Guest blog by Richie Roberts, City of Cardiff Council Park Ranger.June has arrived and for me it’s got to be one of my favourite months just because everything is so active. The birds are frantically flying around feeding their young, damselflies and dragonflies are buzzing around the ponds and lots of different species of butterflies are on the wing - a sure sign summer has arrived - and being a Park Ranger I get too see it all every day.
This brings me onto some of the events that will be taking place in our parks over the next month, the main one being our summer wildlife festival - Wild About Cardiff - taking place at Forest Farm in Whitchurch on 4 June. This fun packed day will involve a range of wildlife activities such as nature walks, pond dipping, bug hunting and so much more – and the best bit is that it’s free for the whole family!White-tailed Bumble beeSue Kennedy (rspb-images.com)
Later on in the week, on Sunday 12 June, we’re holding another event at Heath Park; the annual pond watch, where families can come along and discover the diverse range of aquatic life that lives there. If they’re lucky, perhaps they’d get the chance to catch a glimpse of one of our most special critters, the great crested newt, as Heath Park is one of the very few ponds in Cardiff that these mini dragons breed in.
Not only is June an excellent month to spot some wonderful wildlife, but it’s also a great month to spot some special plants. This leads me onto another brilliant event, our Howardian orchid walk, which takes place at the Howardian local nature reserve in Cardiff and is led by the friends of this once landfill site. This one takes place 12 June at 2:30 pm and we’d love to see you there.
Well that’s June in Cardiff in a nutshell, so why not get out there and enjoy the wonderful sites and sounds that the summer has to offer!