Surviving Winter
We tend to think of winter as a difficult time for our local wildlife but in reality, they have evolved to cope with it rather well. In this blog I consider how the different creatures in our…
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Chwilio
Northern hay meadow
These beautiful, herb-rich meadows are at their best between late-May and mid-July (after which they are cut for hay, weather permitting). Later, after the haycut, pale fields with geometric…
My happy place
When the stresses of life get too much, I take a walk through Attenborough Nature Reserve - a form of free therapy. The fresh air, the bird calls, the beauty of nature surrounding me, is calming.…
Morfa Dyfi William Condry
A wild area of saltmarsh, rush pasture and mire bordering the River Dyfi. An important part of the Dyfi Estuary and Montgomeryshire's only coast!
Blanket bog
Bleak, treeless and often shrouded in low cloud, blanket bog can seem a desolate habitat. However, the wildness of the huge, empty landscapes and wide skies are compelling, as is the chance of…
Cwm y Wydden
Wild and mysterious - for over 400 years there has been a continuous cover of trees in this quiet part of the Welsh countryside, creating a micro jungle, packed with wildlife.
Developing SWIFTly
Swifts are a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flier. They are birds of crags and holes and will often use buildings in the UK in which to nest.
Swifts are plain and sooty brown in colour, but in flight against the sky appear black and are superb aerial flyers. They have scythe-like wings and can often be heard ‘screaming’ around towns and cities, flying high up before darting into the eaves of a building, in which they will nest.
As a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, the Swift is most numerously recorded in the south and east, as well as Wales. Swifts will over-winter in Africa and visit the UK and Europe to breed, usually arriving in late May. Once the breeding season is over, they are often heading back to Africa by late August.
Sadly these birds have declined by 50% in 25 years globally (Swift Conservation, 2021) and their UK Conservation Status is currently Amber, RSPB 2021.
Our aim is to support you in learning how to identify, survey and build nest boxes for these beautiful birds.
Swifts are plain and sooty brown in colour, but in flight against the sky appear black and are superb aerial flyers. They have scythe-like wings and can often be heard ‘screaming’ around towns and cities, flying high up before darting into the eaves of a building, in which they will nest.
As a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, the Swift is most numerously recorded in the south and east, as well as Wales. Swifts will over-winter in Africa and visit the UK and Europe to breed, usually arriving in late May. Once the breeding season is over, they are often heading back to Africa by late August.
Sadly these birds have declined by 50% in 25 years globally (Swift Conservation, 2021) and their UK Conservation Status is currently Amber, RSPB 2021.
Our aim is to support you in learning how to identify, survey and build nest boxes for these beautiful birds.