Wales Feed

Grassholm gannet nests

2011-10-31T11:01:42+00:00

Grassholm Island or 'Gwales' in Welsh was the first RSPB reserve to be established in Wales back in 1948 so it's fitting that in this centenary year RSPB wardens - Lisa and Greg Morgan are fighting to combat an issue that affects the third largest gannet population in the Atlantic - plastic.

Aerial view of the gannetry on Grassholm Island. Image by John Archer-Thompson, RSPB Images.

Every spring, roughly 40,000 pairs of breeding gannets descend on this small patch of rock, situated eight miles off the Pembrokeshire coast, south west of Ramsey Island.

Marine debris is now a major problem throughout the world's oceans with vast, floating islands of debris being reported - from industrialised areas right across to the most remote regions on the planet and Grassholm Island is no different.

This particular gannet colony is now on the front line. Where once seaweed and kelps fronds were used as nesting materials, they have now been added to by synthetic rope, plastic, discarded fishing nets and mono-filament fishing line.

This doesn't happen by accident though. The birds actively target these floating materials as they resemble seaweed, are easy to spot on the surface and highly visible to the male birds seeking nest materials out at sea.

Gannet colony on Grassholm Island - image by RSPB Cymru.

Gannets are very 'site faithful' creatures and will return to the same nest location year after year, rebuilding and repairing each season, making this a long term problem.

RSPB warden's visit each October when the majority of birds have left, to keep disturbance to a minimum.

Most birds can be freed successfully, others simply have to be put out of their misery as plastic has entwined around their wings and caused permanent and irreparable damage.

Plastic entwines around their legs and wings causing death - image by RSPB Cymru.

Monitoring the gannets

A team from the Marine Biology Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University and RSPB have been monitoring and studying the situation on Grassholm since 1996 and have estimated the total amount of plastic on Grassholm to be a staggering 18.46 tonnes.

The average gannet nest contains 469.91 grams of plastic with the majority of nesting material being synthetic rope.

On average, just over 65 birds each year die from entanglement which equates to around 525 gannets (mainly nestlings) over an eight year period and yet although this is a fairly high number, it is unlikely to have an effect on the overall population which is doing very well in the UK compared to other seabird populations.

A young gannet being cut free from plastic on Grassholm - image by RSPB Cymru.

The plastics comes from a variety of sources both domestic and international as well as shipping but all have one thing in common - they don't biodegrade, so will remain in the nests for many years to come and added to each year.

Geo-location

The team have also been doing some ground-breaking work using geo-locaters on the gannets, monitoring where they go to forage for food and how far they fly.

For the first time, we are beginning to build up an accurate picture of sea birds' movements which will play an important role in their future, as conservation groups lobby for more marine reserves and protected zones to be established further out to sea, around these important offshore wildlife havens.

Tourism

The reserve has a strict no-landing policy and even the scientists and wardens looking after the birds are limited to a crew of just eight per visit.

Despite this, thousands of day trippers cram onto spotter boats throughout the summer months hoping to catch a glimpse of this natural wonder, as 80,000 gannets turn a small, low lying rock in the Irish Sea, white.

A gannet in flight off Grassholm Island by Ade Owens.

There are also plenty of other seabirds to see as well as dolphins, porpoises, minke whales and even orca which visit the area in summer.

Beneath the waves however, other larger marine creatures are equally affected by plastic pollution.

Leatherback turtles

These gentle, giants of the deep travel huge distances each year to feed in our nutrient rich Welsh waters which during the warmer months are brimming with their favourite food - jellyfish.

Unfortunately, plastic bags resemble jellyfish to unsuspecting leatherback turtles which consume them in large quantities, eventually dying as their intestines become entangled with plastic.

According to the Marine Conservation Society, over 170 species of marine wildlife have been recorded as mistaking marine litter for food, resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.

Plastic bags

On 1 October 2011, Wales became the first UK country to introduce a charge for single use carrier bag and it is hoped that over time we'll start to see a decline in plastic related deaths in the seas around Wales.

The Welsh government is keen to follow Ireland's example of a 90% reduction in carrier bag use, however there are still exemptions for bags on board ships, trains, aircraft, coaches and buses.

A small team from RSPB and Autumnwatch team landed on Grassholm Island to film the gannet's plastic nests which will be featured in BBC Autumnwatch on Friday, 11 November.

Read the RSPB Ramsey Island blog - Gannet Rescue Mission.

Autumnwatch visits Wales

2009-11-10T10:56:58+00:00

The Autumnwatch team visited Pembrokeshire this week, to film a few sequences for this years programme.

Chris Packham and Kate Humble were down at West Angle bay hoping to film choughs, various wading birds and try their luck at some rock pooling.

It's a lovely spot and I spent a lot of time here as a child, swimming on the far right hand side of the bay and jumping off the old wooden jetty.

It was also the place where I saw my first canadian goose. I can always remember being amazed to find a pair nesting on small island - a short walk around the headland, to the South of the bay.

They looked completely out of place to my young eyes which were accustomed to seeing seagulls or cormorants, not exotic looking geese?!

Nowadays they're a common sight on lakes and ponds but in the late 70's, it felt like I'd discovered the Loch Ness monster on my home turf!

Pembrokeshire is particularly good for rock pooling during the summer months due to the crystal clear water and warm gulf stream currents which allow a variety of unusual creatures to live there.

Let's hope the rain held off long enough for them to spot the odd rock goby or crab. The sea anemones never disapoint though.

West Angle is particularly well known for it's fossils too and both sides of the bay are littered with them, in the cliffs and shale below.

We've got some great spotter guides for kids to take with them to the beach if this weather ever clears up, so take a look.

Let me know if you spotted the Autumnwatch team or took any photos of them during their brief visit.

Gull

Rare birds warming to Wales?

2009-10-23T15:35:34+00:00

Here's a nice little piece about how, rare birds are beginning to establish themselves in Wales as our climate begins to warm up.

Find out more and listen to the interview on BBC Local - South East Wales.

You may remember the blog I did on the rare glossy ibis which was sent in to our Flickr group?

No, not literally! It was a photo...But we are seeing more and more unusual birds appearing here.

I remember when we had a photo of a hoopoe sent in from Llandovery of all places about 3 years ago.

There aren't many more exotic looking birds you could ever hope to see in Wales than a hoopoe, with it's amazing pink plumage and head crest.

It will be interesting to see how things pan out over the next 20 years or so...

A colleague of mine mentioned he'd seen a shearwater whilst visiting the Isle of Man last weekend?!

I thought they'd be long gone by now, on their way back to South America but he seemed to be fairly sure, and pointed out that he was with some locals who verified it.

I still think he was drunk but the jury is out on that one!

Perhaps the warmer weather has delayed some birds from leaving quite so soon at the end of the summer?

As for visitors - we're currently getting lots of blackbird 'imposters' from Northern Europe, fleeing the Scandinavian winter.

You can tell them apart from our 'resident' blackbirds as they appear to be less settled in your garden and can often be seen acting suspiciously...use your imagination. ;)

You might also see them hanging out amongst flocks of redwing and fieldfare which are beginning to appear on the east coast. Chris Peckham was talking about this on Autumnwatch recently.

If you're a keen bird watcher or wildlife photographer then perhaps you'd like to let me know what unusual species you've come across, so far this year?

Keep an eye out

Gull

Risso's dolphins off Pembrokeshire

2009-10-06T09:48:09+00:00

Cliff Benson from the Sea Trust - the marine arm of the Wildlife Trust South and West Wales has been in touch with some exciting news - they've recently filmed a pod of Risso's dolphins off the Pembrokeshire coast including mothers and calves.

Image courtesy of Rich Crossen, the Sea Trust:

The Sea Trust are a local volunteer group whose maxim is "Local people looking after their own marine wildlife and environment".

As part of their activities, the trust survey cetaceans around the Pembrokeshire coast as well as conducting surveys from aboard the 'Stena Europe' car ferry that sails between Fishguard and Rosslare.

Cliff reports: "We've been seeing an amazing amount of Risso's from the ferry along with some from the shore at Strumble Head.

Last week we came across a maternal group of Risso's Dolphins with very young calves which we managed to photograph and film as they passed us by".

For more information about cetacean and marine 'mega fauna' such as seals and sunfish visit the whales in wales blog

Keep an eye out for the Sea Trust on this year's Autumnwatch series.

Gull

Raven conversations

2008-11-05T09:14:26+00:00

Newborough Forest on Anglesey served up a treat as we looked into one of the largest raven roosts in Europe as part of this year's Autumnwatch.

Just being at the roost is a pretty amazing experience but it's the sound that gets you. As the ravens come into the roost the noise just keeps building. Chris Watson, the wildlife sound recordist, was on hand to record this unique soundscape using the variety of special microphones he has at his disposal.

Listening to the recordings you can pick out a variety of vocalisations, from 'qourks', to 'aarks'. It's amazing to listen in on the conversations and information exchanges happening all around you.

Ravens are incredibly wary animals and super intelligent which makes for it being a tricky task to film them. This is probably because they have had many years of persecution so are wary of people and large dark objects such as the camera pointing at them!

Jamie McPherson had to take great steps to film the ravens feeding on the beach and even using a hide they were aware of even the slightest of movement from the camera including even the changes in angle and to focus!

Barry gets the groove

2008-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Phew! We're already halfway through this year's series of Autumnwatch and we've been busy criss-crossing the country solving some of nature's mysteries. From Dorset to Petworth then to Birmingham and now we've just landed on Anglesey where we'll be taking a look at Britain's largest raven roost.

To see the fallow deer at Petworth in the rutting season was magical. It was fascinating hearing the noises made by the bucks - their deep Barry White grunting sounds being a constant soundtrack to our visit!

The science behind it all is equally interesting and I caught up with expert Alan Mcelligott who told me about his studies into the fallow deer rut.

Click here to listen to what he had to say.

I also stepped up to the rather strange challenge of making plywood cut-outs of muntjac and roe deer so that presenter Simon King could illustrate the difference in their sizes. It was like something out of the Apprentice - I knew that I had to make them look good and to the right scale. I was absolutely terrified I'd end up making something that looked like a loch ness monster rather than a deer. But following a quick dash to some hardware stores, I eventually managed to produce something that resembled a good job. In fact the muntjac cut-out is now called Munty and has become a bit of a mascot in our edit van!

Indeed, Munty's also managed to cause quite a stir. An hour or so before Wednesday's live show there was a cry of "record, record" as someone glanced a muntjac on one of the monitors. A closer look revealed that it was a muntjac - but unfortunately one made of plywood!

Muntjacs seem to have really caught the public's imagination and we'd love to hear from you if you've been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one where you live. Just drop me a line via the comment form below.

The fungus among us

2008-10-24T11:05:28+00:00

I really wish I knew a bit more about theses fungal profusions. Apparently they can even move around!

You can also eat them, of course. But you should be careful as some species are extremely poisonous.

Also with the recent trend in foraging for you own food, some fungi have been hit hard as people have unwittingly removed and potentially damaged fungi communities.

Check out some other fabulous fungi photos on the BBC Wales Nature Flickr group.

I'm currently on location near Petworth Deer Park as we prepare for the latest series of Autumnwatch which starts on BBC Two on Monday 27 October.

This is the week when the fallow deer start their rut and it's a great location in beautiful surroundings.

The park also hosts some other great wildlife to boot with many lizard species and bats present, I've been told.

Over the next few days we'll be filming the deer to see which males are going to be the head honchos of the group and the ones that will most likely end up with all the ladies.

Great science and story behind these beautiful deer. I'll keep you updated as to how we get on.

Only three days to transmission - yikes!

My slimeball mystery

2008-10-20T09:13:40+00:00

While out strolling last week I noticed a strange glob of goo underneath a tree in the side of a wooded valley. It was about the size of a golf ball and see-through. It wasn't the only example either, with quite a few other gooey goblets scattered around the place.

So what on earth could it be?

Well, according to my friend Brett Westwood, presenter of Radio 4's World on the Move and general wildlife guru, it could be a pretty strange find indeed.

Brett reckons it looks like something the Welsh used to call 'powdr ser' or star-slime.

"Medieval people thought it was the remains of fallen stars," he said.

"In fact, it's actually the oviducts of frogs which have been eaten by a predator, a polecat or mink maybe. There are some very odd algae and slime moulds to be had - but this does look like 'star-slime' to me."

I've also put the question to some other knowledgeable nature folk who thought it may be too early for frogs. The Wildlife Trust agreed that it was an odd time of year although frogs have been spotted in parts of Gloucestershire, Hereford and Powys.

So over to you. Any ideas at all about the glob of goo?

In fact, it would be good to hear about any of your weird or wacky wildlife sightings - especially with Halloween coming up. So, if you've spotted any strange or spooky goings on, drop us a line using the comment form below.

In the meantime you can listen to a clip from the Out of Doors programme on BBC Radio Scotland. They've been inundated over the past few weeks by listeners sharing their pictures and stories of a mysterious jelly like substance. It became more complicated and intriguing after listener Ronnie Leask told them about a journey he made in 2004 with geologist Bill Baird. Presenter Euan McIlwraith managed to track down Bill, and a fascinating story...

The eel's mammoth journey

2008-10-09T09:05:06+00:00

Unknown to me it had just made the journey all the way from the Sargasso Sea (south of Bermuda) and now it was in my hand, measuring only eight centimetres or so.

Eels are one of the truly great animal mysteries. No-one has ever witnessed or found them spawning. It's puzzled people for many years: Aristotle thought they came from rotting seaweed and even Sigmund Freud kept one to try to find out the answer.

It has been deduced that they spawn in the Sargasso Sea and make their way across the Atlantic as tiny creatures using the oceans currents such as the gulf stream.

They then travel up rivers, climbing weirs and other obstacles to make it to into the river system, an incredible effort for such a small fish.

They will spend most of their lives in fresh water and grow in size until it comes to the time when as an adult eels (now a pretty hefty creature) start heading downstream (and across land even) and head out into the ocean to start the journey back to the Sargasso Sea.

This will be one final journey to spawn and start the cycle again.

All epic stuff, and in an age of technological advances where people communicate each others' locations using a raft of devices, it's amazing to think that we still don't really know where the eel goes on its journey.

So why am I talking about them now? Well autumn is the time when the adults start their journey and start moving out from the rivers out to sea. It's dependent on rainfall and the stages of the lunar cycle but across the country they are starting their long and final swim.

On a more sober note over the last 20 years there has been a 90% reduction in the population abundance in Europe and this is serious news for our slivery tourists.

There are a number of factors involved: netting, fishing and barriers to migration, not to mention possible disruption from climate change to the currents that bring them across the Atlantic as young.

It is also sad to think not everyone likes eels. Another recollection I have was the attitude from a minority of anglers who took a dim view of eels and persecuted them for tangling their lines up. It's a practice I hope has stopped.

Like many things in wildlife they are inspirational and I'd like them to not go the same way as salmon and disappear from some of our rivers. Best of luck Eels - have a good trip.

And here's a sneak piece of information for you: we hopefully should be meeting some conger eels in this year's Autumnwatch, these huge sea creatures can reach up to three metres long - watch this space!

The barking deer

2008-10-03T07:57:07+00:00

Well this is how I felt when I first saw the muntjac deer. Known by some as the 'barking deer' due to its habit of making a terrier type yapping noise, it's in fact an alien species to these shores and was first introduced in the early part of the 20th century.

Muntjacs were originally brought all the way from China to deer parks such as Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire and subsequently escaped, quickly establishing successful feral populations in the wild.

Their tenacity and ability to breed all year round means they've spread to many parts of England and Wales. They can be found in surprising places and even in urban environments being spotted next to motorways and in parks.

They're pretty small - about the same size as a dog. The males have small antlers and a distinct 'v' shape on their faces. But the real funny feature of the muntjac is their tiny little tusks. They're kind of like a cross between a small deer and a warthog I suppose!

They're incredibly skittish and wary and you can understand how they've managed to survive simply by blending into the background. They're also solitary, so unlike other deer species you're not going to see huge herds of them.

We went filming them for the new Autumnwatch series that I'm working on at the moment. It was pretty tricky-going for our cameraman as they're such secretive animals. But finally, after many painstaking hours and a bit of good fortune he got some great footage of a male muntjac barking (as you an see from the video clip).

In this case it's probably barking or yapping to sound an alarm but they also do it to make a challenge and to sound their location to other deer.

So, for its secretive nature and unusual looks, the muntjac is definitely a favourite deer of mine. Also, I suppose the simple fact that you may be lucky enough to spot one in the countryside or even in you local parkland! So, have you ever seen any? Drop me a line using the comment form below.

Here's my pick of this week's wildlife web:
Big Cat Live comes to our screen soon all the way from the Masai Mara in Kenya but it's already started on the web! It looks great and my pal Chris is there to tell you what's going on in camp.

What's on:
Minibeast hunt in Newport

Some Halloween themed wildlife events happening on 28 October.