The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales North Ceredigion Group Newsletter September 2017

1. Chairperson’s Introduction Summer has flown by and hopefully you have had plenty of chances to get out and enjoy the abundance of local natural history. One of the highlights of the summer for me was taking part in an event organised by Dyfi Biosphere who have been focusing on Welsh legends. I was partnered with local storyteller Peter Stevenson for a story walk at Cwm Clettwr on 5 August. Local families who had not previously visited the reserve joined us for a delightful stroll from the Cletwr Cafe. Peter’s legends interwove perfectly with the natural history. The find of a marbled magpie moth near the river was interesting as their caterpillars feed on elm (thanks to Tony Allenby our county macro-moth recorder for this information). The dormice at Cwm Clettwr have continued to thrive with good numbers found during the summer. Speaking to those who attended the story walk highlighted to me how invisible most of our reserves are to non-members, even Cwm Clettwr, which must be one of our more easily found locations. Following up on this, the Local Group Committee are interested to find out how many visitors visit the North Ceredigion reserves. I will be asking at the next couple of indoor meetings for a show of hands to help us collect this information. We are currently updating the species lists for many of the reserves with the help of many volunteers and some paid expertise – there will be more on this at a later date.

Summer has flown by …

North Ceredigion Group – local contacts Chairperson Fiona Corke 01970 822078 [email protected] Secretary Dave Purdon 01970 871012 [email protected] 2. North Ceredigion Group programme of meetings for winter 2017/18 (compiled by Ian Scott) We have a final field meeting for the year:  Sunday 17 September 2017, 10 am - 1 pm. Cors Ian WT reserve near Lledrod with Emily Foot. Meet in the parking area of the reserve (SN669696). Link to reserve information here: https://www.welshwildlife.org/nature-reserve/cors-ian-lledrod-ceredigion

Indoor meetings in Theatre C22, Hugh Owen Building, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth University:  Monday 2 October 2017, 7 pm. Wild Orchids of Wales by Sue Parker (Local Author, http://www.first-nature.com).  Monday 6 November 2017, 7 pm. On the Trail of the Whale by Elfyn Pugh (Organisation Cetacea Volunteer, www.orcaweb.org.uk).  Monday 4 December 2017, 7 pm. WTSWW’s Species Conservation Work by Lizzie Wilberforce (WTSWW Conservation Manager).  Monday 5 February 2018, 7 pm. Things that Slither and Crawl: Local Reptiles by David Kirby (Local Member & Aberystwyth Resident).  Monday 5 March 2018, 7 pm. Choughs in Wales by Tony Cross (Mid-Wales Ringing Group).

3. The Nature of Our Village project (Penparcau Community Forum): update by Chloe Griffiths The Penparcau wildlife group ran monthly Bee Walks over the summer to record the bumblebees on Pen Dinas. These walks follow the same 1-km route each time and have to be done under specific weather conditions. They help us provide standardized information on how our bumblebees are doing so that we can build up a picture of long-term trends in their numbers and hopefully spot and report any declines. As the weather warmed we began to get good numbers of Common Carders and Buff- tailed/White-tailed workers. The queens were also present on the August survey, considerably bigger than the hard-working worker bees and described by some as ‘like flying mice’. We have also benefitted from training in Advanced Bumblebee Identification and help with identifying solitary bees. Sinead Lynch from Bumblebee Conservation has worked with more than 30 local people to plant up a wonderful, bee-friendly garden in the grounds of the Penparcau Community Forum Community Centre and we hope the flowers will find favour with many of our important pollinator species. Other winged creatures also came on our radar this season, with a few good ‘firsts’ for our village. One of these was a species with a close relationship to bees, perhaps closer than they would like! This is the Thick-headed Fly Siccus ferrugineus, or the ‘Bee Grabber’ as they are sometimes known. It is a parasite of bumblebees and solitary bees, where the female grabs the bee, uses the end of her abdomen to prize it open and then lays her egg inside it. The egg then hatches within the body of the bee and eventually kills it. Although this is - 2 -

arguably rather gruesome, the entomologist Liam Olds told us that seeing these flies is a sign of a good bumblebee population. One final bee-related discovery was the sighting of a Slow-worm in the middle of a Common Carder Bumblebee nest. The mossy nest was under a reptile shelter (refugium) on Pen Dinas and we can only assume that the reptile was having a quiet snack on the bee larvae. Comments on this interaction from local and national experts suggest that the Slow-worm’s scales might protect it from A Common Carder Bumblebee found on stings and that the larvae would be a good one of the Bee Walks on Pen Dinas. source of carbohydrates and protein for it. (Photo Chloe Griffiths) Recording wildlife is certainly full of surprises! With thanks to our funders, The Nineveh Charitable Trust. If you would like to take part, please get in touch via [email protected] or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/829779180427287/

4. Bird report for Spring and Summer 2017 (Mike Hayward) Compared with many of the east coast counties of Britain, such as Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, Ceredigion is a county not noted for its vast flocks of birds. However, what we may lack in flock sizes we make up for in the variety to be found in the wide range of habitats that occur within the county. This spring and early summer has seen the recording of many bird species which have only rarely been encountered in the past. Of particular note was the small flock of Cattle Egrets that took up residence at Ynys Tachwedd for several weeks in May. Perhaps these birds will become domiciled like the Little Egret, first recorded to be breeding in the county in 2004. Other notable recordings included a King Eider, which settled on the Ynyslas – Leri estuary for several weeks. A Great Snipe along with a Bittern were observed on Borth Bog during a ‘Bird Race’ undertaken by a team of four dedicated bird recorders who, in the course of a day, observed a grand total of 126 different species! Once again the highly variable spring and early summer weather has had a major influence on the expected behaviour of our resident birds and the seasonal influx of summer migrants. The greatest effect of the lower than average spring temperatures, with long periods of heavy rain and strong winds, was a later than usual start to the nesting season and timing of the arrival of spring migrants. The regular signs of spring, Swallows, other hirudines and Cuckoo were all later with lower numbers than usual, especially of House Martins. On the reserves, those nest boxes that have been monitored have had a good number of the usual species – Blue Tits, Great Tits and Pied Flycatchers all producing a good number of - 3 - fledglings. At Cors Ian, a Swallow platform, newly installed in the refurbished stable block, was promptly utilized as a nest site, while two pairs of tits occupied nesting holes in the stable walls. One of the new Spotted Flycatcher boxes there was also occupied. Around the county, the Kestrel boxes have been used to a lesser extent than in previous years but brood sizes have been well up. Barn Owls have again made use of some of these boxes. Also of note is that a Barn Owl box on one of the reserves was used this year for the first time, some ten or more years since it was put up! As we approach the end of summer the passage migrants such as the small wading birds which nest in the Arctic are stopping off at Ynyslas for refuelling on their journey to sunnier climes for the winter. Dunlin and plover numbers have recently been topping 2000+ birds at the high tide roost. The bird ringing groups within the county have made full use of this opportunity to undertake a colour-ringing or -banding scheme to more easily monitor the movement of these birds. Dunlin, colour-banded last year at Ynyslas, have been recorded as far away as Spain and Iceland. The colour-banding allows observation without the need to capture the birds to read the regular metal rings and also means that individual birds can often be identified from photographs. Records of any colour-ringed birds, especially Chough, gulls and waders should be sent to any of the contact persons listed for ‘sightings’ on the Ceredigion Bird Blog website (http://ceredigionbirds33.blogspot.co.uk) so that this valuable information can contribute to our understanding of the distribution, behaviour and long term conservation of these species.

5. 100 Club – Carolyn Lynn Once again it is almost time to ask for subscriptions to the 100 Club for the coming year and I shall be starting to collect monies at our first autumn meeting on Monday, 2 October. The price per ticket is £10 and I should be most grateful for your support once again. The money raised is very important to the activities of the Group as it is the only source of income for funding Em's excellent work on our reserves AND don’t forget, there are generous cash prizes to be won. The first draw will be at our December meeting. If you are unable to attend the October meeting please can you send me a cheque for £10 made out to WTSWW North Ceredigion with your contact details. Please send to Carolyn Lynn at Glanyrafon, Pontygeifr, Talybont, Ceredigion SY24 5DJ. If requested, I can also provide a form to complete for a regular standing order, which is a particularly helpful way to contribute. Many thanks.

6. Emily Foot’s September 2017 update of work on the Ceredigion reserves Since the last newsletter, we have spent a lot of time trying to get rid of things from the reserves that we don’t want or at least not in such great numbers! The treepoppers have been used on the willow, birch and alder at Rhos Pil Bach, brambles have been cut back in many places, bracken bashed at Old Warren Hill, Coed Simdde Lwyd and Caeau Llety Cybi, ragwort and Himalayan balsam pulled and paths cleared of summer - 4 - vegetation growth. As described below, we also managed to get out to Cardigan Island for our biannual gull count. As with the general trend, the number of Lesser Black-backs has continued to decline. However, we did see a lot of butterflies of a wide variety of species. Dormice continue to do well at Cwm Clettwr, using both dormouse and bird boxes as well as the natural habitat and over a wider area than previously! Birds also used some of the dormouse boxes earlier in the season. (NB Dormice are protected and it is illegal to disturb them so please don’t open any of the boxes. We have a licence to do so and results are submitted to the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme.) Grass snakes and slow- worms are being seen here more regularly too. We’ll be starting marsh fritillary larval web surveys on our rhos pasture reserves soon. Volunteer work parties are on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For more details, please contact Em on [email protected] or 07980 932 332. Please bring suitable clothing, footwear & waterproofs that you do not mind getting dirty, work gloves if you have them and your lunch. Many of our reserves are very muddy and will require wellies. Hot drinks and biscuits will be provided for elevenses. Please notify Em beforehand if you intend to attend a workday so that she knows to inform you should there be any last-minute changes of plan due to bad weather, etc.

7. Survey of Lesser Black-backed Gulls on Cardigan Island (Steve Cuttle) Seven o’clock on the morning of 26 May saw ten of us, led by Em Foot, assembled at Gwbert for the short boat ride to Cardigan Island to carry out the two-yearly count of the Lesser Black-backed Gull colony on the island. Though there was a moderate breeze, the sea was calm and did not hinder our landing. A single dolphin kept us entertained as we waited to disembark and clamber up the rocks onto the island. The survey was confined to the grassy plateau on the top of the island and repeated the method of previous counts, which briefly involved walking transects with the volunteers spaced at two-metre intervals across a straight line, holding onto a marked rope to help maintain the correct separation. Whenever anyone came across a nest they shouted details of the species and number of eggs or chicks to a central recorder. We also recorded empty nests. Older chicks were often found hiding in the grass a short distance away from their empty nest. As there are no longer sheep grazing on the island most of the vegetation was long enough to conceal nests or young so that each step carried the risk of stepping on what we had come to monitor. However, this risk diminished as it became apparent that any patches of taller grass, for example around the frequent tree mallows or old tangled fence, were favoured locations and likely to conceal a nest. Others were revealed by the adult bird hurriedly vacating its nest ahead of the advancing line. We also counted nests of the apparently ubiquitous Canada Geese and rather less-expected Barnacle Geese. During the survey it was not possible to distinguish between nests of Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls, which also occur on the island; however, the former are mostly confined to the central, grassy plateau while the Herring Gulls prefer to nest on the cliffs and slopes - 5 -

Cardigan Island viewed from the mainland, showing the grassy plateau favoured by the Lesser Black-backed Gull colony. around the edge of the island. The initial count assumed that all gulls’ nests we found belonged to Lesser Black-backs. An estimate of Herring Gull nests was obtained from a separate survey on 30 May from a point on the mainland opposite the island, using a telescope to count the nests on the slopes and cliffs visible from the observation point. This also provided estimates of the number of Lesser Black-backs on the slopes and of Herring Gulls nesting on the plateau, which were used to adjust the initial, island-based count of Lesser Black-backed Gull nests. The combined result of the two surveys was an estimate of 476 pairs of Lesser Black-backed Gulls nesting on the island in 2017. This is a small reduction from the 505 nests counted in 2015 but much less of a drop than between earlier surveys, with an overall decline from 950 nests in 2009. The number of Herring Gull nests had increased since 2015 and was similar to the 2013 count. A total of 38 goose nests were counted on the island, similar to the number in 2015. Of those containing eggs at the time of the survey, 5 were identified as belonging to Barnacle Geese and 11 to Canada Geese; however, the remaining 22 were empty and could not be attributed to a particular species. Other observations during the survey included finding sheep’s-bit scabious Jasione montana on the island for the first time. Hoary ragwort Senecio erucifolius and tree mallow Lavatera arborea had both become more noticeable since the previous survey. The above figures were taken from Em Foot’s unpublished survey report. Note that access to Cardigan Island is restricted and permission must be obtained from the Trust before visiting the reserve.

Newsletter editor Steve Cuttle ([email protected]), who gratefully acknowledges the contributions to this issue and invites contributions and suggestions for the next newsletter.

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