ARC's Connecting the Dragons Project Officer, Tawny Clark shares some of the wonderful results of the survey season just passed.

Gwanwyn cribog gwych!

(Read in English)

Yn ystod Gwanwyn gwelir ymdrech enfawr ei'n wirfoddolwyr, gyda thymor arolygi byllau prysur, a chanlyniadau gwych. Gyda mwy na thrideg o byllau wedi arolygi ar draws de Cymru eleni, Mae wedi bod yn ffantastig i gadarnhau presenoldeb madfallod ddŵr cribog mewn nifer o safleoedd allweddol. Ar y cyfan, niferodd bach, ond mewn un pwll arbennig cawsom gyfrif o dros nawdeg unigolyn!

Wrth gydweithio gyda'n phartneriaid at draws de Cymru, ac wedi' galluogi gan Gronfa Treftadaeth y Loteri Genedlaethol, mae'r pyllau yma - crëwyd yn ystod Cysylltu'r dreigiau - yn achubith i amryw o fywyd gwyllt. Yn penodol rhywogaethau megis amffibiaid (ei'n ffefryn), sy'n ddibynol ar ddwr oherwydd ei chylchoedd bywyd anhygoel. Mae'n wych I'm weld yn ffynnu.

Yr uchafbwynt, i fi, oedd ffeindio wyau madfall y dŵr cribog mewn safle lle nad oeddent wedi' recordio yn bridio - mewn pwll arall a chrëwyd gan Gysylltu'r Dreigiau! Mae newid yn aml yn araf. Mae effeithiau positif rheolaeth cynefinoedd a chadwraeth yn cymryd flynyddoedd, weithiau ddegawdau iddynt fod yn fesuradwy. I brofi'n uniongyrchol effaith ei'n waith ar rywogaethau fygwthiedig, yn fraint, ac yn atgof canoledig bod cadwraeth dda yn gwneud gwahaniaeth.

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A Great (Crested) Spring!

(Darllen yn Gymraeg)

Spring saw a sterling effort from our wonderful volunteers, with a busy pond survey season, and some egg-cellent results. With upwards of thirty ponds surveyed across South Wales this year, it’s been fantastic to confirm the continuing presence of great crested newts at a number of key locations. Mostly small numbers, but we did get a record count of over ninety in one very special pond!

In collaboration with our invaluable partner organisations across South Wales, and made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, these ponds - created during the Connecting the Dragons project - are a lifeline to so much native wildlife. Particularly species like amphibians (our favourite), whose fascinating lifecycles mean that their aquatic eggs and larvae are dependent on water. It’s brilliant to see them doing well.

A real highlight for me has been finding great crested newt eggs at a site with no previous records of breeding – in yet another pond created by Connecting the Dragons! Change can be slow. The positive effects of habitat management and conservation may take years, sometimes decades, to be measurable. To experience first-hand the direct impact our work has on our threatened species, is an absolute privilege, and an encouraging reminder that when conservation is done well, we can make a difference. 

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