Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

An extremely cold and windy day did not put off Rachael Garside from the BBC Radio Wales Country Focus programme from joining members of the Carmarthenshire Bogs Project out in the field. Rachel and her producer Pauline Smith came to Pyllau Cochion common near Brechfa to look at the work that the project has been undertaking. They found out more about the importance of lowland bog habitats and the interesting discoveries the project has made over the last 18 months. A whole programme will be dedicated to the project on Sunday February 26 at 7am on BBC Radio Wales and it will then be available on the BBC radio i-Player for a month after. Formed over thousands of years, lowland bogs are increasingly rare examples of an important peatland habitat supporting specialised but threatened wildlife. Bogs lock-up carbon in the peat, and when in good condition capture more from the atmosphere, helping to address climate change. They filter water for slow release into streams and are valuab...

Two Carmarthenshire greenspaces are set to be a buzzing haven for bumblebees thanks to lottery funding. Sandy Water Park and Mynydd Mawr will form part of the Bee Wild West Wales project after The Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) secured £45k from the Heritage Lottery Fund to help protect the fluffy pollinators. Bee Wild West Wales project aims to raise awareness on their importance and what people can do to protect them following a decline in numbers. The UK has already lost two native bumblebee species in the last 80 years. The two-year project will be delivered by BBCT early next year with support from Carmarthenshire County Council, National Botanic Garden of Wales and Keep Wales Tidy. The council’s executive board member for leisure, Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “The dramatic decline in populations of the bumblebee show that something needs to be done. They are great pollinators, and have a vital role in producing much of the food that we eat. If their decline continues, the ext...

A new Barn Owl box has moved into Pembrey Country Park. Nestled in the woodlands, towards the west of the park, it is hoped the roost will help boost declining owl numbers. The heart shape faced barn owls have been spotted nesting in the Corsican Pine woodlands for some time. The box, made by Burns Pet Nutrition, is one of three donated by Carmarthenshire Bird Club. Other locations in Carmarthenshire include Penclacwydd and near Llanboidy in the west of the county. Plans are also in hand to put up boxes near Llangunnor and Cross Hands. The council’s executive board for leisure, Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “We are doing our bit to conserve one of the most beautiful birds on earth and together with the park being a perfect location for them the box will help increase the Barn Owl population.” Barn Owls screech, not hoot. The barn owl can fly almost silently which enables it to hear the slightest sounds made by its rodent prey hidden in deep vegetation while it’s flying up to three me...

Let your grass grow and help wild flowers set seeds across Carmarthenshire. That’s the plea from the Carmarthenshire Biodiversity Partnership which is urging people to set aside a small area for wildlife. Biodiversity Officer Isabel Macho said: “Well-managed lawns and grassy areas are a familiar sight and great for relaxing, playing games and picnics. “However, regularly mown grass is not great for wildlife as plants do not get a chance to flower and set seed.” Insects such as bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies help lots of plants set seed by helping with pollination. Along with pollinating food crops, they help maintain the variety of plant species, habitats and wildlife in Wales. For that help they get a share of the nectar the flower produces, however many of these pollinators are now under threat. Loss of habitat and plants to feed on are two of the main problems facing pollinators. To help wildlife people don’t have to lose their lawns. Simple steps, such as providing areas...

PhD research student Matthew Carroll, jointly of the Department of Biology, University of York and IBERS, Aberystwyth University, is a key contributor to an article published in Nature Communications today. Several rare upland bird species are being put at risk together with other ecosystem functions by the effects of climate change on the UK’s blanket bogs, ecologists at the University of York, Aberystwyth University and RSPB have discovered with the ecological research component on craneflies undertaken by Matthew and jointly supervised by Peter Dennis of Aberystwyth University. Most of our drinking water comes from these upland peats and several iconic bird species such as the dunlin, golden plover and red grouse depend on these wetland habitats for nesting and feeding. The scientists warn that climate change threatens these habitats, not only from rising temperatures increasing peat decomposition, but also via altered rainfall patterns – with summer droughts drastically affecting...

They are having a cracking time at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, Penclacwydd, Llanelli. Chicks of all kinds and sizes have been hatching out and demanding feeding from visitors walking the miles of maze-like walks. And the arrivals will continue through to the summer months with the ducks having been busy rearing their broods since early spring and now large varieties of geese doing the same and the glorious pink flock of 40 flamingos partnering up for their normal July and August hatchings. Executive board member for leisure services Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “We are so lucky to have this facility in Llanelli. It attracts bird watchers from all over the country and is wonderfully educational for children.” The centre’s volunteers have been busy at weekends providing talks and weekend family fun for visitors ranging from den building, mini pond dipping, craft workshops and flamingo talks. Getting up close and personal with the centre’s flock of Caribbean flamingos and sighting them ...

Over the next century, plants and animals will need to adapt or shift locations to track their ideal climate in response to continued global warming. In research published today in the journal Nature, Aberystwyth University academic Dr Pippa Moore, along with an international team of scientists from Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, UK and USA, reveals global maps that show how fast and in which direction local climates are shifting. This new study points to a simpler way of looking at climatic changes and their likely effects on biodiversity. “The maps show us where plants and animals will have to move to stay within their existing thermal niches and thereby track climate change,” says Dr Pippa Moore from the Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University. The study analysed 50 years of sea surface and land temperature data (1960-2009) and also investigated two future scenarios for marine environments (‘business as usual’ and 1.75°C temperature i...

The secrets of how animals adapt to the ebb and flow of the tide are revealed by Aberystwyth University lecturer Dr David Wilcockson in ‘The Secret Life of Rock Pools’, a television documentary broadcast on BBC4 on 16 April 2013. The programme’s presenter, Professor Richard Fortey embarks on a quest to discover the extraordinary lives of rock pool creatures. He is joined by Dr David Wilcockson, aquatic lecturer in IBERS, Aberystwyth University and other leading marine biologists to help explore this unusual environment. Startling behaviour is revealed and new insights are given into how these animals cope with intertidal life at the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth and on the beach in various locations around the UK. Describing his contribution Dr Wilcockson explains “Animals that are challenged by regular, periodic inundation and exposure by the ebb and flow of tides coordinate their behaviour and physiology. This is what enables them to survive and flourish in a complex and ra...

Wildlife experts and volunteers at Aberystwyth University are calling on students, staff and member of the public to help to find and record as many different types of plants and animals as possible. The University is holding a Bioblitz on its Penglais campus on Saturday with the aim of breaking the record for the largest number of species found on a university campus in a single day. Aberystwyth University boasts one of the most picturesque settings of any university in the country, lying in the shadow of the Cambrian Mountains and on the shores of Cardigan Bay. It is also the only UK university campus located in a UNESCO designated biosphere reserve. Bioblitzes have been carried out in many places around the world and are an attempt to list all the species that live in a specific area. The Penglais campus Bioblitz is just that bit more ambitious as it wants to list all the species that live on the campus alongside the students and staff. Bioblitz organiser and Director of Teaching an...

Birds that sing their songs at a higher pitch help them travel further in built-up areas. Previously it was thought that great tits and other common birds sung at a higher pitch in noisy areas to avoid the low pitch noise from traffic and industry. Now, scientists from Aberystwyth University and the University of Copenhagen have found that it is the buildings that are changing the way that birds sing in cities. Their new study, published in the journal PLoS One, suggests that urban architecture may be just as important as background noise in shaping how our birds sing. “Our cities are packed with reflective surfaces, open spaces and narrow channels, which you just don’t get in woodland. Because sounds bounce and travel in different ways, birds have to use songs that can cope with this”, says researcher Emily Mockford. “The higher notes mean the echoes disappear faster and the next note is clearer”. A surprise result also showed that urban songs transmitted more clearly in woodland...