Deep Time Walk

 

This walk will be led by FONF member Paul Graham on 21^st May. It is a journey through the Earth's evolutionary history, starting at it’s creation and walking towards the future up to the present day. 

 

Commentary will be provided at points along the way exploring the Earth's story, discovering how it's surface has evolved and stabilised over time to support life, and considering our human part in it.

 

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. If you would like to join please book a place asap by replying

to paul.graham101@btinternet.com.

 

Date:     Sunday 21^st May

Time:     10am 

From:    Heol Esgyn entrance to Nant Fawr Community Woodland

Length: 4.6km

 

Note:    The route will mainly follow gravel trails but will also involve sections that can become wet and muddy if there has been rain, so please dress suitably for the conditions.

 Dawn Chorus Walk

On 7th May the Friends of Nant Fawr in conjunction with the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales Cardiff Group and Cardiff Naturalists hosted a joint walk from Roath Park and through Nant Fawr to experience the dawn chorus! The 4.30am wake up call was well worth it - amazing to hear! Posted is a small clip of what we heard!

Endangered & Protected Species in Nant Fawr!

 

Pipistrelle bats as seen and heard in Nant Fawr! Image credit: wikimedia commons cc

Nant Fawr is home to a large diversity & abundance of legally-protected & endangered species, which you can find listed on this page!

We have 9 birds, 7 fungi, 3 reptiles, 2 mammals & 1 amphibian legally-protected by the Wales Environment Act (2016) Section 7, and 6 more birds legally-protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Our bats are protected by lots of laws!

Furthermore, we have 25 endangered bird species listed on the UK Red List for Birds, which you can find at the bottom of this page!

So, here they are! All these ones are legally-protected by Section 7, unless otherwise stated:

Birds (x9):
Yellow wagtail
Common bullfinch
House sparrow
Starling
Song thrush
Dunnock (Hedge accentor)
Lesser redpoll
Black-headed gull
Herring Gull


Fungi* (x7):
Fragile Amanita
Agaric Marsh Honey Fungus
Dark Purple Earthstar
Hydnellum concrescens
Fused tooth fungus
Woolly tooth fungus
Ashen Coral

*as observed by local fungi photographer and Spore Print Artist, Tanya-Marie Gillett, in Nant Fawr Woods.


Reptiles (x3):
Grass snakes
Common vipers/adders*
Slow-worms*

*Protection: Wales Environment Act (2016) Section 7, PLUS Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 & Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.


Amphibians (x1):
Common toads

(Also, Smooth newts, which are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.)


Mammals (x2):
Pipistrelle bat*
West European hedgehog

*Protection: Wales Environment Act (2016) Section 7, Habitats and Species Regulations 2017,the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), European Protected Species under Annex IV of the European Habitats Directive. More here and at bottom of this page.



More birds (x6):
All birds in the UK are protected in some form by the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, but some species have additional protection under Schedule 1 of this Act. In NF, we have the following Schedule 1 birds:

Kingfisher
Fieldfare
Redwing
Little gull
Mediterranean gull
Black tern

----
Endangered birds (x25):

Further to the above, we have 25 bird species listed on 'Birds of Conservation Concern 5' (also known as the UK Red List for Birds), which is the UK's list of bird conservation priorities. This is non-legally-binding and is a different list to the legally-protected species above.

So, in NF, we have:

Grey wagtail - amber-listed
Wren - amber
Redwing - amber
Rook - amber
Song thrush - amber
Dunnock - amber
Bullfinch - amber
Tawny owl - amber
Sparrowhawk - amber

Tawny owl - Image credit: wikimedia commons cc

Greenfinch - red-listed
Lesser redpoll - red
Fieldfare - red
Mistle thrush - red
Swift - red
House martin - red
Yellow wagtail - red
Starlings - red
House sparrows - red


Gulls:
Common gull - amber
Lesser black-backed gull - amber
Mediterranean gull - amber
Great black-backed gull - amber
Yellow-legged gull - amber
Black-headed gull - amber
Herring gull - red

----
More information:
1. More on our bats' protection:

"Bats are legally protected and you must not take any action which could harm the bats" - NRW: https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/news-and-events/blog/the-important-role-bats-play-in-wales-ecosystem/?lang=en

Further: "All bat species are protected by law, including their breeding sites and resting places" - NRW: https://naturalresourceswales.gov.uk/permits-and-permissions/species-licensing/apply-for-a-protected-species-licence/bat-licences/?lang=en


2. More on Wales Environment Act (2016) Section 7:
Section 7 of the Environment Wales Act 2016 means Welsh Ministers have a duty to ‘take all reasonable steps to maintain and enhance the living organisms and types of habitat included in any list published under this section’: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/16/section/42. 

Help us to record the biodiversity in Nant Fawr!

 

Would you like to help record the different species that exist in Nant Fawr?

Having a comprehensive record of all the different species that inhabit Nant Fawr is really important, both in terms of managing and enhancing Nant Fawr but also to highlight that this strategic river corridor and area of importance for nature conservation is highly valuable in it’s own right.

The South East Wales Biodiversity Records Centre (SEWBReC) are running free courses on ‘Introduction to Biodiversity Recording’:

SEWBReC are running a course in the Vale of Glamorgan: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/get-started-with-wildlife-recording-tickets-514904411957. Booking early is essential.

SEWBReC are also running courses within Rhondda Cynon Taff (please see SEWBreC poster). Book early.

We plan to run a Bioblitz event later in 2023 (date to be confirmed). The more members who attend the above courses and have experience of biodiversity recording the more we can achieve at this Bioblitz event.

Any queries, please email us: nantfawrcommunity@gmail.com.

Programme of events for 2023

 The events planned for 2023 can be seen by clicking this link:  2023 planned events

Please check the calendar throughout the year as any changes, plus locations etc, are updated there.

The next workday is 10am on 22 January, meeting at the Reservoir Car Park, off Rhydepenau Road

There are woodland spring bulbs to plant in Rhydypenau Wood, and if weather allows, some yellow rattle seed to sow in the grassland areas.  For those that that would like some more physically demanding tasks there are drainage channels to re dig to keep the water off the paths and trimming around the orchard trees in readiness for the spring growth.

The next workday is 10am on 27 November, meeting at Heol Esgyn Bridge

We will be continuing with the dismantling of the bike ramps and sycamore control in Woods Covert, along with planting some new saplings in the woodland.

Meeting place Heol Esgyn Bridge  10.00am