Mammals

If you read my first blog, you may remember I set out to capture video of Pine Martens at Gilfach, setting several camera traps. I have been checking footage from them every 2 weeks or so, a tedious task, especially when so many videos have been triggered by windblown vegetation — I've learnt it's an art placing a camera trap to detect animals and not the wind!

Efforts eventually paid off after reviewing one batch of footage; the bushy tail and yellow bib of a Marten appeared on my computer screen! This is the first confirmed evidence that Pine Martens are on the reserve, and it's great to know they are using the reserve after their reintroduction to Mid-Wales 11 years ago.

The Pine Marten has not been the only highlight of the camera traps. By potluck, I placed one camera facing a fox den and obtained footage of playfighting cubs. Another trap is in a Roe Deer hotspot, with regular footage of a female doe, her two fawns and a male buck. With so much deer footage, there is plenty of interesting footage of behaviour. This includes a video of the buck courting the doe, chasing her whilst huffing to impress. It is currently the rutting season, hence the efforts of the male, and I often hear his loud and eerie territorial bark when I go to check the trap.

Badgers are also regular sightings, both on camera traps but also in person. I led a nocturnal safari walk where we were treated to brilliant views of badgers emerging from a sett!

Moths and Butterflies

Although the reserve's yellowing vegetation would appreciate some rain, the dry spring/summer so far has been phenomenal conditions for moths.

I have been setting a light trap at Gilfach visitor centre almost weekly since the start of my internship and have so far recorded 249 species and about 1,700 individual moths. Back in June, one warm night resulted in 106 species and about 400 individual moths, the biggest catch yet!

Highlights for visitors who joined me included the large and impressive Poplar and Elephant Hawkmoths. Another favourite is the Garden Tiger; one morning there were five striking individuals with their black and white patchwork forewings.

There have also been a few rarities. I recently had two Least Carpets, a small and delicate-looking moth in the family Geometridae. This turned out to be only the second record for Radnorshire!

As with moths, butterflies are in abundance due to the weather, and the Gilfach ranger volunteers have been busy with butterfly transects. One species regularly sighted is the Painted Lady, a multi-generational migrant species that moves north from Sub-Saharan Africa across successive generations. In fact, this year may be a once-in-a-decade 'Painted Lady year', when there is a particularly high abundance caused by favourable migratory and breeding conditions here in the UK.

A more unusual species recorded is the Clouded Yellow, a beautiful butterfly with sulphury yellow wings. Like the Painted Lady, this is a multi-generational migrant from Africa and Southern Europe, reaching Radnorshire thanks to the warm weather. Other species include plentiful Meadow Brown and Ringlet, Purple Hairstreak and three species of fritillary: Dark Green, Small Pearl-bordered and Silver-washed Fritillary.

The Long-Horned Bee

The Long-Horned Bee is a species that has been the subject of annual searches by the Gilfach rangers, only being discovered in Radnorshire within the last decade.

The male bee gives the species its name, with unmistakable long antennae, and it's one of the largest species of solitary bee in the UK. Prior to being spotted at Gilfach in 2018, this Nationally Scarce A species was only thought to be present coastally in Wales, with inland records incredibly rare.

Gilfach therefore holds a unique population, and this year multiple males have been spotted. I have been lucky enough to spot a few elsewhere in the county, including RWT's Rhosgoch Meadow and Rhayader Tunnel sites, so it must be an especially good year for them. Interestingly, all sightings have been males feeding on the flowers of Meadow Vetchling. For this reason, I would say it's their favourite flower, and I recommend doing a bee stakeout if you see a patch yourself, with adults on the wing between May and July. However, no females have been spotted this year, although they have much shorter, less conspicuous antennae and are probably overlooked.

To sum up, the array of species I have been lucky to see at Gilfach is testament to the survey and recording methods I have been using as a conservation intern. I greatly enjoyed sharing wildlife finds with volunteers and the public, from moths to Pine Martens, and I am looking forward to another 3 months of monitoring Gilfach's wildlife.