but a runner-up prize is still on offer so why not have a go. Next correct entry gets £10 in garden vouchers.

There is quite a bit of fruit coming along in the orchards. The photo shows a still young apple tree but with over 100 fruit on it. It is an adopted Welsh apple tree known as Afal Coch Cynnar, originally Devonshire Quarrenden. This was first introduced in 1676, is very good for bees and other insects and tastes of strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

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