Woodpeckers nesting over bluebells

Woodpeckers might not be the rarest but they are star performers, brightening our bird table. When they fly off, hurdling through the branches, this is where they go to, stopping en route for a beak full of insects to feed the bleating chicks. With a carpet of bluebells beneath and birdsong all around the moment is close to perfect.

Otter Campsite

Otters were on the menu this weekend and when I told a friend I’d be joining in the big survey on the Dwyryd he replied that he’d been at a meeting in Porthmadog in March where the Welsh speech was being translated via headphones. In the middle of the speech several people left the room while he carried on listening. Much later over coffee one of the people who walked out asked him why he hadn’t bothered to go and see the otters. That bit of information had not been translated! Those that did go out witnessed an attack by a dog otter successfully defended by the mother protecting her young cubs in the harbour. What a magic moment that would have been to see.

After the Sunday breakfast briefing we split into groups and set off to our sections of the Dwyryd armed with empty bags for collecting spraint. Five of us had the section from the Maentwrog bridge up to Dol Moch bridge and during the day we bagged 25 samples which will be DNA analysed to potentially identify the sex and the individual otters operating on the Dwyryd.

The hot spot was the Llechrwd Campsite where the stream crossing underneath the main road meets the river; we collected 15 samples in this area. Three young lads camped at the junction of the stream with the river said they’d heard noises of rocks at night time. Maybe it was the otters. Just opposite was a large shelf beneath the bank going in about 4 or 5 feet with many spraints; a safe haven for resting up or feasting on fish.

We ate our picnic amongst the wild flowers and damselflies beside the river with a dipper bobbing up and down on the other side.  Sand Martins nest in the bank and, although we didn’t see any, there are occasional Kingfisher sightings.

What a beautiful camp site with wildlife on the doorstep. I think Dyfyrgi (otter) Campsite would make a much better name than Llechrwd Campsite.    

Here's Mary-Kate from the Snowdonia Society explaining the finer points of bagging the poo!
      

Dwyryd Otter Survey

How many otters are there on the Dwyryd? Whereabouts are they? What is the ratio of males to females? To help build on existing knowledge and gain a fuller picture there will be a weekend survey between 17^th to 19^th May organised by Ceri Morris through the MISE project - Mammals In a Sustainable Environment.

In addition to the weekend survey, which hopefully will involve at least twenty people, there is a requirement for local volunteers to 'spot check' key sites over the course of one year. All you need to be able to do is identify and collect otter spraints (poo), put them in a bag, freeze them and send to Ireland (Waterford Institute of Technology) for DNA analysis.

This builds on the work that the Dwyryd Otter Partnership and subsequently Snowdonia Mammal Group undertook a few years ago. An analysis of spraints showed amongst other things that otters feasting on seafood could travel all the way to Trawsfynydd before having to poo.

If you would like to take part please contact Ceri Morris by email at: c.morris@ccw.gov.uk

Meanwhile here’s a film clip of some Dwyryd otters in 2011.

Walking with wolves

Monday 2^nd July meet 12:45 for a 13:00 depart from Tan y Bwlch station on a guided walk into Coed y Bleiddiau, ‘forest of the wolves’, returning via the train leaving Dduallt at 15:30. Four hundred years ago wolves roamed this forest and legend has it that this is where the last wolf in Wales was slain.

In those days the land was owned by the Lloyds of Dduallt and their old house has recently been tree ring dated to 1559. In the census of 1841 there were 52 people living on their 600 acre farm; in the 2011 census there were only 5! Fortunately the land was acquired by the National Trust in the 1960s otherwise this beautiful oak woodland, managed by CCW, would be sitka spruce.

Huw Jenkins (that’s me) will lead this walk on behalf of the Snowdonia Society (Cwmdeithas Eryri). The route through the Maentwrog nature reserve stays close to the railway line but I’ve slashed an off-piste path through the bracken to show you some of my favourite bits.

The woods are full of birds singing away. I’m no bird expert but equipped with BirdVoice (a recent birthday present) we’ll see if together we can identify some of the many songs.

If you wish to join the walk the Snowdonia Society suggests you give them a donation of £2 if you are a member of the society and £5 if not. The one way ticket from Dduallt to Tan y Bwlch can be bought on the train and costs £2.40 or £2.20 for the over 60s. The Ffestiniog Railway have confirmed that the Tan y Bwlch café will be open.

We might see some goats but just in case we don’t, this is what they looked like a couple of weeks ago:

The Snowdonia Society is a registered charity working to protect, enhance and celebrate Snowdonia, its wildlife and heritage. The Society works with local communities, organisations and businesses to achieve this vision.

For full event details or to book a place contact Frances on 01286 685498 or email frances@snowdonia-society.org.uk

Tawny owl’s revenge

Five evenings ago a young tawny owl was pushed and shoved out of the enormous Scots pine beside the house. A pair of crows, that nest at the top of the tree, dived onto the ball of fluff and feathers until Molly (our dog) and I chased them off. The bedraggled owl scrambled through the wire fence and crash landed into reeds below where once again the crows attacked. By the time we got there it was lying on the ground, exhausted, barely able to keep its eyes open. But when I approached, it gathered enough strength to fly fifty metres or so into the refuge of a nearby willow. We watched for a while and it seemed the crows had either not seen or lost interest.

Later that night there were two baby tawny owls crying out for food by the railway track at Campbell’s Platform. The next night they were a couple of hundred metres up the line. On the third night there were definitely three of them and I was able to stand in the middle of a triangle of trees as they pleaded to be fed. On the fourth night they were a bit further into the nature reserve and, maybe because it was a bit overcast and misty, the owlets started calling out much earlier, at about 7:30.

Last night we sat on our warm, midge-free balcony; it was bright and balmy and not until nine o’clock that we started to hear them, faint and far away to begin with. But by the time we’d gone to bed, the owls had moved into the same Scots pine, in the middle branches next to our open window, and were in full voice non-stop till dawn. This morning the crow family was looking just a bit tired!

Train spotting with birds

Oak woodlands alongside the Ffestiniog Railway have plenty of good nesting holes and the birds seem oblivious to the belching dragons steaming past. Here are two short film clips; one of woodpeckers and the other of nuthatches.  

Iolo on the Ffestiniog Railway

Iolo at Campbell's Platform

We welcomed Iolo onto Campbell’s Platform as he stepped off the first train of the day with film crew in tow – actually, the main cameraman was already there.

They are working on a new series commissioned by the BBC called Iolo’s Great Welsh Parks. The series will have four programmes, each thirty minutes long, and this programme is based on Plas Tan y Bwlch. We saw and filmed some great wildlife, in oak woodland once owned by The Plas, but it’s up to the executive producer to decide what goes in and what gets cut - fingers crossed they’ll keep the footage of the goats which were on their best behaviour.

The series is due for broadcast in 2013 and is being produced by Cardiff based Aden Productions. This is the same company that produced Secret Life of Birds and Wild Wales and which are now available as DVD box sets. There is a review of both in the next edition of Natur Cymru. 

Weasel or stoat?

You never know what you might see through the kitchen window. My freshly stocked bird feeders and half coconut shells stuffed with fat and seed tempting the tits, chaffinch, woodpecker, nuthatch, yellow hammer, dunnock and squirrel.  Chickens scooping up the spillings. So far, touch wood, no rats this year, just wood mice and voles and ..... wow, it’s  a weasel! 

It hopped onto the window sill, down to the patio then up into a drainage pipe.  I fetched the camera, tripod on the kitchen table and pointed it at the end of the pipe. Success. Out it came with a vole or mouse in its mouth then off behind planters and into the log shed.  

My few seconds of video stretched with the slow motion facility ... but how do I know it was a weasel? I think there’s a touch of black at the end of its tail making it a stoat. What do you think?

New kids and a greater horseshoe

I caught a glimpse of a solitary black headed goat on the horizon. Hidden out of sight amongst the flowering gorse was her young kid. Not sure how old it was but it kept up with Mum, moving quickly across the mountain to their castle retreat.

As if that was not enough joy for one day; Jean and Sarah from the Bat Group called round to check the adits.  The old mine by the waterfall, with its curtain of rain at the entrance, is normally empty but had a lonely lesser horseshoe with the whole place to itself. As for the main adit that two years ago had 116 lesser horseshoes, there were only 44, maybe reflecting the late date of survey. But what a consolation - in amongst the lessers was a greater horseshoe!

These are seriously rare in north Wales, maybe just a handful.  There has been a greater horseshoe in residence in Maentwrog for a couple of years; was this the same one or a new one? Impossible to say. But if it hangs around long enough it might get ringed. Ringing bats is a bit trickier than birds as the wing-type membrane extends to the ankle.

Jean lifted this one from its hanging position to discover it was a male then carefully hung it back to the roof. I wish I’d seen it. I normally go in but wimped out at the prospect of being waist deep with leaky waders. This is what it was like inside on a previous survey:

The following day I went to check up on my other gang of goats, the warden’s favourites as they munch their way through the Maentwrog nature reserve.  No sign of any kids but one female looked bulkier than normal. It’s not easy to tell with the long shaggy coats.

Woodpeckers in the Woods – a week later

Walking past there was quite a commotion coming from the woodpecker nest, louder and more insistent than usual. Was this the father insisting the chick took its maiden flight? It was having none of it. Certainly not in the rain.

Meanwhile another young chick overshot the nut feeder and crashed into our kitchen window. Dazed and confused it eventually flew off.