Bits and Bobs

31 May 2012

South Stack RSPB Reserve

Below is picture showing the 'Range' in relation to the rest of the reserve.

The Range is a rather special place for wildlife. It has the right kind of habitat for many bird species and more importantly the insects etc to support their breeding. Below are a few pictures that I took recently.

Spathulate Fleawort growing on the Range, this plant grows nowhere else in the world apart from a couple of places on the South Stack reserve.

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Approximately two weeks before this blog was written a fire started decimating much of the essential habitat for the wildlife. Below are a few pictures showing how much of the reserve looks today.

We would like to express our most sincere thanks to the

Holyhead Fire Brigade.

Without their professionalism in fighting the fire much more of the Range would have been destroyed.

Fire tenders from as far away as Conwy had to be deployed.

Thanks must also go to our site manager Mr Dave Bateson and several of his staff who worked through the night alongside the fire teams using brush cutters to create fire breaks.

The above pictures are a stark reminder just how fire can destroy something so beautiful.

Birds have lost their nests and young, insects have been wiped out which would have fed the young birds, reptiles could not move fast enough to escape the flames.

Once again we are reminded how devastating fire can be if not kept under control.

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NOW FOR THE BITS AND BOBS

I recently visited York where I saw the rarest Mallard in the world!

It weighed well over 100 tons and was the fastest mallard in the world travelling at 126 miles per hour.

Messsage for Anne, if you read this blog Anne, 'I WENT TO THE MAGPIE'.

Anne was one of our resident volunteers a few weeks back.

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Dani and Rachael two of our current resident volunteers who are on a breakfrom university managed to capture pictures of our beautiful Adders.

I have been volunteering for the past eighteen months and never managed to see one. I think I will have to ask Mark our reptile specialist to show me one.

Here are their pictures.

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Jane our assistant retail manager recently spent her holiday in Dorset.

Whilst there she paid a visit to Monkey world which is a wildlife rescue centre for apes.

There is a television programme filmed there called 'Monkey World' which is named after the centre.

Jane (no pun as in Tarzan) saw all the famous apes which can be seen in the television programme.

She really enjoyed her visit and would certainly recommend it.

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Below is a picture of Jon our Catering manager. You would initially think that his dress was out of character but you would be wrong, he is a keen birder and has just finished his bird count for the B.T.O. Here he is paying us a visit in Ellins Tower.

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I also noticed this week that Rhian our cook had had her hair restyled. it looks great Rhian, it really suits her.

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This week I spent most of my time in Ellins tower meeting people and explaining about the sea birds.

Some of our visitors know much more than I about birds. When this happens I learn a lot from them.

Two such visitors were a farmer and his wife from the Midlands. He was telling me how he sets aside a part of his farm for the promotion of wild life. I thanked him on behalf of us all, as this is precisely what our wildlife needs.

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This week the weather has been fantastic. A visit to South Stack in conditions such as this is pure magic. If you have not yet visited don't be shy come along we will make you most welcome.

We have a well stocked cafe providing super food, a shop were you can find most things connected with wild life and a full range of optics to help you enjoy our reserve. Check out our main web page for South Stack we are going to hold an optics day where you can try (almost) anything that takes your fancy and receive first class advice from our attentive staff.

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This week in Ellins Tower I assisted Stuart. He is a full time RSPB officer, whilst I am just a volunteer.

His speciality is insects and wild flowers. A couple of people came in the tower and said that they had seen a flying beetle. Stuart asked them to describe it, he promptly identified it for them and showed them a picture from one of our reference books.

They also asked about the Humming Bird Hawk Moth. I have included a pictures of one.

Humming Bird Hawk Moth

ELEPHANT HAWK MOTH:- Caterpillar

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Below is a picture of Ellins Tower and the Spathulate Fleawort currently in bloom just outside.

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AND NOW FOR THE PICK OF THE CROP

We like to start our conservationists young at The RSPB South Stack Reserve.

We can cope with anything down in Ellins Tower.

Bye for now Mel.