Category: Nature Notes

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 […]

  Have you seen a fox in the village recently? The photo shows one in a Wenvoe garden at midday during last August and sightings from other residents are not uncommon. Whilst there is no clear demarcation between ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ foxes, ours are likely to be more of the countryside variety. However many urban areas of Britain have large […]

By the time you read this there should be a lot more blossom about. In mid February we can see the first white splashes in the hedgerows of Blackthorn, from which you get your sloes, and early flowering cherries are popular in gardens. At the entrance to Clos Llanfair is a quite uncommon Purple-leaved Plum or Black Cherry Plum, one […]

Leeches Not Cute And Lovable Leeches are abundant and all around us, yet few will notice them. They are not exactly cute and lovable – indeed they might generate a frisson of terror in some, particularly those who remember Humphrey Bogart being covered in them in ‘The African Queen’. Stories in the press such as the removal of a leech […]

  January is a time for New Year resolutions so why not pledge to do some of the following.  Put up bird boxes but site them away from where cats can get at them  Attach a bell to your cat’s collar. This does reduce their success rate in killing small birds  Put out bird-feeders, particularly for the […]

When did you last plant a tree? With November 30th being Tree Charter Day and the Woodland Trust planning to plant 35,000 trees on that day alone, here is a chance for you to consider what you can do to help. Why bother? As the Woodland Trust says ‘as well as absorbing carbon, trees help to deal with the effects […]

A Good Year For Apples Generally it has been a good year for our apples and many of the trees in our orchards have been heavily laden with fruit. Also doing well are the insects, particularly wasps and butterflies, that appreciate apples that have started to over-ripen. Our camera traps are also showing foxes and badgers taking advantage of the […]