The midway point has arrived, it has gone so fast! September is very nearly over, meaning survey season is pretty much finished. I have managed to get out and about a few times this month, attempting to do the last bit of surveying before Autumn makes a full return.
This month I have been out with Gwent Wildlife Trust a number of times, helping with butterfly transects at Central Valley and Silent Valley, along with a bumblebee walk at Central valley. At the beginning of the month I visited The British, with trainee Alex and Reserves Assistant Chris. As part of his traineeship with Gwent Wildlife Trust, Alex has been tasked with discovering more about the Grayling butterfly and its population at The British. I was lucky enough to join and help carry out the survey, unfortunately we did not spot any on the day, but Alex has recorded large numbers of Grayling at the site.
The British
Silent Valley Nature Reserve
Common Carder Bumblebee, Bee Walk at Central Valley
Devils Bit Scabious at Gwent Wildlife Trust Reserve, Branches Fork Meadows
I always enjoy a bit of practical conservation, so it was good to get back on the brushcutter at St Illtyd’s Church, during a Gwent Wildlife Trust Volunteer day. The volunteer days run weekly and are always great to get involved with. The church is in a beautiful location on the side of the valley. During the spring and summer the churchyard is full of wildflowers, the annual cut and rake is crucial to the flourishing flowers.
St Illtyd’s Church, freshly cut
A new identification course for me this month, Millipede and Centipedes at Cardiff Museum, run by SEWBReC. I knew very little about Millipedes and Centipedes, it was a brilliant opportunity to learn from an expert, and to have a go at working through keys to identify different species.
Centipede and Millipede course
I have been a bit of a tour guide this month, with several visitors coming down to the museum. Chris and Alex from Gwent Wildlife Trust came to visit, along with fellow natural talent trainee, Ross, who was delighted to check out the exotic moth collection…
Ross checking out the exotic months
After the tour, Ross had a go at sample sorting, and I taught him how to identify froghoppers using the key…
Identifying some hoppers
I have only been out botanising a handful of times this month, as my mentor is away. I headed out to find an old local record of a plant on the rare plant register, last found in 1989. After a long search, I was delighted when I came across the small leaf of the plant I was looking for, alchemilla xanthochlora, the rare plant register has now been updated.
alchemilla xanthochlora
Giant Puffball
Wild Service Tree
Thistle Head
Liam has continued to put up with me, I have tagged along to some site visits. We went to our regular Cwmaman spot, here are some of our findings…
Common Green Shield bug
Common Darter
Common Darters in wheel mating position
Bronze Shield Bug Nymph
More recently we visited a new site near Aberdare, where we met the wonderful and keen Graham, who was so pleased to be able to show Liam his local coal spoil sites. Graham wants to set up a local group for one of the sites, to encourage others to manage and protect the unique habitats found on coal spoil.
Devils Matchstick Lichen on coal spoil
Sadly, no Dormouse on the September round, however we did have two rather surprisingly calm Wood Mice occupying the boxes.
Wood mouse
carefully weighing wood mouse
Mike and I made our last trip to Pentwyn Farm to collect the final bit of data. The fields were cut, so hopefully this will create some interesting findings in terms of hopper populations. I have spent many days at the museum sorting samples, I am determined to finish them soon so I can move on to identification!