Giant Reeds, Eucalyptus Trees and Rubbish Destroy a River in Portugal

Ribeira do Marchante is a vanishing river

There is a river in Quinta do Conde in Portugal known as the Ribeira do Marchante or the Ribeira de Coina. It was once a navigable river that had a lot of water and even supported rice fields back in the 1800s. Today it can be difficult to see, and difficult to find any stretches of water that are not choked with Giant Reeds (Arundo donax) and other vegetation.

In the droughts that are now a new normal in Portugal due to Climate Change, the bed of this river is often dry for much of its course, and for much of the year. Rubbish and fly-tipping litter its banks and surrounding areas.

Some of this trash is in the river itself. This river is disappearing. The land next to it has many Eucalyptus trees. They are known to take a lot of groundwater from any land they are growing in. This non-endemic tree is adding to the threats to the river’s health. I have lived in Quinta do Conde for eight years and have seen the Ribeira do Marchante in much better condition in the first years I was here. In the past I have seen ducks swimming on it, Iberian Water Frogs (Pelophylax perezi)

in many parts, and I have even seen a rare European Pond Tortoise (Emys orbicularis) dive into the water. On World Rivers Day (24 September), with the EcoGrupo Trevo, local environmental conservation group, I went walking the route of the Ribeira do Marchante, including a part that I was not familiar with. I was horrified to see how much Giant Reed is now growing in and along the river. If it continues like this there will be no water flowing. The Giant Reed is an invasive species and creates problems in many parts of the world. It is resistant to fires because it can regenerate, it uses up a lot of water, its roots go deep into the soil making it hard to remove, it spreads rapidly, it grows very quickly, and it displaces native vegetation while destroying wildlife habitat. As for the Eucalyptus trees, several years ago a team of men cut down some of the trees near the Sports Stadium, which is close to the river. However, they left the stumps and soon after the trees sprouted again. 

The Eucalyptus recovers quickly when felled, and also regenerates after being burned in wildfires. This tree is causing a big problem in many parts of Portugal. In addition to all this, paths through the woodland on the banks of the river are being churned up by trail bike riders, people on 4-wheelers, and we even encountered a car actually driving along the riverbed in one part. All of this causes sand to wash down into the river in storms. My conclusion is that the Ribeira do Marchante needs help, and needs help urgently or it will continue to decline fast and will eventually be no more than a memory. I am a member of ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group) and this group is very concerned with restoration of rivers and wetland. There is an Adopt a River group. I am also an active member in SAVE THE FROGS! a charitable organisation that, as its name suggests, is dedicated to saving frogs and other amphibians worldwide. There are grants available from Rotary and from SAVE THE FROGS to fund the sort of work that would be needed to save the Ribeira do Marchante. I am hoping that the money can be found to fund a restoration project. I think something should be done to halt the destruction of this river before it is too late.

Portuguese:

A Ribeira do Marchante é um rio em extinção

Existe um rio na Quinta do Conde em Portugal conhecido como Ribeira do Marchante ou Ribeira de Coina. Já foi um rio navegável que tinha muita água e até sustentava campos de arroz no século XIX. Hoje pode ser difícil ver e encontrar trechos de água que não estejam obstruídos por Canas/Juncos gigantes (Arundo donax) e outras vegetações. Nas secas que são agora uma nova normalidade em Portugal devido às Alterações Climáticas, o leito deste rio fica frequentemente seco durante grande parte do seu curso e durante grande parte do ano. Lixo e despejos espalhados pelas margens e áreas adjacentes. Parte desse lixo está no próprio rio. Este rio está desaparecendo. O terreno ao lado possui muitos eucaliptos. Sabe-se que retiram muita água subterrânea de qualquer terreno onde crescem. Esta árvore não endémica está a aumentar as ameaças à saúde do rio. Moro na Quinta do Conde há oito anos e vi a Ribeira do Marchante em muito melhores condições nos primeiros anos que aqui estive. No passado, vi patos nadando nele, rãs d'água ibéricas (Pelophylax perezi) em muitas partes, e até vi uma rara tartaruga europeia (Emys orbicularis) mergulhar na água.

No Dia Mundial dos Rios (24 de Setembro), com o EcoGrupo Trevo, grupo local de conservação ambiental, fui percorrer o percurso da Ribeira do Marchante, incluindo uma parte que não conhecia. Fiquei horrorizado ao ver quanto Cana está crescendo agora dentro e ao longo do rio. Se continuar assim não haverá água fluindo. A Cana é uma espécie invasora e cria problemas em muitas partes do mundo. É resistente ao fogo porque pode se regenerar, consome muita água, suas raízes penetram profundamente no solo dificultando sua remoção, se espalha rapidamente, cresce muito rapidamente e desloca a vegetação nativa ao mesmo tempo que destrói o habitat da vida selvagem. Quanto aos eucaliptos, há vários anos uma equipa de homens derrubou algumas árvores perto do Estádio Desportivo, que fica perto do rio. Porém, eles abandonaram os tocos e logo depois as árvores voltaram a brotar. O eucalipto se recupera rapidamente quando derrubado, e também se regenera após ser queimado em incêndios florestais. Esta árvore está a causar um grande problema em muitas zonas de Portugal.Além de tudo isso, os caminhos pela mata às margens do rio estão sendo agitados por ciclistas de trilha, pessoas em veículos de quatro rodas, e até encontramos um carro passando pelo leito do rio em um trecho. Tudo isso faz com que a areia desça para o rio durante as tempestades. A minha conclusão é que a Ribeira do Marchante precisa de ajuda, e precisa de ajuda urgentemente ou continuará a diminuir rapidamente e acabará por não passar de uma memória.Sou membro do ESRAG (Grupo de Ação Rotary para Sustentabilidade Ambiental) e este grupo está muito preocupado com a restauração de rios e zonas húmidas. Existe um grupo Adote um Rio.

Também sou um membro ativo do SAVE THE FROGS! uma organização de caridade que, como o próprio nome sugere, se dedica a salvar sapos e outros anfíbios em todo o mundo. Existem subsídios disponíveis do Rotary e da SAVE THE FROGS para financiar o tipo de trabalho que seria necessário para salvar a Ribeira do Marchante. Espero que o dinheiro possa ser encontrado para financiar um projeto de restauração. Penso que algo deveria ser feito para impedir a destruição deste rio antes que seja tarde demais.

SAVE THE FROGS DAY 2022 Report from Portugal

 Special report from Quinta do Conde for SAVE THE FROGS Day! 

With my friend, fellow singer-songwriter Ana Lisa Meier, for this year's SAVE THE FROGS Day, we decided to create a report about frogs and wetlands in the Quinta do Conde area of Portugal where we are. Ana is very lucky because she has a colony of Iberian Water Frogs in her garden. They live in, and around, the two garden ponds, which shows how valuable ponds like this are when it comes to amphibian conservation.  Here I am enjoying listening to the frogs and the birds singing.

We went to explore the wetland areas near where we live, took some photos and captured some video footage there. There is an area of wetland behind a sports stadium that depends on a lot of winter and spring rainfall to be of any use to amphibians. This year the rains came very late, after a winter drought, presumably due to the Climate Crisis. The water sadly drains away fast and feeds a river nearby, as well as being absorbed by the sandy ground. I feel this area could be greatly improved as a wetland habitat if some restoration work was done there so that the water was retained longer. 

We went to look at the river, which some years gets nearly dried up, although there are usually some pools left standing. Frogs can be found here and at this time of year you can hear Iberian Water Frogs singing, though they are very difficult to spot. 

 

I once saw a European Pond Tortoise here too. I wasn't able to get a photo because it dived in the water. This species is endangered, so I was pleased to see that at least one was surviving in a wildlife habitat near where I live.  Further along this river there is a bridge and the frogs can be heard loudly there, although we were unable to actually see any. They stop calling when you approach. 

Sadly right by this bridge we encountered some highly polluted water from a drain entering the river. This is really bad because this river feeds an Ecology Park further along its course.  Water pollution is a serious threat to amphibians, fish and other wildlife. 

Back by the stadium and right by a main road are a lot of temporary pools that fill up in winter and spring and are always used by local amphibians. Tadpoles can be seen in the cloudy water but it is always a race against time for them because the pools always dry up, leaving just cracked mud until next rainy season. making the situation worse, people enjoy driving through these pools. I once saw a vehicle stuck in one of them with the mud flying up. I must admit I thought it was funny and had no sympathy for the driver. It was as if this was "Instant karma."

 

Ana and I next went to take a look around the Ecology Park of Quinta do Conde, a place I have written about before in this blog. There is a small lake there and when I last visited, it was full of water and there were plenty of frogs about. Sadly this was not the case this time, though Ana spotted one tadpole. The water was very low and we discovered yet another source of pollution because there was oil floating on the surface at one end of the lake and a trickle of oily water entering it there. Someone had thrown a shopping trolley into the water and a landing stage for visitors to stand on to get a better look over the water had been demolished for some reason. 

 

The Ecology Park was showing neglect and was disappointing, although there are extensive reed beds there, and many other smaller pools and dykes in an area used for allotments that local people grow fruit and vegetables in. Because the water was so low in the lake I thought that Herons and Storks had probably caught a lot of the frogs and any fish that live there. Storks congregate in the fields next to the park, and Herons are also seen here. Storks and Herons, of course, have to find food, and are just as important as frogs. Although our visit to this park was somewhat disappointing, it fitted in with what we were trying to do, which was to conduct an exploration of our neighbourhood, to keep things local. I think it is important for anyone who wants to help with conservation of amphibians and other species of wildlife, to do what you can in the area you live in. This applies wherever you are in the world. If you have found this report interesting and would like to find out more about what you can do to help SAVE THE FROGS, please visit the SAVE THE FROGS website! Now I'm off to help SAVE THE FROGS! 

Natterjack Toads are very rare in the UK but breed in pools at the side of the road in Portugal

Natterjacks like temporary pools and puddles

Natterjack Toad (Photo by Bernard DUPONT)

The Natterjack Toad (Epidalea calamita) is one of the rarest amphibians in the UK and only found in several scattered colonies in coastal areas in England, Scotland and one in Wales where it has been reintroduced. It is the only native species of toad in Ireland where it lives in a few locations. In many parts of Europe, however, it is far more widely distributed, and in Portugal it even breeds in temporary pools and puddles at the side of the road near where I live.

Roadside pool (Photo by Steve Andrews)

Pool with tadpoles (Photo by Steve Andrews)

Unlike the Common Toad (Bufo bufo), which likes large ponds and lakes, the Natterjack uses pools that are likely to dry up later in the year. This is a great danger for its tadpoles because the water may all evaporate before they have grown big enough to become toadlets and to leave. Many tadpoles perish when the pools become no more than cracked mud. Lucky ones will be in pools with deeper water that takes longer before it has all gone. There is an advantage to this seemingly reckless breeding behaviour though, because the pools the Natterjack chooses have no predators, such as newts and dragonfly nymphs in them. The Natterjack actually favours pools that do not even have any vegetation, and are just a few inches of water covering sand or mud. Somehow they manage to find enough to eat in these conditions.

Natterjack Toad Tadpoles (Photo by Steve Andrews)

The tadpoles are much smaller than Common Toad tadpoles too and they can complete their metamorphosis in as short a time as six weeks. It is a race against time when warm weather dries up the water they depend on. Last year, where I live, this species was unlucky because drought set in with hot sunny weather and all the pools dried up totally. I had moved some of the tadpoles to pools with more water but even my effort to help them was in vain because none of tadpoles had even developed their back legs when all the water was evaporated in the heat. This year, I am hoping that some, at least, will survive. We have had a lot or rain earlier on and the temporary pools where I find tadpoles of this species currently still have plenty of water, although it is starting to go down. In the UK, the Natterjack is mainly found in coastal locations where temporary ponds form in dunes and sandy areas by the sea, on the continent and Portugal, however, it is also found inland. The male Natterjack attracts others of his kind to a suitable stretch of water with a loud and rasping call but only does this at night. By day, these toads hide in burrows in the sand, and they favour sandy locations, such as dunes and heathland.

The Natterjack can be recognised because it has a yellow stripe down the middle of its back. It cannot jump well and tends to walk fast, which has led to it also being known as the “Running Toad.” When I was a boy I always dreamed of finding a Natterjack Toad but never did. It was very rare all those years ago too. I am amazed to find this very rare amphibian breeding in muddy pools by a main road near where I live.

Watching the Desertification of Portugal

Climate Breakdown and Desertification

Dried up pond (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I have been living in Portugal since late 2014 and over the years have been watching the changes in the weather and to the countryside. Every year we have had very hot weather and wildfires and droughts are becoming the new ‘normal’ here due to Climate Breakdown. It is getting worse and I feel I am watching the early stages of the desertification of Portugal.

Ponds Dry Up

Cracked mud (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I am sure that amphibians and other aquatic wildlife are having a hard time due to the lack of water. A river near where I live has run dry in the past and this year some roadside pools have already dried up and are just cracked mud. This is very unfortunate news for the small colony of Iberian Water Frogs that were breeding there. Only a month or so back there were thousands of tadpoles in these pools and Water Starwort was an aquatic plant that was growing.

Iberian Water Frog tadpoles (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Sadly the hot, dry weather has evaporated all the water before the tadpoles could complete their metamorphosis and they have all perished. I had moved some to the deeper pools but it was in vain because they dried up too.

Wildflowers

French lavender (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The wildflowers here are spectacular in spring with so many species bringing a splash of colour to the countryside. French Lavender, Candytuft, Campanula lusitanica, Silene colorata (a bright pink Catchfly), Common Poppies, Three-leafed Snowflake, Narrow-leafed Lupin, St John’s Wort, Crown Daisy, Asphodel, Toadflax, Tassel Hyacinth, Blue Hound’s Tongue, Scrambling Gromwell, and Sage-leafed Cistus are just some of the colourful plants that beautified my country walks back in April and May. It is hard to think that all these pretty flowers were growing well not long ago on ground which is now brown and tinder dry. Where even the grass has died down and the paths are dust.

Flowers in Spring (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Earlier in the year there were countless butterflies. I would expect to see Swallowtails, Red Admirals, Green Hairstreaks, Spanish Festoons, Clouded Yellows, Speckled Woods, Small Coppers, and Small Whites and would never fail to be disappointed.

Green Hairstreak (Photo: Steve Andrews)

A bit later the Meadow Browns became the most commonly seen butterfly but now there are hardly any about.  There are hardly any flowers left from which they could feed and the vegetation has died back or is conspicuously brown and shrivelled up. In the four years before this year I have never seen it so dry and so dead looking as it is now. I live in Quinta Do Conde, a town between Lisbon and Setubal, so am not in the hot south of the country. If it is like this here I dread to think what it must be like in the Algarve.

Skeleton Weed (Photo: Steve Andrews)

But not all plants are doing badly in the hot and dry conditions. Some are colonising new ground and others are adapting. The Skeleton Weed (Chondrilla juncea) is a species that is happy growing in arid places and I see more and more of the plant on waste ground where I live and even growing in cracks in paving. It is an invasive weed that has become a problem in many parts of the world and after wildfires it will rapidly colonise new ground where other vegetation has been killed.
Black Mustard, or a species of mustard that earlier in the season looks very like Black Mustard, is forming bushy clumps when it goes to seed here. They resemble tumbleweeds and can easily break off helping to distribute the plant.

Mustard clump (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Wildfires

As already mentioned, wildfires are becoming a new ‘norm’ for Portugal and can now occur all year round, due to Climate Breakdown and droughts which can now take place even in the winter. These fires, in addition to destroying farms and houses, are killing animals and people, as well as vast numbers of trees of native species. Pines and Cork Oak can regenerate if not too badly burned but when the trees are weakened and if drought continues they become very susceptible to disease. The Pine Wilt Nematode, spread by various wood-boring beetles is killing pines throughout the country. When the rains finally do arrive another problem the countryside faces is the erosion of the fertile top soil that is washed away.

The Portuguese authorities have implemented legal measures requiring landowners to take action by clearing undergrowth,  brushwood and scrub that could easily burn. Many areas where this has been done will have destroyed wildlife habitat and many dormant and active species sheltering in the vegetation. Efforts to provide safety for farmers and residents of Portugal, are surely taking a toll on the flora and fauna of the country.

Permaculture as the Solution

Desertification of Spain and Portugal

I have known about the predicted desertification of Mediterranean countries including Spain and Portugal before I came to live here. Sadly I am now watching the problem in action. I was searching online for information on desertification in Portugal and found this very detailed and excellent lecture by Doug Crouch, who describes how the system of modern farming is degrading the land further. He also proposes permaculture as the solution. He explains what has been going wrong and what can be done to reverse the ongoing growth of what he calls the “New Sahara.”

The Ecological Park Varzea in Quinta Do Conde in Portugal

A lot more to the town of Quinta Do Conde

Map of the Ecological Park (Photo: Steve Andrews)

If you were driving through on the main road through the town of Quinta do Conde in Portugal you might not think there was much to see there. You might think it was merely a typical Portuguese town with plenty of houses, apartment blocks, local businesses, a share of restaurants and bars, as well as shops, roads, and all the usual urban ingredients.  A pleasant enough place if you lived or worked there perhaps, but not a lot else there, and not much to see. However, you would be very wrong. If you are interested in nature, ecology and gardening, Quinta Do Conde has an amazing Ecological Park known as the Parque Ecológico da Várzea da Quinta do Conde. This park is actually right next to the main road, and just minutes from the busy local Continente and Pingo Doce supermarkets, but it is a real haven for wildlife, a wonderful place for relaxing, and it even has an allotment area where local people can grow fruit and vegetables.

Turtle Lake and White Storks

Lagoa Cagados (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Ecological Park has a lake known as Lagoa Cagados, which means Turtle Lake in Portuguese and presumably refers to freshwater terrapins that can be found there. I didn’t see any any when I visited but I did see a number of frogs jumping into the water. They were Iberian Water Frogs, a species that is common here. There is a large area of swampy meadow where I have seen flocks of White Storks gather. They are easy to see from the main road and I have noticed them on my way to the shops. I expect these large birds are hunting frogs that are plentiful in the park. I saw more of these amphibians in a reedy pool but the creatures were too quick for me to get any photos.

According to an information plaque, Grey Herons also frequent the wetlands provided here. I am not surprised because there are many ponds, water canals and reed-beds. In one part there is a lookout point for birdwatchers.

Swampy Meadow Where Storks Gather (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Walking Areas

There is a system of paths and walking routes around the park, as well as areas with tables and benches where you could relax or enjoy a picnic. I was impressed with the number of small birds I saw and heard in the park, and also there were plenty of honeybees collecting nectar from the catkins of the Sallows, or “Pussy Willows” as I also know them.

Pussy Willow (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I noticed a lot of Fennel sprouting amongst the greenery, and this plant is eaten by the caterpillars of the Swallowtail Butterfly, which breeds in the park. I found a clump of Salad Burnet too, which is another edible herb.

Salad Burnet (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Woodlands

There are plenty of trees and woodland areas in the Ecological Park and many of the trees are labelled. I saw an Alder covered in catkins, and there are also Cork Oaks, Pines, and at least one Strawberry Tree. In one part of woodland I noticed a large pile of rocks. It had been fenced off and I wondered if this was intended as a place for reptiles and amphibians to shelter and hibernate in winter. It would make a great place for this. According to an information board I saw, the Viperine and Ladder Snake can be found there, as can Fire Salamanders and the Common Toad. I would not be at all surprised. It is simply a wonderful location for wildlife of most types.

Fish and amphibians (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Allotments

Allotment (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Continuing my walk around the grounds of the Varzea Ecological Park of Quinta Do Conde, I had a look at the area given over to allotments. This area is very much for wildlife as well as people, and I noticed nest-boxes were in use to encourage nesting birds.

Nest-box (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Here in the allotment section, local gardeners grow cabbages, kale, onions, leeks and many other vegetables.

Vegetable Plot (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The plants all looked very green and healthy, and the plots of ground are watered with water from the ponds and water channels. These pools and areas of freshwater provide further areas for aquatic life, amphibians and water birds, and I could see thousands of the Mosquito Fish (Gambusia holbrooki) in one of the larger ponds. This is a fish I was used to seeing in Tenerife when I lived there some years ago. Mosquito Fish have become naturalised in many subtropical parts of the world where they were originally brought, as their name suggests, in an effort to control mosquitoes. These little fish are very adaptable and can tolerate high and low temperatures, polluted and brackish water.

Pond with water used in the allotments (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I saw a few dragonflies too and would think the park would have loads of these insects later in the year. I am lucky to have this park near to where I live so will be making many more visits and seeing what goes on there in spring and summer. I imagine the ponds will have a loud chorus of frogs and plenty of tadpoles will be swimming in the water. I love the sound of frogs croaking!

Iberian Water Frog (Photo: Steve Andrews)

How A Council Estate Like Ely Can Be A Haven For Wildlife

Gardens in Ely

Small Tortoiseshells on Butterfly Bush (Photo: Pixabay)

The Ely council estate in Cardiff can be a great place for wildlife as I found out when I lived there for 24 years. The gardens attract a lot of birds, butterflies, moths, amphibians, and at least one reptile, which is the Slow-worm. "Slowgies" the local kids used to call them. This legless lizard was very common in gardens and you even saw them in the streets at times. They are no longer so commonly found in Britain.

Slow-worm (Photo: Pixabay)

Many of the species that can be found in Ely are now recognised as being in an alarming decline in the UK, so anywhere they are still thriving is important as a conservation area. Anyone who is actively helping these creatures is doing a great job in helping preserve the world of nature. Gardens can easily become mini nature reserves! You just need to grow some wildflowers, leave some parts untended, and a garden pond always works wonders! A Buddleia Butterfly Bush will help attract these pretty insects and other pollinators as well.

Choice TV showing of my house and garden back in 1998

When I lived in Ely, I had a makeshift pond I created from an old bath that had been thrown out. I sunk it in the ground in the back garden and within a couple of years it supported a colony of Common Frogs as well as Palmate Newts.

A pair of Common Frogs in my hand (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I know Common Toads could be found fairly near where I lived too because a man I knew called Graham used to complain about male toads strangling his goldfish, which can happen. The unattached male toads will grab onto anything they think might be a female of their species.

A mated pair of Common Toads (Photo: Pixabay)
The Common Toad is one amphibian that is known to be experiencing a decline in Britain and elsewhere. All amphibians are under threat worldwide though, due to loss of habitat, pesticides and herbicides, pollution, invasive species that predate on them, and Climate Change. I am proud to be a member of SAVE THE FROGS! Charity set up to help these creatures.

Steve Andrews with SAVE THE FROGS! banner (Photo: Kerry Kriger CEO of SAVE THE FROGS!)

One of the last times I was in Ely I went to visit Parker Place the street I used to live in and was saddened to see that what used to be my front and back garden had been ruined by the Council workers, who had removed the hedge, tree, lawns and flower borders in the front, as well as the Virginia Creepers I had growing on the wall. In the back my pond had gone, as had trees I had been growing for the many years I was there, as well as a grape vine that used to attract flocks of starlings, as well as blackbirds that used to eat the fruit each year. My nettle patch for butterflies had, perhaps not surprisingly, also been removed. It was very sad to see how all my work in helping wildlife had been wrecked but I was heartened to find that Jess, who had been my neighbour, was still there and she told me she now had a pool in her back garden. It was good to know I had helped inspire this!

Moths and Butterflies

Garden Tiger Moth (Photo: Pixabay)

It is a well-known fact that many species of British butterfly and moth have been doing very badly in recent years. Once common species, such as the pretty Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly and the large and gaudy Garden Tiger Moth are no longer commonly seen.

Small Tortoiseshell (Photo: Pixabay)

They need all the help they can get. I used to have Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral caterpillars on a patch of Stinging Nettles I had growing at the bottom of my garden. I also had Painted Lady larvae feeding on Hollyhocks I had growing in the back and front. Garden Tiger Moths needed no help then and I often saw the large furry “Wooly Bear” caterpillars and the striking orange, creamy-white and chocolate-brown moths with dark blue-black spots on their hind-wings.

Cinnabar Moth (Photo: Pixabay)

The attractive day-flying Cinnabar Moth with red and black wings and orange caterpillars striped with rings of black were a common sight. They feed on Ragwort and Groundsel, both of which were common weeds. The Cinnabar has been declining as well over the past decade. I also remember having Comma Butterfly caterpillars one year on my gooseberry bushes, and Common Blue butterflies used to frequent the front lawn of one of my neighbours, who had Bird’s-foot Trefoil growing in the grass. Now I live in Portugal I often see the same species doing well on lawns between housing blocks in built-up areas. The reason being they find trefoils, clovers and Sorrel (Oxalis species) growing amongst the grass. Butterflies need food-plants for their caterpillars and nectar from flowers for their adult stage. If we supply both we will probably attract butterflies to our gardens.

Are all the species I have mentioned still to be found in Ely? I don’t know because I no longer live there but if they are, then residents of the estate can help them survive and can have something to be proud of. I am sure there must be lots of people in this vast estate who are interested in nature. Perhaps a local group could be set up? Ely is also surrounded by some excellent countryside for wildlife, with Plymouth Woods being a deciduous forest that used to have a pond and marshy area. I know frogs and newts used to live there and many birds are attracted to the wooded parts and undergrowth. Ely is an example of a council housing estate that I know, and that I also know could make a great contribution towards nature conservation. The same conceivably goes for all the other estates in the UK.

Young people need to learn about the wonders of the natural world. It gives them something to take a real interest in, and interest that can stay with them for life. All the famous naturalists, like Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham, began learning about nature when they were children. I started when I was four! I hope this article encourages more people to learn about plants and animals living on their doorsteps, so to speak, and most importantly to help conserve the natural world by making their gardens wildlife friendly.

Western Spadefoot Toad or Iberian Spadefoot rescued in a garden in Portugal

A Near Threatened Species

Western Spadefoot Toad (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Western Spadefoot or Iberian Spadefoot (Pelobates cultripes) is an endangered species of amphibian. In fact its IUCN Red List Conservation Status is Near Threatened, so I was really surprised to find one living in the front garden of the house in Portugal where I rent the ground floor. One of my pet cats was digging, and I thought she was about to go to the toilet, but instead, and suddenly, she had grabbed something and tossed it onto the ground. I could see it was a large frog or toad and immediately went to the rescue. I was amazed to find that it was a female Iberian Spadefoot. I have only seen these in photos in books and on sites on the Internet, and knowing how rare they are now, the last place I thought I would see one was caught by my cat in the garden of where I live!

Caught by a Cat

Clearly where the toad had been living, even though it was buried in the sandy soil, was not a safe place to be. My cat could hear it or smell it, and could catch it again if I put it back, I could end up harming or killing it by accident if I was digging, or the toad could get run over on the road, just yards from where it had been buried. So I resolved to move it to some local woodland just five minutes away.

Woodlands on sand (Photo: Steve Andrews)

There is an area where there is a stream and marshy section that has temporary pools after autumn and winter rains, though they are already drying up now. I took it there, thinking it would be safer. I know there are Iberian Water Frogs there, though haven’t seen any this year. I think last year’s terrible drought affected them badly in many places like this that dried out completely. Fortunately, this winter and early spring brought plenty of very welcome heavy rains. These local woodlands near where I live are very interesting because the cork oak and pine trees are mainly growing in sand. Sand martins nest in holes in the sand banks.

Pelobates cultripes tadpole about to become a toadlet (Photo: Franco Andreone)

This amphibian gets its name from its habit of digging burrows. It does this with the aid of its back feet that are specially adapted for the purpose with a black hardened projection like a spade on each one. This behaviour works well in the sandy soil so much of Portugal has, and I would never have known about the one in the garden here if my cat hadn’t detected it and dug it up. She used to be a feral cat so is excellent at hunting, and can even find toads hidden underground.

My Calico Cat (Photo: Steve Andrews)