Wonderful Wetlands

Oh the irony! Whilst we endure one of the wettest droughts summers on record it was surely tempting fate to have an open day at Newport Wetlands. Wetlands are wet by name and wet by their very nature, so it was with a sense of foreboding that I looked forward to a visit to my local reserve last Sunday. Surely I would be just darting from stall to stall on the picnic area avoiding getting soaked. It turned out not to be the case, and I arrived to a visitor centre bustling with people and bathed in sunshine! I am not sure what was sacrificed to the rain gods but it most certainly worked!

I’ve never been to one of the open days before, so I had no idea what to expect. There was a wonderful array of stalls from various local groups such as the Gwent Ornithological Society, the Countryside Council of Wales (who were running the event in conjunction with RSPB who manage the reserve on their behalf), the British Trust of Ornithology, and Newport Friends of the Earth to name just a few.

I started the day by chatting to Russ Smith who had brought a tarantula display along. He told me they are one of the easiest pets in the world to keep, and in fact it is much harder to keep their food alive (in this case crickets) than the spiders themselves! The four species he had brought along were amazing creatures, but I must confess I am not that keen on spiders, and although they are beautiful to look at, I am not sure I would be comfortable living in the same house as some!

I managed a quick chat with Phil Pinder of Cardiff Peregrine fame! He told me it has simply been too wet to watch the Peregrines all month, but there have been sightings of the chick and parent birds flying around the clock tower.

Another interesting conversation I had was with a chap from Hedgehog Helpline. He explained that it is not just the birds who are suffering in this apology of a summer. He had been receiving calls almost daily from people finding hedgehogs out in the daylight. They were lethargic and appearing to be shivering. He explained how they can suffer hypothermia if they are continually exposed to wet weather and even if the daytime temperature gets up to seventeen or eighteen degrees they simply cannot warm up and get dry. It is also the peak breeding time for hedgehogs, and a lot will have young in their nests, and this constant rain can only spell bad news for hedgehog numbers this year. If you find a hedgehog in your garden during daylight hours it is probably a sign of hypothermia. If the animal is particularly lethargic or staggering then you really need to act. If you have a high sided box, line it with an old towel, and place a water bottle wrapped in a couple of tea towels with hot water from the tap in it. Carefully place the hedgehog on top of the water bottle and call a vet or your local animal rescue centre for further advice.

I have a lot of time for hedgehogs, their number have been in serious decline for a number of years now, so this was worrying news. I will certainly be keeping a closer eye on mine in the garden over the coming weeks. They may even get extra helpings of cat food!

It seemed rude not to go for a walk around the environs of the reserve whilst we were there. As always there was plenty to see. The reed beds are still full of various warblers, even the elusive Bearded Tits are putting on a show at the moment. Now is an excellent time to go out looking for these stunning reed bed dwellers as they will be busy looking for food for their youngsters.

There were more dragonflies on the wing than in my previous visits, and a large number of Ringlet butterflies were flitting around the blackberry bushes. As we were walking back to the visitor centre we happened upon a Great Diving Beetle larva (as pictured). It certainly looked a ferocious predator. It made its way back into the reed beds from the path, although there was really no need to rush as at about that moment the heavens opened and normal service for summer 2012 resumed!

© Great Diving Beetle Larva & Hedgehog Images - Anthony Walton

© Female Bearded Tit Image - Nigel Desmond