Talks, Walks and Courses

Available during 2015/2016

Hello and welcome.

Thank you for taking an interest in Ecology Cymru and I invite you to take a look at what we have on offer both on-going and in particular during 2015.

There is a selection of power point talks available on a variety of subjects and a list of places to visit as part of our guided nature walk series.

Our rates are excellent and talks and walks can be for both groups and individuals set at a time to meet your needs and available either during the day or evening at a venue of your choice.

For talks our own equipment is provided although we do take advantage if a screen is available at a given location.

Please look through the different pages to see what is of interest to you and your group and contact me to discuss dates and times at no obligation. I can be contacted on 07530 627034. Alternatively please email me on: ecologycymru@gmail.com

We also offer several bird courses which look at how to identify birds and improve your skills and confidence and a course which teaches how to conduct bird surveys looking at vantage point surveys and tetrad line surveys.

Finally our walks section looks at the list of sites which we lead guided walks too. This is not exhaustible and if your group has a site they wish to be taken round then we can accommodate that to, with birds, wildlife, plants and fungi of interest pointed out along the way.

In Section 1 you will find a list of power point talks. Section 2 covers our guided walks series and Section 3 looks at our bird related courses.

Further information about what I do can be found at our website. Please visit www.ecologycymru.co.uk

Section 1 Power Point Talks

Travels of a natural history enthusiast. Capture my travels both in the UK and to European destinations looking at views, birds, plants, fungi,

insects and much more and appreciating what I see when visiting some magical places.

MAINLAND Spain

Looking at a variety of landscape images, birds, wildlife, plants, insects and much more on my travels

throughout many regions of mainland Spain.

You will see what I get to see when travelling through the many regions of this beautiful country.

The wonders of Mallorca.

Explore this beautiful island with me, see where I go to watch birds and wildlife, enjoy some

spectacular views, learn plenty about the island’s history and see an array of birds, plants, animals, breath-taking coastal and mountain views and many other features.

THE wildlife of the Greek island of Lesbos

Learn more about the birds, wildlife and of course the magnificent views of this stunning Aegean island.

We will explore the different habitats, look at a variety of wildlife and plants and enjoy spectacular coastal views along with some of the history including an aquaduct built in the reign of Pompeii.

Gardens and Wildlife

Here we look at the different plants, animals, insects and birds that all go towards making a garden a haven for wildlife to enjoy.

We also look at some of the species that can cause havoc in the garden environment too. A very interesting and informative talk with plenty of wildlife gardening tips.

THE MAGICAL WORLD OF PLANTS AND FUNGI

This talk is packed with a huge variety of plants and fungi to be found locally. Enjoy looking at plants and fungi with a fun guy and seeing many different species found on my more local travels.

Wildlife Quiz

A very enjoyable quiz delivered by power point. This will test your identity skills as the species look

much larger and slightly different on a big screen. Great fun!

Caring for your garden birds

Here we have a selection of bird pictures showing the diverse range of species to be found in the garden and tips on how to attract birds, what to feed them, what not to feed them, when to feed them and more.

WILDLIFE – A GENERAL VIEW

Here we look at a variety of wildlife from insects and reptiles, to amphibians to birds.

Section 2: Guided Nature Walks

Our walks cover all types of habitats and run throughout the year. A risk assessment is carried out prior to the walk commencing and no risks are taken whatsoever. On some walks (not bird related walks) dogs are allowed but they must be kept on a lead. Please enquire about this.

Walks can be for the individual who wishes perhaps to learn more about identifying birds, wildlife and plants or be shown areas ideal for photo opportunities. Walks are available for groups from any background and also for schools as well.

Following is a list of the main sites we regularly visit. However if you have a site you would like to be guided around then we can accommodate this too.

All walks are conducted at a leisurely pace with flora and fauna of interest pointed out along the way. Times and distances vary on each walk but any walk can be specifically tailored to your time scale and level of fitness.

All the walks start and finish at the same place so there is no need to rely on transport at the end.

Finally for the more adventurous individual or groups we also lead guided breaks abroad. Our main destination is the island of Mallorca for a huge variety of Mediterranean species. We also visit the Greek island of Lesbos and mainland Spain too.

Please email for further information. Well recommended.

ecologycymru@gmail.com

A selection of some of the many sites on offer for our selection of guided walks.

Commons and open farmland:

Caerphilly Common circular walk (two separate routes)

Rudry Common

Egwlysilan Common

Gelligaer and Merthyr Commons

Woodlands:

Cefn Onn Ridge

Coed Ruppera

Draethen beech woods

Forestry and woodland mix:

Warren Forest

Wern Ddu Forest (SSSI site for its geology).

Mixed habitats:

Caerphilly circular

Watford circular

Rudry circular walk

Craig-y-Allt to Castle Coch circular

Forest Farm Nature Reserve

Tal-y-Bont canal walk

Tal-y-Bont circular walk

Warbler alley to the sea wall (Newport)

Mountains and moorland:

Mynydd Dimlaith

The Blorenge

Llangynidr Mountain

Painscastle moors

Erwood (including Llewellyn’s cave)

The Llanbedr Horseshoe

Pen-y-Fan

Storey Arms Roman road and the surrounding ridge.

The coast:

Llantwit Major to Aberthaw

Ogmore Estuary

Merthyr Mawr dunes

Kenfig Nature Reserve and Sker Point

Uskmouth Nature Reserve

Goldcliff Reserve

Peterstone Sluice Farm and the sea wall

Section 3: Bird Courses.

We have two specific courses available with one looking at bird identification and the other focusing on bird survey techniques. We use two venues, one at the education centre in Bute Park in Cardiff and the other in the Rhymney Valley to allow people flexibility in getting to the venues.

Each course runs all day and consists of indoor lectures and demonstrations and also incorporates walks out in the field to see the bird species and to put what has been learned into practice.

Course 1. How to identify birds.

This course is designed to improve your identification skills confidently by using an elimination process to narrow down the species you are looking at. We begin by looking at some bird pictures via power point followed by looking at what makes a bird such as feet, beaks, skulls, feathers and eggs. These items are brought along for you to see and hold and get a feel of their weight and texture.

Next we learn how to use field guides to eliminate the species with some practice sessions packed with tips on how to narrow down the species you are looking at.

After dinner we will be taking a walk in the field through a variety of habitats to put what has been learned into practice by looking for as many different bird species as possible and using tips as to what they are.

This course will definitely improve your bird identification skills and confidence.

Also on this course we will looking at bird signs such as pellets, feathers, droppings, nest holes and other distinctive features that you can find out in the wild.

Course 2. Bird survey techniques.

Here we look at how to conduct a bird survey whether it is for the garden or for a site (whatever size) prior to development. It follows the principles used by ecologists and incorporates a number of useful training tips.

During this course you will look at the different kinds of surveys such as winter bird counts, roost counts, nest box monitoring, vantage point surveys (for wind turbine sites) and breeding bird surveys.

You will be shown how to assess a site to set out where your route tetrad lines will go, what contributing flora and fauna may be on a site that could attract bird species and how to write your notes down in the field including meter circles for vantage point surveys.

Undertaking bird surveys is great fun and does need to be a daunting prospect if you follow some basic rules and tips which we will show you during the course.

We will also be walking into a large field to put into practice how best to set out the tetrad lines and vantage points. We also look at preparing a survey report covering everything from recommendations to data.

Thank you for taking the time to see what we have on offer.

For further information please email ecologycymru@gmail.com or telephone 07530627034.

You can see more about what we do by visiting our website at www.ecologycymru.co.uk