MeadowLife at Hailey Park

Migration

2011-04-25T20:47:00.001+01:00

Most of the meadowlife has migrated to our official website http://www.friendsofhaileypark.org.uk

Find the lady!

2009-06-01T07:48:00.002+01:00

Today we've been spying painted lady butterflies, a beautiful migrant - its amazing that they migrate to and from northern Africa every year and are back here for the summer. In the autumn they will all ether die or emigrate to Africa. It seems we're also being asked to note down every time we see them and where and records are showing its been the biggest migration for years.

While down the river at the edge of the meadow we also spied a male orange tip - a butterfly that always seems to be on the move. But at least we managed to get a better glimpse of the speckled wood butterfly.

Over near the railway line we managed to find a grass snake and a family of slow worms basking in the heat.

Nature in the raw

2009-05-23T13:37:00.001+01:00

Of late it seems there are lots of jackdaws/carrion crows in the meadow mostly as the sparrowhawk appears to be doing a lot of hunting there and no doubt rich pickings are to be found as a result. Sadly though while I know nature is cruel I disturbed a flock of these corvids on saturday some hopping around the meadow while one or two were pecking a solitary dove to death - on my arrival they left her struggling with a broken wing and a damaged eye - the only solution really was to take her to be put to sleep as while she proved to be still a feisty girl it was the kindest thing to do.

I have seen magpies stealing and killing fledglings from nests before but never this and no doubt it probably happens quite a lot but goes unseen.

At least the broom is now heavy with 'blossom' making a lovely array at one end of the meadow while the gorse that was blooming all winter is now diminishing. I've also noticed more trees appearing on the meadow where no doubt we had scrub before - most of them seem to be oaks that have suddenly appeared to double in size. Sadly I also noticed the first appearance of knotweed in the area we cut and rake each each year.

2009-04-24T19:10:00.004+01:00

At last more colour is appearing in and around the meadow - the grass even appears to be greener if that's possible. It seems like there is more broom and gorse on the pile of rocks becuase of or in spite of our massive scrub clearance in the autumn of the willow and buddlea thatusually take over this area - home to small mammals and hunting ground for foxes and reptiles - and its blossoming with its bright yellow flowers. Sadly the nearby pond is drying up - a side effect of the good weather we've been having which no dubt will have a knock-on effect of fewer amphibians so lets hope they found other watery spots to hide in as well. At the edges of the meadow I've spied clumps of cuckoo flowers.
Its lovely to see how the young trees we planted over a year ago are getting on, some are even twice their size now. Unfortunately, there's a clump of knotweed slowly invading one patch.
One dog walker recently was lucky to spy a heron who had been fishing in the Taff and had been quite successful; however, shortly after he'd landed near the changing rooms the sight of dog and walker scared him enough to drop the fish and fly off. Acting quickly as the fish was still alive, a lucky perch, the dogwalker scooped him up and quickly ran towards the river to save him to swim about the Taff for at least another day.

Cardiff Biodiversity Bulletin January 2009

2009-04-01T09:19:00.005+01:00

It appears we've made it to the Cardiff Biodiversity Bulletin, Issue 19 - January 2009 with regard to our work in regenerating the meadow.

"Grant funding was secured in June 2008 under the Countryside Partnership programme 08/09 for grassland restoration in Hailey Park. The funding contribution was used for the hire of Cardiff Conservation Volunteers to carry out the removal of scrub in Hailey Park over two dates. The grassland restoration project was a joint project with the Friends of Hailey Park and Community Park Rangers. The work dates took place on Sunday 16 November and Sunday 7 December 2008 and were very successful. The Friends of Hailey Park will endeavour to maintain the grassland in favourable condition via volunteer work days with assistance from Community Park Rangers."

This support just highlights how important this project is.

A pile of rubbish?

2009-03-22T16:07:00.003Z

No its a des res fit for insects and hedgehogs. Today, Mothering Sunday, was also a voluntary work day for Friends of Hailey Park.

We've been tidying up the entrance that leads on to the meadow - apart from the bottles and cans that people have thrown in from the road there was lots of dead wood around.

So the rubbish has been picked up and the dead wood has been turned into a couple of habitat piles. Eventually the area will also be planted with bulbs to add a splash of colour, but that will have to wait till next year.

Reptiles anyone

2009-03-15T08:49:00.003Z

Yes we have reptiles in and around the meadow - no doubt taking advantage of better habitats in some areas. However, as with most things on the meadow its up to us to find out who's living where. Cardiff Council's ecology team have come up with a lovely idea of training local people or those who also spend time on Hailey Park to learn how to survey them - the training session is on Sunday 29 March from 10am (meet-up place to be confirmed). We have a few places left if anyone wants to go on the training and help us in our mission to survey the reptile population here. Any takes please contact fohp@hotmail.co.uk

2009-03-11T10:29:00.002Z

Its becoming quite apparent that there is at least one young family of foxes in and around the meadow at the moment. I haven't worked out how many cubs they have yet but they most certainly are making thier prescence known - in the early hours of the morning when the air is still you can hear the wonderful sounds of cubs playing for all its worth.
The other day I also found what I look like kestrel feathers, so many that I think they may also have lost their life along with them - kestrels do frequent the meadow area as do sparrowhawks and the odd buzzard.

At last spring is here

2009-02-21T18:48:00.005Z

Well it feels like it today and at last it also feels like everything has 'woken up' (including me!). The meadow area is looking greener all of a sudden and much noisier - walk over there most evening before dusk and the sound of birds singing their hearts out is enough to drown any hometime traffic in the distance. Its definitely time to start looking for those other vital signs of spring.
The herons have also been busy as well. One has been stalking around the meadow looking for food and another was spotted perched at the edge of the temporary pond behind one of the copses. No doubt there is obviously more food around for them as well.
There's more work to be done on the park tomorrow if anone fancies a few hours tidying up and cutting back shrubbery - as always it will help increase biodiversity + its a good way to keep fit!

Its cold and wet

2009-01-26T20:34:00.008Z

but the birds appear to be rejoicing no matter what -against a backdrop of trains rumbling by on their way along the valley line. If you walk late afternoon as the suns begins to slowly set you can hear the sound of thrushes singing their heart out or other birds marking their territory more assertively. There's little colour around apart from the yellow of the gorse and the red of a solitary dogwood bush - of course the straw like bits of the meadow make a lovely contrast to a deep blue sky on days like today when the sun actually shines. The meadow is pretty boggy at the moment in some bits more than others but then those bits wouldn't be wetland meadow otherwise.
Keep an ear out for the foxes who seem to be quite vocal at the moment as its their breeding season and on bin nights can be seen running off the park in the early hours and into the neighbouring streets in search of easy pickings. I do wonder if some are blaming the noisy barking dog fox for a neighbours dog.

Come along tomorrow ...

2009-01-10T18:05:00.008Z

More help needed to do voluntary work in the meadow. Meet up at about 12.45-1pm in the car park at Radyr Road, Llandaff North this Sunday. All welcome - we don't bite!

The vibrant colours of the spring, summer and autumn are missing at this time of year - but there is some in the shape of this interesting red bush (no leaves on it but all the stems are red) and of course the gorse is still flowering. Have also noticed that there appears to be a lot of acitivity in the meadow in areas where some of the small mammals live.

Merry Christmas and happy new year all

2008-12-23T10:16:00.005Z

... and a big thank you for all our supporters and hopefully we'll have an even better year next year.

More scrub-bashing

2008-12-07T23:39:00.007Z

and what a lovely day to do it - a crisp sunny winter's day. We managed to cut down scrub along the driveway from Ty Mawr Road and also clear the willow and buddlea from the 'triangle' on the other side of the changing rooms.

2008-12-06T19:35:00.012Z

Well, its that time of the month again - scrub-bashing time (above photos are from last month's work). We'll be out on the meadow along with Cardiff Conservation Volunteers tomorrow from about 10 till 4 and you're all welcome to join us. Hopefully, it'll be just as lovely a day as today - cold and crisp but sunny. I think tomorrow's task is clearing the buddlea and willow from the Ty Mawr Road entrance down towards the changing rooms. If there's time we can then tidy up any other small areas that need 'bashing'. If you've never done this before just turn up (we don't bite) and we'd love to see you - make sure you have sturdy shoes/boots on and suitable clothing just in case the weather changes. All ages and abilities welcome - work at your own pace and you don't need to stay the whole day, just an hour or two if you can. We'll be led by Edmundo the ranger in the morning then Gareth our resident ranger in the afternoon.

Enjoying the meadow

2008-12-03T16:56:00.005Z

Well Ruby is practically a resident of the meadow and the sun was shining even if it was pretty freezing, so what better way to enjoy it from a log bench with a flask of coffee.

Look no willow

2008-12-01T18:30:00.008Z

Well I eventually got some photographs of the finished product of our labours - the wetland area of meadow now has no willow in it. The willow in the background forms what is a small copse of various other tree species, including young oak. Then of course we have the only flowering plant in the meadow - gorse.

2008-11-29T17:20:00.006Z

Not a lot is happening at this time of the year, as

most of the foilage is changing its colours and slowing down and many others are hibernating - so far the only plant that is in flower is the gorse over where some think of as an old pile of river dredgings when in fact it is home to much of the reptile, amphibians and small mammals (and obvious haunt of the fox families who live near by).

We have been doing more scrub-bashing and it has changed the look of the meadow quite dramatically now as so much willow and buddlea has now been removed. Still there is more to do but we should have done all of it now by the end of the year. It will be very interesting (exciting even) to see how this work will slowly begin to change the biodiversity of the meadow - it has certainly changed the overall view of the meadow, where it had huge wild clumps of willow and buddlea you can now see much more of the meadow.

2008-11-14T15:27:00.005Z

2008-11-11T21:42:00.002Z

2008-11-11T21:40:00.000Z

We're doing more scrub-bashing in the meadow this sunday and its going well (Gareth the countryside ranger led a group of Duke of Edinburgh award students last sunday), but more needs to be done. This sunday we're also being joined by Cardiff Conservation Volunteers who tend to work from 10am till 4pm; however, you can just come along when you feel like it and maybe help out a little when you can.

Its a great way to keep fit and can suit all levels of ability. Everyone is welcome, but children need to be supervised and accompanied by an adult. All tools will be provided. You will need to wear sturdy boots/shoes and suitable clothing (there are brambles in some sections!), plus we can't always guarantee the lovely weather we had last time so you may need to bring along waterproofs. Basic refreshments (squash, water, and biscuits, and may be coffee if I can obtain a large flask in time) are provided but you may also want to bring your own.

It's a good way to start your week by getting rid of the frustrations of the previous week --- lopping and chopping down the buddlea and willow that is invading the meadow. You will also be helping us regenerate a meadow so that next year we will have a better array of plants and wildlife.

Either meet up in the car park on Hailey Park (top of Radyr Road) at 9.45-10am on Sunday 16 November, or if later than 10am then we'll be in the meadow area (beyond the changing rooms).

Hope to see some of you there at some stage.

You may also have seen the council working on the park in various areas --- they have been out improving some of the paths over at the Hazlehurst Road side of the park (up towards the play area) and today they have been cutting back the trees in the graffiti wall area down to Station Road/Bridge Road behind James and Jenkins and some members of Friends of Hailey Park have been litterpicking in that area as well.

Everyone seems to be watching autumn

2008-10-27T23:31:00.003Z

… so come outside for a while and see for yourself. We’ve had a few very cold crisp autumn days at the moment, ideal for wrapping up and taking a walk to see for yourself. See how much the meadow and the surrounding woodlands have changed since the summer.

'Autumnwatch' is appearing everywhere over the next 2 weeks in various forms, including over half-term some of the younger nature detectives will be out and about again in the meadow and surrounding woodland on their ‘spooky’ bug hunt. Its also an opportunity to add more links to the blog for all things autumn in the form of the autumnwatch bloggers and see what the wildlife trusts are doing over this 2-week event.

Common theme for autumn

2008-10-27T23:22:00.010Z

Well the weather was kind to us in the end this afternoon when we went out to bash some more of that willow. Mos tof it was in one area thus making the way into the park/meadow more inviting as well as an opportunity to think about a new planting scheme and in another helping to increase biodiversity in the future.

Another day of scrub-bashing ahead

2008-10-26T11:34:00.002Z

OK its wet, but I know some of us will be out there to cut the willow down --- am sure a bit of weather won't do any harm, honest. Will report later with a few photies.

2008-10-23T21:45:00.008+01:00

Not a lot to report. The other evening though as it was going dusk, I spied birds of prey hovering over the meadow in search of supper. Answers on a postcard please as to what they were - I didn't get a good look at them because the light was pretty bad through the murky sky. I will have more to report though after the weekend as we have another scrub-bashing session on the meadow - meet up at 12.45-1pm on Sunday (26 October) in the car park, but don't forget the clocks are a changing this weekend. Even if its raining some of us will be out there for as long as we can as there's so much to do.
Also, the little nature detectives will be out and about over half-term on a spooky bug hunt and trying to find signs of Autumn.

The changing colours of autumn

2008-10-11T22:07:00.005+01:00

Beyond the meadow salmon are a leaping

2008-10-10T10:41:00.004+01:00

I thought I would suggest a trip beyond the boundaries of the meadow that would be of interest to everyone. Last night, I went to see the salmon leaping at the weir at Radyr. That in itself was an incredible sight but more so was the cheeky mink who ambled along the wall right in front of me while I was there --- only inches away and in no particular hurry, and totally unphased by my two spaniels.

Signs of autumn

2008-10-10T10:18:00.008+01:00

Autumn is well and truly here in the meadow. Most of the yellows and purple swathes have gone, replaced by different hues of browns and reds with a dash of green thrown in. Its colder - there's a distinct nip in the air, even on sunny days. Life (and death) still goes on though and you can still sometimes see the herons striding across the meadow while they stalk any roaming amphibians.

There is bad news though as any thoughts of having a permanent pond have been dashed as its unsafe to dig too far down where the temporary/seasonal pond is now. Sad also as we would've been eligible for grant money to take the project forward. However, we can still look forward to the amphibians that already use the pond along with the dragonflies who dance around this area. From what I gather it would've been a good pond as the water table is quite high here as well, and often only kept back by the rubbish that has accumulated over the years. Temporary/seasonal ponds do have a special place in the biodiversity of an area.

Let the scrub-bashing commence

2008-09-28T18:38:00.008+01:00

The 'Friends' have just spent a good afternoon making a start on the scrub that is taking over our meadow. The willow just has to go. It was lovely to see such a good turnout as well with today's event led by Cardiff Council Countryside Rangers, Alec and Raj. All we need now is someone to strim away the dreaded brambles as there's far too many for us to hack away by hand plus I'm sore enough from the getting in the way of the thorns. The heron came to join us for a short while just over the brambles, no doubt in search of the numerous frogs that seem to be on the move at the moment. Have added only a handful of photos but the rest are in my photobucket account slide show here.

Sunday the 28 Sept is scrub-bashing day

2008-09-27T17:47:00.003+01:00

Don't forget to come along at 2pm and meet up in the car park at the top of Radyr Road for a spot of scrub bashing. Its a great way to get rid of all those frustrations of the past week in one go. Don't be shy even if you come on your own as you'll get a warm welcome and a pair of loppers and gloves!

Another sunny day

2008-09-27T17:38:00.006+01:00

It seems the herons are making the most of being in the meadow at the moment and no doubt are catching something to eat there. Its lovely to see them wandering around then freezing for a while to catch their prey out. Alas though they were very difficult to photograph so every time I got near enough they flew off and my trusty little camera isn't up to such shots from a distance, so you just have to imagine that the blob in the middle of the scrub is a heron taking off! The other day I did see a bird I'd never seen before and raced back to look in my books. Now I know we have had a sighting of a wryneck on the park and this looked very much like one - I hope so as they're not common at all in Britain let alone South Wales.

Also great to see a lot of youngsters out and about in the meadow and making use of the log 'benches' to meet up and hang out.

Rare visitor spotted again

2008-09-21T17:46:00.006+01:00

Yet another beautiful sunny day on Hailey Park, and while most have hit Barry Island there were a few enjoying the meadow today. I managed to get a glimpse of the clouded yellow butterfly again today but alas close-up photography defeats my poor camera sometimes (so I have added the link to an item in UK Safari so you all at least know what he looks like). His presence in our meadow is rare, especially as so often he's on his own when we've seen him in here. Clouded yellows are migratory butterflies who are more often than not usually not found on their own.
To be honest the best pix I took today were of my dogs but then that's for another blog really.

Invasion coming to an end soon

2008-09-19T17:32:00.020+01:00

The blog also needs a note to say that the horrid Japanese Knotweed (middle pic) will be dealt with soon in the meadow. We also have lots of Himalayan Balsam (aka 'Policeman's Helmet', top, with bee inside, and bottom pics), which is much prettier than the knotweed but just as invasive and can be destructive (erodes the ground its on) - it is also a lot easier to take out by hand, which was a task a handful of us did the other week in one area, but there's still lots to do there as well.

The usual supects need lots of help this autumn

2008-09-19T17:32:00.017+01:00

Now that the summer has all but faded away we need lots of help in the meadow cutting the scrub back. If there are any groups out there who'd love to help please get in touch. We have set days for the Friends of Hailey Park but am sure we can do more days if there are enough and Gareth has a space in his diary. Cardiff Conservation Volunteers will be helping us out in November and December but its just the usual suspects who will be coming in September and October. Why not get fit for Christmas. You can see some of the scrub in the pix. It would be fantastic to get most of it done before next spring. Plus it will be fun to do, honest!

Summer again

2008-09-19T17:32:00.013+01:00

Wow its summer at last, or at least it feels like it but a pity that the colours out and about on the meadow are autumnal ones. I even spied a heron land on the meadow just now who went for a walk. Couldn't get near him though to take a pic. It is quite boggy in places so he probably feels quite at home there.

I also took a pic of 'progress', across the river from the meadow there are now flats appearing and their new residents will have fantastic views and hopefully this sort of progress won't be a threat to us in the future.

Ponds and butterflies

2008-09-16T19:12:00.006+01:00

More work has been done today to help create a permanent pond next to the meadow (we may create another one in the meadow at some stage so watch this space - there's always a need for ponds). About 4 or 5 trees were removed so the temporary/seasonal pond can get more light to it. They have left the area to the left with its dense tree and shrub cover as there are about 40-50 orchids growing there that love that sort of habitat (sometimes you have to go searching for some of the wonderful things that grow there).
On saturday there was much excitement as we think we saw a clouded yellow butterfly, which is a rare visitor to this area.

What a difference 24 hours makes

2008-09-06T23:25:00.001+01:00

The river has now gone down quite a lot and is nowhere near as huge as it was or as dangerous. Plus the 'lakes' in the meadow have now disappeared as well, but its still wellie weather all the same.

Weather warning

2008-09-06T15:42:00.006+01:00

If anyone is brave enough to venture out towards the meadow no doubt they are most likely a dog walker as why else would you want to when the weather has been like it has. The meadow is flooded in places and just plain boggy in others but great if you've got your wellies on. In venturing across the meadow beware of going too far over towards the river as its just plain dangerous - I will attempt later to show how dangerous it is (if I can with two dogs and a camera). Yesterday, with dogs firmly on leads and by my side, I ventured toward the path by the river but its completely disappeared so there is no way anyone can get from there over to the water wheel on Ty Mawr Road (in fact parts of Ty Mawr Road itself are also flooded as well), or the woods behind it, or even access to the path along the railway bridge towards the horses' field across the river toward Radyr). For now I will leave you all with sunnier times and a calm river.

What a difference autumn makes

2008-09-04T22:02:00.004+01:00

Gone are the lovely swathes of colour, replaced by golden and brown hues with a dash of red thrown in and a lonely splash of yellow. Talking of lonely though, in the middle of the stretch of meadow we mowed and raked the other week there is a solitary little oak tree that will hopefully grow in the middle of this area forever more, and we'll just have to mow round it.

Memories of sunnier days

2008-09-04T00:15:00.005+01:00

I couldn't resist ...

2008-09-02T19:44:00.008+01:00

More pix of the few days we had this summer when it was actually sunny, if not a bit windy. While everyone's summer was spoilt by the rain the meadow just carried on regardless and showed itself off. Sadly the carpets of purple and yellow are now fading and we're left with a few dotted areas of colour as they sow their seed and then just die back and wait till next spring. However, don't think for one minute that the onset of autumn means life in the meadow will be dull, far from it --- just take a walk on a crisp autumn morning and see how beautiful it can still be.

Website of the week - Cardiff Nats

2008-09-01T21:27:00.007+01:00

During the summer on a rare evening when it wasn’t raining we had the pleasure of a joint nature walk between Friends of Hailey Park and Cardiff Naturalists' Society. While the walk started at the bowling green we eventually made it to the meadow. The walk was a success and were very pleased to see a long-standing member of Cardiff Nats, Dr Mary Gillham MBE, on the walk, who has been an active member of the society for decades and continues to be one of the most highly respected naturalists in South Wales.
The Cardiff Naturalists' Society is the longest established wildlife organization in this area, having been formed in 1867 at the instigation of Robert Drane F.L.S. Members of the Society have been instrumental in protecting many of the wild areas that we all know and love, from Skomer to Forest Farm.
We hope to have continuing links with Cardiff Nats in the years to come as we progress with the regeneration of our meadow. The next walk between the two groups has been proposed for July 2009.

Moths count

2008-08-25T19:41:00.006+01:00

When you mention moths everyone I speak steps back in horror or amusement at the idea of spending an evening catching, counting and looking at them. Yet so few know very little about them and often their view of them is just about those that they find in their houses. Sadly there is a huge variety of creatures out there and plenty to learn more about them. So, late one sunday night we went out with 3 moths traps to see what moths are around at this time of the year. Sadly all year the moths haven't wanted to appear in the traps - the weather and changes in seasons have a lot to answer for. We found many of the Underwing family (the Large and the Lesser Yellow Underwing, and the Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing and Copper Underwing), along with Brimstone, Flame Shoulder, Silver Y, Square Spot and Common Rustic, Flame Carpet and the delightfully named Cetaceous Hebrew Character. For a full list of species found on the meadow this year click on here

Hard days work

2008-08-25T19:34:00.007+01:00

We have just had our second hay rake. It was hard work as it was so wet, but necessary, and thankfully the weather held and was really quite warm as well. It was lovely to see some new faces come along to help and hope they'll come back again to do some more work again. Its so important to do this so that we'll get an even better display of wild flowers next year accompanied by more insects to pollenate them and make the meadow a lovely place to be.

An evening walk in the meadow

2008-08-22T23:46:00.003+01:00

I took a walk this evening before it got dark to see where they'd cut the meadow for the hay rake on sunday and spied a wonderful sight - 2 young foxes playing in the new mown hay. It seems the place they are attracted the most is the pile of stones dumped there years ago. Its now a great habitat for small mammals and grass snakes, and all sorts of bugs so no doubt a great hangout for fox cubs. Even though it was a bit chilly as well, the sky was clear and red tinged, there were quite a few bats flying around feasting on insects.

An excuse ...

2008-08-22T16:30:00.007+01:00

... to post some more of Suzie's pictures (we have hundreds of them showing the huge variety of things that can be found in the meadow). On a sunny day you can see some of the dragonflies and damselflies that live around the meadow; more so after the rain the other day and once the sun came out you could see them dancing together over the puddles the rain had left behind. At times like this there is nothing more beautiful than watching shimmering flashes of metallic blue and red hovering over water reflected on the ground. To be honest its a good excuse sometimes to get your wellies out and spend an hour or so walking through the meadow to see what you can find for yourself. If you want to find out more go to the dragonfly society's website.

So far so good ...

2008-08-22T13:06:00.003+01:00

... the grass in the meadow has just been cut today and the forecast for Sunday 24 August is for light showers so it should be fine and we will be having our hay rake.
Meet up at 2pm in the car park at the top of Radyr Road or make your way over to the meadow above the changing rooms if you come along later.
Its a fun event, and great way to keep fit and help us regenerate the meadow, which is vital to help increase the variety of flora and fauna for next year and also be part of the conservation programme on the park.

Moth counts and hay rakes

2008-08-08T20:55:00.006+01:00

Watch out for posters for the next conservation work day on the meadow, which is Sunday 24 August and we're hoping to have a hay rake again. If you're not too tired with that then come along again at 9pm and we'll be off to count moths again. Learn all there is about moths to show people that they are an important, varied and fascinating part of our wildlife. This event will show you how easy it is to find moths, and the amazing variety that can be seen in just an hour or so.

Nature detectives

2008-08-04T23:19:00.006+01:00

Today there was a bug hunt in the meadow with about 30 little nature detectives (and their minders). Thankfully, the weather held as the meadow has been getting quite a lot of rain over the past few days.
Still its looking glorious even though some flowering plants are 'going over' as the summer begins to come to an end. However, many have commented that the meadow appears to have been more colourful this year so hopefully with a lot of hard work in the autumn clearing scrub we will get an even better show next year and for longer.
If there are any budding nature detectives out there 'here's' the place to go for some thing to do in the meadow. They have some great 'spotter sheets' that you can run off, or if the weather is too wet to come out to the meadow then why not try these 'puzzles'.

Website of the week

2008-07-30T14:31:00.003+01:00

Plantlife is the only charity working solely to protect Britain’s wild flowers and plants, fungi and lichens, and the habitats in which they are found.
Established in 1989 after a meeting of conservationists and botanists, led by Professor David Bellamy, called for a new organisation, an 'RSPB for plants', to champion wild plant conservation. Today, Plantlife is the leading charity working to protect wild plants and their habitats both regionally in the UK (eg, Plantlife Wales) and internationally. The wild flowers and plants that give the UK its unique character, from our woodland and meadows to our uplands and coastline, are under tremendous pressure from intensive farming, habitat destruction, invasive plants from overseas, over-grazing, climate change and pollution. A report in 2007 confirmed that a staggering one in five of Britain’s wild plants is threatened with extinction. Meadows are also areas of concern, which is why our own MeadowLife project is so important to us.

Sunday's work day was hot

2008-07-30T13:11:00.007+01:00

... very hot but we managed to cut back some of the overhanging branches on the meadow path and cut back more vegetation elsewhere to help increase more biodiversity. As we get into late summer and autumn we will see more work days trying improve the biodiversity of the meadow - mostly this will be cutting back on the scrub that has crept in over the past 2 years. In the main we will need to cut back on a lot of the willow so we can help regenerate our meadow and hopefully next year see more species there than we have now.

Meadow life

2008-07-24T11:40:00.010+01:00

The meadow is looking wonderful at the moment - full of yellow (eg, birds-foot trefoil), purple, and pink hues, patches of lovely wild flowers bursting out. Just take a walk in the early evening and see for yourself the huge variety of butterflies that are around at the moment in all their glory. I also saw a lovely array of burnet moths, beautiful black with red spots. A young fox was also out and about in the early evening when it was still light, no doubt feasting on the many bugs, grubs and small mammals that have found their home among the pile of rocks at the top of the meadow (once considered and eyesore, this area has turned into its own little reserve).

View from the bench

2008-06-19T23:11:00.000+01:00

Here's Ruby modelling one of the new benches that are dotted around the meadow. They are made of recycled timber, basically a tree trunk stabilised with stakes (done by Gareth, Countryside Ranger). Why not try them out for size and sit for a while and enjoy the meadow.

Volunteer days

2008-06-18T11:08:00.005+01:00

If you ever wondered what we do on volunteer days on the park and meadow here’s one we did earlier (just click on the 'link' here and see the slideshow of one of our projects). All activities are taken at your own pace, and there’s always something to help you keep fit (or you can always ‘supervise’ on the sidelines). Developing the meadow is very important to us plus its a great way to improve your health and your local environment at the same time. All tools are provided and Gareth and Alec, the hired help (aka Countryside rangers with Cardiff Council Parks Department) (who we are eternally grateful for with their endless enthusiasm and knowledge) will provide you with any tools needed for the job in hand and demonstrate how to work safely. All you need to do is bring is yourself, and wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear. Children are most welcome, but need to be surpervised by a parent or guardian. At this time of year we may not be able to do much in the way of clearing back wayward plants as we need to make sure we don’t disturb the wildlife that depends on these, but there is always plenty to do somewhere. Come along this Sunday at 2 (car park at the top of Radyr Road) and we’ll see what needs doing then.