Alive long after they are dead…

Taking a quick walk around Cwm Ivy yesterday I noticed just how many holes the woodpeckers have put into the trees in their destructive search for food. More often than not woodpeckers will focus on dead trees as they are excellent habitat for bugs such as beetle larvae.

In an undisturbed wood untouched by humans there would be many standing dead trees and the woodland floor would be littered with branches and fallen trees in varying stages of decay. Fallen branches soon start to crumble and rot and get covered in mosses and fungus.

The trees we felled for the new lodge were sold as timber; however there were many mis-shapen and undersized trees left over and, aided by our tireless volunteers, we have been logging and stacking the left over trees to create ‘habitat piles’.

So if you see a neat pile of logs in the woods take a look and see who lives their but leave them alone as hopefully they are home to hundreds of creatures!

 

Spring is here – it’s official!

Today is officially the first day of spring, so what better way to start the day than a site visit to Rhossili.  Lots of exciting nature things are happening….

Clumps of jelly-like frogspawn and writhing masses of tadpoles in ditches and ponds:

 Newts wriggling up to the surface and sinking gracefully back to the pool bottoms:

Buds bursting open, leaves unfurling and flowers opening to the sky:

Skylarks singing and spiralling high up in the sky:

Wheatears hopping from rock to rock amongst the yellow coconut smelling gorse:

and Gower ponies with their thick shaggy winter coats watching it all…..

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Its all about the coast….

Last summer we had a visit from Geraint Ffrancon, a sound artist who had been commissioned by Local Journeys and the Trust to make a film about the weather. (see earlier post ‘Back to Reality’ on 2 September 2011)

Not just any old weather though, this is about the weather as experienced at Rhossili on Gower, and Brean Down in Somerset.

The film is now available via the link below.

Do take a moment to sit in a quiet room and enjoy – its beautiful and very relaxing  – especially if you’re in the warm and dry!

A mini Jurrasic park (without the velociraptors)!

Next time you are having a picnic or going for a paddle at Fall bay take a few moments to look closely at the rocks on either side, it might surprise you!

Once you have spent a frustrating few minutes seeing nothing other than rock you will start to notice small pieces of fossilised shell and coral poking out.

The rocks along the south Gower coast are limestone which formed in a Mediterranean style sea many millions of years ago. Limestone is mainly made up of the compressed remains of sea creatures, usually squashed so small they can no longer be recognised but occasionally if you’re lucky you get to see what used to live here along time ago!

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Enchanted valley

I love Bishopston Valley, its official! It had been a while since I had had an opportunity to visit the wooded valley but yesterday I met with the Swansea council right of way team and CCW to discuss improving the footpath network and making this amazing place more accessible for everyone. The ancient woodland, moss covered rocks, caves, ruined buildings and a river that disappears underground make the valley feel like something from a Tolkein adventure!

Whilst walking through the valley I spotted a nest made of moss clinging to the edge of the rock. It is superbly camouflaged against the vegetation and although empty of life at the moment, i’ll keep an eye on it as spring arrives and let you know who moves in!

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Rhossili life saver

Anyone passing the Rhossili National Trust shop this week can’t have failed to notice a bright yellow box which has arrived by the front door!

 

The National Trust has donated a Defibrillator to the local community which will literally be a lifesaver should there be a medical emergency in the village or coast path.

Many of the Rhossili residents have already been trained in how to use the equipment thanks to a fantastic effort by Steve Campbell-Kelly to promote the training and many more are already signed up for the next training day.

 

 

Shop staff at the National Trust shop will also be trained, particularly as they are often the first point of contact if there is a medical emergency on the coast path.

A sea of mud….

Much excitement here as we clean the old pond out that’s next to our yard.  There are several ponds on the common next to our farm, which were home to breeding Great Crested Newts.  Unfortunately they haven’t been seen in those ponds for a couple of years, so here was an ideal opportunity to reinstate a new home for them off the common.

The digger driver soon got to work, but what with the stormy/ sleety/ hailstoney/ rainy/ sun showery weather, soon created a sea of mud in and around the pond.

Nevertheless, the work was soon done, and the wet weather meant that it filled up quicker than we could dig!

The sun is out this morning, drying out the surrounding mud and reflecting off the now full pond.

We’ll keep you updated with its progress as it starts to be colonised…..

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Wild and windy Whiteford

A cold wind blew across Whiteford as I met colleagues from Countryside Council forWales and a contractor to look at the beach and dunes this morning.

The dunes have been moving around, some being lost at the front, and new spits and dunes being created elsewhere.  To try to understand what is happening, several people have been called in to give their advice and try to computer model the movement. 

Whilst they collect sand samples and take measurements, I marvel at the beauty around me – Whiteford seemed especially elemental today.

The wind has carved lovely sculptures in the sand, snail shells are found in a line in the bottom of a dune, oystercatchers are following the tide as it goes out, and the sun continues to shine on us through the clouds…..

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Enjoying The Perfect Morning

Fortune was smiling on me this week as I organised a meeting with local reporter (Chris Peregrine) who writes for the Evening Post. Cold crisp mornings have been in short supply so far in 2012 but as we met up at Rhossili this morning it couldn’t have been more perfect.

Chris had contacted me late last week to chat about the geo-caches on Rhossili down and as I have been stuck in my office (not literally) since New Year I jumped at the chance to show him what it’s all about.

After a quick photo on the slopes we pushed on to the top and were rewarded with the most spectacular views.

I never tire of this view!

The perfect winters morning

Look out for the article in the Evening Post and next time you are in the Rhossili area come and give Geo-caching a try. Geo-caching is essentially a treasure hunt but instead of a map you use a hand held GPS unit to guide you to an undisclosed location (all with a stunning view!).

The hand held GPS units are free to borrow from the National Trust shop and are simple to use and understand.

‘Twas a wild and stormy afternoon!

It was nice to be out and about yesterday looking at some scrub work a contractor had done on cliffs near Paviland, dodging the squalls as they came in off the sea.

There were still a surprising amount of waxcaps and other fungi about, hanging on after their second appearance in the mild autumn.

Flocks of chaffinches in the fields and hedges, a pair of ravens croaking and wheeling about in the wind, 8 choughs with their bright red bills, and several flocks of starlings in large numbers making amazing patterns in the sky were amongst the delights nature had in store.

The sea was quite stormy and the waves were battering the cliffs, and just to the side of Paviland cave, waves were forced up through gaps in the rocks to form a waterspout – fantastic to watch!

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