Natur Cymru

Issue 34

The Osprey in Wales

Since ospreys were first recorded breeding successfully in Wales, in 2004, there have been numerous sightings, but only one consistently successful nest at Glaslyn. There are high hopes at a Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust Reserve that 2010 will be the year when ospreys breed at the reserve, as BRAYTON HOLT explains.

Summary

Wild daffodil (c)Rod Gritten

Wild daffodils

Yellow daffodil trumpets are a ubiquitous sign of Spring, not only in gardens but also on roadsides, in hedgerows, in fields and in woods. Yet they have none of the exquisite beauty of the rare wild daffodil, the true national emblem. Although our native daffodil is in serious decline, there are places where it has prospered, with a little help from its friends. ROB COLLISTER and ROD GRITTEN tell the story of a wild daffodil recovery in the hills above the Conwy valley, and the possible roadside return of the native.

Sandwich tern, Cemlyn (c)Ben Stammers

Terns at Cemlyn

After some terrible seasons, 2009 was a welcome good news year for sandwich tern conservation at Cemlyn nature reserve on Anglesey, writes BEN STAMMERS; but is there a future for this species in Wales?.

Scottish wildcat (c)Michael D Smith

The wild cats of Europe

The ‘big cats’ of Africa, Asia and America play a prominent part in our everyday lives, either in wildlife programmes or as icons in the world of commerce, politics or sport. But what about the wild cats of Europe? ANDREW CURRIE argues that we should also take pride in the cats of our own continent, as well as considering welcoming some of them back to Wales.

Newborough forest (c)Dick Loxton

Newborough - plantation or forest

For historic and institutional reasons, land-use in this country has become somewhat polarised between closed-canopy woodland and open land, although nature very often does best in a mixture of the two. Through painstaking research into the ground fauna of the dunes and plantation at Newborough, on Anglesey, DICK LOXTON has laid bare the true value of open ‘forest’ dunes where trees have been cleared within the plantation. The result, he argues, is rich in invertebrates, appealing to visitors, and a step towards Newborough becoming a forest rather than a plantation.

Goldfinch (c)Jill Pakenham

Garden Birdwatch

With the increasing pressure to build more houses, it is vital that we gain a better understanding of the effects of urbanization on our wildlife – and the Garden Birdwatch project will help. As AMANDA SKULL explains, this project involves the study of birds and other wildlife found in our gardens throughout the year.

This article is written in Welsh. A translation is available on request.

Brown hare (c)Wildstock

A hare's breath

An encounter with a live hare is an increasingly rare experience, and one that is likely to leave a big impression in a country with few large mammals. Seeing one that has been killed is a different matter altogether, and raises a host of questions, as LINDA AULD discovers.