The common swift (Apus apus) was once an aptly named bird, so often seen screaming and screeching as it swooped and soared over our streets but this is no longer the case. The common swift is no longer common in the UK. My father Bill, who lives in Cardiff, used to keep a diary in which he recorded the dates the swifts arrived each year at the start of summer. He no longer bothers because no swifts arrive where he lives any more. He often rightly complains that these once common birds have vanished from the road he lives in.
The common swift's British breeding populations are known to have dropped drastically in numbers, and the RSPB have the bird on the "Amber List" for species in danger.
So where have all the swifts gone? What has happened to them and what can be done about it?
One of the main reasons for their serious decline is how houses are being built and maintained today. In old buildings the swifts used to nest under the eaves but now roofs are sealed and the birds cannot find any way of entering or anywhere to nest. Renovations to old houses are sealing the roofs too. Making the problem worse, is the fact that swifts like to return to buildings where they have nested before, and they are not keen on newly built housing. Demolition of old buildings demolishes the nesting sites used by swifts.
Swiftlets in nest box (Photo: Public Domain)
Fortunately, there is a solution. Nest boxes can be placed on houses and buildings and access to roofs can be left by people who care about the conservation of these summer visitors. One group that is actively monitoring the swift population in the UK is aptly named Action For Swifts. It is reassuring to know that there are people all over Britain that are very concerned about this problem and who are taking action to try and do something about it before it is too late. I emailed a contact I found for Action For Swifts in the Cardiff area and was delighted to receive a reply from a lady called Julia. She confirmed what my Dad had been saying, that the situation for swifts in Cardiff is not good. But she informed me that there are a couple of known colonies in the suburbs of Canton and Cathays, and that Cardiff University is helping with conservation measures to help the common swift. The university has accepted advice on renovation work that is swift-friendly and has put up a large number of nest boxes on its halls of residence.
"Swift City"
Julia informed me that “Glamorgan Bird Club is also doing a variety of things, including raising awareness and has recently installed nest boxes in a church tower in the Vale.
And the RSPB is looking to make Cardiff a "swift city" - to work with the Council, house builders, etc, to increase nest sites, amongst other things.”
My father was very glad to hear this news and spread the word to a group of local radio amateurs he is friendly with. Obviously, the more people that know about the threat to the common swift and what steps can be taken to help them recover, the better it will be for these amazing birds.
Why Swifts are truly remarkable birds
Common swifts are truly incredible for many reasons. They have very short legs and because of this they are unhappy when landed because they are unable to walk. They use their short legs and feet to cling to vertical surfaces, such as the wall of a house. Because they do not land on the ground, the birds spend most of their lives on the wing and they even sleep when flying. Non-breeding young birds can spend as much as 10 months of a year in continuous flight. No other bird spends as much time on the wing.
Speaking of flight, swifts migrate all the way to and from equatorial Africa, all the way to the UK and many other parts of Europe and the Northern Hemisphere.
Swifts gather their nesting materials on the wing too, using feathers and small bits of vegetable matter that they find blowing about. They bond it together to make their nests using their saliva as an adhesive.
A remarkable bird, I am sure you will agree, so let’s do all we can to make the common swift, common again!
Heath Park is a wonderful nature conservation area
Heath Park Second Pond (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Heath Park in Cardiff is a wonderful area for nature conservation and is home to a colony of the rare great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). The amphibians breed in the pond there that has been in the park for very many years.
Great Crested Newts
Those responsible for the park and pond’s upkeep have very wisely left dead tree-trunks around the edges of the pool and in the woodland that surrounds it.
Habitat created for Great Crested Newts (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Water plants, such as watercress (Nasturtium officinale) are enclosed in mesh so that they are protected and this creates a wonderful area for the newts to lay their eggs in and to hide. Great crested newt females wrap their eggs in the leaves of aquatic vegetation, as do other species of newt.
Aquatic plants (Photo: Steve Andrews)
An information board gives a lot of information about the great crested newt, including how far it travels away from water. The much smaller palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus) also breeds in Heath Park Pond. This comes as no surprise to me because I used to have a girlfriend many years ago, who lived in the nearby King George V Drive that circles Heath Park, and these far commoner newts could be found in the garden pool of the house where she lived. On the info board, there are illustrations and notes about the other interesting species of wildlife that can be seen in the pond. The common frog (Rana temporia) is another amphibian that breeds here.
Info board (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Aquatic insects that use the Heath park Pond include the great diving beetle (Dytiscus marginalis), the water boatman (Notonecta glauca) and dragonfly and damselfly species. The great diving beetle and its larva hunt tadpoles, small newts, fish and worms. The larvae have large mandibles with which they grab their prey as they suck out the life-blood. Both adults and larvae will bite. The adult beetles fly by night to look for suitable stretches of freshwater. The water boatman or backswimmer can also fly. It is a predatory bug that feeds on mosquito larvae and other small water creatures. It gets its name from its habit of swimming upside down and using its legs as paddles to propel it through the water.
Alien and invasive species
Parrot's Feather
The information board includes a warning and request: the public are asked not to release species that are non-native and alien to this country. An example being species of terrapin that can be a danger to British wildlife. The species of water milfoil known as parrot’s feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) is mentioned as an example of an invasive species, and it is pointed out that this particular plant caused a problem at Heath Park Pond where it grew abundantly and had to be carefully removed. It is a threat to British species because it grows so well that it displaces native plants.
Elsewhere in Heath Park
Elsewhere in Heath Park they have constructed a second pond near the golfing area. The information board explains that great crested newts do best in places where there are more than one pond, so that if one pond dries up in hot weather, for example, the amphibians can still breed in another. I don’t know if any newts are using it but it is certainly big enough and there were two mallard drakes swimming around on it.
Walking a dog to Heath Park Main Pond
There is quite a lot of woodland and areas which were once rough ground and scrub have been allowed to grow into thickets of small trees and bushes. There are plenty of great places for birds and other wildlife to live in the park. It is reported that the green woodpecker (Picus viridis) lives in this woodland, and I wouldn't be at all surprised because it is a great place for them.
Paths help you enjoy walking around the woodland and many people take their dogs for walks in Heath Park.
In the grassland and extensive lawns of Heath Park there are extensive colonies of lady’s smock or cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis), which takes its name from its habit of flowering around the time when the first cuckoos could be expected to arrive in the UK.
Cuckoo Flowers (Photo: Steve Andrews)
It is of especial interest, and a useful plant when it comes to wildlife conservation, because it is one of the main food plants of the caterpillar of the orange tip butterfly (Anthocharis cardamines). This pretty species, with orange tips on the forewings of the males, has been increasing again in numbers in some parts of Britain, so anywhere that plants that its larvae feed on grow, is going to be helpful in ensuring this butterfly’s survival. The cuckoo flower used to be gathered as a substitute for watercress, and like the latter plant it likes to grow near water.
The abundance of lady’s smock plants in the park, as well as the natural woodland, and the obvious great attention that had been paid to making the ponds a suitable habitat for great crested newts and other aquatic wildlife, made me feel that Heath Park is one of the best parks in Cardiff for nature conservation.
Barn Owls and Great Crested Newts Threatened by Plasdwr
Steve Andrews and Michael Deem at Pentrebane Farm
The Plasdwr housing development plan threatens to destroy green belt countryside on the outskirts of Pentrebane, St Fagans and Radyr in the west of Cardiff. Rare species, such as the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) live and breed in this area. Pentrebane Farm is one place they can be found and if those behind Plasdwr and Redrow Homes, who are doing the building, have their way, this historic farmhouse will be converted into a pub and the fields will be built all over.
TV presenter and naturalist Iolo Williams has called the Plasdwr proposal “sheer madness” and has pointed out that it threatens many species, including the great crested newt, the barn owl and the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros). Williams is not only very concerned about the destruction of the habitats of these species, but also explains that the building of some 6,000 houses will mean a lot more traffic on the already overburdened roads in and out of this side of Cardiff.
A visit to Pentrebane Farm
Sue Caldwell and Michael Deem
I went along to Pentrebane Farm with my friends Sue Caldwell and Michael Deem. Michael, by the way, is a councillor for Radyr and Morganstown Community Council and South Wales Central Regional Assembly Candidate at Plaid Cymru. Along with Neil McEvoy, Assembly Member for South Wales Central at Y Senedd, he has been campaigning ardently against Plasdwr.
Michael Deem makes a new friend
My first impression of Pentrebane Farm was what an amazing place it is, and this impression was to be confirmed and to grow. The farm is a still-surviving example of an old-style farm with a muddy farmyard, barns full of hay, cowsheds, cows out in the fields, several friendly sheepdogs, and a stables for the horses.
Pentrebane Farm
There are plenty of green fields, hedges, trees and large pond with a stream. Pentrebane Farmhouse is a Grade II Listed Building in St Fagans. It dates back to the 18th century and has a largely unaltered Victorian character. The views are wonderful in this very rural setting.
Barns and Barn Owls
Pentrebane Farm Barn
Amongst its attractions are its barns. Barn owls nest in these in the special boxes placed there for them. There are two pairs using the farm as a place to live and hunt from. These owls are having problems throughout the UK and a home for them such as this is vital for their survival and wellbeing.
Inside the Barn
It would be a real tragedy to think that this majestic barn could one day just become part of a modern public house, if the planners get their way. The barn owls would no longer have this wonderful home, and if somehow they managed to adapt, they would have to hunt over houses and streets, instead of the fields and countryside.
Pentrebane Farm Pond
Pentrebane Farm Pond
We went to have a look at the pond too. It was very muddy but we all had ‘wellies’ on and I went wading about in the shallow. Sue’s dog Cleo jumped in and made the water even muddier. I didn’t see any newts but could see that it would be a great place for them. Newts don’t mind a lot of mud! The experience took me back to my childhood when I used to spend a lot of time wading around in ponds, as can be read in previous blogs about ponds and newts.
Redrow Homes have already started
Redrow Homes Danger Sign
Right next to Radyr, Redrow have already been given the go ahead and have begun work. They have fenced off fields that are all ploughed up. Hedges have been felled, bulldozers, ‘Keep Out,’ and warning notices complete the depressing picture. It is too late here but, hopefully, not for Pentrebane Farm and other parts included in the Plasdwr plan.
The Solution
Fields
Iolo Williams explained on a video presentation, in which he talks about the problem of Plasdwr, that a solution exists. Obviously houses need to be built somewhere but there are brownfield sites in the Cardiff area that could be utilised without any need to destroy the beautiful countryside threatened by the plans. Concerned residents are urged to contact their AMs and local MPs and voice their worries. Let’s Say NO to Plasdwr, and Save Our Green Fields!
Plasdwr threatens the Great Crested Newt and other wildlife
Popular TV presenter and naturalist Iolo Williams has spoken out against the Plasdwr housing development proposal that threatens to destroy countryside in the green belt area of Cardiff northwest. Plasdwr is being promoted as “Cardiff’s garden city” but Williams calls the plan “sheer madness.”
He points out that already endangered wildlife species, including the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus), the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hipposideros) all have populations that depend on habitats that exist on land scheduled for use, if the building of 6,000 new houses goes ahead.
Great Crested Newt (Photo: Public Domain)
The plan of Redrow Homes is to build all over countryside bordering on St Fagans, Fairwater (Pentrebane), Danescourt and Radyr, all on the outskirts of the north-west of Cardiff. There are large ponds in the fields and farmland affected by the housing development proposals, ponds, such as the Pentrebane Cottage Ponds, that are known to be used by the great crested newt, an amphibian that has been declining fast in the UK and is protected by law.
Barn Owl (Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay)
The barn owl is another British species of wildlife that has been dropping in numbers throughout the UK and is the subject of conservation schemes set up to protect this beautiful nocturnal bird of prey. Williams has pointed out that this magnificent bird is found in the area threatened by the development of the land.
The lesser horseshoe bat is one of the smallest mammals in the world. It roosts in colonies and in the UK, Wales is one the parts it is found. This bat is absent from Scotland. Threats to its survival include disturbance and destruction of roosting locations and the loss of suitable habitats in which it can forage for its prey, which are small insects and spiders. This bat flies low over the ground and will grab small creatures it can eat off of rocks and bushes.
Cardiff Council and the Local Development Plan (LDP)
Cardiff Council are favouring developers over the wishes of residents of the city when it comes to its LDP. A report by Ruth Mosalski for WalesOnline points out that Cardiff’s Civic Society has claimed that Cardiff Council “ignores the public.” Many residents of the city are worried about these development plans and have voiced their concerns. It is not only because of the threatened destruction of the countryside and the wildlife it is a home to that is causing worries, but also because of the very real problem of traffic. Roads into and out of the west of Cardiff are already experiencing traffic chaos and adding another 6,000 houses and a potential 10,000 more cars can only acerbate the problem turning it into an absolute nightmare. Cardiff simply does not have the roads in place to cope with the increased traffic.
Increased traffic causes increased air pollution too. At present, the growth of lichen and mosses on tree trunks and walls throughout the city shows that the air quality has improved, but a dramatic increase in the number of vehicles using Cardiff’s overburdened roads will halt and reverse this, as well as being a known cause of ill-health for people.
There is a solution
There is no denying that people need somewhere to live and that more housing should be built. However, none of the problems the Plasdwr development will create have to exist because a viable solution already exists. As Williams points out in the video, there are brownfield sites in Cardiff where houses can be built instead. Also there are empty buildings that could be used to provide housing. He asks concerned residents to get in touch with their AMs and local MPs and to put in their complaints.
Councillor for Radyr & Morganstown Community Council and Plaid Cymru candidate for Radyr and Morganstown, Michael Deem, is campaigning against the destruction of the green belt, and so is Neil McEvoy, who is Assembly Member For South Wales Central at Y Senedd and County Councillor for Fairwater.
When I was a boy, as well as tropical fish, stick insects and exotic silk moths I kept as pets, I also used to keep newts. In spring, which was the season for newts, I used to catch them in a large pond in a local park, which was called Fairwater Park, but was referred to by me and my friends as “The Dell.” I always used to wear my Wellingtons for trips to this park and carry a bucket with me, into which I put whatever I caught.
Melissa Houghton taking photos at Fairwater Park pond (Photo: Steve Andrews)
The pond in Fairwater Park was very untended by humans and had large masses of grass growing in it and around the edges, it had willow trees and bushes, and brambles coming right down to the water in some parts. It was wild and how it should be! It had large clumps of bulrushes and much of the water surface was covered in floating leaves of amphibious persicary, broad-leaved pondweed and duckweed. The pond was basically full of aquatic vegetation with very little open water. It had plenty of brown stinking mud and would ooze methane bubbles when you stepped in it.
Nepa cinerea the Water Scorpion (Photo: Public Domain)
Many species of aquatic life lived in this pond. There were ramshorn snails, water scorpions, water mites, water bugs and diving beetles, pond-skaters, water measurers and water crickets, caddis fly larvae in their cases made from broken bits of vegetation and water snail shells, and medicinal leeches that can suck your blood.
These leeches, by the way, are now a very rare species in Britain. I am pretty sure, without checking current statistics, that many of the other species I have listed have drastically declined in numbers too.
But getting back to Fairwater Park pond, as it once was, it was an ideal habitat for newts. All three species found in Britain bred there. You could find common newts, palmate newts and great crested newts, which last-named species is now endangered, and often gets in news stories because it has been found somewhere that was scheduled for development.
I used to catch newts, mainly by hand. I would part the weeds, spot a newt and swiftly grab it. I took my captures home and kept them in aquariums I had set up for them. In those days, you could legally catch and keep these amphibians, but this is not the case now, and for good reasons, because there are a lot less newts around now, when compared to the numbers in the UK when I was a boy.
What I loved about newts was their amazing colours. The male common and great crested newts have high frilly crests and underneath their bodies they have orange bellies spotted with black. Palmate newt males have dark webbing on their hind feet that can grow so much that it looks like they have squares of skin around their toes. They also have tiny thin filaments sticking out the end of their tails. I really don’t know why. Female palmate newts look very like female common newts but there is a difference, though it is hard to explain. The female palmates are an olive-brown or dark brown with pale bellies. The common newt females are a different shade of brown and slightly more colourful underneath. Newts have little hands and cute sparkling eyes. They have to swim up to the surface every now and then to take a gulp of air. They are fascinating to watch. The females have no crests and are not colourful like the males, but they have their own charm. They lay their eggs in water plants, carefully wrapping each egg in a leaf.
I used to enjoy keeping the newt tadpoles too and watching them grow bigger and bigger, and losing their gills to become miniature newts that could leave the water, just like their parents could do. I used to feed my adult newts mostly on very small earthworms and the newt tadpoles fed on daphnia, which are tiny crustaceans, also known as water fleas.
Nodding Burr-marigold (Photo: Public Domain)
Sometimes I found sick newts in the pond. Sometimes they had seeds of the spiky burr-marigold embedded in their mouths. I could sometimes help the newt by prying the seed out but not always. Also some newts had dropsy and their bodies became very swollen so they could not swim properly. They would sadly die but there were plenty more healthy ones.
It used to sadden me, though, seeing what some boys used to do. They would catch great crested newts, which they incorrectly called salamanders, and put them on the grass where they would take turns in throwing knives at the poor amphibians. These boys took pleasure in the suffering they caused the newts and it made me sad but I was too scared to stop them because I knew they would beat me up. I didn’t like a lot of boys. I found them violent and destructive. I much preferred being out in nature on my own or with a few good friends I trusted. Boys I didn’t know, and many boys I did know, I began seeing as a source of potential danger to be avoided. This was to go into my ideas about male humans, so I grew up thinking men and boys were more dangerous than women and girls.
But getting back to the newts, it was many years later and I was in my late teens but still living at home. I had seen an advert for the Cardiff Naturalists Trust and thought it would be a good idea to get in touch with these people to tell them about the great crested newts, which I knew were very rare. Incidentally, my good friend and fellow author C.J. Stone has also told this story. Anyway, I wrote a letter and sent it to the address of the organisation, and in due course, I received a reply from someone who was in charge, thanking me for my information but saying he had done a “preliminary pond dip” but had found no evidence of great crested newts in the pond, as I had described. He asked if it would be OK if he called on me so I should show him some of these newts and asked me to catch a few. I agreed to this and caught some great crested newts and put them in a bucket. When the man and his wife called at my parents’ house I was all ready to show them I was correct. The man in charge of the Cardiff Naturalists group was amazed but could see for himself that I had some specimens of this species. He asked if we could go up to the pond so I could show him how I caught them. I put my boots on and off we set in his car. When we got to the pond I waded slowly into the water, parted some of the floating grasses and weeds, spotted a newt and grabbed it. “Got one,” I said, as I put the newt into my bucket. “And another,” I added as I caught one more. Within about 10 minutes I had managed to catch several great crested newts and showed the man from the naturalists group how I did it. He was impressed and thanked me again, saying he would see to it that some work was done to make sure the pond was a safe habitat for this rare species of amphibian in future. I was glad I had got in touch with the Cardiff Naturalists and felt proud of my efforts. My attitude was to change drastically though many weeks later when I saw what had been done to the pond in The Dell. Large masses of weeds and grass had been dredged out and thrown on the banks, big spaces of open water had been created, and marginal vegetation had been cut back or destroyed. The pond was no longer wild, like Mother Nature intended. It had been cleaned up and made to fit what people thought it should be like. People like big spaces of water but newts don’t because they can easily be seen by predators.
They like weedy ponds where they can hunt, look for mates, and lay their eggs. I regretted my part in having alerted the local organisation to this, and have carried that regret onward because there were never anywhere near as many newts there after that. In the years that followed further work was done at the pond. Water lilies were planted, a big space of open water was kept that way, a wooden landing stage was erected, so people could look out over the pond more easily, and the grass and plants that grew around the edges were often cut back. Now admittedly the pond looked a lot nicer, more like a pond you might have in a painting or on a postcard perhaps, but a lot of wildlife stayed away, apart from some ducks.
Ducks at The Dell (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Footnote: The above article is taken from an unfinished book of memoirs I started writing. Fortunately in many ways, due to the economic crisis and government cuts, the pond is not being tended to any more and vegetation has returned all around it and in it, as you can see in my photos, which were taken in 2015.
