Plas Dol y Moch Weather Data for November 2012

Month / Year	November 2012
Days of precipitation	26
Total precipitation mm.	207.8
Maximum precipitation mm.	24.8 (22nd)
Average temperature 0C	6.7
Maximum temperature 0C	14.8 (20th)
Minimum temperature 0C	-2.7 (29th)
Average wind speed mph.	0.9
Maximum wind speed mph.	44 (22nd)
Dominant wind direction	ENE

                                        As you can see our unsettled weather continued through November with only 5 dry days in the month! In two days time the Winter Soltice (21st December) will occur where the period of  daylight is the shortest of the year.From then on daylight increases to a maximum on the 21st June ( Summer Soltice).Birds respond to increasing daylight by singing (in preparation for breeding).Between now and early January listen out for the 'tiss wit'call of the Great Tit,a sure sign that spring is on the way!

Winter has arrived

This is a view of Snowdon photographed on the 5th of December looking from the marshes near Porthmadog. For much of November, and up till now (9th December), the tops have been white with snow so it must be winter? However some consider that Winter starts on the 1st of December although the 21st of December, the winter solstice, is considered to be the official date.Whatever the date, it is a good time to visit the marshes, lakes and seashore to watch birds, particularly ducks, geese and waders that over-winter in these habitats. At Borth y Gest we watched Wigeon, Oystercatcher, Redshank and a Little Egret feeding amongst the mud and sand as the tide went out. In the garden, the odd butterfly was still about in November; a Red Admiral was seen on the 5th, and a Speckled Wood on the 10th. Bats are still flying near the rock-climbing room and a nice slimy eel was discovered in the suitably named Slimy Pond...........don't fall in!

Plas Dol y Moch weather Data-October 2012

During October the weather remained unsettled with a deluge of rain on the 2nd causing widespread flooding.Temperatures dipped on the 27th to give us our first frost of the winter.I mentioned in my last blog that we usually get our first dusting of snow on Snowdon in October.....but not this time.However,we woke on the 1st of November and guess what, Snowdon was white with snow!Plas Dol y Moch Weather Data

Month / Year	October 2012
Days of precipitation	24
Total precipitation mm.	220.6
Maximum precipitation mm.	51.8 (2nd)
Average temperature 0C	9.6
Maximum temperature 0C	16.8 (23rd)
Minimum temperature 0C	-0.6 (27th)
Average wind speed mph.	0.8
Maximum wind speed mph.	24 (17th)
Dominant wind direction	ENE

Plas Dol y Moch Weather Data

Many schools in Coventry have their own weather stations.Why not compare your data with that of Dol y Moch......are there any differences? For example,how many wet 'days'  did you have in September?What was the highest temperature recorded?
More about the 'Weather' in the next blog.........and don't forget,we usually get our first dusting of snow on Snowdon this month (Oct.)!

Help the Butterflies

This summer has been terrible for butterflies.The cool damp weather has had a disastrous effect on their breeding resulting in fewer butterflies in our gardens.Those that have survived need your help!The Tortoiseshell  shown in the picture is one of our most common butterflies.It breeds twice a year in the spring and autumn, but hibernates from October to March often in houses and garden sheds.If you find one hibernating do not disturb it.Butterflies feed on nectar produced by flowers, and in the autumn they need a good feed to sustain them before hibernation.You can help butterflies survive by growing flowers that produce lots of nectar in your garden at home or school.The Stonecrop or Ice Plant (also shown in the picture) is such a plant and is  especially good as it flowers in the autumn when most other plants have finshed flowering. Butterflies 'love' the Ice plant and I have seen Ice Plants absolutely covered in butterflies,bees and hoverflies enjoying the nectar.So get planting,they are easy to grow,just divide clumps and stick them in the ground in a sunny spot.Lastly I do like the local welsh name for butterflies......Pilli pala.



Slow Worm



Our nest boxes are now empty except for one which now contains a roosting Pipistrelle bat! Both pairs of Pied Flycatchers (mention in previous blogs) successfully raised 6 chicks each; the last chicks leaving their box on the 14^th June. Activity on the bird feeders has dramatically increased during the past few weeks as the young birds (mainly Bluetits) become aware of the food source. Another food source which has been attracting feeding birds are the hundreds of Garden Chafers (beetles) swarming over the lawns and fields. Birds seen feeding on them include Magpies, Jays, Blackbirds and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. At this time of year if you look under large flat stones, logs or sheets of old corrugated iron laying in the garden you might be lucky and find a Slow Worm. This creature is neither a worm nor snake but a legless lizards that looks like a small snake (grows up to 50 cm in length).Best not to handle them as this can cause them to shed their tail! A good spot to find slow worms at Dol Y Moch is the sunny bank and stone wall above the Labyrinth.

Finally returning to our roosting Bat, it must be very well fed at present as tasty midges are out in force due to the recent damp weather……..good news for bats but not so good for us!



Female and male Flycatcher



‘April is the cruellest month’ wrote TS Eliot and this seems to have been the case this April! We have experienced rain, snow, hail, high winds and low temperatures. The upside to this unsettled cool, damp weather is that the countryside is looking very green and lush. Bluebells cover the woodland floor with splashes of white Anemones, Sorrel and Stitchwort.

Our bird boxes are busy places at the moment with nesting birds incubating their eggs. Checking the boxes on the 27^th April we found Great Tits and Blue Tits with eggs, one Blue Tit was sitting on 10 eggs and a Nuthatch had 6 chicks.

High winds on the 28/29^th April brought down lots of trees including one  23 metres  tall which had a nest box attached to it. The Great Tit that was using the box unfortunately abandoned her eggs, however the box was relocated on another tree and hopefully will be used again this year.

More migrant birds have arrived including Pied Flycatchers and Willow Warblers on the 15^th April. A Cuckoo was heard on the 2^nd May and a Wood Warbler on the 8^th.

At the moment two nest boxes are being used by Pied Flycatchers. The Ospreys at the RSPB site near Dol y Moch have 3 eggs.

Nest building

Many of our bird boxes now contain nests under construction,mostly built by Blue tits and Great tits.The entrance holes of some boxes were blocked until a few days ago to make sure there would be boxes available for Pied Flycatchers.These beautiful little birds migrate each spring from Africa to breed in Britain, particularly in the oakwoods of North Wales  often returning to the same nesting site or bird box used the previous year.We are expecting the Pied Flycatchers to arrive any time now along with Willow and Wood Warblers.
Keeping a record of migrant bird arrivals in your garden or school is interesting and fun.In and around Dol y Moch we recorded the arrival of Chiff Chaffs on the 18th of March and  Blackcaps on the 4th of April this year
.Last year's records show arrival dates of the following birds......Pied Flycatcher,3rd April; Willow Warbler, 14th April ;Wood Warbler,17thApril; Cuckoo,19th April

Lambing Time

While driving through the Warwickshire countryside last week, I saw lots of young lambs in the fields and also some older,larger ones which I guess were born earlier in January.Lambing at Dol y Moch farm tends to be later(end of March/beginning of April) because early spring can be wet and windy here and therefore hard on the new born lambs.During lambing time it is possible to see lambs being born in the fields next to the Centre.At this time the farmer will be on the look out for Crows.These birds can attack the newly born lamb, pecking away it's tongue resulting in the lamb starving to death.Coventry children visiting Dol y Moch often ask why welsh sheep have tails whereas those in Warwickshire do not.This is because their tails have been removed to prevent their back end getting too mucky, which in turn can lead to a fatal blowfly  maggot infestation.In North Wales the risk of a blowfly infestation is low, so the lambs get to keep their tails.The welsh farmers also say that a long tail keeps the ewe's milk warmer for the young suckling lambs.

Spring Cleaning

How lovely to hear the birds singing once again.The male birds are singing to attract female birds and to establish their breeding territories.Our bird boxes were already being checked out by    Blue tits in January.Don't forget to give your bird boxes a good spring clean,removing the old nest material and making sure the drainage holes are unblocked.We discovered a group of Field mice snugly curled up in one of our boxes.....of course we left them alone.On the bird feeder this month we have seen....   Blue, Great and Coal tits,Chaffinches,Robins,Nuthatches,Great Spotted Woodpeckers,Siskins and Dunnocks. Please keep feeding the birds......especially during the winter months. 

Spring Flowers

The early signs of Spring (Gwanwyn in welsh ) can be seen and heard in and around Dol y Moch.Being close to the sea and the warming influence of the 'Gulf Stream' means our climate is a little milder than further east in Coventry.As a result Spring arrives earlier in this area of North Wales.Yellow Primroses were in flower in December and we noticed the first Daffodils flowering on the 12th of January in a local village.However at Dol y moch they are just beginning to flower as the Centre is a bit further from the sea.When did you notice the Daffodils start flowering in Coventry? 

Spring is on the way!

During the recent mild and damp weather frogs have been calling and courting.In a local pond we noticed masses of spawn on the 13th of February;we even found frog spawn on the Dol y moch basket ball court a little later!A couple of evening ago ( 27th Feb),  driving home from the Centre, the journey took longer than usual because the damp roads were crawling with frogs making their way to ponds and lakes to breed.I estimate I saw 150 frogs, sadly at least a third had been killed by passing vehicles.Just imagine how many frogs are killed on the roads at this time each year.