I paid a short visit to Pwll Waun Cynon nature reserve around midday and amongst other things, was pleased to see a pair of teal and a pair of kingfishers on the river, both firsts for the year. A singing chiff chaff was also a first for the year and a welcome sound.
Butterflies abounded, particularly Small Tortoiseshell, of which I saw around a dozen, plus 4 Peacocks, 2 Brimstone and 1 comma.
While there I measured the girth of the large ash tree in the part of the reserve to the west of the railway line. I measured it just above the flare of the root buttress so as to get as true a measurement as possible and the girth (circumference) at that point is 4525mm. That's nearly fifteen feet! I have tried and failed to use the forestry commission's method of calculating a tree's age, but using the usual 2.5cm of girth per year rule of thumb, that makes it around 180 years old, which doesn't seem that much for something that size.
Well done on the Wigeon, why did I do my WeBS yesterday and not today!
ReplyDeleteBugger!!!! Did I write wigeon? I meant teal.
ReplyDeleteI had one Teal on the river and nine on the lake.
ReplyDelete