Young Rangers conserving the countryside
This year young people have been getting stuck into conservation work across the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, with two ‘Young Ranger’ groups up and running in the area.
Young Rangers is perfect for young people who want to learn more about the amazing landscape on their doorstep and don’t mind getting messy working and exploring in the great outdoors. The Young Ranger groups get involved in practical conservation work, wildlife surveying, visit ancient hillforts and enjoy recreational activities available to us locally.
The Clwydian Range Young Rangers group is based at Moel Famau and Loggerheads Country Park, and is open to young people aged 11 to 18. This group started in 2012, and past young rangers have continued to volunteer with the Countryside service as young adults with one now a member of staff.
The Dee Valley Young started just over a year ago. Open to 11-16 year olds, this group have undertaken a wide range of activities working alongside some of our partner organisations and learning about the importance of the work taking place in the Valley.
Young Rangers helping the Canal and Rivers Trust with some cutting back at the Llangollen Mooring Basin. This was then rewarded with an afternoon of canoeing on the canal!
A very cold morning was spent helping the Llangollen Heritage Railway clear vegetation from the railway embankment. This will allow passengers to enjoy a view of the River Dee. In the afternoon they were kindly given a tour of the working railway sheds in Llangollen by volunteer, Bob Jacques.
Young Rangers have worked on Coed Pen y Pigyn near Corwen which we manage in partnership with Natural Resource Wales. They take out invasive tree species and coppice others to help bring the woodland back into a good condition. They also practice their bush craft skills and explore the area.
Ros Stockdale, Community Partnership Officer for the AONB in the Dee Valley said “It’s great to get young people out into the countryside learning new skills and about the area that they live in. We have a great summer of events coming up where we’ll hopefully encounter some of the amazing wildlife we have here”
If you would like more information about our Young Ranger Groups, please contact: -
Clwydian Range group: Rachel Jones - 01824 712747 - rachel.jones@denbighshire.gov.uk
Dee Valley group: Ros Stockdale - 01824 712794 - ros.stockdale@denbighshire.gov.uk
Gronant Little Tern Colony
The Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) is an unmistakeable seabird easily recognised by a black eye-stripe, a white forehead and a yellow bill with a small black tip. Each spring, the Little Tern travels from west Africa to nest on sand or shingle beaches, spits or small inshore islands around much of the British coastline. Since the 1980s, the population of Little Terns has declined by 50% due to the development of coastal breeding habitat, human disturbance and high levels of predation. Consequently, many colonies are extensively managed in order to protect Little Tern numbers across Britain.
Gronant, near Prestatyn is the only Little Tern colony in Wales. Since 2005, it has been managed by Denbighshire Countryside Service. At Gronant, electric fencing is constructed around suitable breeding habitat to protect Little Tern nests from predators such as foxes (Vulpes vulpes), stoats (Mustela erminea), weasels (Mustela nivalis) and hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). A perimeter rope is also erected to prevent disturbance from members of the general public visiting the beach. During the season, wardens are employed to monitor breeding birds, engage with the general public, maintain protective fencing and scare away predators. Funding for the wardens is provided by Denbighshire Countryside Service, Presthaven Caravan Park and the Welsh Assembly Government. To help protect the Gronant Little Tern colony, Denbighshire Countryside Service is supported by local volunteers. Last year, they donated over 860 hours of work resulting in the most successful season at Gronant since 2010. In total, 141 chicks fledged from 170 breeding pairs of Little Terns.
Denbighshire Countryside Service is a partner in the EU LIFE+ Nature Little Tern Recovery Project lead by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This project is a five-year partnership between 11 organisations working together to ensure the long-term future of Little Terns in Britain. Since 2013, EU LIFE+ funding has increased public awareness, provided new equipment and employed additional members of staff. As part of this project, a colour ringing programme was also introduced to find out more about Little Terns including when they start breeding, their movements between nesting colonies and their lifespan. This information will help form long-term conservation plans. Little Terns with colour rings have already started been spotted at Gronant. Last season, three 1-year old non-breeding birds from Kilcoole, Ireland were spotted on the beach in late July and early August. Previously, scientists believed Little Terns stayed in west Africa until they were ready to breed at 2 years old.
The 2017 season started very well for the Little Terns at Gronant. The first Little Tern nest was found on 15th May, then over the next 10 days more than 80 nests were discovered. Unfortunately, the conditions at Gronant became very challenging at the end of May. On 26th and 27th May, 9.9m high tides hit the north Wales coast. Despite a monumental effort by Denbighshire Countryside Service staff and volunteers to move nests to safety, approximately 20 were flooded. This was followed by extremely high winds on 6th and 7th June and the Little Terns were forced to sit bravely on their nests until the winds dropped. The Little Terns are extremely tough seabirds and they have shown huge resilience against the difficult conditions at Gronant. We should be seeing the first fledged birds by mid-July and it is only then we will know if it has been a successful season or not.
We welcome new volunteers to help protect this delightful, chattering seabird at Gronant. For more information, please email littleterns@denbighshire.gov.uk or phone 01745 356197.
If you cannot volunteer, you can show your support by becoming a member of the North Wales Little Tern Group. Funds raised from this group helps protect Little Terns in north Wales. This group has already raised over £500 to put towards a new viewing hide for monitoring the Little Terns at Gronant. For £5 membership, you will receive a welcome pack, a regular newsletter and an invitation to the end of season event. If you would like to become a member, please email nwlittletern@gmail.com.
Pens 2 and 3 inundated by high tides on Saturday 26th May
Volunteers clearing debris from electric fencing
Little tern taking off from nest
Take the Lead in our countryside
Take the lead in the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) by putting your dog on a lead.
The Warden team of the AONB and the Council have launched a campaign targeting dog owners to be responsible when taking their dogs for a walk in the countryside.
Popular destinations such as Moel Famau Country Park are experiencing increased sheep worrying incidents which is an offence by law and could lead to the destruction of the dog.
Tom Jones, Trainee Warden explains “With an increase in livestock attacks in recent weeks we would like to remind visitors and users of the countryside that this is agricultural land much of which is covered by heather and gorse which means it might not always be possible to see sheep and lambs.”
Working with North Wales Police Rural Crimes team, the AONB and the Council have produced short films on social media and designed new posters and leaflets highlighting key messages.
Over the past month wardens have been out and about talking to dog owners about the campaign and have received a good response and are continuing to educate owners about their responsibilities in the countryside.
BBC Springwatch visit Gronant Dunes
The team from BBC Springwatch joined the Council’s Ecology Officer, Joel Walley, and colleagues from Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Flintshire County Council and a range of other volunteers at Gronant Dunes, to shine a spotlight on Wales’ rarest reptile, the Sand Lizard.
The Sand Lizard is Wales’ only egg laying lizard, and is a European protected species due to its rarity. Male sand lizards are very striking, having bright green flanks. Females and juveniles are brown, and all forms have distinctive dark spots with pale centres called ‘oceli’. Female Sand Lizards lay eggs in shallow tunnels in sand exposed to the sun, in late May and early June. Young lizards hatch between August and early October and are immediately independent.
Sand Lizards became extinct in Wales in the 1960s, but a partnership project with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC), Flintshire County Council, Chester Zoo, Private breeders and a team of volunteers saw the rare reptiles reintroduced back to the Denbighshire coast in 2004.
Springwatch Presenters Iolo Williams and Martin Hughes-Games broadcast live from the dune system on Thursday 1st June 2017. You can watch the programme below.
If you would like further information or to get involved with the conservation of Denbighshire’s Sand Lizards, then please visit Denbighshire Countryside's website or e-mail biodiversity@denbighshire.gov.uk.
