Monday 11 December 2017

Sgwd Yr Eira, Brecon Beacons National Park, Powys

With the recent heavy snowfall across Wales it was the perfect time for Bethan and I to visit Sgwd yr Eira, a magnificent waterfall deep within the valleys of the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Craig y Dinas, 'Fortress Rock'
Many geological and natural features which can be seen from the path to the falls, which follows the Afon Mellte and form the Dyffrynnoedd Nedd a Mellte, a Moel Penderyn SSSI which is listed due to its important semi-natural woodlands which contain a wide assemblage rare bryophytes and lichens as well as it old quarry faces, cliffs and gorges which give a window into Wales geological past.

From the car park your immediately met with a huge contorted slab of Carboniferous Limestone, known as Craig y Ddinas which roughly translated means 'Fortress Rock' due to the presence of Iron Age earthworks on the summit, although today much of this was covered by snow. The scrubby woodland which features around the base of the rock was mainly Sessile Oak Quercus petraea Ash Fraxinus excelsior Hawthorn Crataegus sp., Hazel Corylus avellana and at least one Small-Leaved Lime Tilia cordata. The north facing cliff face was covered in Maidenhair Spleenwort
Asplenium trichomanes and Hart's Tongue Fern Asplenium scolopendrium which thrive in the cool damp conditions.

The path skirts the top of the wooded valley, with only the background noise of running water. Some areas of native semi-natural woodland remain along the top in a rough mixture with moorland although large areas look like it was planted up with Larch between the wars, which has recently been clear felled, perhaps due to Phytophthora although the evidence of this was lost in the deep blanket of snow. The odd old Ash or Oak tree was left in the middle of these clear fell, too old to be planted with the larch, these were a hark back to a time when large blocks of conifers became a blight in the landscape, acidifying the rivers and reducing the native flora.

The gorge at the meeting of the Afon Hepste and the Afon Mellte.
Significant stands of conifers can be seen on the horizon

With the snow covering much of the flora, we made it relatively quickly to the path leading down the face of the gorge towards the falls. Even from quite a distance we could hear the roaring of the waterfall. The setting of the waterfall is in a deep gorge where the Afon Hepste plunges over a band of resistant gritstone to form Sgwd yr Eira or Fall of Snow, the obvious choice of waterfall to visit in this kind of weather condition. An old drovers track passes behind the falls, the walls of which are covered with bryophytes, Green Spleenwort Asplenium viride and a species of Dryopteris. The track would have witnessed the shepherds moving their flocks to the hills in the summer and back to lower grounds in winter but these are merely ghosts of the past, now its just used by curious walkers and tourists, its previous use consigned to history.

Sgwd yr Eira, the Falls of Snow
Although there were no Dippers in the river there were plenty of Robins Erithacus rubecula about, they seemed drawn to us, hoping a misplaced step would turnover a rock and expose some worms. Most sat attentively in the trees close, never more than a couple of meters away and we wandered about the falls, although occasional it flashed past to skirmish with an intruder. Even after leaving the falls one stuck close for a good 20 minutes, occasionally swooping down to grab an unseen morsel. Up on the higher ground there were very few birds about, most likely due to the snow which has forced them down into the valleys. A pair of Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula were busy nipping off buds, a single Jay Garrulus glandarius crossed the open ground into a copse of trees. A pair of Red Kites Milvus milvus circled in the fading evening light,.signalling our time to leave this wonderful valley.

An attentive Robin Erithacus rubecula, never far behind us

Saturday 25 November 2017

Not With A Rush But A Trickle, Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Onatario

The cold weather we were hoping for never really materialised with the weather being unseasonably warm and pleasant and well above freezing.

The second American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) to be caught at
Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory
This strange and unusual temperatures meant that the trees never really turned the wonderful reds and oranges that Canada is envied across the world for, with many leaves just turning brown and shrivelling in the heat on the trees and falling off, on the upside the weather was good for finding reptiles and amphibians late into the season which will be detailed below.

Luckily we still managed to catch a few good birds, the stations second American Pipit Anthus rubescens was caught on the 24th September. Although these can often be seen flying over, often at lofty heights, rarely coming down low enough to get caught so it was a nice surprise to get in the nets.

White-Eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)
The 6th of October was a two bird day with a stunning White-Eyed Vireo Vireo griseus almost immediately followed by a Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna, a species which was much larger in the hand than I realised. The vireo even managed to make the front page of the Wellington Times!

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna)

Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
A Red-Shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus was spotted by David on the 13th of October and managed to get caught in one of the normal mist nets, after flying underneath the first set of hawk nets an impressive hawk and the last big hawk of the year. Due to the warmth many of the species we'd expected to move south spent the entire migration period further north!

The warmth also affected the number of owls we'd been catching, a bit of a problem due to the numbers of visitors we were now getting specially to see the owl banding. 123 people turned up for the Thanks Giving owl banding and typically we caught ZERO owls during the standard period whilst the next night we caught 4 owls with only four lucky visitors for the entire evening. A few Long-Eared Owls Asio otus were caught but only singles of both Barred Owl Strix varia and Eastern Screech Owl Megascops asio. The Northern Saw-Whet Owl Aegolius acadicus total came in at 589, over a hundred less than the 2016 total but we did finish the season a few days early due to the weather.

Long-Eared Owls (Asio otus) roosting within
 the Wildlife Area
On the 14th Bethan flew out to join me. Allowing her to finally get to see the saw-whets she'd wanted to see and also getting to band a selection of late fall migrants. She also got to extract and band her first raptor, a Sharp-Shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus, not an common occurrence back in Britain but she managed to band a few in the end.

The highlight for me came mid morning on the 21st of October during a very slow day, although David had spotted one early in the morning by now I thought it was to late to catch one, although having seen plenty throughout the spring and early fall I'd almost given up hope. From down the path I could hear a woodpecker calling, slowly in my head I went through the calls of species I knew, it was too raucous to be a Northern Flicker, it could only be a Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus! A species I really hoped I'd get to see in the hand.

Half running along the track I met Robyn at the clearing and lucky for me holding a male Pileated! They really are quite something, after seeing the size of the holes they can cause in their search for carpenter ants I was a littler worried about my hands but it only managed a to cause a few small holes, the chisel sharp claws also caused a bit of damage but it was worth it and probably my personal highlight or the air boating, its hard to pick one thing in such an amazing trip!

Star catch! A Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

After the excitement it quietened down at the observatory with the final few weeks being filled with American Robins Turdus migratorius, Myrtle Warblers Setophaga coronata coronata, Kinglets, including one Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa which seemed to have some form of deficiency, causing it to have a very pale plumage. The biggest mystery of the season seemed to be the sparrows, much like the hawks, they seemed to be enjoying the warmth and didn't see any reason to move southerly very quickly.

With the warm weather it was no surprise that many of the reptiles and amphibians were out much later than normal, Northern Leopard Frogs Lithobates pipiens could be seen down by the edge of the lake in their thousands, many of them juveniles although a few huge adults could also be seen. Also present were Green Frogs Lithobates clamitans with their large distinctive tympani. With some careful searching Grey Treefrogs could also be found along the cliffs, matching the stone and tucked into crevices.
Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans)
A few large Snapping Turtles Chelydra serpentina and Midland Painted Turtles Chrysemys picta marginata were present in the swamp although both eluded photographs until on the 7th October a tiny hatchling snapper was found along the path to the nets, its strange to think that eventually it will grow to be the size of a dustbin lid and capable of slicing through skin and bone.

A Tiny hatchling Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina)

Mammal wise it was pretty quiet. American Beavers Castor canadensis could still be seen in the dock, often busy collecting willow ready for the long winter. Coyotes Canis latrans could be heard calling on several evenings, sometimes eerily close whilst Saw-whet netting and Eastern Cottontails Sylvilagus floridanus were often seen in the net lanes at night.

American Beavers (Castor canadensis) in the harbour.

Raccoons Procyon lotor were seen occasionally, more often evident was what they had been up to the previous evening although I did get amazing views of one just outside Milford on the 2nd of October after it had crossed the road and came very close .

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) close to Milford.

There was one stand out mammal I was lucky enough to find, it was the first record for the observatory and I was a little wary of it after some of the stories I had heard about them, easily chewing through mist nets. The Northern Flying Squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus is a small nocturnal mammal found in forested areas in northern North America. With incredible sharp incisors I was glad when Dave offered to take it out of the net for me, I think it could have easily bitten through the four bird bags I'd formed into a rudimentary gauntlet.

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata)
With the onset of Autumn plenty of fruits and berries were forming on the trees, by far the tastiest were the nuts of the Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata, which although tiresome to process tasted amazing. The stands of aster and goldenrod were particularly impressive this year mainly due to the high water levels and continuing warmth at the end of the season but my time at the Observatory was coming to an end and it was soon time for me to visit other parts of Ontario.




Saturday 7 October 2017

The Asters of Prince Edward Point, Ontario

Asters are one of two genera of plant families to bloom in Autumn in temperate North America, they also happen to be one of the harder families to distinguish due to the diversity and similarities shared between the species.

The two books used, and a selection of Aster species.
With a range of different habitats found at the point there's a number of aster species which could be present. Although I'm in no way an expert and I've been slowly keying out (with many wrong answers) some of the species out using 'The Common Asters Species of Southern Ontario' which was lent to me by Sheila, 'Newcomb's Wildflower Guide'. and the brilliant guide by Walter Muma on ontariowildflowers.com

One of the most obvious Aster species present at the point is the New England Aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. This is mainly due to its intense purple flowers which allow it to be easily identified in the field as no other common aster would look similar.


Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England Aster)

As mentioned this species is very obvious and easy to identify due to its large purple flowers. It is often one of the few plants any of the visitors can identify, which may be in part due to its common use as a garden plant. Its leaves, when crushed have a distinct spicy smell which can also be used as an identification feature.

At the point it is often found in the more open areas in full sun, helping to make it even more obvious than many other species.
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae flowers




Leaves of Symphyotrichum urophyllum
Symphyotrichum urophyllum (Arrow-Leaved Aster)



A common aster of woodland edges, I found the specimen photographed at the edge of the lake, under a thicket of prickly ash but it can be seen all over the point, often within the woodland

The leaves of this species are relatively distinctive with alternatively, shallowly toothed leaves and winged petioles.

It's flowers are on upright panicle shaped heads with stiff stems. Its flowers are usually white although they can be pale pink or bluish. the flowers change from having yellow centres to purple centres like most Asters.

Flower head of Symphyotrichum urophyllum

Distinctive dead leaves of
 S
ymphyotrichum lanceolatum.
Symphyotrichum lanceolatum (Panicled Aster)



A very common species which is often found in moist open or lightly forested areas. At the point it could commonly be found close to the swamp or the lake in areas which were more likely to inundated with a little more water.

By the time it is in flower many of its lower leaves have dried and fallen off whilst smaller dead leaves higher up the stem tend to be rather curly. Its flowers are often spread out along the branches in a rather open manner.







Flower of Symphyotrichum lanceolatum 

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum (Calico Aster)

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum growth form




A common, and very easily identifiable aster due to its unusual form. Also known as the starved aster due to this form once you know what it looks like its an easy one to pick out. With its long horizontal spreading branches with its sparse flowers its not the nicest aster to look at.


This species was most often found within the woodland and along the paths and on the edges of the fields where it gets the dappled light it prefers.







Flower head of Symphyotrichum lateriflorum

Symphyotrichum cordifolium leave
Symphyotrichum cordifolium (Heart-Leaved Aster)





Another fairly common species, which was again often found within the woodland at the edge or paths or the woodland edge. It's pale blue flowers are arranged in a dense rounded panicle.


Its jaggedly toothed, heart shaped leaves also help aid identification and are present on the plant throughout the flowering season.






Flowerhead of Symphyotrichum cordifolium 


Symphyotrichum ericoides (Heath Aster)

Probably the commonest aster on the point, this species can be found across the large areas of abandoned fields and drier areas. It gets its name from its small crowded leaves which are similar to Heather Calluna leaves.

The white flowers are small and often overlap each other on the flowering stems which gives this species the alternative name of Many Flowered Aster. Unlike other species its mainly reproduces by runners and roots.

A stand of Symphyotrichum ericoides flowers

Tuesday 26 September 2017

The Dog Days of Summer, Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Ontario

Its been a pretty exciting time at the observatory, between August and the 22nd of September we've been experiencing the dog days of summer. Its definitely turning into a Indian Summer with temperatures hovering around +25°C and with more sunshine than you'd expect at this time of year.

Although the weather hasn't always been settled. On the 7th September a huge front of thunderstorms moved up through Lake Ontario creating the perfect conditions for the formation of waterspouts. I hardly expected to see one let alone the which formed at the front of the storm offshore.

Waterspout over False Duck Island

Dog-Day Cicada, Tibicen canicularis
To me the dog days are characterised by warm lazy days, the constant hum of cicada's and crickets and the disappearance the local swallows, heading south to a warmer climes. The cicada, although obvious to the ear took quite a while  of searching.With one eventually turning up as by-catch in one of the mist nets. The species present at this time of year is the aptly named Dog-Day Cicada Tibicen canicularis, which as suggest is far more often seen than heard.

New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae

Late summer is also when the once dry Alvaar comes to life. A sea of yellows and white with the blooming of several species of Aster and goldenrod. One of the most distinctive species is the showy purple flowers of New England Aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, A common and unmistakable species, unlike many of the other members of the family which I will detail in a later blog post.




Eastern Milk Snake, Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum
It's still a good time of year to see plenty of reptiles and amphibians. Northern Leopard Frogs Lithobates pipiens are everywhere, making it difficult to avoid stepping on them. Garter Snakes and Northern water snakes often quickly slither off the path but it was the Eastern Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum I was hoping to find. It is an uncommon species in the county, where it is often associated with old barns and meadows. I was lucky enough to find two individuals which were close to the observatory in early August but haven't found any individuals since.

There was still one species of Amphibian which I was also hoping to find. The Blue-Spotted Salamander Ambystoma laterale, a common woodland species which had managed to elude me in the spring. Luckily for me when a group of volunteers came to build a new fence at the observatory, they uncovered one under a piece of cedar rail and brought it to me. Quite an impressive looking animal and the first salamander I've managed to see in any country!

Blue-Spotted Salamander, Ambystoma laterale
Its been a relatively busy month for birds as well. Large numbers of Bobolinks caught in August and early September and arriving with one of these flocks was a less familiar species. A Dickcissel Spiza americana, a species your much more likely to encounter on the prairies. It was caught right towards the end of the bobolink period on the 5th September.

 HY Male Dickcissel, Spiza americana

Other notable species caught included a HY Northern Rough-Winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis on the 13th August, a AHY American Woodcock Scolopax minor on the 18th, a HY Broad-Winged Hawk Buteo platypterus on the 19th and several Cape-May Warblers Setophaga tigrina between the 22nd and the 29th of August.

Broad-Winged Hawk, Buteo platypterus

Connecticut Warbler, Oporornis agilis
A Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis was the first of six caught on the 11th of September. As well as a HY Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla, which was caught in the afternoon on the lake shore.

A Clay-Colored Sparrow Spizella pallida was caught on the 14th alongside a Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina allowing us to see a nice contrast between the two species.




Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla


Monarch, Danaus plexippus
It wasn't just birds which are on the move, the final brood of Monarchs Danaus plexippus has hatched out and some are on their way south. Similarly the huge numbers of Green Darners have been somewhat astonishing, with tens of thousands present some evenings and mornings.

Giant Swallowtail, Papilio cresphontes
Plenty of other species of butterfly and dragonflies have also been seen at the point, one of the most impressive species is the Giant Swallowtail Papilio cresphontes, the largest butterfly in Canada. It can regularly be seen laying its eggs on Northern Prickly-Ash Zanthoxylum americanum, where its bird dropping like caterpillars are common or feeding on thistles.

Down close to the lake, plenty of small damselflies are seen flitting from cattail to cattail. Occasionally the much more colourful Twelve-Spotted Skimmer Libellula pulchella wizzes past on its constant search for food. Although a common North American species, its surprisingly colourful, mainly due to its spotted wings which are an uncommon feature on species found in the UK.

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer, Libellula pulchella
All in all its been a good start to the season, with the weather looking warm for a while yet hopefully it won't be long until the colder wind starts to blow and we'll be inundated with migrants and saw-whet owls.






Tuesday 1 August 2017

Blackpill SSSI, Swansea

Having spent the weekend in Breacon Beacons with friends from France and sadly not being able to follow them onto Mid Wales it was nice to bump into a small patch of vegetated dunes on the edge of Swansea Bay at Blackpill.
Sea Holly Eryngium maritimum dominated dunes at Blackpill beach
Sea Holly, Eryngium maritimum





Although designated as a SSSI due to its importance for hosting internationally important numbers of wading birds they were all way to far away to photograph due to the tide being out, so I stuck around the vegetated dunes to see which species I could find, unsurprisingly there was nothing of too much note but it was nice to see the Sea Holly Eryngium maritimum in flower.






The sea wall was largely covered in Sea Sandwort Honckenya peploides, a common coastal plant and plenty of Rock Samphire Crithmum maritimum. Once a highly prized foraged herb but now sadly out of fashion, probably due to its intense salty, parsley taste but I quite like it.

Sea Sandwort,Honckenya peploides
Where the Marram Grass Ammophila arenaria was most abundant, Sea Spurge Euphorbia paralias was often dotted around and close to the edge of the dunes the delicate pink flowers of Sea Rocket Cakile maritima was abundant.

Sea Rocket, Cakile maritima growing amoung the Marram, Ammophila arenaria
Canadian Fleabane, Conyza canadensis

Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare




The sea wall which runs along the entirety of the bay sadly cuts short the majority of the dune habitats which would normally be present and forms an unnatural climax vegetation. This was comprised of a number of non-native species including Canadian Fleabane, Conyza canadensis and Fennel Foeniculum vulgare, another herb I regularly seek out to forage due to its lovely aniseed taste. 

One native species could be seen among all the invaders the small Autumn Hawkbit Scorzoneroides autumnalis.




Autumn Hawkbit, Scorzoneroides autumnalis



Down below the high tide mark were a few islands of vegetation, these were comprised of an endemic species which only originated in the 1870's in Southern Britain. 
Common Cordgrass Spartina anglica is an allotetraploid species derived from the hybrid Spartina × townsendii which came about due to the introduction of Smooth Cordgrass Spartina alterniflora, most likely in bilge water which then hybridised with the native Small Cordgrass Spartina maritima. 

Although at first it was seen as a key species for fighting coastal erosion it then went on to stabilise tidal mudflats, a key problem for wading birds however the species has since had a natural die back of unknown cause has reversed the spread.





An Island of Common Cordgrass, Spartina anglica





Sunday 2 July 2017

Skomer, Pembrokeshire

For a few years now, Bethan has been nagging me to take her to Skomer to see the Atlantic Puffins Fratercula arctica but when ever we've attempted to go either the weather hasn't played ball when we've tried or I've been tied up with work during the peak puffin season.

Middleholm and Skomer from Martin's Haven

Puffin Raft off Skomer
So with a couple of days off we went, before hand we stayed with a lovely couple (who we found on Airbnb) in . An early start at Martin's Haven and a long wait in the queue but we manage to make the first boat of the day and the weather was perfect.

It didn't take us long to spot the first puffin, as soon as we were near Middleholm we started to see birds busy bringing fish in to their chicks. By the time we'd reached Skomer rafts of hundreds of Puffins could be seen offshore, all waiting to come in. After bumping into two friends after landing, we wandered to the far side of the island past the old farm. The previous time I'd been to Skomer was early in the season when the Bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta were at their peak, this time it was the Sea Mayweed Tripleurospermum maritimum which was at it's peak. It was everywhere and provided a wonderful backdrop to any photographs being taken.
Sea Mayweed, Tripleurospermum maritimum covered slopes

Sea Mayweed, Tripleurospermum maritimum

Young Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus feeding in the Sea Mayweed 
After wandering around the North of the island and seeing the usual Seabirds we made our way towards the Wick. By far the best place to see breeding seabirds on the cliff ledges and the puffins which nest in the deep soil close to the path.

Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus also burrow here and had obviously had been breeding judging by the number of young about. Some happily feeding next to visiting tourists, although it was the puffins they had come to see.


Puffin, Fratercula arctica coming into land on The Wick

Puffling looking out of its burrow
Puffins are always top of peoples lists, admittedly their striking colours and character makes them a joy to watch but I think people would think the same if they sat down and watched any species for an extended period of time. Skomer has around 10,000 pairs of puffins making this the largest population in the southern Britain. The Puffins around the Wick don't have much fear of people and are quite happy to wander across the path in front of people. Many with fish for their chicks, Some of which were taking their first tentative look at of life outside the burrow.

Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica

Although the puffins are what Skomer is known for its the birds that many visitors don't see which the island is more important for. With 310,000 pairs on Skomer and 40,000 more on its sister island Skokholm, around half the worlds population of Manx Shearwater, Puffinus puffinus can be found breeding here. Although this time I didn't see any. Whilst walking back to the quay, deep within a burrow we could hear the distinctive eerie call of a shearwater, a lovely end to a lovely day.