The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales North Ceredigion Section Newsletter January 2017

1. Chairperson’s Introduction Happy New Year – let’s hope for a year seasoned with exciting wildlife sightings, from bird- table visitors to cetaceans in Cardigan Bay! Last term’s Monday night meetings of the North Ceredigion Section continued to be well attended with excellent talks covering topics from the marine life of Cardigan Bay, the National Trust’s Magnificent Meadows Project to the nocturnal foraging of migratory woodcock. Please see the following section of this newsletter for details of upcoming meetings. My family have a tradition (in Norfolk) of a walk at the beach on Christmas Day. Our chosen beach is at Winterton-on-Sea on the east coast, which is a little like Ynyslas with a sandy beach and established dunes. However, the big tourist draw there is an ever-increasing colony of grey seals who use this beach as a nursery to give birth to their pups. Unlike those that pup on the Ceredigion coast, these seals do not appear particularly sensitive to visitors. This is a wildlife success story; from no pups 20 years ago, to this year when there were 1400 pups born between mid-October and December. Presumably this may be linked to recovering fish stocks, as adult grey seals are known to each consume up to 5 tonnes of fish per year!

Seals on a Norfolk beach – appearing to have that bloated feeling familiar to many of us after the Christmas festivities. (Photos Fiona Corke)

North Ceredigion Section – local contacts Chairperson Fiona Corke 01970 822078 [email protected] Secretary Dave Purdon 01970 871012 [email protected]

2. North Ceredigion Section programme of meetings for winter/spring 2017 (compiled by Ian Scott) Indoor meetings are held in Theatre C22, Hugh Owen Building, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth University:  Monday 6 February, 7 pm. Restoring Ancient Woodland in Mid Wales by Adam Thorogood (The Woodland Trust).  Monday 6 March, 7 pm. The Plight of the Bumblebee by Sinead Lynch (Bumblebee Conservation Trust).  Monday 3 April, 7 pm. Moth trapping in Mid Wales by Chris Shortall (Rothamsted Research) Please contact the Secretary, Dave Purdon, to go on the Section's mailing list for regular updates on our activities. There is also the following outdoor meeting organised by Chloe Griffiths for the Aberystwyth Botanical Society – Sunday 30 April, 10 am. Cwm Rheidol Mine and the Riparian Woodland and River Shingle Habitats Below with Steve Chambers. Venue: Either meet at the mine (SN 71185 78761) where there is limited parking on the road verge immediately below the mine and also just before the mine near the filter bed; alternatively, if people want to double up in cars (which might be sensible) they could meet and park at the Capel Bangor village hall by Cefn Melindwr just east of the Cwm Rheidol road junction, where there is ample parking space. Meet here at 9.30 am to allow time to drive to the mine.

3. The Nature of Our Village project (Penparcau Community Forum): aiming to survey all the wildlife of Penparcau (Chloe Griffiths) The autumn season produced record numbers of common lizards on Pen Dinas, with 32 individuals seen on the 29th of September. Not only does this suggest that this species is doing well in terms of population, but our Reptile Survey shows that they are using a much greater area of Pen Dinas than we previously knew. One of our artificial refugia was also being used as a temporary home by a water shrew, the first time this mammal has been recorded in Penparcau. We were delighted to welcome back our moth experts, Tony and Ina, who ran an exciting “live moth trap” event for us at the foot of Pen Dinas. Sixteen people, including some very keen children, were able to see the bright lights of the moth trap in action and to examine some moths up close. Our lights also attracted a visit from the Police, who were curious as to what we might be up to. I offered them the chance to take part but strangely enough they were “too busy”. Slugs may not be the first creature that springs to mind when considering a new animal to investigate but they are a vital part of the ecosystem and very much under-recorded. With - 2 -

this is mind we ran a couple of Slug Surveys and seven people took part in searching for and identifying the molluscan residents of Parc y Llyn. One participant noted “… but this is amazing, they are fascinating”, so expect more slug-related work in 2017. The stormy seas of winter herald the start of our annual Shark and Ray Egg Case Hunts. The egg cases, otherwise known as mermaids’ purses, are quite abundant on the shore and by the end of winter 2016 we had collected more than 1,000, of five different species, so we have a considerable target to beat this year! Sessions will run from now until March on Tanybwlch beach, so do get in touch if you would like to take part and I can supply a free identification guide. The Nature of our Village project has been fortunate to have the generous support of many local experts: we have had Ina and Moira helping us to find Chough and Ravens, Aline helping us to search for harvest mouse nests and Tom leading a group to find 11 Three common lizards on Pen Dinas in species of moss on Pen Dinas. I am delighted September 2016. (Photo. Chloe that more members of the public have been Griffiths) sending me their casual sightings: we can report a live hedgehog seen in Penparcau, another up at the Arts Centre and also the stranding of a harbour porpoise at North Beach, Aberystwyth. It is our aim to increase the number of wildlife records made in our area, so all of these have been reported to our Local Record Centre, the West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre, and to our County Recorders. Many thanks to all the volunteers, experts, and expert volunteers who have made this project so enjoyable to work on! If you would like to take part, please get in touch via [email protected] or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/829779180427287/.

4. Bird notes: January 2017 (Mike Hayward) So often one starts these notes with a comment on the weather over the past few months as it influences the behaviour of our resident species of birds, the departure of the summer migrants to sunnier climes and the influx of winter migrants escaping the cold of northern Europe. This autumn has been somewhat unusual in that it was both drier and warmer than

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average with only the occasional wet spell and with little frost. The main outcome of this on bird observations was that many of the summer migrants were being seen late in the season and winter visitors tended to arrive later. The autumn months saw the passage of large numbers of Dunlin and Ringed Plover along the coast and the return of our winter visitors such as Purple Sandpipers and Turnstone to the coast, the Black Redstart to its usual residence on the Old College, Fieldfare and Redwing inland and the evening invasion of Starlings to their roost on Aberystwyth Pier. The autumn also saw an increase in the number of observations of Merlins in lowland areas – no doubt having moved down from the uplands where they normally spend the breeding season. However, the strong easterly winds led to some more unusual visitors, one of the highlights being the number of Yellow Browed Warblers that were recorded in October throughout the county and the sightings of Great Grey Shrikes at several locations.

Whooper Swans over Llyn Pendam. (Photo. Mike Hayward)

The full moons of October and November heralded the arrival of a good number of Woodcock into the county. Those of you who attended our December lecture were provided with a detailed insight into the unique behaviour of this magical bird. The speaker – Mr Owen Williams - revealed that woodcock regularly return to the same locality each winter and feed in the same area within their own chosen fields. A bird was recently re- trapped in the same field near Llanilar where it was first ringed seven years ago, having migrated back and forth to Russia for the intervening breeding seasons. In so doing it is estimated to have flown some 42,000 kilometres! Whooper Swans were also noted on several lakes around the north of the county, generally in small parties of three to five – often consisting of adults and some juveniles. As an exception to this general observation, nine adults and one juvenile were recorded at Pond yr Oerfa at the start of 2017. As these birds tend to move from one lake to the next and rarely take up residence in one location, except at Cors Caron, it is difficult to determine the

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over-wintering numbers in the county. Clearly there is a need for a coordinated count at all the likely sites. The autumn also saw several other rarities such as Rose Coloured Starlings at Ynyslas and a Cattle Egret at Llansantfraid. The long settled spell of weather also led to several very large ‘Gull Fests’ along the county shoreline, especially in the Borth/Ynyslas area. The inshore shoaling of sprat and mackerel attracted thousands of gulls to the feast, along with large numbers of Cormorants, Red and Black Throated Divers, Great Crested Grebes, auks and some late Gannets. News of interesting ornithological observations can be found on the Ceredigion Bird Blog (www.ceredigionbirds33.blogspot.co.uk) and the Ceredigion Birds and Wildlife Facebook pages. Both sites also provide an avenue for informing others of such sightings. The Ceredigion Bird Report for 2015 is now available from the Welsh Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran, RSPB Ynys-hir, NRW Nant yr Arian Visitor Centre and Clive’s Menswear shop on Terrace Road, Aberystwyth. 5. Update on the Pine Marten Recovery Project This information about the ongoing Pine Marten Recovery Project in mid-Wales has been taken from articles by Jenny MacPherson, David Bavin and Josie Bridges in the recent 2016 issue of the Vincent Wildlife Trust (VWT) Newsletter (www.vwt.org.uk/news/vwt-e- newsletter-november-2016/). There is good news that at least half of the remaining females from last year’s releases produced young in 2016. The VWT team waited until the kits were weaned and then started re-trapping the adults to check their weight and condition and to remove their radio collars. At the time of writing the original articles, 13 collars had been retrieved from the first batch of 20 animals. All of the re-trapped martens were in good condition and had put on weight since their release. Without their collars it is difficult to keep track of the animals but some of the regulars that exhibit more predictable behaviour have been spotted on camera traps. Pine martens in the wild can be distinguished by their individual bib markings and all the translocated animals have been photographed prior to their release to provide a guide to aid identification of any martens caught on camera in the future. A further batch of pine martens was translocated from Scotland to Wales in 2016. Trapping started at sites on the Morvern peninsula in September and by early October nine females and ten males had been transferred to the soft-release pens that had been constructed in Wales by a team from Chester Zoo with assistance from VWT staff. Once released, the martens have again been followed by radio tracking. With the experience gained last year, this year’s tracking has been a slightly more relaxed undertaking. The team is also trialling some new GPS collars that it is hoped will provide a more reliable signal in the often complex local terrain. As last year’s martens occupied most of the available woodland around the release sites, some of this year’s animals have had to spread further to find vacant territories. Others, however, have filled gaps (e.g. in the Hafod estate) that were not occupied by last year’s releases. Currently the monitoring team have been able to track all but two of this year’s

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A pine marten in Morvern in 2011 – now in a woodland near you? (Photo. Steve Cuttle) releases. Based on the behaviour of last year’s martens, which tended to stay within 20 km of the release site during the first winter, the team say they are confident of finding the missing individuals. The animals seem to only begin their long distance wanderings once spring arrives. With some of last year’s martens having travelled up to 100 km from their release site, it is not surprising that some are still evading capture, though one roving female has recently been found in Allt Rhyd y Groes, a NRW reserve south west of Llyn Brianne. Latest news from Jenny Macpherson: The Allt Rhyd y Groes female has now been recaptured and her collar removed (bringing the total recovered to 14). There is a male up in Clocaenog Forest near Ruthin who regularly makes an appearance on camera traps put out for red squirrels in the area. He looks in good condition (munching on hazelnuts). So far, data have been downloaded from three of the new GPS collars, providing useful information about where this year’s animals have been moving.

6. Snippets of news and information  Deer in North Ceredigion (from Mike Hayward) - In the past, sightings of deer in Ceredigion have been rare events except for occasional Sika/red deer in the south of the county, which are assumed to have crossed the Teifi from the Trust reserve at Cilgerran. However, during the past year there have been several reports of roe deer, both bucks

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and does, from around the Coed y Bont and Strata Florida woodlands and more recently in forestry areas near The Arch and further west, close to Llyn Fanod. There have also been possible sightings of muntjac deer in some of the Ystwyth valley woodlands. Any sightings should be reported to our reserves officer, Emily Foot.  Anyone who missed Aberystwyth Botanical Society’s recent field meeting on identifying trees in winter may be interested in one of Denmark Farm’s volunteer training events on the same topic. This takes place on Sunday, 19 March from 10 am to 4 pm. Places are free but must be booked in advance. Contact Denmark Farm soon if you would like to attend (see http://www.denmarkfarm.org.uk/events/winter-tree-id/ or telephone 01570 493358).  The two new bird hides at the Teifi Marshes Reserve are now complete and will shortly be open to the public. They are sited on the main cycle track between Cardigan and Cilgerran and are designed to be much more robust and fire-resistant than the basic wooden structures they replace. Part of the funding for this project was provided from the Megan Jones Legacy.

7. Emily Foot’s January 2017 update on work in the Ceredigion reserves Over the last few months we’ve done lots of boundary and roadside tree works at Coed Maidie B Goddard, Pennar Fawr and Old Warren Hill. We have also done our annual half cut of the pond meadow at Coed Maidie and cleared brambles from some of the bluebell- rich areas of Old Warren Hill. Having concentrated on grant-aided tree felling woodland work over the last few years we are now catching up on the scrub (mostly bramble) clearance on many of our grassland reserves - Caeau Llety Cybi, Rhos Pil Bach, Rhos Glyn yr Helyg. Coed Maidie Volunteer work parties are on Wednesdays benefitted from a joint work party with and Thursdays. For more details, please the Pembrokeshire and contact Em on [email protected] or Carmarthenshire group just before 07980 932 332. Christmas when we cleared a huge patch next to one of the woodland Please bring suitable clothing, footwear & entrances. There is still plenty to do! waterproofs that you do not mind getting dirty, We returned the favour at Ynys Dawela work gloves if you have them and your lunch. in Carmarthenshire where we also did Many of our reserves are very muddy and will some meadow management works. require wellies. Hot drinks and biscuits will be provided for elevenses. In early autumn we undertook our annual marsh fritillary larval web Volunteers should always contact Em before surveys, the highlight being Rhos Glyn the workdays to confirm details as changes yr Helyg where we found 313 webs often occur and with bad weather things may spread across the site. Not bad for a have to be cancelled or changed at the last year that was generally bad for minute. invertebrates.

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Dormouse numbers at Cwm Clettwr continued to be really good to the end of the season, with them spreading out further on the reserve. We have ten more boxes to put up before the new season (with thanks to Mike Hayward and team) which will help us see if they are in other areas too. … and a report on the Sunday work parties by Fiona Corke While waiting for the dormice to enter hibernation at Cwm Clettwr, the Sunday group moved their activities to Old Warren Hill to work on removing sycamore regrowths and clearing bramble scrub. This has opened up the woodland glades at the top of the hill to encourage the ground flora, including the bluebells that are well worth a visit in April and May. Since November we have been back in Cwm Clettwr for more work including removal of the birch trees that are overshadowing oak, rowan and hazel trees. If you are interested in joining the group please contact Fiona Corke ([email protected]).

Wind damage to trees in Cwm Clettwr reserve after the freak storm in November 2016. (Photos Richard Spencer)

Newsletter editor Steve Cuttle ([email protected]), who gratefully acknowledges the contributions to this issue and invites contributions for the next newsletter in March or April 2017.

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