Category: Nature Notes

Nature Notes Private Gardens In The UK Private gardens in the UK cover an area bigger than all the Nature Reserves combined, estimated at over 10 million acres. Just as our countryside and woodland is shrinking, so is the amount of garden space which wildlife can use as more gardens become wholly or partially paved over or covered with decking, […]

The Welsh Have No Use For Orchards nor Gardens! (The Welsh) have no use for orchards nor gardens’. So said Gerald of Wales, the 12th/13th century historian and archdeacon of Brecon. We described in the previous two issues something of the background and history of the sweet apple – so did Wales really miss out? You will often come across […]

NATURE NOTES Community Orchards Resurgence With 5 Community Orchards in the parish we are starting to reclaim some of the ground lost through the wholesale removal of orchards over the last hundred years. In this and future articles we shall consider the origin of orchards, the history of their rise and fall and why they are important for wildlife. To […]

Nature Notes Commentaries on Nature will always be something of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. So let’s start at the grimmer end of the spectrum. Neonicotinoids are a form of insecticide widely used in the 1990s but when evidence became clear that they were killing bees they were banned in the European Union in 2018. What does history […]

Nature Notes Discover our 5 Community Orchards With more and more people discovering one or more of our 5 Community Orchards, all designed and planted by the Wenvoe Wildlife Group, the question is often raised – What has this got to do with wildlife? Orchards are a priority habitat in Biodiversity Action Plans whether at UK Government levels, Welsh Government […]

Red Kites spotted flying over the Parish A number of residents have spotted Red Kites flying over the Parish recently which is great news. Once upon a time they were quite common and Shakespeare referred to London as a ‘city of kites and crows’. They were the street cleaners of the time and even had a degree of protection However […]

NATURE NOTES Wildlife Photos In The Parish Those who follow us on Facebook will have seen the large numbers of photos of wildlife taken in the parish. Many are coming from gardens, others from the countryside, as more adults and families are walking the footpaths around the village. Species sent in include moths such as the Cabbage, the Silver Ground […]

Wild Life – Consider Making Them Welcome In response to the Nature News piece in the April magazine, I recall that the only time I have seen a fox in the village was many years ago at night time, running down the road outside my house, no doubt hoping for some easy pickings from rubbish bags. Quite often there is […]

Stoats near Burdons Hill Several people have spotted a pair of Stoats near Burdons Hill. Usually quite unobtrusive this pair were either amorous, antagonistic or play-fighting resulting in a fair bit of noise and rustling in the hedgerow. Stoats are bigger than Weasels, are chestnut brown above and white underneath with a clear demarcation line. If you manage to see […]