Seeing the Changes 66

More unseasonally warm weather with the Dandelion (Taraxacum vulgaria) in flower throughout Loughor, Bynea and Pennard. In Pennard, they were being visited by an early Drone-fly (Eristalis tenax). Another, more typically coloured, Spring crocus (Crocus albiflorus) was in flower in Loughor but probably another garden escapee! Also in Loughor, Chickweed wintergreen (Trientalis europaea) was in flower near the river and at, Bynea, the Alder (Alnus glutinosa) was full of green catkins. The semi-wild Gower ponies also decided to cross the Loughor river today.

To Subsidise or Not to Subsidise: That is the Question

It has just been announced by the Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones,(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7230639.stm) that the National Botanic Garden Wales at Llanarthe, Carmarthenshire is to have its £1.9m debt written off by public money in a 'one-off grant' from the National Assembly. The annual grant it receives from the Assembly will also rise from a current £150,000 pa to a possible £550,000. Further good news for the £43m garden is that Carmarthenshire County Council will convert a loan of £1.35m that they made to the centre to a grant, as well as providing a package of financial support matched by that from the Assembly. All this should help to finally place the NBGW on a firm financial footing (although the size of the Assembly Government's annual grant will be reconsidered in 2010) and is linked to the meeting of 'recovery targets' as well as the development of science and education programmes. One can't help but link the announcement to the earlier wiping out of the £13.5m debt of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff which was accompanied by a trebling of its annual grant (something for the regions?). There is no doubt that operating and establishing any centre like the NBGW takes time and money. Many of the earlier projections when the garden was set up were hopelessly optimistic (its location is not perfect). The latest available visitor number is actually around 102,000 pa so a projected number for this year of 125,000 still sounds a tad hopeful. It is, however, a nice place to visit and can be viewed as a regional asset, although I suspect that such entities appeal to a limited proportion of the general population. The money has certainly had to come from somewhere and voices are already being raised about the effects of potential cuts elsewhere. I have some sympathy as it is very difficult for governing bodies to deal with an issue like this. The garden is already established and has already received masses of Lottery and Public monies. The only options are to give it more support (in the perhaps remote hope that the operation will eventually become self-financing) or to pull the plug, accepting the loss of the facility and the investment. Neither option is very attractive and, in a sense, the NBGW has obtained museum status.

Seeing the Changes 65

It must be spring as the Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) is flowering in Bynea!

Who's Wind is it Anyhow?

A detailed account has been provided of the 'hot' debate surrounding a £500m proposal to site an arc of 181 wind turbines (each around 140m high) on an estimated 2% of the moors of north Lewis in the Hebrides (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/04/windpower.renewableenergy). Amec and British Energy have proposed the scheme that they estimate will generate 600 mw (i.e. around 10% of Scotland's renewable electricity and reducing the emission of carbon dioxide and other 'greenhouse' gases). Originally, they envisaged a larger scheme generating a 1000 mw. Even the smaller scheme will require the building of 88 miles of access road, creation of 6 new quarries, construction of 8 electricity sub-stations and erecting more than 100 pylons. The companies are offering £2000 per annum in rent for each crofter on the island. The scheme is supported by the Western Isles Council who see the wind farm as being essential to the island's economy (a recent study suggested that this was 'fragile', depending on more than £150m of state subsidies per annum). The Stornoway Trust that owns much of the targeted moorland also favours the development, with its estate manager (Iain MacIver) claiming that rejection of the wind farm would compromise the council's ambition to make the Western Isles 'a hub for renewable energy'. Ranged against them are the vast majority of Lewis crofters and tourists to the region who claim that the moor is one of the 'most ecologically significant peat bogs in Europe' and provides 'extremely fragile, internationally protected habitats' for a wide range of bird species including the Golden eagle and the Red-throated diver. The Scottish Executive (perhaps being mindful of votes?) is 'minded to refuse' the scheme and the Scottish National Party MSP for the area, Alasdair Allan, has claimed that the scheme is 'simply too big, too brutal for Lewis'. He suggests more subsidies such as substantial cuts in ferry fares to rebuild the local economy. It seems to me that these kinds of debate are always going to occur in such situations. Not much hope for global warming, if these issues can't be resolved at local levels.

Life in Cold Blood

The 'last' or latest (depending on how it is viewed) of David Attenborough's natural history series commenced last night (http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/01_january/08/cold.shtml) dealing with Linnaeus' 'foul and loathsome' amphibia and reptiles. The programme was actually quite sympathetic to these diverse and interesting animals and emphasised the point that the reptiles in particular are not actually 'cold blooded' (it's just that they don't use very much of their own metabolism to 'power' a high body temperature, generally relying on solar power to fuel much of their vigorous activity). Reptiles are actually on a weight for weight basis more efficient than mammals (certainly in terms of the food that they require). This was very nicely illustrated using thermal camera images to assess the diving activities of the Marine iguanas of the Galapagos that have to heat up by basking on the rocks before they can dive under a cold sea (for a very finite time) to browse on seaweed. New pieces of information (for me at least) was the filming of a frog that also basks and produces its own 'sun cream' that it assiduously spreads on its body and the revelation that the Leather-back turtle is the only living reptile that has the equivalent of blubber (enabling it to deal with cold seas). I found the speculation about the possible temperature regulatory abilities of dinosaurs (with cherry pickers and a starting bone from a T. rex) a bit 'gimmicky'. The giant boa consuming a deer head first was a bit predictable but still very graphic. The tiny pygmy chameleon of Madagascar was impressively small. Much was made in the programme about the 'emotional warmth' of these animals illustrated by flashing of neck skin in Anolis lizards, fighting in tortoises, horned chameleons and Strawberry frogs, 'tasteful' mating in Saltwater crocodiles and Painted terrapins, brood defence in salamanders and parental care in Spectacled caimen. Some of this involves a certain degree of anthropomorphism. The programme dealt well with the impact of environmental temperature on sex determination in many reptile species and the abilities of some reptiles to hibernate even when ice crystals form in their bodies. It may come up later but I think it was a pity (given many of the examples used in the programme) that more wasn't made about the characteristics of reptiles (energy efficiency, egg laying habit, ability to hibernate and to modify sex on the basis of environmental temperature) probably facilitating their abilities to become early colonisers of remote Oceanic islands. They often arrived well in advance of mammals who often required human agencies to transport them. I await the continuation with interest.

Birder's Bonus 10

Invasion of the Wood Pigeon
It has been reported that the Wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) is now the UK's commonest pigeon (out numbering the feral Domestic pigeon Columba livia) with more than 3.5 million breeding pairs. Whereas the Domestic pigeon receives a bad 'press' as the 'flying rat', Wood pigeons appear to be generally approved. Actually, the former bird (once considered a war 'hero' in its messenger mode) seem to be largely condemned as a result of their tendency to defaecate prominently in white on public buildings which is hardly their fault (although it may result in costly cleaning programmes and damage) as these edifaces are the closest approximation to cliffs on which these domesticated derivatives of the Rock dove can roost. Defaecation in the Wood pigeon appears to be more 'discrete'. The Wood pigeon is now becoming much more common in urban gardens. This pigeon actually only needs trees to rest and roost in so actual 'woods' are not a prerequisite for them. This relative of the dove feeds voraciously on cabbage, sprouts, peas and grain (it will also eat buds, shoots, seeds, nuts and berries). It is said to particularly like Ivy berries. The bird's population increase in towns may basically represent 'over-spill' from increased breeding in the country due to the provision of round-the-year food as a result of recently changed crop patterns. This 'portly' species does not find it easy to feed from bird feeders but apparently makes a good living by foraging for the grains displaced from these devices by smaller birds and from food items scattered on the ground. I also suspect that their size gives them a degree of protection from the attentions of cats, making feeding in such locations less dangerous than for a sparrow or a blackbird.

Seeing the Changes 64

In spite of strong winds and a sprinkle of snow in Gorseinon following a frosty night, the Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) and the Common field speedwell (Veronica persica) are in flower. Hazel (Corylus avellana) catkins are prominent and the Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) buds are bursting. In Loughor, Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) is starting to flower. In Gorseinon, Loughor and Bynea, the Annual nettle (Urtica urens) shoots are poking through.