Wales Feed

Improved water quality in the pipeline

2011-04-01T08:58:30+00:00

For years now, water companies have been using combined sewer overflow (CSO's) pipes to discharge untreated sewage into the sea during periods of heavy rain and flooding to relieve pressure on the Victorian sewage system we all still rely on.

BBC Panorama highlighted the issue of CSO's around our coast back in September 2009 and 12 UK water companies responded saying they have a total of 20,233 CSOs between them in England and Wales.

These CSO's can be discharged at any time with no warning - something Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) have been campaigning against for a long time.

Things now look set to improve as the Environment Agency launches new beach profiles as well as a bathing water map to check water quality.

These beach profiles will highlight what forms of pollution each beach suffers from and identifies the sewage discharge points and locations of combined sewage overflows.

A new warning system will involve swimmers signing up for a free text message service that notifies them of overflows.

Details will also be published on websites run by Surfers Against Sewage and Welsh Water and red flags will be displayed on beaches for 24 hours with notices posted up at beach entrances.

The Marine Conservation Society advises bathers not to swim for at least 24 hours after very heavy rainfall.

Welsh Water is among the first three water companies to use the system and beaches at Broad Haven, Newgale and Manorbier in Pembrokeshire will be the first in Wales to adopt the new warning procedure.

SAS Campaign director, Andy Cummins said: "'We've been working with Pembrokeshire council, Welsh Water and the Environment Agency Wales, and the conversations have been extremely positive."

"The water companies have no duty to take part in this scheme so Welsh Water should be praised for its brilliant attitude."

A revised Bathing Water Directive will come into force in 2015 which aims to set more stringent water quality standards and also puts a stronger emphasis on beach management and public information.

Water bird chicks gallery

2010-05-28T07:59:58+00:00

Who doesn't love fluffy young chicks? Not us, that's for sure. Now, we know that nature is 'red in tooth and claw' but as Spring gets going we've indulged in some unapologetic celebration of ducklings, goslings and cygnets.

You and see the full gallery of photos taken from our BBC Wales Nature Flickr group here.

But here's a selection from the gallery:

First up is this inquisitive duckling from prolific photographer Ashley Cohen, aka WalesBirder. You can see the original on Flickr here.

Here's a great pic of a swan with its cygnets from Mark Riley, aka master47. You can see the original on Flickr here.

And what's better than this little gosling from John Bennett? You can see the original on Flickr here.

Do you have any photos of water bird chicks to share? Make sure you join our Flickr group and show off your shots!

Eco farmer ploughs down the opposition

2009-05-08T12:57:18+00:00

He also has flocks of seed eating birds such as linnet and yellowhammer
as well as rare wild plants like the meadow saffron, great butterfly orchid and
herb paris.

The farm has a variety of habitats managed to benefit wildlife including restored hay meadows; a woodland that is classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with ancient hazel coppice, and 15 ponds which support frogs, toads and all three species of newt including the rare great
crested newt.

Alan said: "I am delighted to have won the Wales leg of the Nature of Farming Award, and am very proud of the work that we have done for wildlife on Gadr Farm over the years."

The family have farmed the land at Gadr Farm for nearly 40 years, and in November 2000 entered the Welsh Assembly Government's agri-environment scheme Tir Gofal, which pays farmers to improve the environmental and ecological value of their land.

Alan has become more and more interested in managing the farm to benefit wildlife, particularly the SSSI woodland area, and carries out all of the traditional hazel coppicing by himself.

Backed by Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife, the Nature of Farming Award celebrates farmers managing their land in ways that help birds and wildlife. Maintaining hedgerows and leaving corners of fields unmanaged are just two ways farmers can help develop long-term habitats for wildlife.

Simple changes to farming practices can be adopted to protect farmland birds and wildlife.

Dead or dying trees support all sorts of insect communities and are often used by hole-nesting birds and a variety of butterflies can be supported by developing grass field margins and verges.

Spring crops or fallow plots away from woodland and tall hedges present the perfect spot for nesting lapwings. Alan will be presented with a plaque and certificate at this years' Royal Welsh Agricultural Show in Builth Wells.

Each regional winner will be put forward to an expert judging panel and will face a
public vote to decide the winner this summer. The public vote will be open from 13 May until 28 August 2009.

More information on the Nature of Farming Award can be found by visiting http://www.rspb.co.uk/farmvote.

The eel's mammoth journey

2008-10-09T09:05:06+00:00

Unknown to me it had just made the journey all the way from the Sargasso Sea (south of Bermuda) and now it was in my hand, measuring only eight centimetres or so.

Eels are one of the truly great animal mysteries. No-one has ever witnessed or found them spawning. It's puzzled people for many years: Aristotle thought they came from rotting seaweed and even Sigmund Freud kept one to try to find out the answer.

It has been deduced that they spawn in the Sargasso Sea and make their way across the Atlantic as tiny creatures using the oceans currents such as the gulf stream.

They then travel up rivers, climbing weirs and other obstacles to make it to into the river system, an incredible effort for such a small fish.

They will spend most of their lives in fresh water and grow in size until it comes to the time when as an adult eels (now a pretty hefty creature) start heading downstream (and across land even) and head out into the ocean to start the journey back to the Sargasso Sea.

This will be one final journey to spawn and start the cycle again.

All epic stuff, and in an age of technological advances where people communicate each others' locations using a raft of devices, it's amazing to think that we still don't really know where the eel goes on its journey.

So why am I talking about them now? Well autumn is the time when the adults start their journey and start moving out from the rivers out to sea. It's dependent on rainfall and the stages of the lunar cycle but across the country they are starting their long and final swim.

On a more sober note over the last 20 years there has been a 90% reduction in the population abundance in Europe and this is serious news for our slivery tourists.

There are a number of factors involved: netting, fishing and barriers to migration, not to mention possible disruption from climate change to the currents that bring them across the Atlantic as young.

It is also sad to think not everyone likes eels. Another recollection I have was the attitude from a minority of anglers who took a dim view of eels and persecuted them for tangling their lines up. It's a practice I hope has stopped.

Like many things in wildlife they are inspirational and I'd like them to not go the same way as salmon and disappear from some of our rivers. Best of luck Eels - have a good trip.

And here's a sneak piece of information for you: we hopefully should be meeting some conger eels in this year's Autumnwatch, these huge sea creatures can reach up to three metres long - watch this space!

The effects of flooding

2008-09-11T08:25:47+00:00

Wales was particularly affected with the River Wye bursting its banks and the Monnow rising hugely (see the picture) not to mention the flooding in the valleys.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, rivers are extraordinary things when they're in flood and usually wildlife and animals have ways to deal with it.

However it's not always ok. I remember stories from last year's floods of people finding fish in flooded car parks, not to mention the pollution caused by toxins and other harmful materials that large amounts of rainfall brings.

But interestingly the large amounts of water have both good and bad implications. I spoke to Anna Gutherie from the Wildlife Trust about what the possible effects may be.

She said that invertebrates could be at risk with many insects and spiders having been washed away by the flash floodwaters. This would potentially mean that area would bea poorer feeding ground for birds afterwards.

On the other hand, the waters would have meant that many plant species will have been dispersed as seeds or twigs in the flood waters and may have colonised new areas. So it seems it may go both ways as long as the natural balance can be restored.

However, Julian Branscombe from the Gwent Wildlife Trust made an interesting point on how the measures needed to combat flooding could potentially have harmful affects on wildlife and habitats.

He said that the rebuilding and engineering work now needed to lessen the chances of future landslips could threaten native habitats and species. Natural features like spring-lines, old meadows and healthy slopes may be destroyed.

As Julian explained, it all serves to highlight the surprising and insidious ways that the environment can be affected by changes to our climate. At first it may seem that wildlife is simply affected by flooding, then by the measures needed to combat it. But in fact the root cause to all of this may be human-influenced climate change.

Food for thought indeed...

Here's my pick from this week's wildlife web

One for the spider lovers out there!
An interesting site that allows you to view Flickrpictures in time and place
Pictures of the recent flooding

Otters are chart toppers

2008-08-28T10:52:01+00:00

You can understand why they may be topping popularity polls, as not only do they look good with that sleek waterproof coat and slinky tail, but any animal that loves to play as much as they do and can lie on their backs whilst having a spot to eat, gets my vote.

In the scheme of things how is old rabbit going to compete with the skills and thrills of Lutra lutra? (Yep, even their Latin name sounds cool!)

The publication of the chart in this month's BBC Wildlife magazine was quite apt really as only last week I had a message that some otters were being reintroduced to the wild after a period of rehabilitation.

I soon learnt that these had been wild otters, one of them ending up in care after a run-in with a dog. Furthermore these same individuals featured in one of BBC Wales wildlife expert Iolo Williams's programmes as cubs.

So after a few phone calls I met up with local volunteer Laura Jones at a secret location in Mid Wales. It seems that otters are indeed sprinkled with a bit of star quality - complete with celeb liaisons, secret locations and even a stretch in rehab!

I've tried to see and record otters a few times but have only seen them from afar or ended up with my nose next to some otter spraints (droppings). The good news is that after many years of persecution and decline they are coming back and one even turned up in Cardiff Bay recently. Indeed, a local wildlife professional told me that he reckons every river in Wales now has otters.

Laura has spent many years looking after otters and rehabilitating them back into the wild. This involves a period of time in care with minimal human contact before being moved to a temporary enclosure near some suitable habitat. Here they're slowly acclimatised and gently reintroduced, ultimately to a point when they are allowed to roam out of the enclosure and fend for themselves back in the wild.

Any chance of seeing the otters, even in the temporary enclosure, is extremely minimal, as they rightly avoid humans and stay in their holt until dusk when they then come out to feed. It was a pleasure, however, to speak to Laura about otters and learn and see for myself how with the help and tireless effort of her and the other volunteers they can be reintroduced.

So, stood near to the electric fence of the enclosure chatting to Laura (probably about how much water was in my wellies) I jumped when she suddenly gestured "look" and blinkin' 'eck (or something similar). There was an otter right in front of me!

Now Laura had been visiting the site for at least a week and hadn't seen them so this was extremely lucky. This was special and for the next five minutes or so the otter went about its business without a care in the world. Finally I was able to see one with my own eyes.

Fishermen have often told me that sometimes they come right up to you if you are still enough, but none until now had given me the time of day.

It was fascinating to see them being inquisitive, playful and with that unmistakeable body built for swimming. I think having seen one of the newly crowned celebs of the mammal world up close and personal, it would be rude not to give them the nod as my favourite too.

Lastly, many thanks to Laura and she'll update us on how the two otters get on.

Do you agree with the list and the otter as Britain's favourite mammal?
Answers on a postcard - or probably easier to post a comment below! Who's going to fight the corner of the short tailed vole then?

The BBC Wildlife magazine's top 10:

Otter
Hedgehog
Badger
Fox
Squirrel
Deer
Mouse
Dolphin
Stoat
Bats

A few links:

View BBC Wales' top otter clips.

Check out the cutest baby otter clip ever.

Why otters are great on the Guardian website.

Otters on BBC Wild About Nature - for kids.

The list of British mammals at www.wildaboutbritain.com, also has a vibrant forum.

Events

Sea Trust/Stena Dolphin-othon - a marathon dolphin survey from Saturday 30 August to Friday 5 September
www.seatrust.org

Beardyman And The Mimics - BBC Radio 4, 10.30am, Saturday 30 August. A spot of self-publicity here, but check out this programme I was involved in making with two amazing mimics, the lyrebird and 'Beardyman', Britain's foremost beatboxer.

Rivers in flood

2008-08-18T12:47:12+00:00

Looking at the rivers it's amazing to think that all the life in them doesn't get washed away in the brown soup marching downstream, but the fish and other creatures are able to somehow find eddies and spots to shelter as it passes.

In fact one species which welcomes the high water is the migrating salmon.

The high water is a green light for them to swim up river from the sea and lower reaches as it gives them enough water to pass waterfalls and other obstacles in their way.

On the Wye, which is one of the longest rivers in the UK, they have reached as far as Builth Wells and make this journey in impressive time if the conditions are right.

Although fish aren't exactly the most charismatic of creatures I still think they are pretty amazing considering the epic nature of their return journey to the place of their birth.

Coal rivers

I went down Big Pit this weekend and it reminded me how the wildlife in the coal mining valleys has bounced back since the time of the coal industry.

In the valley where I live (where Pochin Colliery was situated), we have otters, ravens, peregrines, trout, dippers and kingfishers; the list goes on, and this is only really a few decades after the colliery closed.

In fact, I was talking to a local this week about how he used to fish in the river. He would "time it" for the periods when the river wasn't black because of colliery lorries driving through it!

When this happened he would simply reel in, have a cup of tea and wait till it cleared before starting to fish again.

I hope the weather gets better; fingers crossed but it has made for a few rainbows as you can see from this week's picture.