RSPB: Batwalk

This is not an official RSPB post and any views or thoughts expressed on it are purely my own and in no way reflective of the RSPB as an organisation.

The RSPB work hard to put on amazing events for their volunteers and members of the general public to enjoy. One such event that was put on recently was a talk and a bat walk that took place around Cardiff's beautiful Bute Park.

As part of the event a member of Cardiff''s local bat group had come in to give us a talk on the subject and she had brought a rather cute friend with her, Podge the bat. First we got to learn all about the different types of bats; how they hunted, the way they fly and where they tend to roost before we got introduced to Podge.

He was super adorable and sleepy when he was fished out of the dish cloth he was resting in. We learned that his wing had been damaged and that he was therefore unlikely to able to ever fly again. We learned he was mostly fed on meal worms (as opposed to a bats natural diet of flying insects). After we had all been introduced to him he was put back in his portable hold to sleep.

Afterward we were all given bat detectors and went out into the park to look for bats. Unfortunately due to the time of year there weren't as many bats flying about as we would have liked but we still got to detect a few fluttering across the river.

So if you find bats in your home don't panic, they are small, harmless and just looking for a place to roost for a short wile and won't cause any damage to your house. Just remember that bats are protected under UK law so if you do have any problems try to approach the relevant statutory nature conservation agency.

Also remember that if you encounter any sick or injuried bats you should not approach or handle the animal but seek advice from the Bat Conservation Trust.

The Rainbow Bird Sanctury

The Rainbow Bird Sanctury is based just outside of Cardiff, in the neighboring town of Castleton. I stumbled upon it quite by accident after wandering the country back roads of the area. What I presumed would be an afternoon of me doing landscape photography therefore became one of me taking pictures of these beautiful creatures.

After getting to know the owners I discovered that the sanctuary was set up with the purpose of taking in ill and unwanted birds. Birds such as Bobby a Moluccan Cockatoo (black and white picture to the left) who was taken in after his owner experienced a change in circumstances and could no longer keep him. He much like his fellow birds at the sanctuary proved to be friendly and charming and gave off a palpable air of intelligence and curiosity.

Birds like these are long lived and clever and therefore require a tremendous amount of commitment and care. If not given the correct amount of attention they can become easily bored which can lead to them becoming destructive both to themselves and the environment in which they live. So its very important that when choosing one of these birds as a pet that the owner careful consider if he can properly commit to keeping one as a pet.

As I wandered around taking pictures of the birds I was thoroughly impressed with the amount of care that the owners clearly put into looking after these animals. Now the sanctuary itself exists though profits raised through selling birds that its mating pairs breed and through a local shop that sells everything from cages to seeds but they always welcome donations from the general public. You can donate through going to the internet link below and giving some money.

The sanctuary itself also gives tours of their birds but because of the sensitive nature of the birds and their breeding patterns these tours must be made through telephoning the sanctuary directly. Again the website link below provides all the information you will need to both donate and to book a tour.

I left the sanctuary happy that I had stumbled upon such a wonderful site set up to care, feed and take in these beautiful animals.

http://www.rainbowbirdsanctuary.co.uk/home.html


The birds in the photos are listed top to bottom: Macaws, Moluccan Cockatoo, Ring Necks, Sun Conures, Rainbow Lorikeet, Celestials , Budgies and another Macaw>

The RSPB: Giving nature a home

As anyone knows who regularly follows this blog I'm a big fan of nature and the natural world. Its beautiful and precious, not only in its only right but also in the way its fate and ours are in inextricably bound. Its for this reason (and to escape from the tedium of an office based role) that I decided to start volunteering for the RSPB.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was set up in 1889 as a way to promote the conservation of birds and the environment they live in. More recently the RSPB has expanded its focus to including all wildlife, for the simple reason that our environment and wildlife is so interconnected.

As such I started volunteering around Cardiff with a project designed to promote the idea of more children and adults coming directly contact with the natural world. This could include activities such children creating bird feeders made from vegetable fat and seeds to hang in their garden (a simple activity that can make a real difference to birds in winter). To directing people to simple nature based activities around Cardiff (such as a local flock of Pied Wagtails that have taken up residence in the trees on Cardiff high street come dark). Or even guided nature walks or spotting activities for children where we use sweep nets to show the types of creepy crawlies that kids love to see.

This type of work is important, as a recent study by the RSPB showed that just one in five children was found to be connecting to nature in a realistically achievable manner. Now you might be there thinking so what? But the fact is that for quite a few years now nature and wildlife has been in quite a serious decline and by educating future generations (and getting them enthusiastic about getting outdoors) we may be able slow or even halt this frightening development.

So if your reading this you might be thinking well what can I do right now to help? Well there are a number of simple steps that the RSPB recommend that you can do to help nature right from the comfort of your back garden. Why not start feeding birds during the harder winter months (although remember to clean the feeder regularly to stop the spread of lethal diseases), invest in a pond with shallow edges, plant trees and shrubs (particularly ones that provide fruit in the garden), made dead wood piles and when mowing the garden raise the high of the mower to provide more of a home for insects.

There are many ways for you to help nature and by taking practical steps and supporting charities like the RSPB you can make a real difference in to the natural world.

I've included some links to the RSPB website below with more hints and tip for giving nature a home.

https://homes.rspb.org.uk/page/projects

Cardiff: A day at the museum

 Cardiff museum is located right in the heart of the city centre and is rightly considered one of the top tourist attractions for the city. Home as it is to a stunning array of status, stuffed animals. fossils, jewel like bug collections and actual gems and precious stones it really is a great place to spend the day getting lost.

I spent the day getting better acquainted with the history of wales' landmasses. Enjoying displays of the Earth's various prehistoric creatures, marvelling at the deep sea displays, squeezing through informative cave displays and ooooed and arrhed over a large section of stunningly displayed crystal and stuffed animals. As I wandered through the collection I could really appreciated the care and effort that had been put into creating this beautiful display.

After enjoying the natural history section of the museum I headed back out to explore its art collection. However as I did so I was drawn to a crowd of people gathered in the main entrance. To my delight I discovered a group of performers in renaissance inspired dress. With their voices they created an unearthly and spell binding song that reverberated its way deep into the heart of the building.

After they were finished I drifted up the stairs and through hallways covered in pre raphaelite art. It was the afternoon by the time I left and as stepped into the evening sun I was very glad to have spend a day at the museum.

Where are all the wild things?

I have a question for everyone in the UK, when was the last time you saw a hedgehog? Or a Slow worm? How about wasps this summer? Or bees even?

Those were the questions at the heart of this year's governmental report on the state of nature. The report's findings were rather worrying: Out of 3,148 species that the report monitored, 60% were found to have been in decline in the last 50 years and 31% were shown to have declined strongly.

This has been linked to factors such as the destruction and degradation of Britain's natural habitats and global warming. With an emphasis on the decline of species with specific habitat requirements. The fact is the world of nature is changing fast and not for the better.

When I was a child I grew up in the town of Monmouth, I'm not going to pretend it was an idyllic childhood, but the lasting impression I have was one of being surrounded by the beauty and wonder of the natural world. There were multicoloured butterflies, bees nests to be avoided, slow worms to be gawped at and swallows that nested in the eves of our houses on late summer days.

But the question is how much of this wonder will our children have left by the time they have grown? Will they have insects to pollinate their crops? Will they be able to tickle trouts under rocks? Will they still see heron's fishing on the river? Or will they turn round to their parents and ask the question where are all the wild things? Where did they go?




You can find the report for yourself in the link below.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/stateofnature_tcm9-345839.pdf

Volunteering with Go East part 3

By the time my third week on Dao Tien rolled round I felt I had settled into a relatively set routine on the island. This was however to be my last week volunteering on the project and in alot of ways it really felt like the best had been saved for last. A real highlight of my time there came that week as I finally got to go out and see the gibbons feeding in a semi wild environment (a vital part of the rehabilitation part of the project).

As I walked into the semi wild enclosure, I had a powerful moment of elation as I first saw the gibbons flying through the trees. This stage was an important part of the project, where the staff would take a step away from the gibbons in order to prepare them for life in the jungle. And although the staff would still go in to feed them twice a day (as we did now), it was great to know that these beautiful creatures would one day be ready to go back into the jungles of Cat Tien.

That week I was also taken out around the island to collect the seeds and leaves that the gibbons liked to eat. I perfected the art of catching the elusive grasshoppers that inhabited the thick grasses behind out lodge (these would then be fed the island's incredibly adorable Pygmy Loris), I gave tours and went out for a lovely evening meal at the home of one of the people who worked for Cat Tien national park. I also got to see first hand the truly innovative spirit that has served the Vietnamise people so well in their daily lives (A key for a padlock you say? Crazy talk when we have this handy sledge hammer right here).

On one of my last days my normal routine was set aside however and I was told to come with another volunteer down to the riverside. There we found one of the members of staff waiting for us with a rowing boat, we were taken out onto the river and got to drift serenely around the island river as the boatman rowed (with his feet no less). It was a real treat made even better when I got to see the island's wild Black Shanked Ducs leaping between the trees.

My last night was a wonderful send off, as I came in to find brownies waiting in the common area and me and my fellow work mates chilled out, chatted and watched Game of Thrones (which I was proud to be able to introduce to one of the volunteers).

In the morning I packed my bag, said some fond fairwells and set sail on what was approaching the final leg of my journey.