Iolo's Secret Life of Birds

Free copy of Iolo’s Secret Life of Birds 3 disc DVD box set RRP £17.99 [THIS OFFER NO LONGER APPLIES. ALL 5 COPIES HAVE GONE. You will need to order elsehwere.]

The first five people to phone through and order a new Natur Cymru subscription will receive a copy of the Secret Life or Birds, first shown on BBC2 in five half-hour episodes, which is being released as a DVD box set on 9^th April.

Here’s what one reviewer said about it:

For me there were plenty of secrets, some more spectacular than others: such as the aerial passing of freshly caught prey between a pair of hen harriers, or a tree creeper hollowing out a cosy sleeping hole in the bark of a giant redwood. More harrowing though was the story of the pigeons; diligently building their nest in Cardiff, taking turns to sit on eggs for three weeks, despite the rain, then four days of feeding until the sparrowhawk arrived - cruel curtains for the chicks as the helpless parents watched on. I think it makes a fantastic introduction or a great reminder of the rich variety of our bird life across Wales and aspects of behaviour most of us miss; both an inspiration and a snapshot in time.

CALL 01248 387373 to take advantage of this offer: if you leave a message, please remember to leave your phone number and mention the Secret Life of Birds.  Five copies available. First come, first served. Please have your credit / debit card details ready. 

Brecon Beacons – Natur Cymru special edition spring 2012

Artwork by Denise di Battistta

• Llangorse Lake - the essence of an entirely natural lake. Gareth Ellis
• Fires and remote sensing technology to monitor restoration.  Judith Harvey & Shaun Lewis
• Waun Fignen Felen - recovery of degraded moorland. Arwel Michael  
• Y Gyrn - Blue Greys crossed with a Blonde. Joe Daggett            
• Pipeline - gas from Milford Haven to England via the Brecon Beacons. Graham Cowden
• Challenges of conservation management in the National Park. Paul Sinnadurai
• Cynrig and captive rearing of crayfish. Catrin Grimstead & Oliver Brown                
• Capel Horeb quarry’s ancient plant evidence. Christopher Cleal
• Counting and measuring limpets in Pembrokeshire. John Archer-Thomson                                          
• Challenges and joys of opening 870 miles of Wales Coast Path. Sue Rice & Denis McAteer     
• Living Wales - a layman’s view of the ecosystems approach. Huw Jenkins
• National Nature Reserves - 74 hidden treasures revealed. Sue Parker
• Phytophthora in Wales. Owen Thurgate
• Methane derived bubbling reefs. Ivor Rees
• Role of NATUR and training in times of change. Celia Thomas
• Fancy a chat? New BTO Cymru survey. Kelvin Jones

Publication date 15^th March. Cover price £4.00 or quarterly by subscription at £16 p.a. or £15 by direct debit. ISSN 1742-37400103 Format: 170 x 220mm, 50 pages, full colour

For further information visit www.naturcymru.org.uk or call 01248 387 373

If you would like to download an A4 poster for this edition please click here. 

Brecon Beacons Special

Coming soon ..... the spring edition of Natur Cymru with a Brecon Beacons theme. Many articles written by local experts working in the front lines of conservation. Artwork for the cover kindly provided by Denise di Battistta.

Explore the finer points of Llangorse Lake or learn how to lay a 1200mm gas pipe through 36kms of national park in the 'most benign way'. The devastation of last year’s wildfires and the use of remote sensing technology to help restoration. What’s happening at Waun Fignen Felen? Farming Y Gyrn with Blue Greys. Rearing the right sort of crayfish at Cynrig. Containing the spread of phytophthora. Challenges of managing the Brecon Beacons National Park. Capel Horeb quarry boasts remnants of vascular plant tissue – the oldest evidence in the world.

Plus articles from further afield including the Wales Coast Path, monitoring limpets with the Field Studies Council at Dale Fort, new information on our 74 National Nature Reserves, BTO Cymru’s chat survey and an easy to understand introduction to the government’s Natural Environment Framework.

Retail price £4 distributed by Welsh Books Council. Available 15th March 2012. Annual subscription £16 or £15 by direct debit.

Fancy a Chat?

stonechat Saxicola torquatus
Jill Pakenham

The spring of 2012 will see the first dedicated survey run by BTO Cymru which will be taking the lead on a pilot survey of three of our chat species, namely the resident stonechat, and the migrants whinchat and wheatear. These three species are seen as a Welsh speciality, and are on every visiting birders wish list. 

whinchat Saxicola reubetra
Bob Garrett

Results from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) show that stonechat numbers have fallen sharply after the last two cold winters, while whinchat and wheatear have shown declines in both range and numbers. The long-term trends for whinchat and wheatear are both showing declines of over 55%. Preliminary analysis of data from the Bird Atlas 2007-11 appears to confirm the long-term BBS trends and highlights areas from which the species have disappeared in the last twenty years.  

wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
Jill Pakenham

The birdwatchers of Wales have noticed that the Welsh whinchat population has disappeared from much of its traditional range, and that wheatears are no longer a common breeding bird. The primary method for monitoring bird populations is the BBS, for which nearly 250 random squares are surveyed annually in Wales by BTO volunteers.  A targeted survey is needed to obtain more detailed information on scarcer species such as the chats and the habitat features that are most important to them.

The survey will be conducted by volunteers surveying randomly selected 1km squares during three visits in each of April, May and June. The whole square will be covered and all target species plotted on maps. This is going to be an on-line survey, having a similar feel to existing BTO surveys.

If you feel like taking part and would enjoy visiting some stunning countryside contact the BTO Cymru office at either 01248 383285 or email kelvin.jones@bto.org.

The BBS (Breeding Bird Survey) is jointly organised by BTO (British Trust for Ornithology), JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee) and RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).