A walk down the canal

Date:  2 June 2020 (Day 2 of #30DaysWild 2020)

Location:  Jersey Canal, Briton Ferry
Weather:  Sunny, warm...beautiful :)

Today was the first time I ventured out for a walk since lock-down. I feel ashamed as I have a beautiful canal less than 5 minutes from my home and only today I went down there.

Today was also the first time Dan could come around and sit in the garden since lock-down. It was such a great feeling being outdoors among nature. The canal as changed a lot since I was last there. The paths have been resurfaced and even the dirt path towards Neath is now paved. 

We took the path towards the old Wern works and it wasn't long before we spotted our first bird: The moorhen, she was with two chicks walking among the lily pads (that were flowering and look splendid).

Moorhen

Moorhen chick

We walked a bit further and spotted the swans with their 2 week old cygnets. they were really close to the bank and we were unable to see or get good pictures of them, so we decided to keep walking and hoped we would get better views on the way back. We did spot some domestic ducks, mallard and more juvenile moorhens. Plus some horses grooming each other!

Domestic ducks

Female Mallard with juvenile Moorhen

Horses grooming each other

After we walked past the horses I looked back and took a shot of the canal..it truly is a beautiful place. Our next stop was the big rock (nb: trying to find out some history regarding this rock, is it there for a reason? let me know), I always look in here to see if there is any fish or tadpoles.

The beautiful canal

The large rock...why is it here? Is it some sort of sundial or just decorative?

It was nice to see none of the foliage had been cut back so time to explore for bugs...I didn't see many butterflies just a Small Blue and a Meadow Brown. I did see a few dragonflies and damselflies, but couldn't get a pic of either. I also spotted a ladybird larvae on some brambles. 

Small Blue Butterfly

Meadow Brown Butterfly

Seven spotted ladybird larvae

Interesting rock face

Just before the end of the canal is the old Wern Works. There were a few deliberate entrances so I managed to get a pic of the colourful graffiti inside. In March there had been an illegal rave in there where more than 200 people joined together for an all-night rave. You can read the article here: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/briton-ferry-rave-wern-works-17845656

The old Wern factory

The canal pretty much ends here so we turned around and walked back. We was so happy to see the swans were now on the bank and you could see the parents and 7 cygnets clearly. We never brought any food, but it wasn't long before someone arrived and they all made a beeline to her for their supper :)

Check out this video too: https://www.facebook.com/SandraEvansArt/videos/256752082243500/

So this was pretty much the end of our first walk in three months. It was lovely to be out, exploring and taking photos of what we find. I am hoping to pop down once a week to see how the swans are getting on :)

Day 14 - 30 Days Wild - A nature walk along Neath canal

On Sunday (Day 14) we decided to have a long walk along my local canal. Before we got to the main canal path we climbed up a nearby woodland where we saw the kestrel on day 3.

We had literally only been up there for 10 minutes when there he was, hovering overhead! We could barely believe it - unfortunately the sun was quite strong so all the pics I took of him are just silhouettes, but nevertheless there he was!

The kestrel

In the woodland there are lots of trees and flowers which were teeming with butterflies, birds and moths. Here are just a few of what I could get photos of...

Skipper moth & leaf beetle

Six spot burnet moth

Silver y moth

Coal tit

Jay

Dunnock

Eventually we made it down from the woodland to start our canal walk and were so happy with what we had already seen. The walk we were now going to do was along Neath canal and then back again. 

Once again there was an abundance of nature in the water and along the banks. The amount of insects we discovered was mind blowing!

Lilies on Neath canal

Speckled brown butterfly

Red admiral butterfly

Common blue male butterfly

Common Blue female butterfly

Common carder bee

Blue damselflies mating (look at the heart x)

A variation of the non-native harlequin ladybird

Red tailed bumblebee

There were also lots of different birds in nearby trees and bushes...

Swallows

Robin

Chiffchaff

Bulfinch

Collared dove

...and so many young birds in the water too including moorhens and their chicks!

Two moorhen chicks

A moorhen chick balancing on a lily pad.

Mum and chick and a photobomb from a damselfly on the right

One of the main reasons we visit the canal is to see the swans and the cygnets. The seven cygnets (there were nine originally) are almost five weeks old and growing at a rapid rate!

I bought them premium duck and swan food and they loved it! Dad was a bit cheeky by demanding to be fed by hand, but we made sure everyone had a fair share. 

Dan feeds the swans and here is mum catching it in her beak.

The swan family with dad leading the way.

One of the cygnets with some new head gear!

There was lots of other activity in the canal, including tadpoles that have not got both back and front legs and, unbelievably, terrapins! We had no idea they resided in these waters, but a man saw us taking pics and pointed them out to us - there were three altogether and they were all basking in the sun! 

Tadpoles are almost frogs with tails!

One of the terrapins basking in the lilies.

Apart from the terrapins on of the strangest things I witnessed on our walk was a white spider! After a bit of research I found out that it's a crab spider. What's fascinating about them is they can change their colour to match their background (this can take days to so). The crab spider sits on flowers waiting for insects to land close by, and then pounces on them - trapping them between their crab-like front legs. I have never seen one before and what a strange creature to witness.

Crab Spider

What an amazing walk for day 14 this was and altogether we had walked 0ver ten miles! It just blows me away how many different species are on our doorsteps and I still get excited when I discover something I have never seen before.