North Ceredigion Group Newsletter January 2019

The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales

North Ceredigion Group

Newsletter January 2019

1. Chairperson’s welcome

Happy New Year, it already feels like spring might be round the corner with snowdrops in flower and the birds increasing their calls each day. I am sure there must be more winter around the corner!

Last October saw the announcement of the Summit to Sea project with major International funding (http://www.summit2sea.wales/). The project will bring together one continuous, nature-rich area, stretching from the Pumlumon massif – the highest area in mid-Wales – down through wooded valleys to the Dyfi Estuary and out into Cardigan Bay. Within five years it will comprise at least 10,000 hectares of land and 28,400 hectares of sea.

Summit to Sea will involve: restoring natural processes that provide the ecological functions on which we all depend; bringing communities together to create a shared vision for the future; supporting the local economy to diversify and establish new nature-based enterprises. There are 11 partner organisations involved in this project with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust (MWT) listed among them. However, I have been assured by HQ that WTSWW is also involved but is allowing MWT to front the Trust input. Hopefully as the project progresses we will be able to hear more about it at one of our indoor meetings.

North Ceredigion Group – local contacts

Chairperson Fiona Corke 01970 822078 [email protected]

Secretary Naomi Davis 07857 102286 [email protected]

Find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NorthCeredigionWTG

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2. North Ceredigion Group programme of forthcoming meetings (Ian Scott)

Indoor meetings are held in Theatre C22, Hugh Owen Building, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth University. Note change of room for the AGM in May (see below).

Monday 4 February 2019, 7 pm. Living Seas Wales by Bev Phillips (Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre). Monday 4 March 2019, 7 pm. The Dyfi Osprey Project by Kim Williams (Dyfi Osprey Project Officer). April No meeting. Monday 13 May 2019, 7 pm. North Ceredigion Group AGM followed by Members Evening. Please note that this meeting will be held in Room A14. Directions: from the Arts Centre and Library, continue past the entrance to Theatre C22 and down the steps at the rear of the Hugh Owen Building to the Penglais Hill end of the block, then take the entrance on your right, below the bridge linking the annex to the main building. A14 is on the ground floor to the left and will be familiar to those who have attended Stapledon Society meetings on Thursday evenings.

3. Aberystwyth Botanical Society meetings: February - May (Chloe Griffiths)

Saturday 16 February 2019, 10.30 am. Conifer Identification Workshop at Plas Gogerddan with Andy Jones. Outdoor meeting in mature estate woodland, with reference material from the nearby arboretum and plantations. The meeting is being run with BSBI and numbers for our group are limited to 10. Please contact Andy Jones ([email protected]) for details of parking and to book your place.

Sunday 10 March 2019, 10 am. Identifying Winter Twigs at Coed Penglanowen with Margaret Howells. Parking in the lay-by at Grid Ref. SN610786, 100 m west of the reserve entrance. Join Margaret in using the new Winter Twigs identification book by John Poland. For directions and more information on the reserve, see: https://www.welshwildlife.org/nature-reserve/coed-penglanowen-nanteos-ceredigion/

Sunday 5 May 2019. Full day exploring the MOD base at Aberporth with Steve Chambers. This will be an opportunity to see the rich coastal heaths, maritime grassland and cliff slopes that together contain a wide array of county-special plants. The Aberporth headland forms part of the Aberarth - Carreg Wylan SSSI and is worth a visit for the scenery alone. You will need to book officially well in advance by sending your full name, address and nationality to Steve on [email protected] so that the base has time for the necessary security checks, by the end of March at the latest. No further bookings allowed after this date (though cancellations allowed). Travel arrangements and timings to be agreed nearer the time.

Chloe can be contacted at [email protected].

4. Other local events

Saturday 2 February 2019, 10.30 – 3.30. All are welcome to the launch of the Celebrating Community Project at Llanfach, Tre Taliesin. This Cletwr project aims to uncover the natural,

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historical and cultural heritage of Tre’r Ddôl and Tre Taliesin. Participating organisations include WTSWW, The Vincent Wildlife Trust and Natural Resources Wales. Refreshments will be available all day. Contact: [email protected].

Wednesday 13 February 2019, 1 – 3 pm. Dolphin Watch Picnic. Meet at the war memorial, Aberystwyth Castle to join the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, Living Seas Team carrying out a survey of local marine mammals. The event is for those interested in volunteering to carry out dolphin watches and is not suitable for children under 14. Please bring a picnic lunch. Call 01545 560224 or at [email protected] if you wish to attend.

5. Cwm Clettwr bird box results for 2018 (Richard Spencer)

In 2018 there were 50 nest boxes designed for hole-nesting birds set up in the northern part of the Cwm Clettwr reserve. These were erected, mainly along the edge of footpaths, at chest height on a variety of trees. All 50 boxes were used at some stage during the 2018 nesting season.

Cwm Clettwr is a stronghold for the migratory Pied Flycatcher. In 2018 there were 30 nesting attempts with nine nests successfully fledging young, a success rate of 30%. In addition there were five Pied Flycatcher nests where the outcome was unknown. This compares unfavourably with 2017 when there were 28 nesting attempts with an 82% success to fledging. The 16 failed nests in 2018 were due mainly to predation by Weasel, Dormice and Wood Mice and possibly some human disturbance.

Great Tits also used the nest boxes, making 14 nesting attempts of which eight were successful to fledging, a success rate of 57%. This compares to 14 nesting attempts in 2017 with a success rate of 64%. The six failed nests in 2018 were due not only to predation but also to being taken over by Pied Flycatchers.

Of particular note is a box that was initially taken by a Great Tit which laid seven eggs. On the next inspection, eight days later, there were six Pied Flycatcher eggs with one remaining Great Tit egg in the box. The outcome was that four flycatcher chicks and one tit chick were successfully raised to fledging. Whilst eggs of two different species (Pied Flycatcher and Great Tit, or Pied Flycatcher and Blue Tit) in a single nest have been observed before, this is the first time that resulting young of both species have been known to fledge.

The situation with nesting Blue Tits in Cwm Clettwr is complicated by the birds preferring to use the dormouse boxes. There were 10 nesting attempts in the bird boxes with possibly 23 nesting attempts in dormouse boxes in 2018. Again there was predation but seemingly mainly from the bird boxes. In 2017 there were four Blue Tit nests in

The single Great Tit chick among a brood of Pied

Flycatchers. (Photo Naomi Davis)

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bird boxes and 20 in the dormouse boxes.

It is interesting to speculate as to why Blue Tits prefer to nest in the differently designed dormouse boxes. It does not appear to be because of competition as Blue Tits generally start nest building when there are plenty of empty boxes available and often have eggs by the time Pied Flycatchers arrive back from their migration. One possibility is that they are attracted to the semi-concealed entrance of the dormouse boxes or perhaps to the smaller diameter of the entrance hole.

6. … and how did the Dormice fare? (Emily Foot)

The 2018 monitoring season in Cwm Clettwr seemed to start off well with a dormouse, unusually, found in March. We do not survey in April due to many of the boxes being used by Blue Tits but then in May found 12 Dormice - equal to the number in 2017. We also found a Weasel predating a Pied Flycatcher! However, from June onwards the number of Dormice dropped considerably compared with 2017: the maximum number found was less than half. There were also considerably fewer Wood Mice. It is hard to say why numbers were down but possible reasons include the period of very hot weather, lack of food at the right time or weasels. By the final survey visit at the end of the season the Dormice may have already been hibernating due to a cold snap.

Please note that these surveys are all done under licence and are included in the PTES National Dormouse Monitoring Programme. It is illegal to disturb Dormice without a licence. This includes opening boxes ‘just for a peek’.

7. The Nature of our Village. Update on the Penparcau Wildlife Project: new ladybird records and some hardy Harlequins (Chloe Griffiths)

We all know the familiar ladybird, the little red beetle with its round black spots but did you know there have been 14 different species found in Penparcau alone? Our project has had a particular focus on this interesting group of insects and I’m delighted to say we managed to record three species that hadn’t been seen for many years. In 2018 we recorded the 11-spot Ladybird again after a gap of 31 years, the 14-spot (also not seen locally since 1987) and the Cream-spot, not seen locally since 1991. The trend in UK distribution for these three ladybirds is ‘decreasing’, so the fact that we have found them at all in Penparcau is very pleasing.

We also made the first known records for the village of three other ladybirds: the Pine Ladybird, the 10-spot and the 18-spot. Readers may know of an excellent new book recently released which enables beginners to quickly identify not only the adult insect but also the larva of each species and even the pupa. We have road-tested (or should that be field-tested) the Field Guide to the Ladybirds of Great Britain and Ireland by Helen Roy & Peter Brown and can highly recommend it to budding ladybird spotters.

Blue Tit. (Photo Mike Hayward)

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One species we were rather less thrilled to see doing well in Penparcau was the Harlequin ladybird, an invasive non-native insect that unfortunately will eat our native ladybirds. Our project kept a particular eye on this species and has discovered a couple of ‘hot spots’ for it around the village. On one occasion it is likely that we were present at a mass emergence, as we observed an astonishing 337 individuals (adults, larvae and pupae) at one site on one sunny afternoon in mid-October.

Perhaps one reason why the Harlequin is so successful in the UK is its tolerance of lower temperatures. The literature suggests that Harlequins are known to be active until ‘late October’, which is later than almost all of our native species, increasing its chances of high breeding success. However, we observed Harlequins in Penparcau as active adults until 4 December in 2018, which gives them a very long season in which to feed and reproduce. Our project will aim to record the latest date in the year on which this species is seen in future years so that we can continue to share the data with the UK Ladybird Survey and perhaps expand what is known in the UK about the behaviour of these insects.

Thanks to our funders, The Nineveh Charitable Trust and D’Oyly Carte.

If you would like to take part in any of our surveys throughout the year, please get in touch via [email protected] or find us on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/829779180427287/.

8. Courses at Denmark Farm in 2019 (Tamara Morris)

Denmark Farm Conservation Centre, near Lampeter, hosts many Conservation, Ecology, Species Identification and Habitat Management courses. In 2019 topics include:

● Winter Tree Identification ● Willow Coppicing and Management

● Field Survey Techniques ● Introduction to Outdoor Digital Photography

● Ecology ● Bird Identification

● Introduction to Mammals ● Plant Diversity

● Phase 1 Habitat Survey ● Wildlife Digital Photography

● Flowering Plant Identification ● Identifying Grasses, Sedges and Rushes

● Identifying Butterflies, Day-flying Moths, Dragonflies and Damselflies

● Deepening Ecology

Adult and larva (inset) of the Harlequin ladybird. (Photo Chloe Griffiths)

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The duration of courses is from one to three days and a range of good value eco accommodation is available if required. Please see https://www.denmarkfarm.org.uk/events/ for full details or call 01570 493358.

9. Update of work on the Ceredigion reserves: to January 2019 (Emily Foot)

Rhos Glandenys needed further tree work to remove broken branches and fallen trunks following the storms earlier in the year. Some other jobs need doing every year at this time, including cutting the glade at Coed Penglanowen and cutting the path at Penderi Cliffs. This year we also needed to clear some brambles and bracken.

We finally finished the bat chamber in the Cors Ian stables, as well as strimming a small meadow area, making four benches and clearing a fallen tree. The area nearest the car park is now much more accessible (and interesting) to those who can’t make it out on to the actual reserve as well as to those who can!

We have begun a blackthorn cutting rotation at both Caeau Llety Cybi and Coed Maidie B Goddard to improve both reserves for Brown Hairstreak butterflies. At Coed Maidie we also cut the meadow, treepopped small oaks and cut back gorse from a large violet patch preferred by the Silver-washed Fritillaries. There were also fallen trees to deal with and an ash to carefully remove from alongside a commemorative Black Poplar.

Unfortunately large areas of Rhos Glyn yr Helyg and Rhos Fullbrook have become

very undergrazed, so we’ve been strimming and raking tracks through the Molinia (and rush) across the reserves to try and encourage the ponies to go further and allow more Devil’s Bit Scabious to poke through! We’ve also cut back some trees and bramble patches. A broken fence at Pant Da needed fixing to stop sheep ingress and at Rhos Marion we had to clear the entrance path so that we could get to a far meadow to ‘rescue’ it from the many fallen willow trees and encroaching brambles.

Thank you to all the volunteers that have help get this work done. Volunteer work parties are on Wednesdays and Thursdays, please contact Em for more details: [email protected] or 07980932332.

Newsletter editor Steve Cuttle ([email protected]), with thanks to all contributors to this issue.

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter or to suggest items for future issues, please contact the Editor.

An electronic copy of this newsletter can be downloaded from the North Ceredigion Local Group page on the WTSWW website at

https://www.welshwildlife.org/local-group/north-ceredigion-local-group/

Constructing the bat chamber in the stables at Cors Ian. (Photo Emily Foot)