{"id":13982,"date":"2024-02-14T00:54:30","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T23:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13982"},"modified":"2024-02-14T00:54:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T23:54:43","slug":"dragons-in-your-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13982","title":{"rendered":"Dragons In Your Garden?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dragons In Your Garden?<\/span><\/p>\n

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Do you have Dragons in your garden? It might surprise you to know that the answer is probably ‘yes’. Chinese New Year falls on February 10th and this time it is the Year of the Dragon. However, the dragons in your garden are not the traditional fire-breathing monsters of old but a group of animals called Herpetofauna which includes Amphibians and Reptiles. The Connecting the Dragons project across South Wales aims to restore and raise awareness of these threatened species, 50% of which are in danger.<\/p>\n

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So, what might you come across in Wenvoe? If you have a pond, you are likely to have Newts, certainly the Common Newt. But we suspect there are also populations of the Great Crested Newt but have yet to confirm a record. Frogs and Toads turn up regularly, but the Toad is now classified as a Priority Species because of declines in their numbers. The Grass Snake is the UK’s largest native snake but is not venomous and is quite harmless to humans. These have been recorded in the Elizabethan Orchard and the Goldsland Watercress Beds but are likely to be in many other locations in the Parish. Adders have not been recorded in the Parish although some people claim to have seen them. They have been recorded in Leckwith Woods and are likely to be here so definitely one to look out for. If you see one, treat it with respect as they have a venomous bite.<\/p>\n

As far as Lizards are concerned, we are likely to have the Common Lizard as there are several records from Cardiff but, again, none in the Parish. And then there is the Slow Worm – neither slow nor a worm nor even a snake but a legless lizard. We come across these regularly in our wildlife sites and also in gardens, although you are less likely to see them if you have cats as they are predators.<\/p>\n

So, in the year of the Dragon we are going to make more effort to record, protect and encourage these creatures. We hope you will do the same and in future issues of What\u2019s On we will describe some of the ways in which you can help.<\/p>\n

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Dragons In Your Garden? Do you have Dragons in your garden? It might surprise you to know that the answer is probably ‘yes’. Chinese New Year falls on February 10th and this time it is the Year of the Dragon. However, the dragons in your garden are not the traditional fire-breathing monsters of old but a group of animals called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-3Dw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14241,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=14241","url_meta":{"origin":13982,"position":0},"title":"Enter Two More Dragons In Your Garden","author":"Alan Williams","date":"15th May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Enter Two More Dragons In Your Garden Our next two Dragons in this Chinese Year of the Dragon are the Lizards. The most common in Wenvoe is the Slow Worm, neither a worm nor snake but a legless lizard. They are amazingly long-lived, amongst the longest-living lizards in the world,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture9.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9932,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9932","url_meta":{"origin":13982,"position":1},"title":"Dragons and Damsels","author":"Alan Williams","date":"12th July 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"From warmer days in May onwards you could find Dragonflies in your garden. Whilst it helps if you have a pond, they can fly some distance so most gardens will receive a visit. Dragonflies are bigger insects and usually rest with their wings stretched out at 90 degrees to their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture22.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13188,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13188","url_meta":{"origin":13982,"position":2},"title":"NATURE NOTES","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"NATURE NOTES \u00a0 We are often asked about the effects of artificial lawns on wildlife. The benefits in terms of maintenance etc. are understood and promoted in advertising by plastic grass suppliers. 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This does reduce their success rate in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/AGB21FL.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8858,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8858","url_meta":{"origin":13982,"position":5},"title":"RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th December 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"RSPB BIG GARDEN BIRDWATCH 29-31St January 2021 Many readers will already know about the Big Garden Birdwatch and many will have taken part previously. It is free and easy to take part. Here are the basic things you need to know. 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