In June Cofnod helped to arrange two wildlife recording events. On the 4th June we held a Recorder’s Day at Penisarwaun and visited Green Gates Nature Reserve on the 13th June.
Our Penisarwaun event was held at a series of wet meadow fields, close to the owner’s home. After a morning of recording we were treated to homemade soup and bread, kindly provided by Elizabeth. This welcome sustenance is almost becoming a tradition at Cofnod Recording Days! Over lunch we had the opportunity to see two different species of Tardigrades in fantastic microscopic detail. It was great to see these enigmatic creatures crawling about on a large computer screen. We resumed recording in the afternoon and amazingly dodged the worst of the rain until the very end of the day.
Green Gates is Denbighshire Council’s new Nature Reserve, so new in fact that it hasn’t been opened to the public yet. Lots of new ponds and wildlife infrastructure have been installed at this location, which also hosts a native tree nursery. We were given privileged access to the newly constructed Beaver enclosure, a large high-fenced area that wouldn’t look out of place at Jurassic Park. Of course, before entering through the heavy metal gates, we had to ask “So, do you have a T. rex?” Sadly no T. rex or Beavers here yet, but recorders were very keen to see what other wildlife was present in the area. These records should make for an interesting comparison in the years to come as the site develops.
On the Record
On the Record is our monthly online newsletter. It's full of interesting information about local wildlife recording, including that month's events and what to look out for in our Species Focus feature. Subscribe now to get next month's issue .